|
|
Message from Master to all
No retreats; F1913M due the evening after Christmas. Have a happy
and safe holiday, everyone!
Doug
masseyd@btv.ibm.com as Master set the deadline
for game 'titleist' to Wed Dec 26 2001 23:30:00 -0500.
Grace period deadline advanced to Mon Dec 31 2001 23:30:00 -0500.
Message from England to France
King Roger,
How is that for a Christmas gift?
Is he that stupid or that gullible? To put it another way, were you able
to influence Nick's moves?
Ivy/Allen
Message from France to England
Ivy:
Nick never said boo to me all season. He knew my moves. I have no idea
whatsoever what just happened. I will have to draw a map and take it to
study. I did not ask him to do anything and he never discussed his
moves, future moves, or a future goal.
Were you betrayed by Nick? Are Italy and Russia joining forces? Were
we just declared war on? I am confused.
I will probably check again about 8 PM EST and then off to bed.
I will be back before Xmas and wish you happy holidays then.
When does your son arrive? Have you asked him to drive by my house and
check it out? Wait, you know that I will be out of town ... oops ...
everything will be here when I return? :-) :-) (I am very much
kidding!) We need to talk about optics when I return. I would like to
know more about what your son does. I am beginning to get involved in
making optical films. But I may not be able to mention specifics for a
while.
--King Roger XIII
Message from France to Russia
As a wise man once asked me:
Care to explain?
Confused,
--King Roger XIII
PS: I hope that you are feeling better
Message from France to Italy
Roberto:
What is your take on the recent moves?
Thanks for answering about the puppy. I appreciate it. yes it was an
old note.
sorry for the short note.
--King Roger XIII
Message from Italy to France
>
> What is your take on the recent moves?
>
Either you and Nick are planning a 2-way or Nick is looking for a way to
lose.
Roberto
Message from France to Italy
Roberto:
The sum of the discussion between Nick and I since the adjustments can
be summed up in the following line:
" "
I got the note that he was sick and a previous note that he was busy and
would write me some time. He never did. He did know my moves though.
Did he know yours?
I am wondering if you and he are now allied. He did betray Ivy which is
a shame after all Ivy did to prevent him from losing last year.
He may be planning a two-way with me, but he neglected to tell me about
it. I think he may believe that he can win? I offered a friendly
three-way no response. I offered a four-way (through Ivy), denied.
Perhaps my return may bring enlightenment. I had 3 hours sleep last
night and am exhausted from being on the go since 10:00 PM last night.
Of course when I return I will have just driven through the night.
Lucidity will probably not be an adjective describing myself :-)
This time, sorry for the long note. I am a bit delirious :-)
--King Roger XIII
PS: Was that Bud/Vie things expected?
Message from Italy to France
>
> The sum of the discussion between Nick and I since the adjustments can
> be summed up in the following line:
> " "
>
The sum of discussion between Italy and Nick can be summed up as follows:
"I don't believe France would offer such a draw [in response to Ivy
detailing your proposal] and will move accordingly to take French centers in
Turkey and the Balkans."
I had heard nothing from him until late this morning.
>
> Did he know yours?
>
No, except see below.
> I am wondering if you and he are now allied.
Never in a million years.
> He did betray Ivy which is
> a shame after all Ivy did to prevent him from losing last year.
>
He will pay dearly for that mistake if indeed it is true.
>
> I think he may believe that he can win?
>
This is probably a fair assessment. I would hate for Italian elimination to
end with that result though. I hope you share a similar view.
> I offered a friendly
> three-way no response. I offered a four-way (through Ivy), denied.
>
Russia indeed denied this offer.
>
> PS: Was that Bud/Vie things expected?
>
Yes. It was my suggestion. I figured I would lose Budapest to him (or you)
anyway and thought at least Vienna gets me a tad closer to my other armies.
I had expected you to try for Trieste.
Roberto
Message from England to France
King Roger,
>Were you betrayed by Nick?
Yes. No. He acted in character, and I anticipated it. He's erratic and a
gambler.
>Are Italy and Russia joining forces?
When hell freezes over. It can never happen.
>I will be back before Xmas and wish you happy holidays then.
Everyone is coming to our house this year.
>When does your son arrive? Have you asked him to drive by my house and
>check it out?
He doesn't have a car and takes a bus when he comes down. Since we are
getting him a 19-inch monitor for Christmas, we will have to drive him back
after the holidays. Maybe we can touch base then.
Joanne and I are now racing off to see a movie.
Allen/Ivy
Message from Russia to France
Roger,
> Care to explain?
What would you like me to explain?
> PS: I hope that you are feeling better
I have no energy, and my head feels like it's full of cotton, (not stuffed
up, I just have the mental acuity of my son's teddy-bear.)
Eric.
Message from France to Italy
Tri -> vie
Sil -> boh
Ukr -> Rum s Sev
Thank you for playing Italy. Welcome to the world of superpowers,
Russia.
You have to admire his going form extinction to a solo threat. I am
just not sure what can be done about it. Maybe it will be more clear
upon my return.
--King Roger XIII
I am gone for 3-4 days now.
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
>What would you like me to explain?
Your moves. :-)
Did Ivy OK the moves to Den and Norway? What are you planning on doing?
--King Roger XIII
I am gone for 3-4 days now.
Message from France to England
Ivy:
Russia is poised to take 3 centers from Italy. I presume that you and
he are trading Hol/Kie for Den/Swe. Was that agreed to?
You do realize that after this turn Russia is likely to be at 11
centers. He will have a surplus of units in the Balkans, I will have
3. He can then proceed to take my 4 remaining units and is probably
poised to press for a victory run.
My question for you is what are we going to do about it?
--King Roger XIII
I am gone for 3-4 days now.
Message from England to France
King Roger,
>Russia is poised to take 3 centers from Italy. I presume that you and
>he are trading Hol/Kie for Den/Swe. Was that agreed to?
No, it was not agreed to. Russia is going for Scandinavia, Berlin,
etc. The works.
>You do realize that after this turn Russia is likely to be at 11
>centers. He will have a surplus of units in the Balkans, I will have
>3. He can then proceed to take my 4 remaining units and is probably
>poised to press for a victory run.
He probably thinks so, but you are still more dangerous than he
is. Besides, you are better.
>My question for you is what are we going to do about it?
I think "we" is mostly "you."
You have a choice. You can try to take advantage of my distraction by
attacking Belgium or Ruhr or Munich and trying to slip a fleet somewhere
into the Nao-Iri-Channel line. Or you can anticipate the need to head off
Russia's "victory run," as you put it. You could permit me to defend in
the north -- I certainly won't be attacking you -- and make moves such as
WesMed->Tyrhennian and Paris->Burgundy->Marseillles->Piedmont.
Ivy/Allen
Message from Russia to France
King Roger,
> > What would you like me to explain?
>Your moves. :-)
Well, I expanded from my power base in the southern
and central region, and attempted to consolidate my
holdings in the north for better defense. ;^}
>Did Ivy OK the moves to Den and Norway?
No.
>What are you planning on doing?
I plan to try to keep you from soloing as Ivy
over-reacts to my moves. 8-)
Nick.
