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Message from France to Master, England, Italy, and Russia
Sorry for my silence yesterday. It was a trying day. I
am still employeed, thank you to everyone who expressed
concern. The Dauphin may fire me, but Company X did not.
:-)
It was also my wife's birthday yesterday. So I decided
that I best not hole up in my office for two hours
writing diplomacy messages :-)
--Prince Boar
PS: Oh, I forgot, did you want to just end this thing?
I will set draw for this phase. I realize that I
probably cannot win and a 4-way draw makes as much sense
as a 3-way draw.
If the game does not end this season, however; then my
goal will be to eliminate someone before considering
another draw. Please let me know your thoughts on the
draw. I am sure that we can discuss it rationally, given
the crowd of people in the game.
Message from France to Turkey
Ali:
Thanks for your help! I am sorry that I could not figure
out a way to save you. I really wanted to do so, but
given what I knew about Italy's orders, it seemed
impossible. Unfortunately I did not know enough about
them to make the best choice.
Enjoy the holidays. Mine will still be hampered by the
need to deal with these characters :-)
Regards,
Prince Boar
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
I have time for only a short message. It can be summed
up in three words:
Have some guts!
In increasing order of relevance:
1. I gave my word I would not take the solo, but I know
that you won't believe this. (so it is the lowest reason)
2. It is nearly impossible for me to solo. If we crushed
Italy now, he could not hand me all his centers before
you could grab some. You are closer to many of them.
Your home centers certainly are. I will lose Belgium.
How can I possibly get 5 of Italy's 6 centers?
3. Even if he offered to help me, I would refuse because
I know it would be his ploy to get me to attack you, so
you had to pull back from eliminating him, so he could be
in the draw. This would put me back back to the 4-way
situation with someone refusing to vote for a draw.
I beg of you, help me end this thing. If you think about
it carefully, I believe that you will see that my chances
of winning if we crush Italy are slim. Waiting only
makes it more difficult to accomplish. Italy's
elimination.
--Xavier
Message from France to Italy
Roberto:
Sorry that you had to lose a unit. But you are nearly
impossible to eliminate now. I certainly would have a
terribly difficult time doing so. I realize that it will
be a dog fight. With Russia joining in, you may have the
advantage. But I get to choose how I focus my efforts.
Where do you see us going from here?
--Prince Boar
Message from England to France, Italy, and Russia
France wrote,
>Oh, I forgot, did you want to just end this thing?
>I will set draw for this phase.
Possibly a sincere offer. Possibly a standard ruse intended to incite
paranoia amongst the coalition.
I could consider a 4-way. While Doug might proclaim France the tournament
winner, most would agree that a 4-way is a 4-way.
I am also comfortable continuing.
However, I will not participate in any scheme to eliminate a player unless
and until we four are at roughly 9-9-8-8 in strength and have equal
chances. At that point all's fair, as they say. But until France is
reduced to harmless status, I'm sticking to the Russia/Italy/England
effort. Don't even ask me in private if I mean it.
Ivy
Message from Russia to France
Xavier,
>I have time for only a short message. It can be summed
>up in three words:
>Have some guts!
*chuckle* Fair enough, I suppose, but the fact remains
that I could still be reduced to two Centers this year,
with only minimal EFI cooperation. I will, however,
look at the possibility of eliminating Italy this year.
>In increasing order of relevance:
>1. I gave my word I would not take the solo, but I know
>that you won't believe this. (so it is the lowest reason)
It's not that I don't believe you. If you wanted the
Solo above all else you could reveal my "double-dealing"
to England and Italy and almost certainly solo as they
turned to attack me. I suspect that if we eliminate
Italy and you see a fair chance at a Solo by stabbing
me, you will probably NOT take it, out of respect for
my effort in the face of some pretty extreme adversity,
and because your own success was influenced by my
efforts to turn England against Germany. If the
situations were reversed, however, and I had 14 Centers,
and England tried to throw the game to me, I don't
know that I would be able to turn down the offer.
(Of course, I haven't soloed as often as you have... 8-)
>2. It is nearly impossible for me to solo. If we crushed
>Italy now, he could not hand me all his centers before
>you could grab some. You are closer to many of them.
>Your home centers certainly are. I will lose Belgium.
>How can I possibly get 5 of Italy's 6 centers?
Ser, Con, Smy, Ank, plus Vie and/or Rum are certainly
not impossible. This would require a sincere effort
by Italy to throw the game to you, though.
>I beg of you, help me end this thing. If you think about
>it carefully, I believe that you will see that my chances
>of winning if we crush Italy are slim. Waiting only
>makes it more difficult to accomplish. Italy's
>elimination.
I will look at the possibilities this weekend. I
certainly want to see Italy eliminated, and I'm
willing to consider an aggressive course of action,
if you'd care to lay one out. Just remember that
it took me until 1910 to get my first real build,
and understand that my perspective is therefore
inclined to be more tortoise-like than hare-like. ;^}
Nick.
Message from Russia to Master, England, France, and Italy
>You will now accept a DIAS draw.
>Movement orders for Spring of 1911. (titleist.042)
>
>Russia: Army Warsaw, No Order Processed.
>Russia: Army Munich, No Order Processed.
>Russia: Fleet Holland, No Order Processed.
>Russia: Army Vienna, No Order Processed.
>Russia: Army Moscow, No Order Processed.
>Russia: DRAW YES
Message from Italy to France
>
> Where do you see us going from here?
>
First, I'd like Bulgaria back. Not a demand but a request. I'm sure we
could figure out a way for you to gain Munich or Vienna in exchange.
