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Austria: Builds 2 units
England: Builds 2 units
France: Builds 2 units
Germany: Builds 2 units
Italy: Builds 1 unit
Turkey: Builds 1 unit
Message from France to all
Tour de France Stage 11 Results:
Lance Armstrong (USP) has won his second stage of the
Tour de France in as many days. Today Armstrong won the
32 kilometer uphill time trial on the Cote de Chamrousse
outside of Grenoble. Armstrong put over seven minutes
into yellow jersey wearer Francios Simon (BJR), and
exactly one minute into his main rival Jan Ullrich (TEL).
Today is a rest day before the race enters the Pyrenees.
Another Stage win for England. There is now a 4 way tie
for first.
Official Tally:
Austria (Domo-Farm Frites): 0 points
England (USPS): 20 points
France (Festina): 10 points
Germany (Telekom): 20 points
Italy (Fassa Bortolo): 10 points
Russia (Robobank): 20 points
Turkey (CSC): 20 points
Doug (O.N.C.E.): 0 points
Selected Standings:
1. François Simon (BJR) 46 hours, 48 minutes, 36 seconds
3. Lance Armstrong (USP) @ 13:07
5. Jan Ullrich (TEL) @ 16:41
6. Christophe Moreau (FES) @ 18:21
7. Igor G. Galdeano (ONC) @ 19:05
Green Jersey:
1. Stuart O'Grady (C.A.) 136 points
2. Erik Zabel (TEL) 127
Polka dot Jersey
1. Laurent Roux (DEL) 127 points
2. Laurent Jalabert (CSC) 106
3. Jan Ullrich (TEL) 92
--Prince Boar
Message from Russia to Italy
> Message from Italy to Russia in 'titleist':
> Not exactly what I meant. I know there are stalemate lines that could be
> reached. Even in the event of a 2-way draw, Doug is going to want to
> declare a winner of the tournament. The tie-breaker I believe is whomever
> got to 17 first.
That was the rule in the semis, but according to Doug's opening
announcement::
:: This winner will be a soloist, or the largest member of a draw.
:: If the two largest members of a draw are of equal size, they
:: will be declared co-titleists.
I've asked Doug which rules we're operating under, though given the
Fall Results, that question seems moot.
> Italy: Army Venice -> Tyrolia.
Coming after Warsaw, or lending France a helping hand? Could I induce
you to stab the traitorous Archduke at this point?
Sadly,
Nick.
Message [from Russia] to all
> Austria: 5 Supply centers, 3 Units: Builds 2 units.
> Italy: 4 Supply centers, 3 Units: Builds 1 unit.
> Russia: 4 Supply centers, 4 Units: Builds 0 units.
> Turkey: 4 Supply centers, 3 Units: Builds 1 unit.
Early Leader Warning! Early Leader Warning! Everyone
gang up on Austria! :-)
Message from England to Italy
Good Roberto,
You are going to receive a LOT of mail now. The world is going to come
begging at your feet, for you can tip the balance or stabilize or
destabilize an arena of your choice.
So, once again, I seek information on Italian intentions. Like last time,
I only ask a for response that maintains mutual respect between us. That
could include anything from "no comment" to an exploration of how we might
work together.
As you can see from the configuration on the board, it is time for me to
make a decision. I think I still have the option of allying with either
Germany or France. Germany is a poor communicator. France is terrific,
but also a very dangerous player.
If you told me you would now like to come west, that would greatly
influence my choice. If you still prefer the east, and say so candidly,
that too would help me decide. If you do say that, you can trust me not to
relay that information to either Turkey or Austria.
Most cordially,
Ivy Wingo
Message from France to Italy
Roberto:
Bold move my good man. What are your plans for the army
in Tyrolia?
Thanks for not moving to Piedmont. I shall not build in
Marseilles, as promised. Please do not build a fleet in
Rome. That would upset the Dauphin. Is that a fair
request? If not, let's discuss.
-- Prince Boar
Message from Austria to Italy
All has gone well for us, so far.