Message from Russia to England, France, and Italy
Gentlemen,
I'm taking tomorrow (12/21) off from work, in order to
do my Christmas shopping, (and to see Lord of the Rings),
and then I am taking my son to see Jimmy Neutron, Boy
Genius, on Saturday, and will let him pick out a gift
for his mother. The Governor has given State Employees
Monday, Christmas Eve, off, and of course, Christmas is
a holiday, as well, so I won't be back in the office
until the 26th. I will check mail most, if not all of
those days, and will respond, if anyone writes, but my
availability will be somewhat more limited than it
usually is. If I don't hear from you before then, I
hope that those of you who celebrate Christmas have a
very merry one.
Eric.
Message from France to Italy
Roberto:
I believe that we can manage to keep you a viable part of prevent Russia
from running amok. I ask you to do the following:
* order a unit to Armenia
* order Vienna to Budapest
The first will prevent Russia from slipping an army into Turkey and
causing all sorts of problems. I will leave Ankara alone in order to
keep that Fleet in Armenia.
The second is required in order to prevent my army in Rumania from
getting nuked (Tri -> Ser s by Bud, Ukr -> Rum s by Sev).
I can offer you the following:
I will leave Ankara alone. I will help support Munich. I will not take
advantage of Ivy's need to defend against Russia by attacking him. As
long as you are helping me against Russia, I will leave Ivy alone.
>From what Ivy has told me, Russia did take Norway and Denmark without
permission. Are you getting the same story?
Let me know what you think.
Have a very Merry Christmas (if you celebrate it)!
--King Roger XIII
Message from France to Russia
Eric:
Tell me about Jimmy Neutron. Did you like it? Is it more appropriate
for little kids or older ones? Mine are 3.5, 6, 8.
Welcome to the land of the superpowers. Quite an impressive achievement
from your being nearly out. And you finally have all your home centers
back (almost). You have me out gunned in the south too. Italy did you
a big favor last fall (besides denying my victory). I suspect that in
the end, England and I will have to join forces to prevent your
victory. :-)
Have a very Merry Christmas (if you celebrate it)
--King Roger XIII
Message from France to England
Allen:
I do not plan to take advantage of (as Russia puts it) your overreacting
to Russia's moves by stealing Belgium or try to slip fleets into your
backside. I am sure that you will be very happy with my moves (in the
short term). Ultimately I will have to decide what to do. On two or
three occasions Russia has suggested a two-way draw. I have always said
that it was impractical or that I was happy with the three-way. I guess
that he is taking matters into his own hands. I may have to eventually
consider it. I think that ultimately the game would end in a solo by
one of us. You will be the deciding factor in that. But I am getting
ahead of myself here. My goal right now is to prevent Russia from
running away with the solo and then we can talk about the appropriate
game ending.
I asked Roberto for two things: a unit in Armenia and to order Vienna to
Budapest. Both of these are important to prevent Russia from running
all over the Balkans and Turkey. The Balkans, Turkey, Austria, Russia,
and Scandinavia makes 17. One German or Italy center would be required
for the solo. Can you help me convince him to make these moves. I
promised him that as long as he was helping me against Russia, I would
not attack you.
Have a very Merry Christmas (if you celebrate it)
--King Roger XIII
PS: Let me know about your plans for traveling to Rochester.
Message from France to England
Ivy:
>Besides, you are better.
Thanks for the sentiment, but I am not sure what you base this on. I
was given most of my centers, he tricked and fought his way to all of
his. I have squandered all of my opportunities for victory. He has
done more with less. Also, the power Russia is always the most
dangerous when it gets to medium size because it has access to so many
parts of Europe. I am not sure that there is a decent stalemate line,
if it came down to it.
>I think "we" is mostly "you."
Aye, but you have to do your part also. You will eventually have to
choose what you expose.
>You have a choice.
I will not attack you or Munich.
--King Roger XIII
Message from England to France
King Roger,
>Can you help me convince him to make these moves. I
>promised him that as long as he was helping me against Russia, I would
>not attack you.
I guess that gives me extra motivation to convince Italy!
With you at 13 and Russia at 8, anyone would still have to regard your
threat as the much greater threat. Nevertheless, Russia's last moves have
changed the game. Is Russia willing to discard the cooperation, such as it
was, that prevailed briefly? I will see what I can do with Roberto. I do
know that he was upset (again) with Russia after the last moves.
>Have a very Merry Christmas (if you celebrate it)
We do. I do miss the kind of Christmas that comes with the presence of
small children.
>PS: Let me know about your plans for traveling to Rochester.
OK, but we don't know ourselves yet.
Allen/Ivy
Message from Russia to France
Roger,
>Tell me about Jimmy Neutron. Did you like it? Is it more appropriate or
>little kids or older ones?
Ian is 7, and he liked it a lot. I'm not sure how
a three yr. old would react to the town's parents
being kidnapped by space aliens, but JN and his
friends rescue everyone, and there's a fair amount
of burping and throwing-up humor, so I'd say it
would be good for the group. There were a few
moments that I appreciated, but it's much more
of a kid's movie, than say the typical Disney
movie where there tends to be humor aimed at the
parents in the audience, too.
>Welcome to the land of the superpowers. Quite an
>impressive achievement from your being nearly out. And you finally have all
>your home centers back
Yes, now the question is will England accept that
my moves to Nwy and Den were not a stab, but were
just an "I'm sick, and I'm late, and England has
sent me three letters telling me he's making
'harmless defensive moves', so I have to protect
StP while sacrificing Hol and Kie.", response, and
keep you from soloing in the west, rather than
attacking me.
>I suspect that in the end, England and I will have to join forces to
>prevent your
>victory. :-)
Given the way Ivy is over-reacting, I'd say the
victory is still yours to take, and your 5 Center
advantage over me is still significant, but I
suppose I do have a fair shot at winning the
tournament on Center-Count, if Ivy calms down.
>Have a very Merry Christmas (if you celebrate it)
Thanks, I hope you have one, as well.
Eric.
Message from France to England
Ivy:
>>Can you help me convince him to make these moves. I
>>promised him that as long as he was helping me against Russia, I would
>>not attack you.
>I guess that gives me extra motivation to convince Italy!
My reason is that I wish to save my army in Rumania and defend Serbia
and Greece. I just cannot get enough forces over there fast enough to
prevent Russia from taking control. If I lose another and Italy helps
Russia, then he will easily get to 15-17 centers, real fast.
Russia's basic story is that he was sick and you were "threatening him"
with "non-threatening defensive moves". A nice spin. Against a
collection of newbies it might even have worked. I saw right through
it, I assume that you did as well.
Russia admits that he needs to worry about my soloing but that he has a
very good chance at ending the game with the most units. Maybe he does.
As I ponder the game, I honestly think that you best option is to pick
one of us and let us be large. That keeps the other one in line. If
you end up with us even in strength, we can slowly whittle you down in a
safer fashion, with less risk of the other soloing. When one is large,
the other must behave or lose!