I realize I wouldn't be able to build but it would provide me with an easier
corner to defend, a small cushion in case Russia goes for SEV, and most
importantly, keep you to your word about only wanting Budapest in exchange
for the Turkish elimination.
Idalia
Message from France to England, Italy, and Russia
Ivy:
Thanks for responding.
> Possibly a sincere offer. Possibly a standard ruse
>intended to incite
>paranoia amongst the coalition.
I agree that this is a common ruse. In this case it is
ineffective because anyone who decides not to vote
draw would likely be doing so because they are willing to
risk my solo in order to try and gut me, rather than
eliminate a fellow EIR partner.
I will state in my private eoy message whether I voted
for it. I have voted for the draw, but I will not bother
repeating that fact. I do not care to get in a discussion
about whether I am lying or not. I do not need that in
my life right now :-)
>While Doug might proclaim France the tournament
>winner, most would agree that a 4-way is a 4-way.
Agreed! Woopee! I won a tournament on a tie-breaker. I
get my name listed on a web page somewhere ... Sobb...I
can't begin to tell you how much it means to me ... did
you catch the sarcasm? :-)
I have long considered myself a winner because I have
gotten so much enjoyment out of the games.
If the game continues, my motiviation will be to finish
it the way required by my annoying sense of how a
diplomacy game should end. I do not plan to move toward
a 8.5-8.5-8.5-8.5 draw.
>I am also comfortable continuing.
>I could consider a 4-way.
Then vote for it and see what happens. :-)
It sounds like you are still considering? Take you time
and make sure you are comfortable with your choice.
--Prince Boar
Message from France to England
Ivy:
I was almost required to send a private note to say
something about this.
>...[concerning draw reduction]...Don't even ask me
>in private if I mean it.
Thank you for letting me know. If necessary, I can
therefore focus my efforts talking about you rather than
to you ;-) :-)
Regards,
Prince Boar
Message from England to France, Italy, and Russia
France wrote:
>Agreed! Woopee! I won a tournament on a tie-breaker. I
>get my name listed on a web page somewhere
And henceforth you get a giant target taped to your back every time you
play non-anonymous diplomacy -- which is much more fun than gunboat.
I've entered set draw.
Ivy
Message from Russia to France
Xavier, My Friend,
*** To France ONLY ***
>I agree that this is a common ruse. In this case it is
>ineffective because anyone who decides not to vote
>draw would likely be doing so because they are willing to
>risk my solo in order to try and gut me, rather than
>eliminate a fellow EIR partner.
Well, that's certainly not my motivation. I want to
see every Power that attacked Russia eliminated.
Additionally, Pie S Ven, Adr S Ion keeps Italy from
building, until and unless ER gets a Unit into Mar/Gol,
so gutting you would be difficult at best, while
eliminating Italy should be fairly straight-forward.
>If the game continues, my motivation will be to finish
>it the way required by my annoying sense of how a
>diplomacy game should end.
How should a diplomacy game end?
Nick.
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
I will answer your questions in more detail later.
Obviously my words to EIR could not be tempered by the
fact that you and I are working together. I did not want
to put you at risk.
I am heading home now. I do have some thoughts for you
about eliminating Italy. I will try to send them
tonight/tomorrow AM.
(almost typed my name again)
--Prince Boar
Message from Russia to all
"Moscow Izvestia"
"Growth, At Last!"
by: Alix Hesse-Darmstadt January 15, 1911
After ten years of talk of the European Economic Union being the
model for the 20th Century, Russia has finally seen true growth,
and Production Potential has reached record levels. The citizens
of Warsaw rejoiced as the 1st Guards Army liberated the city for
the third time in the ongoing war. The Austrian and German
governments and military have already fallen as a result of their
ill-considered military forays into the Motherland, and speculation
was rampant on the streets of Warsaw and Moscow that the
Italian military, already cut off from their home bases by the
marauding French, were soon to follow in those ill-fated
footsteps. Citizens rushed into the street in celebration; church
bells rang out deep into the night, and numerous fires were
reported as citizens stormed Italian holdings and took back
what was rightfully theirs. Russian troops, however, had the city
under control in a matter of hours.
Czar Nicholas and Tsarina Alexandria once again chaired a
Christmas meeting of the Council of Advisors, and the mood, while
much improved over what it was last year, was still more subdued
than that of the people. Union Steward V. I. Lenin noted that the
problems facing the workers are as dire as ever. Lenin described
the chronic unemployment of dock-workers and shipwrights caused
by the occupation of St. Petersburg and Sevastopol as a crisis that
must be dealt with if these families are to survive.
Finance Minister Sergei Witte, expressed concern over the
extreme oscillation of Production capacity, and Russia seeming
inability to actually produce at the rate she is capable of, and the
difficulties of maintaining control of production facilities that are
not online and being defended.
The "Mad Monk" Rasputin loudly proclaimed that he had a vision
of things to come, and demanded the Council's attention. He cited
his earlier predictions that Germany, Austria and Turkey would fall,
and then claimed that the Russian resurgence would continue as
the French were swept from the field like wheat before a thresher.
Even the Tsarina could not calm his ranting as he boasted of his
intuitive powers. Shortly after this somewhat drunken prediction,
he was escorted from the Hall by Okhrana agents.
Message from England to France, Italy, and Russia
Prince Boar,
>PS: Oh, I forgot, did you want to just end this thing?
>I will set draw for this phase.
Please clarify the "will" in that sentence. Does that mean that you
already have done so, or that you will get around to it later, say when you
submit moves?
Ivy
Message from France to England, Italy, and Russia
Ivy:
I answered your question early.