At this point, I assume Russia is screaming about AT, and begging for your
help. I am not comfortable with an AT alliance, and you should have no
fears on that point; I would accept such an alliance only if I had no other
choice. I hope to keep Turkey at Russia's throat for another turn or two,
then stab him. If you are uncomfortable with that, I am willing to go after
him immediately, but I think that's a weaker option.
Idalia, for Austria-Hungary, by the grace of Archduke Ferdinand
Message from Austria to Italy
> Ven-Tyr it is then. I haven't heard from Germany for almost a week
> now. I'd prefer to have his approval before moving to Tyrolia.
> Perhaps my troop move north will wake him up and get him talking.
I haven't heard from Germany since before the spring moves. If he isn't
talking to anybody, an EF alliance will probably form, and you may need
to prop up Germany lest France get loose in the Med too soon.
For the spring, I suggest Tyr-Boh, as well as the Lepanto moves Ion-Eas,
Nap-Ion.
Idalia, for Austria-Hungary, by the grace of Archduke Ferdinand
Message from Italy to France
>
> Bold move my good man. What are your plans for the army
> in Tyrolia?
>
Mostly to wake Germany up and get him to answer my press.
> Thanks for not moving to Piedmont. I shall not build in
> Marseilles, as promised.
You are welcome and thank you in that order.
> Please do not build a fleet in
> Rome. That would upset the Dauphin. Is that a fair
> request? If not, let's discuss.
>
Order for a fleet in Naples is already in place. Hope this meets with your
approval.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Italy to Russia
>
> > Italy: Army Venice -> Tyrolia.
>
> Coming after Warsaw, or lending France a helping hand?
>
Neither. An attempt to wake Germany up and talk to me. I hadn't received a
communication from Berlin for over a week.
> Could I induce you to stab the traitorous Archduke at
> this point?
>
It's certainly possible depending on French and Turkish builds. If France
doesn't build in Marseilles and Turkey were, say, to build an army, I could
consider an Austrian stab at this point.
BTW, I received this from Germany just prior to the results.
> I'm not happy with an army in STP so soon. Certainly
> it's anti English, but ultimately it's anti German.
I didn't get the message in time to talk to him. Interesting to note
though, he considered the move anti-German. Why didn't he just think it was
pro-Italian and leave it at that? :)
Life is Beautiful, except when Spring 1901 results don't go your way
Roberto
Message from Italy to Germany
> So sorry, I thought that I had sent you a couple of
> replies. Looking at my mailbox that's not the case.
>
Not a problem. I had suspected you were busy socially.
I didn't read your messages until after the results came in although I doubt
anything would have changed.
Please have no fear of my army in Tyrolia. I'm committed to the Center
Alliance and mean you no ill-will. If it makes you completely
uncomfortable, I will retreat it back from whence it came but I prefer not
to. It seems most everybody is interested in what Tyrolia is up to and thus
provides me with excellent diplomatic opportunities.
Let's keep in touch for the spring moves.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Turkey to Italy
Roberto,
An interesting result. Can you shed any light on the Tyr move? That could
work well for our plans of working together. Austria is encouraging me to
continue against Russia, but wants me to build F Smy. Apparently I should
rely on his goodwill to gain Russian centers. My plan is to instead build A
Ank, selling this to Austria on the grounds that I must strike Russia first,
and that I don't want trouble from you.
You said earlier that F Nap is the only sensible build for you. I must
confess that I'm feeling increasingly nervous about it, so I hope we can
talk about it a little. Building an army in Ank and moving it to Arm will
work well for me; unless of course you go through with the Leponto. I've
been encouraged by our discussions, but I hate to leave myself open to
devastating attacks, and the Leponto would indeed be devastating to me.
Austria has said he's building "eastward-looking armies" this turn. I've
been playing dumb regarding AI relations, so my sense is he probably
believes things are well in hand. If you were to build A Ven, his plans
would be in a shambles. I can then support you to Greece in the spring and
we're off to the races.