You have to think about which one of us you would least like to be
large. I do remind you that Russia can be difficult, unreasonable, and
stubborn. He also was very sneaky in playing his double agent for the
last 3-4 years. Meanwhile, I have proven myself to be a terrible
tactician. So the choice is obvious, you would rather have me be the
larger power :-)
Do what you can with Roberto. I think that he can survive in Munich and
Ankara for a long time. I know that he is unlikely to survive the
draw. Whereas I stated that I would never vote for the 4-way draw, I
ended up being more reasonable in a couple days. Nick on the other hand
is truly the player who will never vote for it, and likely no other draw
that does not give him the tournament win. He might not even settle for
the largest power in a draw, trying to get the glory of a solo in this
game.
--King Roger XIII
Message from France to Russia
Eric:
Thanks for the movie critique. If we find time, we may go see the
movie. I think that my youngest can handle the kidnapping as long as it
is not too scary with real evil looking characters.
I like the way you spin things. You steal two centers from England and
say that he overreacts :-) Impressive. What nasty things did Roberto
say to you?
--King Roger XIII
Message from Russia to France
> Message from France to Russia in 'titleist':
> Thanks for the movie critique. If we find time, we may go see the
> movie. I think that my youngest can handle the kidnapping as long as it
> is not too scary with real evil looking characters.
No, it's more funny than scary.
> I like the way you spin things. You steal two centers from England and
> say that he overreacts :-) Impressive. What nasty things did Roberto
> say to you?
It's Spring. I've stolen them only if I remain in them this Fall, and give
that
Ivy's in Kiel, and can retake Nwy or Den, we're effectively even. *shrug*
Roberto, as is usual, hasn't said much.
Nick.
Message from France to Italy
Roberto:
The deadline is tonight. Have you given some thought to
what you are going to do? I am asking for Vie -> Bud and
a unit in Armenia (Ank -> Arm or Bls -> Arm).
I realize that you could end up with other units by
attacking my positions. But in the end that would make
Russia the largest power on the board and a serious solo
threat. I am offering you a viable spot in the line
against him and a chance to make certain that he does not
benefit from his betrayal of Ivy and yourself..
Let me know what you are thinking.
--King Roger XIII
Message from France to England
Ivy:
The deadline is tonight. Have your heard from Roberto?
Do you expect to hear from him?
--King Roger XIII
Message from England to France
>Russia's basic story is that he was sick and you were "threatening him"
>with "non-threatening defensive moves". A nice spin. Against a
>collection of newbies it might even have worked. I saw right through
>it, I assume that you did as well.
Russia'a basic story was worthless. A bit of an insult to one's
intelligence even. Of course he had to say something, and after the fact
what could he say?
>As I ponder the game, I honestly think that you best option is to pick
>one of us and let us be large. That keeps the other one in line. If
>you end up with us even in strength, we can slowly whittle you down in a
>safer fashion, with less risk of the other soloing. When one is large,
>the other must behave or lose!
I haven't thought much about this game in the past week, but the following
has occurred to me. What if I am small and Russia and England are reducing
me? Then I must announce to one of them that I will throw the game to the
other unless I get cooperation. A time-honored strategy. Do I tell Russia
that I will throw the game to England because I like England much better,
which I certainly do? Actually no. Russia is irrational and I cannot
reason with him. Better to tell England that I will throw the game to
Russia, because I can talk to England. He is reasonable and rational.
That maximizes my chance to survive.
>You have to think about which one of us you would least like to be
>large. I do remind you that Russia can be difficult, unreasonable, and
>stubborn.
Exactly. Better that he be large, so you and I can cooperate to stop him. No?
[I am just thinking out loud here and permitting you to listen in. But it
seems to make sense.]
***********
>The deadline is tonight. Have your heard from Roberto?
>Do you expect to hear from him?
No. Yes. He is supposed to coordinate the REI moves, since Russia and I
aren't exactly speaking. That's all a bit of fiction of course.
I will send Italy another messsage.
Ivy/Allen
Message from France to England
Ivy:
>Exactly. Better that he be large, so you and I can
>cooperate to stop him. No?
This is of course your option. Is the irrational player
more dangerous with a risk of winning or the need for
cooperation? Do you want to risk his winning or my
winning? Tough choices.
You can count on my moves. I will behave and act as
promised up to the point where I can force a victory. I
will not risk acting sooner. What about Russia?
Also keep in mind that to allow Russia to get larger, you
will be removing the forces that I have in the east,
necessary to prevent his solo. I have promised Roberto
not to attack you if he is working with me against
Russia. If he does take advantage of me instead, I will
likely be forced to attack you in order to maintain my
position. I would have to settle for the FR
two-way possibilities knowing that Russia will eventually
get all of the Balkans and Turkey and my only hope is
England. I really do not want to go down this road, so I
am arguing for the other one.
--King Roger XIII
PS: You must be getting into your other game as France
because you referred to me as England (not France)
throughout your last message while thinking out loud :-)
:-)
Message from Italy to Master, England, France, and Russia
Gentlemen,
The holiday season was busier for me than expected - more travel and
visiting than anticipated. Now, a sore throat is travelling thru the family
and I don't feel so hot. To boot, I got called into jury duty.
Although I hate to ask for a deadline extension, I think I need one. Doug,
can you extend the deadline to Friday (hopefully that will be enough time).
Italy
Message from France to England, Italy, and Russia
Ken:
>Now, a sore throat is travelling thru the family
>and I don't feel so hot. To boot, I got called into
>jury duty.
If the sore throat etc. gets you out of Jury duty, it
just might be worth it :-) Take care of yourself and
your public duty. The game can wait.
Roger
Message from Russia to Master, England, France, and Italy
>Message from France to Italy, England and Russia in 'titleist':
>If the sore throat etc. gets you out of Jury duty, it
>just might be worth it :-) Take care of yourself and
>your public duty. The game can wait.
But, I was planning on soloing by New Year's Eve!
(*Did I just say that out-loud?* ;^}
Seriously though, Ken, take the time you need.
It's bad enough that this Spring's moves were
the result of rushed, under-the-weather
thinking, without doing the same this Fall.
Happy Kwanzaa/Boxing Day, Everyone,
Eric.
Message from France to England
Ivy:
Questions for you? Do you feel that there is a correct way for a
diplomacy game to end? Should the people who played the best be in the
draw? How do you define "played the best"? Good and attentive
communication? Paying attention and not negotiating at the last
minute? Fighting and clawing one's way to the top, despite the odds and
who gets stomped on? Should a jerk win or draw just because he was
needed at the right times and people had to put up with him? These are
questions that I often wrestle with. I am wondering what you think
about them. I do not wish to imply that any of us fit any of the
descriptions, we can each categorize privately as we see fit.
Other times I wonder if a draw is a draw or if a player can be
eliminated he should be? I have eliminated powers not necessary for the
draw, just because I felt it was the way the game was supposed to be
played. I have settled for a carebear two-way, just because it felt
right. I have stabbed for a victory, because I felt it was the way the
game should be played. Perhaps there is no correct way, it depends on
the particular game and people.
What might the right way be in this game?