>I will state in my private eoy message whether I voted
>for it. I have voted for the draw, but I will not bother
>repeating that fact.
(I guess that I did repeat it, but it was more of a replay
more than a repeat.)
I just got home from Harry Potter. The kids liked
it. I thought it was good too, but would have been
perhaps better if I had never read the books.
At least they did not completely change it.
It is nice to finally know how to pronounce Hermione
(although I am already forgetting :-)
Lord of the Rings looks good. I covered my eyes for
Star Wars because I did not want to ruin it by seeing
too much. The trailers were 20 minutes in the
theatre I was in! 20 Minutes! It is getting out of
hand really.
I will try to write private messages later. I have to get
ready to go out Xmas shopping. Compared to that
nightmare, dealing with you cut throats is quite friendly
;-)
--Prince Boar
Message from England to France
Prince Boar,
>I answered your question early.
Yes, you did. Careless of me. Sorry.
I'm in a bit of a bad mood. Our ultimate frisbee game just fell through
because a lot of people didn't show up. Now I have to go home and put up
outdoor Christmas decorations.
Ivy
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
I am sorry for my delay in responding to you. This time
of year is so busy that I struggle with everything, let
alone Diplomacy. Work is super busy as well, so I cannot
use it to get caught up ;-)
My proposal to you for crushing Italy this year is the
following:
You take Sevastopol and Rumania this year.
I take Serbia and try to keep Bulgaria, although I might
have to give it up.
At worst Italy should be done to 4 centers. At best he
should be down to 3 centers.
I think that we should try to disband one of his armies
in the spring. I cannot find a way to get the army in
Rumania, but we could get the one in Serbia. It would
require the following:
Sil -> Boh (So Ber/War are safe)
Tri/Bud -> Ser s by the other (you would need to provide
intelligence)
War -> Gal
Mos -> Sev
Gre -> Alb
Bul/Aeg -> Gre
Something must cover Bul (possibly an Italian unit)
Of course this would not work if Rum or Ser were moving
to Bulgaria
(perhaps Con -> Bul, Ank -> Con could be a suggestion)
I am not certain whether disbanding the unit is worth the
wasted opportunity elsewhere. We can discuss it.
In the fall you take Rumania. Even if he retreats to
Urkaine in the fall, you will build in War&Mos and there
is nothing he can do and would likely disband that army.
There is no way that I could take Ank, Con, Smy before
you did, especially if I had to hold Tri, Ser, Bud.
Nothing is foolproof. It is all a matter of choices and
risks. This seems almost certain to work for you. I
cannot win unless England gave me the victory. Why would
he choose my solo over a three way?
I would not want to risk keeping Italy around to drag the
game on and on and on, hence I would behave.
I look forward to hearing from you. I beg of you to help
me end this thing. A FRE draw seems like the right
ending, given our attention, dedication, and
communication within the game.
I look forward to hearing from you.
--Xavier
Message from France to Italy
Roberto:
I did not answer your message because I was hoping that
it was a moot one. It appears that the game is likely to
continue, therefore it is time to write you back. (This
is also the first chance that I had a long enough
breather to write Diplomacy messages.)
Your disband suggests that you are not just content to
sit in your corner of the board and wait for the draw.
Hence, a peaceful exchange of centers between us seems
unlikely. I am willing to discuss it. But I cannot see
a scenario where I would not be assuming all the trust of
your giving me help with Munich of Vienna. Please let me
know if you see a reasonable path to make such an
exchange with minimum risks.
Until such time I must decide how to expend my limited
resources. I cannot defend everywhere, so I will be
trying to stop the bleeding in the North and press in the
South. I realize that you are a better tactician that I,
but I may get lucky.
--Prince Boar
Message from France to England
Ivy:
I am sorry to hear about your Ultimate Game getting
canceled. I used to play in college. It sure is
exhausting. Right now I do not think that I could run up
the field twice without collapsing. I must find time to
get back on my bike. If this game would end, that would
help :-) I was also never very good at throwing the
frisbee straight, although I did get better at the
fore-hand throw.
I hope that you got your holiday lights up OK. Mine are
done. It did not seem right that I was not doing it in
freezing weather. My wife keeps adding new decoration
each year. I think that she is punishing me for
something :-)
Oh, by the way, please remove your fleet from Picardy or
else I shall have to destroy it. :-) It is leaving
slime all over my pretty coastline. I guess that when
Russia takes St. Petes, you will not have to worry about
what to disband. ;-)
--Prince Boar
Message from Italy to France
>
> Your disband suggests that you are not just content to
> sit in your corner of the board and wait for the draw.
>
Not quite. My disband was to spite Russia. He wanted me to disband
Silesia. He wasn't supposed to move to Warsaw last fall so I decided to
keep the army he wanted me to remove.
> Hence, a peaceful exchange of centers between us seems unlikely.
The peacefulness of the exchange will be determined by you. I don't recall
Bulgaria being a part of our 'peaceful exchange' of Budapest for Ankara. I
held up my end of the bargain last year. All I'm asking is that you hold up
your end of the bargain.
I had asked you whether you wanted a draw or a solo and you answered that
you were satisfied with a draw. Yet, your moves suggested otherwise as you
tried to annihilate my Bulgarian army. Press on in the south if you wish
but you and I both know that will be a losing cause in the long run. The
more you press, the more determined I will become to return to my home
centers.
> Please let me know if you see a reasonable path to make such an
> exchange with minimum risks.
The risk of what? You having to remove a single unit? There surely must be
a French unit that is expendable if you were unlucky enough not to acquire a
center to replace Bulgaria. (note: Idalia will have secret knowledge of at
least one center that will be in jeapordy this coming year.)
