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Message from Austria to Master
I'm going with a standard opening, just hoping that
Italy doesn't attack me from the start. My opinion on
playing Austria is that you need to get Greece in 1901
and get the fleet into position against Turkey.
I prefer covering Galicia instead of Venice since this
will guarantee me at least one build, unless
everything ends up in the worst possible way for me.
Also it signals that I trust Italy which is my
prefered alliance partner in no press.
Message from England to Master
Not a bad draw, to date I have a 50/50 track record of doing bad/good with England.
Lets hope this game is one of the good games.
Its Very unlikely that a western alliance will form immediately, no doubt it will be EF, FG, EG against the other.
I cant afford to let France take control of the ENG so I have decided to bounce there/ If I don end up there then there is a small chance that Germany moves on BUR and doesnt bounce. The allaince EG would then be very apparent. Anyway here goes, fingers crossed.
Moves;
lon - eng (not an attack, just being cautious)
lvp - yor (for convoy to NWY or BEL)
f edi - nth (for convoing army)
Message from France to Master
Boring opening.
bre-MAO : Never seems to work for me when I open to ENG. England rarely seems
to open lvp-edi when I play.
par-bur : I expect the move to succeed, and then there is the option of
either bouncing myself out of mar in the fall (if It opens to pie) or keeping
bel
nuetral. If I am bounced, then I definately needed to make the move.
mar-spa : what else with the above moves?
1901, all I'm hoping for is ;
1) E stays out of ENG
* this is the big one - always feels that opening to ENG is a good idea for
E, since it gives a good chance that in covering bre, F can't build a fleet.
And when E orders ENG-bel, a relieved France forgives the infraction. But don't
want to open to ENG, because I'd prefer a "surprise attack" on E later.
2) It stays out of pie
3) Germany builds a fleet in kie
I don't know what attitude to take to bel.
Admission straight up. If I get a chance to attack E, I'll take it. To do
well as F, it always seems better for me to have an FG.
Message from Germany to Master
Most people see Germany as a land power. Big army guy. Not me. I am an
German admiral. Fleets fleets fleets. That of course brings me into
conflict with England more often than not. So you will most likely see an
anti-E position for most of the early game, unless France does something
nasty.
Den is a must. An army in Denmark is almost useless. It gives me the
opportunity to block Russia in Sweden if need be, but I usually like to let
Russia have it (makes a friend of Russia, and gives England something to
worry about).
I have grown to like the Mun->Ruh, Ber->Mun opening and will use it again
here. Tells both Italy and France "NO CHANCE" on Munich, and still gives me
2 builds, provided England doesn't do something stupid in Holland. However,
there is another evil Fall move that involves screwing France royal, which
only gets me 1 build, but works wonders later on. I'll comment more on it
if I decide to use it (or might just comment in Fall anyway.)
Hopefully this is a good set of comments to start with. I'm rushed for
time.
Message from Italy to Master
Well, here are some remarks for posterity.
Italy... humm. Didn't expect that. I was already for Austria or Turkey.
Been a while since I played Italy. Not upset about it, just have to remember
the right strategy and mind set. Well, what are my options?
Lepanto - I was never totally convinced that this was the way to go. Seems
like an excuse to do something rather than to bide my time. Really don't
have to commit to this one until the builds come around. Will think about
it.
Attack Austria - Nope. Never done it as Italy. Always believed AI war was
a suicide pact. Any R or T worth his salt would drop anything else and come
running to eat up the scraps. However, the Austrian may not believe the
same, so have to be cautious with A VEN.
Attack France - Low percentage and leaves my friend the Turk free to expand
without any worries. Kind of like winding up your arm before throwing a
punch. No suprise factor and it gives no real advantage.
Attack Germany - Laughable. I would attack any Italy who ended up there.
No real place to expand to, it just helps E and maybe even F, who would then
come looking at the boot.
Bide my time - Boring, I know. However, it allows me to see most everyones'
openings without commiting myself. Sometimes not doing anything differs from
doing nothing (my thanks to Yogi Berra).