On a second topic, for a whim I thought about what FEI would do to
eliminate Russia. I know it could probably never occur, but it was fun
to think about it. What would you think of these moves:
Ank -> Arm
Bul -> Gre
Bls s Ank -> Arm
Rum -> Bud
Vie s Rum -> Bud
Ven -> Tri
Boh -> Gal
Try s Ven -> Tri
Mun s Ber
Nth -> Den
Kie s Nth -> Den
Bel -> Hol
Nwg -> Bar
Iri -> NAO
MAO -> Wes
England: + Hol +Kie - Nor = 8
France: -Ser +Tri +Rum/Bud? = 13/14
Italy: -Rum -Bud +Vie -Sev = 4
That leaves Russia at 8/9. We would need to get you into Scandinavia
and Russia. Italy would hole up in the Balkans, keeping me in line. In
the end that would leave you and I large and Italy small. We can
discuss the future then, but I suspect that neither of us would be
daring enough to go for the solo. A two-way draw also seems unlikely,
since it would be too carebearish.
I do not think that I trust Italy enough and I doubt you trust me
enough. But it was fun to ponder. If you have time tell me what
flaws there are, besides the obvious ones of lack of trust.
--King Roger XIII
Message from France to Master
Doug:
Ken had asked for a deadline extension due to jury duty,
illness, and the holiday (until Friday?). Did you notice
that request? Were you going to grant it or did you want
us to get orders in?
Roger
Message from Master to all
My mistake; I saw the requests for the extension but failed to grant
them. Moves are due tomorrow night.
I've got six guests coming over Saturday for Dip (including Jim
Burgess, Melissa Nicholson, and Tim Goodwin) and will proudly be
showing off my Titleist sweatshirt.
Doug
masseyd@btv.ibm.com as Master set the deadline
for game 'titleist' to Fri Dec 28 2001 23:30:00 -0500.
Message from England to France
King Roger,
Second things first:
>On a second topic, for a whim I thought about what FEI would do to
>eliminate Russia. I know it could probably never occur, but it was fun
>to think about it.
The effort meter puts you and Nick far ahead of Roberto. However on the
fondness scale, I rate you and Roberto ahead of Nick. Logic has the final
say. Eliminating Russia while preserving Italy is a tactical mess, and it
has the added risk of giving you increased chances of victory. Surely you
know how Russia would react if Italy and I turned on him. While I might
trust you not to take advantage of the situation, the risk just isn't
necessary.
>Questions for you? Do you feel that there is a correct way for a
>diplomacy game to end?
My reply is more or less the textbook reply. Generally individuals should
strive to solo, and should that prove infeasible try to be part of the
smallest possible draw. I have violated this myself in the past. In
black2, I (France) shared a 2-way with England even though I had an easy
solo if I wanted it. Lately, affected by this ratings business, I have
wondered how much this decision affect my standing in Doug's list.
There are practical considerations as well. In titleist I voted for a
4-way draw, even though a 3-way could be achieved fairly easily. I did
this partly out of exhaustion, partly out of respect for the other players,
all of whom are deserving, and partly because I felt a milestone had been
reached when IRE stopped a near French victory. Now, however, I predict
that titleist will have at most three survivors.
> Should the people who played the best be in the draw?
Sure. But the race is not always to the swift nor the battle to the
strong. Time and chance happeneth. There really is a lot of luck in any
one game. In one of the earlier games in this tournament, my partners and
I eliminated a vastly superior player. He did nothing wrong. His
diplomatic efforts to break our alliance were admirable. Had he been on my
side of the board I expect that he and I would have been partners. I felt
I lost vgfp0012 in similar fashion, and I won vgfp0005 on a 50-50 guess.
>What might the right way be in this game?
Depending on the results of this turn, I expect to offer a
proposal. Depending.
Ivy/Allen
Message from France to England
Ivy:
Thank you for the long reply. I was in a philosophical
mood last night. :-)
I do not mind Nick. He can be very exasperating at times
and a bit, shall we say extremely confident. But I do
prefer dealing with him to Roberto, whom I never really
clicked with. It may be more of a matter of style I
guess. Perhaps since Roberto had to interact with you to
survive, you were able to get to know him. I got only
utilitarian messages. But I am definitely not at the
point where I want him eliminated based on personalities.
In the end I felt that he earned a spot in the draw, even
though he betrayed me.
But it does not matter because I believe that Russia will
keep stirring the pot until he gets the situation he
wants. So we will be stuck with that.
>.....Depending.
Why does this sound almost like a threat ;-) Whom it
may depend on is Roberto this turn. We shall see.
--King Roger XIII
Message from France to England
Ivy:
We appear to have some time on our hands. Care to share
your *potential* proposal? If I knew what you were
looking for and why, I may be more likely to help it
happen. Of course it might be something that you do not
want to happen and only have a proposal if it does so you
do not want to help it happen. :-)
My worry is that it is that if I get totally squashed
this year, you will offer me a two-way draw? :-) That
means that I am about to get totally squashed!
What I cannot understand is that if Italy despises Russia
so much, why he continually helps him grow (perhaps not
directly, but as a result). Yes he continues to survive,
but he must know that in the end he will not and Russia
will be the big gainer in his efforts. Of course there
is the high probability that Roberto despise me as well,
so he is probably stuck between two distasteful choices.
:-)
Perhaps I should just try to hasten Italy's end, even if
that helps to further accelerate Russia's growth. At
least it moves things along. I still hope to set up a
situation where he ends up in Armenia and I am forces to
leave Ankara alone so he blocks Russia. But I cannot
negotiate that at the 11th hour.
--King Roger XIII
PS: You must be on break? Time to focus on the research
projects? Do you have many graduate students working for
you or do you focus primarily on teaching?
Message from England to France
Roger XIII,
>>.....Depending.
>Why does this sound almost like a threat ;-) Whom it
>may depend on is Roberto this turn. We shall see.
If it sounded like a threat, it wasn't supposed to.
>We appear to have some time on our hands. Care to share
>your *potential* proposal?
I guess I spoke out of turn. Precisely because I had time on my hands, I
suppose. I am just trying to think of what could happen down the road and
how I might encourage it. Let's wait a little.
By the way, I am willing to take credit/blame for various happenings in
titleist, but I am not especially responsible for the upcoming moves.
Certainly I am trying to exert some influence, but it is hard to talk to
Russia when all he does is constantly defend his last moves, and it is hard
to talk to Italy when he is not available.
>My worry is that it is that if I get totally squashed this year, ...
Totally squashed? How is that possible? Everything you own is totally
secure with the exception of Rumania. Even if you lose Rumania you likely
have Trieste. Only close Italy/Russia cooperation could prevent that.
Which brings us to ...
>What I cannot understand is that if Italy despises Russia
>so much, why he continually helps him grow (perhaps not
>directly, but as a result).
Hitler and Stalin cooperated briefly, I suppose.
>PS: You must be on break? Time to focus on the research
>projects?
Between semesters. Classes don't start until mid-January. I am still
moderately busy, though, as chair of our hiring committee. We have abut
230 applicants for a tenure-track position and we just whittled the pile
down to 33. That was a lot of reading. We need an ordered list of about
10 in a few days.
>Do you have many graduate students working for you
No, our department has a dormant masters program. Bucknell is essentially
an undergraduate institution. We have about 3500 students. Our closest
competitors are Colgate and Lafayette.
>or do you focus primarily on teaching?
I do, with just an occasional publication every few years. My scholarship
is rather modest. I am teaching this year for the first time in three
years. Last year was a sabbatical year -- great for Diplomacy -- and the
year before that I had quite an adventure as the (interim) Dean of
Students. That was an experience of a lifetime.