One last thought. I've been setting draw for several turns now including
this one. It's the first thing I do when I get the results. So, if the
broadcasts were completely true, the game should have ended with England's
broadcast. I wonder why that didn't happen?
I repeat my earlier declaration (the one you mistook for a veiled threat):
if you want to win the tournament you need do nothing more; if you want a
solo out of this game, you will face an ERI coalition to prevent that
result.
Idalia
Message from France to Italy
Roberto:
If what you say is true, that you have set draw, then yes
this game should be over. Someone must be lying, but I
won't bother to debate who it is.
--Prince Boar
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
Italy tells me that he has been setting draw for several turns now.
That was the least unbelievable part of his message to me :-)
A small part of me wants the draw to not go through so I can help you
eliminate him :-) But my over riding preference is to just end the game
now. If you know who has not voted for it, see what you can do to
convince them.
Thanks.
--Xavier
Message from Russia to France
Xavier,
> Italy tells me that he has been setting draw for several turns now.
> That was the least unbelievable part of his message to me :-)
The least UNbelievable part? I wonder what ELSE he's saying to
you??? 8-)
> A small part of me wants the draw to not go through so I can help you
> eliminate him :-) But my over riding preference is to just end the game
> now. If you know who has not voted for it, see what you can do to
> convince them.
Italy claimed to me that he would not set draw unless he had the most
Centers in the draw, and that he would throw the game to you, rather
than be eliminated. The refusal to set draw struck me as extreme, but
I know that some view a draw as something to be agreed to only when
stalemated. After I set draw, he told ER that he would set draw if Ivy
agreed. He hasn't addressed the issue since Ivy announced. So, I
suspect Italy is not setting draw, hoping to make England think that
you're not, but I have no way to prove that. Frankly, I'd just as soon
eliminate Italy, anyway. ;^}
Your Friend,
Nick.
Message from Russia to France
Xavier, My Friend,
> I am sorry for my delay in responding to you. This time
> of year is so busy that I struggle with everything, let
> alone Diplomacy. Work is super busy as well, so I cannot
> use it to get caught up ;-)
>
> My proposal to you for crushing Italy this year is the
> following:
> You take Sevastopol and Rumania this year.
> I take Serbia and try to keep Bulgaria, although I might
> have to give it up. Italy should be done to 3 or 4 centers.
> In the fall you take Rumania. Even if he retreats to
> Urkaine in the fall, you will build in War&Mos and there
> is nothing he can do and would likely disband that army.
> There is no way that I could take Ank, Con, Smy before
> you did, especially if I had to hold Tri, Ser, Bud.
This assumes that Italy will continue to resist elimination,
while he might just as well launch his remaining Units at
me, disbanding Con and Smy, and letting you take them.
Even if ER take Bel without losing Hol, Mun or Vie, that
still leaves you too close to 18 for me to fight an extended
war with Italy. I'm sorry, but I have to assume that Roberto
is sincere in his threat to throw the game to you, if I attack
him. So, when I attack, I have to make the attack damaging
enough that he can't do that, and I lack the Units to make
that sort of attack this year.
I planted the suggestion that I should move Mos-Sev-Arm
this year to defend against Mar-GoL-TyS-Ion-EMed. This
idea was rejected by Italy, (not surprisingly), but if you do
move to TyS this Fall, I can insist on the move for next year.
In Alliance,
Nick.
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
(this was written before your last message. I am going to go read that
after I resend this one.)
>Frankly, I'd just as soon
>eliminate Italy, anyway. ;^}
OK, first I have to wonder if YOU are NOT setting draw so that you CAN
eliminate him :-) :-)
My second thought is, OK, lets just go do it ASAP!!!
--Xavier
Message from France to France
For the official record, I set draw when I stated that I was going to
and have not withdrawn it.
Roger
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
Sigh.
Come on, try it again. If you were creative and I did everything that
you requested, there must be a way to hit Italy hard this year. If I
withdraw from Belgium in a way that ensures that I cannot get Vie, Mun,
or Hol. If I moved in the south in a way that would take too long to
get to Turkey in time.
At least do me the favor of putting aside your paranoia for just a
minute and imagine what could happen if I moves my units exactly as if
they were proxied to you. Is there no way of getting this done? I
realize that you may not be able to put away your concerns in reality,
but if you could, what would the moves be???
You will eventually be forced to move your units too far way from
Italian centers to make the stab effective.
--Xavier
Message from France to France
1910 end of year summary.
Last year I was working with Russia clandestinely. I did everything
that I could to avoid revealing that he was helping me. I was hoping to
do a little better, but he did not provide me with enough information.
I am not 100% whether is in not betraying me as well as Italy and
England. Basically he is trying to grow and gain security. I figure
that when he accomplished that he may turn on me. I hope that I can get
him to turn on Italy instead.
I wanted Russia to attack both England and Italy with me. He refused,
citing his security and need to stay alive. I accepted that and took
the only help he was offering, information that would help me stay
even. He claims we wants me dangerous enough that E&I cannot try and
eliminate him. But he does not want to risk my solo.
The relationship did allow me to get Turkish help, although in the end
it was not too necessary. Breaking support of Rumania to Serbia may
have helped.
I offered and have offered again to not accept Italy's help for a solo
if Russia will attack him now. Russia refuses to belive me. It was
offered genuinely. Right now I believe that I would stick with it.