It is bide my time for now. Will probable head east next year, espescially
if Turkey looks to build fleets. Of course, a French invasion of PIE would
change my mind, as would Austria aggression. I would like to get to where I
am less worried about my neighbors than they are about me.
The moves:
A VEN S F TRI (With luck F TRI ends in ALB and I can move A VEN south) I
don't see a percentage in
moving to Tyrolia, nor an attack on France via PIE nor an attack on
Austria. I want to transmit benign
intententions toward Austria. (You say po-tay-to, I say po-taw-to)
A ROM - NAP (Heading to TUN)
F NAP - ION ( Prepping for the convoy)
I always start the game looking to solo and will probably risk a place
in a draw to try for the solo. That being said, I also would be more
than willing to ensure I am either in a draw or that there not be a
draw. After all, if I am not around at the end, I really have no
incentive to make sure there is not a solo, at least not by my way
of looking at things.
Several items I have picked-up over the years which have most helped my play
are as follows:
1. Pay attention to the whole board. Even if you are Turkey, make
sure you understand what is going on with EFG. If wait until
you must know what is going on, it will be too late.
2. Have a plan. Much like chess, have a plan. It can be a good plan,
a bad plan or an outrageous plan, but have one. However, it must
be flexible. A plan can be changed in midstream. Remember, any
plan rarely survives first contact with the enemy.
3. Press. In press games, everyone, every turn, no excuses. Say hello
if nothing else. Stay in touch. Offer sympathy, whatever, just
keep talking, even if there is no response. The other guy is more
likely to work with someone he has spoken with rather than a stranger.
In no press, communicate with convoy orders and supports rather than
just ordering a hold.
4. Keep trying. Even when backed into a corner, keep playing and
trying. You never know, your main protaganist may end up having
to back off due to other threats (See #1)
5. When writing your orders be less concerned about what the other
guy can do to you than what you can do to him. Take chances,
otherwise it will be too late when your turn comes. That being
said, be sure to defend those areas which are most important to
you. Look to give unwanted supports to defeat a self-standoff or
give yourself an advantage. As Austria, I once supported Turkey
A BUL - RUM, at the same time taking BUL from GRE. I got three
builds, Turkey took a centre (RUM)from the Russian but received no
builds and
that led to me taking that end of the board and eliminating Turkey and
Russia.
Well that is my two cents. My record is far from excellent, but better
than mediocre, so there may be something in there for someone.
Message from Russia to Master
I'm looking forward to playing Russia in a no press game, as I have
previously had very poor luck with it. I may try something different
this time.
I'm hoping to form an alliance with Turkey as
I consider the alliance a strong one. Unfortunately,
giving up the black sea to a yet untested ally is too big of a risk.
I'll be surprised if I escape the inevitable bounce in sweden, but
there is no other logical opening than the gob. I guess we'll soon
see how this opens up.
Message from Turkey to Master
Haven't played Turkey for a while. Should be interesting. First year, I'm just
going to move very standard. Hopefully Austria isn't that great a player, and
he'll get into a fight with Italy.
Let's just see what happens until about F1902, and then start formulating a
plan then. Should have a bit of an idea by then about each player.
Austria: Army Budapest → Serbia
Austria: Fleet Trieste → Albania
Austria: Army Vienna → Galicia (*bounce*)
England: Fleet Edinburgh → North Sea
England: Army Liverpool → Yorkshire
England: Fleet London → English Channel
France: Fleet Brest → Mid-Atlantic Ocean
France: Army Marseilles → Spain
France: Army Paris → Burgundy
Germany: Army Berlin → Munich
Germany: Fleet Kiel → Denmark
Germany: Army Munich → Ruhr
Italy: Fleet Naples → Ionian Sea
Italy: Army Rome → Naples
Italy: Army Venice SUPPORT Austrian Fleet Trieste (*void*)
Russia: Army Moscow → Ukraine
Russia: Fleet Sevastopol → Black Sea (*bounce*)
Russia: Fleet St Petersburg (south coast) → Gulf of Bothnia
Russia: Army Warsaw → Galicia (*bounce*)
Turkey: Fleet Ankara → Black Sea (*bounce*)
Turkey: Army Constantinople → Bulgaria
Turkey: Army Smyrna → Constantinople
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