Ivy
*********
Joanne and I tentatively expect to take Jason and Aaron plus their
Christmas presents (two very large monitors) back to New York on January 2.
We probably will drop Aaron off at Rochester before bringing Jason down to
his apartment at Cornell. Then we may see Joanne's folks in Elmira before
heading home. It will probably be a two-day excursion. I suppose January
2 is a work day for you. Do you work in the City? Do you have a lunch
hour? If we don't get a chance for a brief meeting this time, I am sure
that other occasions will present themselves. Aaron's PHD program has
about four more years to go if he sticks it out.
Allen
Message from France to England
Ivy:
> If it sounded like a threat, it wasn't supposed to.
I was suggesting that it could be interpreted as: If you behave, ... :-) Hence
my inquiry about what you were expecting me to do.
> I guess I spoke out of turn.
OK, we will wait.
> By the way, I am willing to take credit/blame for various happenings in
> titleist, but I am not especially responsible for the upcoming moves.
Of course. I realize that you do not have control of Nick (no one does) and
you cannot force Roberto to do anything, although you do have influence over
him. My point was that if I do not like what I hear from Roberto, I may have
to act accordingly.
> Totally squashed? How is that possible? Everything you own is totally
> secure with the exception of Rumania. Even if you lose Rumania you likely
> have Trieste. Only close Italy/Russia cooperation could prevent that.
Well, I could lose Rumania and Serbia and not gain Trieste. But the biggest
risk is that I lose significant position in the east (thereby quickly losing
Serbia and Greece, etc.) and risk you gaining position to break my stalemated
situation in the North. I know I will not lose too many net centers, but my
position is more critical. I am likely to be very conservative.
I do not have Nick's confidence that I can talk my way out of any situation :-)
>
>
> Hitler and Stalin cooperated briefly, I suppose.
>
Yes, but even when Roberto does not cooperate with Nick, his actions greatly
help him, which is the one thing he claims to not want to happen.
--King Roger XIII
> Between semesters. Classes don't start until mid-January. I am still
> moderately busy, though, as chair of our hiring committee. We have abut
> 230 applicants for a tenure-track position and we just whittled the pile
> down to 33. That was a lot of reading. We need an ordered list of about
> 10 in a few days.
How fun! How do you choose between them if their primary role is to teach and
you have little knowledge of that. You cannot choose based on your estimate of
their research strengths. Bright people do not necessarily make the best
teachers.
In many Universities and Programs, the ability to teach is not necessarily a
key component for choosing a tenure track candidate, at least it appears that
way to me. Many excellent researchers are also excellent teachers, but they
were chosen for their ability to attract research dollars. It must be nice to
be able to focus purely on the ability to teach and mold young minds.
Is my assessment of both your program and that of research universities
(primarily based on engineering field) completely inaccurate?
> That was an experience of a lifetime.
>
You certainly have an interesting life :-) I love Universities and always drag
my wife and not my family by them wherever we travel. My wife always tells me
that I should become a Professor; but I am not sure that I want to get into the
game of continually looking for research money. Was my assessment above
completely warped?
> I suppose January
> 2 is a work day for you. Do you work in the City? Do you have a lunch
> hour?
Rochester, Ithaca, and Elmira, quite a tour :-)
I do work on Jan 2, but have a flexible schedule. Providing that I currently
have no meetings scheduled, I could easily make some time. If you have always
told your wife that these Diplomacy folks are really normal people, you now run
the risk of making yourself out to be a liar :-) :-)
I hope that things work out, but realize that you do have a second son to
deliver and will have limited time. We can talk about it more later.
Roger
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
Do you realize that if we cooperated we could guarantee bringing Italy down to
1 centers. OK, there is a trust issue, but it is possible.
If Italy were to move out of Anakra we could eliminate him completely :-) It
might also be 90 degrees F outside tomorrow too :-)
I suppose even if we do things the hard way, we will take him down to three
centers.
Hope things are going well.
--King Roger XIII
Message from Italy to France
I have a moment tonight and a question that has been bugging me but I just
couldn't figure out what it was until today.
> * order Vienna to Budapest
>
> The second is required in order to prevent my army in Rumania from
> getting nuked (Tri -> Ser s by Bud, Ukr -> Rum s by Sev).
How does Vie-Bud prevent Rum from getting nuked? The scenario you provide
doesn't even have Budapest affecting Rumania. From what I can tell, the
only way to prevent Rumania from getting nuked is to either give it a
retreat - namely Bulgaria - or support it to Sevastopol.
Ivy and Nick have both expressed a desire to have me help 'nuke' Rumania.
Personally, I'd rather not see that happen so I don't anticipate that I will
participate. However, there's not a whole lot that can be done to stop
(Bud->Rum supp by Ukr/Sev, Sil->Gal, Tri->Ser).
I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts on the above analysis.
As it stands, I'm down 3 units if nothing changes so I'm not in the greatest
of positions to make demands but I am looking for a way to keep as many of
my centers as possible or perhaps exchange them for others. If you have any
ideas, I'm all ears.
> From what Ivy has told me, Russia did take Norway and Denmark without
> permission. Are you getting the same story?
Yes, that is the story I have been hearing from Ivy.
Roberto
Message from Russia to France
Roger,
> Do you realize that if we cooperated we could guarantee bringing Italy
down to
> 1 centers. OK, there is a trust issue, but it is possible.
Yes, and if Ivy and Roberto listen to you, I could be eliminated,
eventually. 8-)
> I suppose even if we do things the hard way, we will take him down to
three
> centers.
Roberto remains quiet, so I don't yet know how we're going to move, but
three seems opptomistic.
> Hope things are going well.
Christmas was good, my wife bought me the Survivor PC game, (I'm a member
of the Diplomacy discussion group for the Survivor TV show on Yahoo) which
was sweet, (even though the game was voted the Worst Game of 2001 by a
prominant gaming magazine, and it wouldn't run on our PC), and I got Roller
Coaster Tycoon for the family (Best Game of 1999) which is a lot of fun, if
you
enjoy Sim City type games and/or amusement parks. Having the Fall turn
delayed this long has been frustrating, though.
Nick/Eric.
Message from France to Italy
Roberto:
I am worried about the following:
Tri -> Ser s by Bud
Ukr -> Rum s by Sev
Rum -> Ser s by Bul (bounce, dislodged)
Vie -> Bud breaks that support and allows
Rum -> Ser s by Bul to succeed.
It also allows Ven -> Tri to succeed (if you do not deny
it).
I realize that you really have no desire to see me
succeed. All I have to offer is my promise not to attack
Ivy and the chance to see Nick suffer (or succeed less I
guess). I am hoping that your dislike for him is greater
than your dislike for me.
I know that it is not much to offer. After last fall I am
also very gunshy about trusting you, especially since Ivy
wants you to do something contrary to what I would like
you to do. So even the support for Rum -> Ser may not
occur as I may feel that I have to support Bul to hold.
I was not expecting to be in Rumania. Nick knew that I
was attacking it (to break support to Bul) and probably
wanted me there so he could destroy my army. He has some
serious goals of getting all of Austria, the Balkans, and
Turkey. I think that he will achieve it because
cooperation between you and I will be iffy and Ivy does
not want me to grow.