First, I would not want to risk Russia making peace with Italy and then
refusing to ever work with me again. I would probably get squashed
eventually, or at least be beat back to mediocrity. The other reason
would be a sense of honor with my promise. Be it carebear or not, I
feel that the correct finish to this game would be ERF draw. I would
like to be the largest power and win the tournament, but it is not that
critically important. I will not readily reduce my size though because
that makes me vulnerable to being squashed by I&E.
After the adjustments I offered the 4-way draw. I voted for it as I
stated. It has not gone through. I suspect that Italy has refused,
although there is a chance that England or Russia has refused as well.
My reasons for the draw are that 1) I could be reduced to medium sized
and possible eliminated and more importantly 2) I am ready to end the
game.
My current plans for this year are to focus on Italy, but not too hard
so Russia is not threatened. I will probably pull back from Belgium to
make Russia less nervous. Although if I get frustrated enough in his
lack of going after Italy hard, I may go after Munich.
Roger
Message from Russia to France
Xavier, My Friend,
> Sigh.
I'm sorry.
> Come on, try it again. If you were creative and I did everything that
> you requested, there must be a way to hit Italy hard this year. If I
> withdraw from Belgium in a way that ensures that I cannot get Vie,
> Mun, or Hol. If I moved in the south in a way that would take too
> long to get to Turkey in time.
It's not that I don't trust you. I do, probably more than I should, but
I don't trust Italy at all, or even Ivy, all that much. No matter what
you do, if I move to Sev this Spring, EI could take Ber, Mun and
Hol this Fall, and work to eliminate me over the next couple of years.
By working with them this year, and taking StP, and building two, I'll
be at seven Units in 1912, and then I'll be able to attack Italy without
risk of elimination.
> You will eventually be forced to move your units too far way from
> Italian centers to make the stab effective.
Mos and War are never more than four moves from any Italian Center.
Nick.
Message from Russia to France
Xavier,
> >Frankly, I'd just as soon eliminate Italy, anyway. ;^}
>OK, first I have to wonder if YOU are NOT setting draw so that you CAN
>eliminate him :-) :-)
*chuckle* I suppose I could have just typed up
that message I sent out letting everyone know
that I had Set Draw, but that would be too easy
to screw up, and get caught in a lie, I think.
I did Set Draw, but I'm not disappointed that
it hasn't passed.
Nick.
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Message from France to Russia
Nick:
OK
I'll give it one more try. I haven't had this much
rejection since I was a teenager. :-) Oh wait I am
married with children, er um, nevermind that, back to the
subject at hand. :-)
If you will not betray Italy in the Spring for fear of
fall retaliation, then the obvious answer is to do it in
the fall. If we can find a way for me to someone take an
Italian center and for you to grab Sevastopol and maybe
Rumania in the fall. It would be too late for them to do
anything about it.
I can help you hold Munich. Berlin would be at risk, but
England would have to worry about losing Belgium, Kiel,
Holland to me, so it might be safe. The same goes for
Sweden. Together, you and I would be larger than they,
therefore there is nothing that they could do to
eliminate you.
The key is to use your information again this year so
that we can maximize our position in the fall. You would
have 9 centers and 7 units. There is no way that a 4
center Italy and a 7-8 center England could eliminate
you, especially with my help.
Let me reiterate this to make certain it is clear. There
is NO chance that I would consider working with Italy. I
know that he would only be trying to use me to force you
to hold off and then he would turn on me so fast it would
make us dizzy. He has done so already, after I helped
him take out Turkey. He betrayed Turkey countless times.
Austria felt his knife. He attack you just when you were
getting your feet again. He is a snake. I want to just
put him where he belong, on the sidelines, and be done
with it.
I am even comfortable with your stating that if I
betrayed this trust, that you would stop negotiation with
me for the rest of the game. The fear of total silence
is probably an even larger incentive for me to keep to my
promise. :-) (The fact that you would mend your fences
with Italy in that senario goes without saying.)
--Xavier
PS: Just so you know, I get threats from Italy too;
about how if I attack him he will be determined to retake
his home centers, punish me, etc. etc. etc. Charming he
is not. (Not that stating his position bothers me, the
approach could be improved :-)
Message from France to England
Ivy:
Did you get your holiday lights up yet? Let me know when
they go on so I can turn off some of my lights to
compensate :-) The next thing that my wife is consider
is wreaths 25 ft up on the garage or lights over the two
story arch on our front stoop. At least when you guys
try to knock me off you are more subtle about it ;-)
It is too bad that I did not build that fleet last year.
If it was sitting in WES and the channel was exposed, I
might have been able to have some fun. :-) Maybe I still
will.
Oh year, whatever you do, DO NOT attack either Italy or
Russia. I beg you not to!
--Prince Boar
PS: The Packers play tonight and need a win to keep up
with the 49ers and Bears. I also need 2 TDs from Favre
and/or Freeman as well as some decent yardage to win in
Fantasy Football. So do cheer for a Favre to Freeman TD!
Thanks :-)
Message from Russia to France
Xavier, My Persistant Friend, 8-)
>I'll give it one more try. I haven't had this
>much rejection since I was a teenager. :-)
But, I'm not saying no, I just want to wait until
we're married. ;^}
--------------------------------------------------
English Proposed IR Moves, S1911M
Russia:
Moscow->StP
Warsaw->Galicia
Munich->Tyrolia
Vienna->Trieste
Italy:
Silesia->Bohemia
Serbia->Trieste
Rumania->Budapest
Ankara->Black Sea
Smyrna S Con
Con HOLD
-------------------------------------------------
I've told EI that if you move Mar-GoL-TyS this
year, I will be forced to move Mos-Sev-Arm next
year to defend against the threat of TyS-Ion-EMed
to Smy/Syr/Arm. I wanted to do it this year, but
Italy refused to consider it.