Sorry for the long note, but I wanted to give you an
honest feel for what I am thinking.
--King Roger XIII
PS: I hope that Jury duty went well, your getting
selected or not selected as you wanted. I always half
hoped that I would get selected, but my name was never
drawn from the pool to go to the next step.
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
>Yes, and if Ivy and Roberto listen to you, I could
>be eliminated, eventually. 8-)
Oh come on now. The chances of that are about 1 in
1,000,000. I was bored one day and pondered possible
moves with complete FEI cooperation. At best you would
be down to 8 or 9 units this turn. But the chances for
complete FEI cooperation are almost nil.
I also contemplated complete FR cooperation and what it
could do to Italy, take him down to 1 center. The odds
of that happening as just slightly above nil.
I do not see why having Italy at three centers is so
unlikely. He will end up with Munich, Ankara, and
Vienna. I do not see Ivy risking Berlin in order to give
him Kiel. I do not see your letting him have Rumania. I
do not plan to give him back Bulgaria. I can deny him
Constantinople. I do not see you giving him back
Sevastopol. I do not plan to help him take Trieste.
Where do you see him getting more than 3 centers?
--King Roger XIII
PS: My CD drive has been broken for a long time at home.
With my Acer, I cannot get a replacement without taking a
jigsaw to my computer cover (it had a small hole that
only allowed the door to fit through, with an unusual
shape). They do not make replacements. I have not been
able to find an external one that is read only. I can
either buy a R/W or buy a new computer. I have done
neither. So the bottom line to this long boring story is
that I cannot play any of my games.
Message from France to England
Allen:
My schedule for Jan 2 is as follows:
9:30-10:30 at School #41.
Some Kodak people volunteer to help children in the local
school learn to write better. I really do not want to
miss this as the children really enjoy having us visit.
Luckily they do not read my diplomacy messages as an
example of "how not to write". :-) I tend to rush
through them and not proof read enough.
Other than this commitment, I am available at any time
during the day.
Roger
Send me a note with possible plans, if you feel it will
work out. I work in Kodak park (at Lake & Ridge), but
can drive to anywhere.
Message from Russia to France
King Roger,
> >Yes, and if Ivy and Roberto listen to you, I could
> >be eliminated, eventually. 8-)
>Oh come on now. The chances of that are about 1 in
>1,000,000. I was bored one day and pondered possible
>moves with complete FEI cooperation.
I understand that, and I'm not that concerned about
EFI occurring, it's just that knowing you've proposed
EFI vs. R to EI makes me doubt the sincerity of your
FR vs. I offer. You are, quite rightly, doing
everything in your power to influence the course of
the next few years to favor France, and since my first
concern must be Russia's welfare, I have to take your
offer with a grain of salt.
>I do not see why having Italy at three centers is so
>unlikely. Where do you see him getting more than 3 centers?
Rum and Bul give you 15 Centers, and you have openings
in the West. As a result, it seems to me that I have
to convince Italy to work with me against you in the
Med, and that's likely to require him picking up a
Center or two, this Fall.
Nick.
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
Just want to set the record straight since you do not
have all the information. I did not propose EFI to EI.
Ivy complained about his dealings with you. So, while we
were waiting with nothing happening for a a few days I
sent him (E only) a set of moves that could occur with
complete EIF cooperation. At the top of the letter I
stated that it was for fun and that it would never happen
in a million yeats. That is a far cry from offering EFI
cooperation. I acknowldged that Ivy did not trust me and
I did not trust Italy. I find it humorous that you or he
is trying to put such a sinister spin on it.
Similarly my letter about FR cooperation was merely a
could. I stated right away that it was not going to
happen because we would not trust each other. Your grain
of salt comment was already implied.
Give Italy centers if you wish, it really does not matter
to me. If fact, it might even be in my best interest.
Perhaps I may offer him a few too.
--King Roger XIII
Message from Russia to France
King Roger,
>Just want to set the record straight since you do not
>have all the information. I did not propose EFI to EI.
I actually suspected as much, and Ivy did not imply
that you had spoken to Italy about it. He did raise
it as a possibility, though, and as a worst-case
scenario, I accepted that you might have made a
similar offer to Roberto, since it's in your best
interest to sow distrust within EIR.
>Ivy complained about his dealings with you.
Yeah, I am a pain to work with, aren't I? 8-) I've
got to work on that...
>Give Italy centers if you wish, it really does not
>matter to me. Perhaps I may offer him a few too.
I do not wish to, but I have litte choice. I have
a set of moves available to me that would bring me
to 13 Centers, but, unfortunately, given your
superior relationship with England and Italy, that
would almost certainly result in a French Solo. As
much as I like you, and I do, I cannot afford to
assume that you will hold politely and wait for me
to establish a 17 Center stalemate line. I still
do not know what Italy wants to do, but you might
want to consider tapping, or even attacking Trieste.
In Friendship,
Nick/Eric.
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
>superior relationship with England and Italy
With England, perhaps. But England will not hand me
the game just because he thinks that I am a swell
guy. He has a sense of how the game should be
played. I have to admire that, even if it cost me my
shot at the solo last year.
With Italy it may only be true because you and he are at
each other's throats so often. But he and I certainly do
not have a good relationship. He is trying to play us
off each other.
13 centers huh? I was figuring more like 11. You must
be counting on England and Italy to trust you and then
you would double cross them. I will go check the map and
see which you are counting:
Russia (4), Rum, Ser, Vie, Bud (8), Den, Nor, Swe (11)
Hol? (12), Ber? (13)
Wow! It seems pretty unlikely that Italy and England
would trust you that much. Also you are not likely to
hold all of Serbia, Budapest, and Trieste.
You do think big, I like that.
--King Roger XIII
Message from England to France
Roger,
> We have abut
> > 230 applicants for a tenure-track position and we just whittled the pile
> > down to 33. That was a lot of reading. We need an ordered list of about
> > 10 in a few days.
>
>How fun! How do you choose between them if their primary role is to teach and
>you have little knowledge of that. You cannot choose based on your
>estimate of
>their research strengths. Bright people do not necessarily make the best
>teachers.
Clarification is needed. We are neither a research university nor a
teaching college. The best liberal arts colleges fill a strange niche in
between. At Bucknell, faculty are evaluated in the areas of teaching,
scholarship, and service with weights of 5, 4, and 2 respectively. So,
research strength is quite important. However, you are right in that
research aptitude is easier to judge than teaching interest and
ability. Letters of recommendation that remark on a candidate's teaching
ability are ridiculously inflated. One initially relies on these letters
plus the candidates own written statement on teaching. You can tell so
much more during interviews though. By observing their blackboard
presentations and just spending time with them one gets a feel for the
candidate. We still make hiring mistakes, unfortunately.
>If you have always told your wife that these Diplomacy folks are really
>normal people, you now run
>the risk of making yourself out to be a liar
I tell her that the most successful diplomats are really nice people. The
lying, stabbing aspects of Diplomacy that make it such a fascinating game
to describe are not the key to success in the game. I suspect you will agree.
*************************************
When I know more about the details of our trip to Rochester and whether we
have a window of time, I will let you know.