In Alliance,
Nick.
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
Thanks for the info.
I will be around tonight, watching the Packer game, but
will check in periodically.
England's suggest asks you to put a lot of trust in him.
I noticed how all the units are moving away from his area
of interest.
I do like your movement to Galicia. We could take Sev
and Rum in the fall perhaps? From the looks of things, I
will be so pressed back that I will not be able to even
take advantage of any offer Italy might make, if I was
inclined to listen (which I am not).
As for my fleet moving to TyS, I am not certain yet. It
may be necessary to hold MAO. I need to support Picardy.
Army Paris may not be able to do so if it is required to
hold Burgundy. Brest would then be required to hold
Picardy, hence that fleet is required to hold MAO.
You know, I am so exposed in the North, and it demands so
much attention, that I would be hard pressed to make
enough progress in the south. It also takes 6 moves to
get a fleet or army to Turkey.
--Xavier
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
So what do you hear from Italy? Has he responded to
England's 'get Xavier' plan? :-)
Perhaps he will try to disband my fleet in Bulgaria?
I am heading home right now. Since you know who I am I
can tell you this (just do not share it with the others).
It is my birthday today, so I must go party with the
kids. All I want for my birthday is for the Packers to
win! (I would not mind Serbia, Rumania, and
Constantinople too ;-)
--Xavier
Message from Russia to France
>So what do you hear from Italy? Has he responded to
>England's 'get Xavier' plan? :-)
Roberto has endorsed it. The Ank, Con, Smy moves were
his, actually, so Bul seems safe, or they're lying to
me to see if I'm passing info to you.
>It is my birthday today, so I must go party
Have a very happy and safe birthday, and I hope the
party's not at Chuck E. Cheese's. ;^}
Not Nick, but ...
Message from England to all
Friends,
I've experienced an e-mail outage. In addition to having no mail for about
a day, it appears that incoming and outgoing mail may have been lost prior
to the outage. I've asked Doug for a one-day extension.
I'll send individual messages shortly.
I will not be submitting moves this evening.
Ivy
***************************
>Files have been restored as of 11:00 P.M. Friday, November 30.
>Unfortunately, all e-mail messages received but unread between that
>time and about 9:00 P.M. on Sunday, December 2, have been lost.
>Outbound messages sent after 9:00 P.M on Saturday, December 1, which
>couldn't immediately be forwarded to their destinations might also
>have been lost. In addition, you could receive some messages you've
>already previously seen.
Message from Master to all
Extension at player request
Doug
masseyd@btv.ibm.com as Master set the deadline
for game 'titleist' to Tue Dec 04 2001 23:30:00 -0500.
Grace period deadline advanced to Fri Dec 07 2001 23:30:00 -0500.
Message from France to Russia
>Not Nick, but ...
Is that Nearly Nick then? Are you related to Nearly Headless Nick? If
you are a ghost that would explain the lack of guts ;-) Perhaps that is
how you have stay alive all this time, you are a ghost and have always
been dead. Well, I'll be! You just can't tell with some people :-)
OK, back to the game:
Thanks for the information. The question that I have for you is can you
hold in Moscow for the spring to give you the option for Sev in the
fall. What is the purpose for moving to St. Petes in the spring?
Is Munich destined for England to make up for St. Petes?
What are your orders for F Holland?
I guess that England has asked for a 1 day delay. This may change
things. We shall see.
Thanks for the Birthday note. I do not think that I will be treated to
Chuck E Cheese - to fancy. Probably just open a can of corn beef hash
and eat it uncooked.
:-)
Message from Russia to France
> >Not Nick, but ...
> Is that Nearly Nick then? Are you related to Nearly Headless Nick? If
> you are a ghost that would explain the lack of guts ;-) Perhaps that is
> how you have stay alive all this time, you are a ghost and have always
> been dead. Well, I'll be! You just can't tell with some people :-)
I was actually thinking of a Monty Python sketch/song, that you would
probably appreciate, but I can't be more specific without breaking gunboat.
> Thanks for the information. The question that I have for you is can you
> hold in Moscow for the spring to give you the option for Sev in the
> fall. What is the purpose for moving to St. Petes in the spring?
Ivy wants to exchange Centers.
> Is Munich destined for England to make up for St. Petes?
That would be a likely guess, but I'd prefer that we continue our
arrangement of you listing your most likely moves, and me picking
the set that does the least damage.
> What are your orders for F Holland?
I'm waiting for word from England, regarding Pic, Hol and Nth.
> Thanks for the Birthday note. I do not think that I will be treated to
> Chuck E Cheese - to fancy. Probably just open a can of corn beef
> hash and eat it uncooked.
*chuckle* My son wanted to take me to C.E.C. for my birthday,
(though I would have still payed), but I declined. ;^}
Your (Nick)le Back, 8-)
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
>but I'd prefer that we continue our
>arrangement of you listing your most likely moves
I never knew that we had such an arrangement. This seems to make things
even more difficult. Because you cannot guarantee to manipulate
England's moves. Do we need to handle things this way? Can we afford
to handle things this way? I am trying to think this through.....
Hmmm, I think I see, you do not trust me and fear that I would take
advantage of knowing your moves. Sigh.
--Prince Boar
Message from England to France
Farve. Ho-hum. Piece o' cake.
Message from England to France
>Farve. Ho-hum. Piece o' cake.
Oops, make that "Favre"
Message from Russia to France
Xavier, My Friend,
> >but I'd prefer that we continue our
> >arrangement of you listing your most likely moves
> I never knew that we had such an arrangement. This seems to make things
> even more difficult. Because you cannot guarantee to manipulate
> England's moves. Do we need to handle things this way? Can we afford
> to handle things this way? I am trying to think this through.....
>
> Hmmm, I think I see, you do not trust me and fear that I would take
> advantage of knowing your moves. Sigh.
It is not that I do not trust you, I do. Le Dauphin, on the other hand, is
the one who issues orders to the French military, and I trust him to do
what is best for France, and France would be better off with complete
control of Europe. I am walking a fine line here, trying to avoid insulting
someone whom I have come to consider a good friend, over the years,
while at the same time not betraying my sworn duty to defend the Russian
people, and their commitment to the European Economic Union. While
I believe that you would not betray my trust, can you be so sure that Le
Dauphin would not view you failure to maximize the French position as
treason? I would not have your death on my conscience, my friend.
Sincerely,
Czar Nicholas II,
Emperor of all Russia.
Message from France to Russia
Nick, my friend, let me tell you what I see happening
this year.
I will lose Belgium. The results is that the fleet that
you were hoping that I would move to TyS, giving you the
excuse to move to Sev,
GONE!
I will likely lose 1-2 centers to Italy. I will most
certainly have to remove forces in the south. The
resulting resistance to Italy rolling in the
Mediterranean,
DECIMATED!
Then when you finally do stab Italy he will have a nice
buffer of extra supply centers. He will therefore not be
forced to remove any units, this will make your stab
INEFFECTIVE!
Do not make the mistake that I made and stab Italy too
late, hoping for his continued goodwill. He turned on me
as soon as he achieved his objective, he will turn on you
too. I am completely pinned down, any gains I might make
in the south cannot be utilized because I have bascially
no where to build. When Italy regains his homeland, he
will not have that same disadvantage. I will just be
fodder for the English/Italian alliance.
At least hold in Mos to give yourself options.
--Xavier
Message from England to France, Italy, and Russia
Thanks for your patience, fellows. My e-mail is fine now, although it
turns out that I really did miss some messages.
My moves are in. I have not set wait. My set draw remains in
effect. [Editorial: I think it has been determined that someone out there
has no interest in a draw just yet. Strange that he thought it necessary
to prevaricate about it. The rest of us would have respected an honest,
"let's play on."]
Ivy
Message from Russia to France
Xavier,
> I will lose Belgium. The results is that the fleet that
> you were hoping that I would move to TyS, giving you the
> excuse to move to Sev, GONE!
Ruh-Hol, anything-Pic, prevents everything but Hol-Bel, and
it trades Hol for Bel in that case. Alternately, you can
dislodge Pic, and take Mun. Ruhr-Kie, Tyl S Bur-Mun would
be effective.
> I will likely lose 1-2 centers to Italy. I will most
> certainly have to remove forces in the south. The
> resulting resistance to Italy rolling in the
> Mediterranean, DECIMATED!
In the worst case, Pie S Ven, Adr S Ion keeps Italy from
the Italians. Plus, if EIR devise a plan that costs you
two Centers, I will insist on taking at least one, since
Italy can't build. Additionally, Italy can't build, so
moves like Aeg-EMed, Bul S Gre-Aeg, followed by Bul-Con,
EMed S Aeg-Smy, EMed S Smy-Syr (*Destroy IF Syr*) are
worth considering, as well.
> I am completely pinned down, any gains I might make
> in the south cannot be utilized because I have basically
> no where to build. When Italy regains his homeland, he
> will not have that same disadvantage. I will just be
> fodder for the English/Italian alliance.
Oh, come now! Bre S Par-Pic, Mar-GoL gives you room to
build two.
Your Friend,
and Ally,
Nick.
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
>In the worst case, Pie S Ven, Adr S Ion keeps Italy from
the Italians
By the time that I get to that point, I would have lost
Bul, Ser, Tri, Gre. This would not leave me enough units
to hold that line. Your senario gives me 9 centers. I
need 3 to hold MAO, two to hold picardy, three to hold
Burgundy, that leaves 1 to hold Italy. If I instead use
four to hold Italy, that leaves me none to hold Burgundy.
Yes, I admit that I could open up Paris this year. But
to eventually hold Picardy and MAO, I need to have Paris
covered. That only leaves Mar to build, and maybe not
even that if there are foreign armies in Bur,Mun,Ruh. I
would have no open centers to build in. In any scenario
that I proposed to you, I would not be building for a
while anyway. By the time I could, I would have one
center available at most.
I realize that as you grow, you are less concerned about
keeping me a threat to Italy and England. I knew that
this would be true. Despite that I opened up Vienna to
you rather than trying Serbia -> Bud, so that you would
be stronger. I was hoping that would allow you more
freedom to attack Italy. Unfortunately it did not work
out that way.
Has the plan in the south changed? What information are
you willing to share with me? Or have I annoyed you so
much that you are now giving me the boot? :-)
--Xavier
Message from Russia to France
Xavier, My Friend,
> > In the worst case, Pie S Ven, Adr S Ion keeps Italy from
> > the Italians
> By the time that I get to that point, I would have lost
> Bul, Ser, Tri, Gre. This would not leave me enough units
> to hold that line.
True, if it gets to that point, which is unlikely, you would be
forced to decide which side you would defend, but since I
am likely to attack Italy next year, it seems unlikely that it
will get to that point.
> I realize that as you grow, you are less concerned about
> keeping me a threat to Italy and England. I knew that
> this would be true. Despite that I opened up Vienna to
> you rather than trying Serbia -> Bud, so that you would
> be stronger. I was hoping that would allow you more
> freedom to attack Italy. Unfortunately it did not work
> out that way.