Here's another opportunity, although one that I doubt could work for
you. We are having a face-to-face Diplomacy game at our house on Saturday,
January 12. And Karlis Povisils is coming from New Jersey!!! He has never
played FTF. We have room for one more!
Cordially,
Allen
p.s. Did I mention titleist anywhere in the above? Hmmm, guess not.
Message from Italy to France
>
> Vie -> Bud breaks that support and allows
> Rum -> Ser s by Bul to succeed.
>
Last I checked, the unit in Bulgaria was a fleet in the south coast not
capable of supporting Rumania->Serbia and also not capable of supporting
Rumania to hold.
I don't want to sound like I don't want to make the move, I just want to
make sure that I'm doing it for the correct reason.
> It also allows Ven -> Tri to succeed (if you do not deny it).
This is true.
> I realize that you really have no desire to see me succeed.
This is not entirely true. I want to see you get to 17 as long as I have
one critical unit in the stalemate line.
> All I have to offer is my promise not to attack
> Ivy and the chance to see Nick suffer (or succeed less I
> guess). I am hoping that your dislike for him is greater
> than your dislike for me.
My dislike for Nick is decades beyond my dislike for anybody else. Like I
said before though, I want to make sure I make a move for the correct
reason.
> So even the support for Rum -> Ser may not
> occur as I may feel that I have to support Bul to hold.
In the context of the current map, I'm not sure I understand this sentence.
> I was not expecting to be in Rumania. Nick knew that I
> was attacking it (to break support to Bul) and probably
> wanted me there so he could destroy my army.
In all likelihood, correct.
Okay, time for me to make some suggestions.
ank-arm
vie-bud
rum-ser
bul/sc - gre
con - aeg
My moves are what you want. Rum->Ser keeps Nick out of Serbia. Bul->Gre
gives a retreat for Rumania. Con->Aeg gives Ankara some breathing room. I
would also not interfere in VEN-TRI.
The other option is BLA supp RUM-SEV but you'd most likely lose Serbia in
the process.
I think these moves have risk for both sides but also have a great payoff if
successful.
Roberto
PS: SOB copped a plea when he saw me walk into the courtroom. :)
Message from France to England
Ivy:
Just for the official record. I will not attack Belgium
or any of the sea zones around your Island.
--King Roger XIII
Message from France to Italy
Roberto:
>Last I checked, the unit in Bulgaria was a fleet in
>the south coast not capable of supporting
>Rumania->Serbia
Ack, what and idiot I can be. I was confusing Ser and
Gre in my mind. It (my mind) is elsewhere and not on
this game.
I am considering your orders. But if I make those moves,
and you betray me, you and Russia take Con, Bul, Rum,
Ser, and Tyrolia. That is quite a bit of risk for me.
Some of this I cannot prevent anyway, admittedly.
Do you have any safer offers, like Vie -> Tri with Bul&
Con holding?
--King Roger XIII
PS:
>PS: SOB copped a plea when he saw me walk into the
>courtroom. :)
LOL. Thanks for improving my day with a laugh.
Message from Russia to France
Roger,
> >superior relationship with England and Italy
>With England, perhaps. But England will not hand me
>the game just because he thinks that I am a swell
>guy. He has a sense of how the game should be
>played
No, he won't hand you the game, but I have to assume
that if I stabbed him, he'd disband his French Defense
first, and all those Units you have defending your
homeland would suddenly be free to take England,
Germany and the Lowlands.
>With Italy it may only be true because you and he are at
>each other's throats so often. But he and I certainly do
>not have a good relationship.
Yes, but again, if I stab him, I have to assume his
disbands would favor you.
>13 centers huh? I was figuring more like 11. You must
>be counting on England and Italy to trust you and then
>you would double cross them. I will go check the map and
>see which you are counting:
>Russia (4), Rum, Ser, Vie, Bud (8), Den, Nor, Swe (11)
>Hol? (12), Ber? (13)
>Wow! It seems pretty unlikely that Italy and England
>would trust you that much. Also you are not likely to
>hold all of Serbia, Budapest, and Trieste.
Yes, it was a best-case scenario where IE agreed
to the moves I suggested against you, and then I
stabbed mercilessly. I was trying to figure out
what panicked Ivy so much about my retreat to Den and
move to Nwy, so I looked for the best things could
turn out for me. I came up to a 13-13 tie between
us with you having the advantage in Units, and
western initiative. I didn't take it out to the
end, but it seemed likely that your gains in the
west plus some Italian help against me, would give
you the solo, so I rejected the plan.
>You do think big, I like that.
Hey, it's a big game! 8-)
Eric.
Message from Italy to France
>
> I am considering your orders. But if I make those moves,
> and you betray me, you and Russia take Con, Bul, Rum,
> Ser, and Tyrolia. That is quite a bit of risk for me.
> Some of this I cannot prevent anyway, admittedly.
>
Actually, most of it you can't prevent if Nick and I cooperate. :)
Then again, if you and Nick betray me then I lose.......everything. Quite a
bit of risk on my part.
Rest assured, Tyrolia is safe as I would want to prevent Trieste from
retreating to either BUD or VIE.
> Do you have any safer offers, like Vie -> Tri with Bul&
> Con holding?
I seriously thought of asking for support into Trieste but in the end I
couldn't come up with a scenario where I could keep Nick out of Budapest as
well.
I can tell you that BUL hold (or support CON) will end in Rumania being
removed from the map and I can't stop it even if I wanted to.
My goal is to see Nick disband this turn or at least not build if he betrays
Ivy, and, at the same time, somehow leave me with 5 centers and you at least
even or +1. It's a noble goal but one that I probably won't reach.
I think I can adjust my offer to be CON hold (or move to BUL/sc). I don't
think I would then be able to betray you and take both BUL and CON. Moving
to BUL though would prevent the Rumanian retreat.
Roberto
As I write this, I think more and more about Vie->Tri. I doubt Nick will
move Budapest so I may take you up on the offer.
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
>I came up to a 13-13 tie between
>us with you having the advantage in Units, and
>western initiative. I didn't take it out to the
>end, but it seemed likely that your gains in the
>west plus some Italian help against me, would give
>you the solo, so I rejected the plan.
Probably safest in the end. Some things that you did not
calculate are:
1) I am very unlikely to work with Italy (remember what
he did to me last year). He was very hot to punish you
and give me the solo, but in the end he used it against
me. I understand he changed his mind right at the end,
but I have to assume that no matter how convincing he may
sound, he will do it again. I *will not* make any moves
that count on working with his units. He may still help
me win by doing something independently that helps me.
But I will not count on support from his units or support
his units anywhere.
2) You have the initiative in the East. Wasn't the
stalemate line that you proposed having you take most of
the SE while I took most of the NW?
I think it best to wait until next year when Italy is
likely to be smaller and less of a wild card. There is
no rush, we are going into 2002 anyway, so it matters not
how much longer it takes.
--King Roger XIII
Message from France to Italy
Roberto:
I know that you will not like this message, but I prefer
to be honest about things. Although I may not have taken
your fall moves personally, within the game I do remember
them. Also, I understood your reasoning and a portion of
it still holds true now. Therefore, I am not ready to
put myself at your mercy.