The strength is illusory until the Units are constructed. I had
six Centers in 1908, but only four Units in 1909. At the end
of 1909, I was back to four Centers. It's a pattern I do not
want to repeat next year.
> Has the plan in the south changed? What information are
> you willing to share with me? Or have I annoyed you so
> much that you are now giving me the boot? :-)
In looking at the move set, it occurred to me that if you
dislodge Mun and Vie, I would be unable to retreat them
both, so I have opted to move War-Ukr, rather than Gal,
other than that I am aware of no changes in the east. Any
of the moves I suggested for you in the west should work.
Nick.
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
I know that this is a lot to ask, but it would really help me to know
what England plans with his fleets. I may want to reshuffle some things
to better weather the storm that I am facing. If I could limit the
risk, it would help tremendously.
Thanks for help and patience. I am sorry if I have been grumpy and
pushy lately. I really wanted this thing to end.
--Xavier
Message from Russia to France
Xavier,
> I know that this is a lot to ask, but it would really help me to know
> what England plans with his fleets. I may want to reshuffle some things
> to better weather the storm that I am facing. If I could limit the
> risk, it would help tremendously.
In World War II, the allies broke both the German and the Japanese
codes. Then the Allies were faced with the dilema that if they used the
information they gained, it would tip off the Axis that their codes had
been broken, and the Axis would change their codes, negating the
Intelligence coup. If I give you too much information, Ivy will wonder
how you're getting so lucky.
Ivy has a Fleet in Pic. He's not happy to be there. You have four Units
adjacent to Pic, he has none. You have two Fleets adjacent to ECh, he
has three. Do the math... ;^}
Your Friend,
Nick.
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
I do not need to know all of the fleet movements, or other forces even.
All I want to know is that if I do not support the MAO, am I likely to
lose it?
For the record, I am more likely to make the perfect moves and rouse
suspicion by blind luck when I do not know what the moves are. I think
we did a very good job of having less than optimal moves last year.
--Xavier
Message from France to England
Ivy:
>>Farve. Ho-hum. Piece o' cake.
>Oops, make that "Favre"
Darn tootin!
Your soon to be other large neighbor,
Boar
Message from England to France
>Your soon to be other large neighbor,
>Boar
You have to explain this to me. It's over my head. You are my only large
neighbor. Will there be another?
Ivy
Message from France to England
Ivy:
Wan't it obvious? :-)
I should actually type, your soon to be small neighbor.
I soon may be the smallest on the board and you
will need to worry about Italy and Russia. Atleast
I may get mail in that case.
--Prince Boar
Message from France to France
Note to self:
Desperate moves these are.
I grow tired of Russia leading me on.
I risk the MAO, but maybe putting myself in extreme jeapordy and being
cut back to medium sized is the way to proceed. I am bored and
frustrated the way the game is going now. I will focus on putting
pressure on Italy and expose myself all over. Maybe Russia will come
through in the fall.
The move Tyr -> Boh is a risk. I hope that the Italian/Russia orders
are still boh -> sil, Mun -> tyr
Roger
Message from France to England
Ivy:
So, from a hypothetical point of view. What would
have to happen for us to begin working together again?
I like Nick, but he can be frustrating to try and deal with.
Roberto, I am happy to not have to deal with right now.
I do miss working with you, not that I would not be
worried about that third betrayal? :-)
I would have been happy to have this thing end.
But if it must go on, I would prefer it not be so
excruciating boring.
--Prince Boar
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
Nevermind about the fleets. I guess that I should be conservative.
Although I may just get desperate all over. I am starting to think that
letting England and Italy grow may be the best thing. If someone wants
to keep this thing going, then lets even it out and get to it.
I have a half hour to ponder my current orders.
--Xavier
England: Army Denmark → Kiel
England: Fleet Irish Sea SUPPORT Fleet Picardy → English Channel
England: Army Kiel → Berlin
England: Fleet North Atlantic Ocean → Mid-Atlantic Ocean (*bounce*)
England: Fleet North Sea SUPPORT Fleet Picardy → English Channel
England: Fleet Picardy → English Channel
England: Army Wales → London
France: Fleet Aegean Sea → Eastern Mediterranean
France: Army Belgium → Picardy
France: Fleet Brest SUPPORT Fleet Mid-Atlantic Ocean
France: Army Budapest → Serbia (*bounce*)
France: Fleet Bulgaria (south coast) SUPPORT Fleet Greece → Aegean Sea
France: Army Burgundy SUPPORT Army Ruhr → Munich
France: Fleet Greece → Aegean Sea
France: Fleet Marseilles → Spain (south coast)
France: Fleet Mid-Atlantic Ocean CONVOY English Army Wales → Switzerland
France: Army Paris SUPPORT Army Belgium → Picardy
France: Army Ruhr → Munich
France: Fleet Spain (south coast) → Western Mediterranean
France: Army Trieste → Albania
France: Army Tyrolia → Bohemia (*bounce*)
Italy: Fleet Ankara → Black Sea
Italy: Army Constantinople SUPPORT Army Rumania → Bulgaria (*void*)
Italy: Army Rumania → Budapest (*bounce*)
Italy: Army Serbia → Trieste (*bounce*)
Italy: Army Silesia → Bohemia (*bounce*)
Italy: Fleet Smyrna SUPPORT Army Constantinople
Russia: Fleet Holland → Belgium
Russia: Army Moscow → Livonia
Russia: Army Munich → Tyrolia (*bounce, destroyed*)
Russia: Army Vienna → Trieste (*bounce*)
Russia: Army Warsaw → Ukraine
|