I will hold in Constantinople and will attack Trieste
myself. This gives you a fair shot at holding Vie. I
will support Munich to hold. I am undecided about Bul ->
Gre and will decide later after conferring with Ivy.
I am asking you to do the following:
Vie -> Bud
BlS -> Sev
Ank -> Arm
It maximizes the damage to Russia and gives you a chance
to be in key portions of the stalemate line. It also
allows me to not attack Ivy for the forseeable future.
If I do move to Gre, your attacks on Bud and Sev may
prevent Rum from having to retreat and you would hold
Bul.
If you cannot stomach the last two moves, you can
consider BlS -> Arm s by Ank. I understand that you may
have to do what you have to do. You may not choose to do
any of the moves and instead put yourself at Russia's
mercy. I accept that and the fact that I may lose the
army in Rumania. I simply prefer to not have to count on
supports or moves of anyone else for a while.
I wish you luck and apologize that my decision does not
make you happy.
--King Roger XIII
Message from France to Italy
Roberto:
My 3 year old son is doing the mouse clicking, he is so helpful. So if
this message is a mess, that is the reason.
I just wanted to add to my last message that I could have agreed to your
original plan and then tried to grab Ankara. I chose instead to be
honest with you.
We shall see where that leaves us.
--King Roger XIII
Message from France to England
Ivy:
I have chosen to sit tight all around and neither try to betray Italy
(or you, although I already told you that) nor try to work with Italy.
I have told this to Italy as well, so he may be upset with me. I
basically do not want to be betrayed again.
--King Roger XIII
Message from England to France
King Roger,
>I have chosen to sit tight all around and neither try to betray Italy
>(or you, although I already told you that) nor try to work with Italy.
>I have told this to Italy as well, so he may be upset with me. I
>basically do not want to be betrayed again.
Thank you.
I suspect that Russia may be taking several units from Italy this fall. He
probably will get Rumania also. I honestly do not know what he will do
against me. Your sitting tight gives me some options. Certainly, I will
not take any agressive action against England. I couldn't even if I wanted
to.
Ivy/Allen
Message from Italy to France
>
> I am asking you to do the following:
> Vie -> Bud
> BlS -> Sev
> Ank -> Arm
>
I should learn to keep my mouth shut. Now you want me to do three things
instead of just two. :)
> If I do move to Gre, your attacks on Bud and Sev may
> prevent Rum from having to retreat and you would hold
> Bul.
What are the chances you'd move to Greece if I agreed to all three of the
moves above? There has to be something in this deal for me, eh.
> I wish you luck and apologize that my decision does not
> make you happy.
No one is required to make me happy. I make or break my own happiness.
Your decision sits well with me.
Roberto
Message from France to Italy
Roberto:
>What are the chances you'd move to Greece if I agreed to all three of
the
>moves above? There has to be something in this deal for me, eh.
A tough question. On one hand, I want you to think Bulgaria will be
covered so that you do not try to attack it (passing up the moves I am
asking you for) and allowing the possible retreat. On the other hand, I
want you to think that I will move out if that will make you do the
moves I requested :-) So since I do not know which will make you more
likely to follow my request, I do not know which story I should tell.
Therefore the truth is the best in this case. I would say that it is
unlikely that I will leave Bulgaria (perhaps 20%). Right now I have
orders to hold, but I may hear something that will change my mind.
I actually do not want to end up with both Rumania and Bulgaria. I
cannot build and that will just freak everyone out. The only advantage
is that it might deny Russia another center and it might keep another
army in the far east, where I may need them. It may be in your best
interest to make me dangerously large, that is your call to make. But
even the moves I asked for will not guarantee that.
If I lose that army, that is something I will have to accept. In the
end, your move that I am more interested in is Vie -> Bud. I would also
like you to make certain that Russia stays out of Armenia. You can best
do this by moving there, you can also bounce yourself there, positioned
to continually move to Armenia. I leave it up to you. My standing
offer is that as long as you are denying Russia land access to Turkey, I
will defend and leave Ankara alone. I need you to have it. I will also
consider helping you hold Vienna next year. I will not attack Munich,
because you will be supporting Berlin (I assume). I will simply
continue to support Munich unless Ivy demands otherwise.
One last thought, I full expect Russia to remain in Budapest. Why
should he leave it. He can accomplish everything he needs and still
remain there. Look at his requests for you. Would they cause him
problems if he did remain there instead of what he said he would do?
--King Roger XIII
Message from Russia to France
Roger,
> 1) I am very unlikely to work with Italy (remember what
> he did to me last year). He may still help me win by doing
> something independently that helps me, but I will not count
> on support from his units or support his units anywhere.
I was thinking more along the lines that EI would turn and
attack me, and just not make a serious effort to stop you
from soloing Given your Unit advantage, and Convoy
potential, that would give you a greater growth rate and the
game.
> 2) You have the initiative in the East. Wasn't the
> stalemate line that you proposed having you take most of
> the SE while I took most of the NW?
Yes, but if I'm facing harrassing attacks from England in the
North, and Italy in the South, my eastern advantage would
be cancelled out.
Nick.
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
I understand your concerns. That is why I fully expect you to not be
too aggressive this season. However, you need not give away the farm.
It is your call really.
Good luck,
In peace,
--King Roger XIII
Message from Italy to France
For the record, I agree to move as you request. What you do with Bulgaria
is your decision.
Roberto
England: Army Belgium → Ruhr
England: Army Berlin → Kiel (*bounce*)
England: Fleet English Channel HOLD
England: Fleet Irish Sea SUPPORT Fleet English Channel
England: Army Kiel → Holland
England: Fleet North Sea SUPPORT Fleet Norwegian Sea → Norway
England: Fleet Norwegian Sea → Norway
France: Fleet Brest → Mid-Atlantic Ocean
France: Fleet Bulgaria (south coast) SUPPORT Fleet Constantinople
France: Army Burgundy SUPPORT Italian Army Munich (*void*)
France: Fleet Constantinople SUPPORT Fleet Bulgaria (south coast)
France: Army Marseilles → Piedmont
France: Fleet Mid-Atlantic Ocean → Western Mediterranean
France: Army Paris → Brest (*bounce*)
France: Army Picardy → Brest (*bounce*)
France: Army Rumania → Serbia (*bounce*)
France: Fleet Spain (south coast) SUPPORT Fleet Brest → Mid-Atlantic Ocean
France: Army Tyrolia → Trieste
France: Army Venice SUPPORT Army Tyrolia → Trieste
France: Fleet Western Mediterranean → Tunis
Italy: Fleet Ankara → Armenia
Italy: Fleet Black Sea → Sevastopol (*bounce*)
Italy: Army Bohemia → Vienna (*bounce*)
Italy: Army Munich → Kiel (*bounce*)
Italy: Army Vienna → Budapest (*bounce*)
Russia: Army Budapest SUPPORT Army Trieste → Serbia (*cut*)
Russia: Fleet Denmark → Sweden
Russia: Army Norway → Finland
Russia: Army Prussia → Silesia
Russia: Army Sevastopol SUPPORT Army Ukraine → Rumania (*cut*)
Russia: Army Silesia → Galicia
Russia: Army Trieste → Serbia (*bounce, dislodged*)
Russia: Army Ukraine → Rumania (*bounce*)
|