If you build F Nap instead, then the only move that's really in keeping with
IT would be Ion-Adr, Nap-Ion. This would still allow you the convoy to
Greece in the fall, but I don't think it would give you the same advantage
against Austria proper that an army in Ven would, and it would delay your
move to Greece by a turn.
I'm banking a lot on the idea that you and I are going to be allied going
forward. I think things are well under way, with AR conflict out in the
open and Russia already in trouble. I'm prepared to start building armies,
as we had discussed. I think it's clear that I'm not threatening Italy in
any way. If you ally with Austria, he'll always be working against you
behind your back (like urging me to build F Smy). So I continue to hope
you'll choose a friend in Turkey instead.
I look forward to hearing your thoughts,
Ali Baba
Message [from Russia] to all
"The St. Petersburg Pravda"
Oct. 1901
An high-level source in the Foreign Ministry today
provided details of a secret treaty made late this Spring
with Austria-Hungary which Archduke Ferdinand has just
callously violated.
> > I would ask that we declare Galicia a DMZ in 1901
> > Is this acceptable to you, and Austria-Hungary?
>
> In the interest of good relations with a neighbor
> who has shown no ill-will toward my country, I
> will agree to keep Galicia inviolate this year
>
> I hope this minor degree of cooperation will pave
> the way for even more beneficial cooperation in
> the near future.
>
> Ralassa, for Austria-Hungary, by the grace of
> Archduke Ferdinand
Clearly our Czar has made a grave error in judgment
in believing that the government of Austria-Hungary can be
trusted to honor even the simplest agreements. It is our
hope that the other nations of Europe, and prospective EEU
members, will realize this too, and respond appropriately.
Message from Italy to Turkey
>
> An interesting result. Can you shed any light on the Tyr
> move? That could work well for our plans of working together.
>
The move to Tyrolia was made for several reasons:
I hadn't heard from Germany despite repeated attempts by me for dialogue and
suspected he might move Mun-Tyr. I was not prepared to deal with that and
so took the aggressive position of heading there myself half-way expecting a
bounce.
I am anticipating a EF alliance based on Germany's lack of press and the
fact that EF send LOTS of press. If they send lots to me, imagine how much
they send to each other. I thought one of the ways of influencing their
decisions against Germany was to get a unit close by. Now I can use the
unit to support actions for or against Germany depending on what I think is
best.
It was Austria's first choice for what he wanted my unit to do. I'm playing
a little dumb right now but really I'm setting him up for a fall, with your
assistance. As you point out, an Italian army in Tyrolia could work well
for us.
> Austria is encouraging me to
> continue against Russia, but wants me to build F Smy.
He probably thinks I'll see a fleet in Smy as anti-Italian and he'd be able
to argue for continuing the Lepanto. In reality, that's not the case and
I'd see F Smy as moving to the Aegean in anticipation of an Austrian attack
(although I think an army build would be better vis-a-vis our long-term
agreement of Italy building fleets and Turkey building armies).
> Apparently I should rely on his goodwill to gain Russian centers.
Yes, fleet Smyrna doesn't help much if your intent is to continue against
Russia. Those two do appear to be polar opposites.
> My plan is to instead build A
> Ank, selling this to Austria on the grounds that I must
> strike Russia first, and that I don't want trouble from you.
>
This makes sense to me but I don't know how Austria would respond. He'd
probably question himself as to why you'd leave yourself so open to Italy in
the Eastern Med.
> You said earlier that F Nap is the only sensible build for
> you. I must confess that I'm feeling increasingly nervous
> about it, so I hope we can talk about it a little.
I'm always willing to talk. I will try to be as honest and up-front as
possible. I realize that deception is part of this game (see Russia's
latest broadcast), but it's difficult to ally with somebody (long-term that
is) so obviously deceptive as Austria.
> Building an army in Ank and moving it to Arm will
> work well for me; unless of course you go through with the
> Leponto.
>
If you build an army, I will not go thru with the Lepanto. If France does
not build a fleet in Marseilles as well, then I will be free to discuss an
Austrian attack. The details of the attack (ie: what unit takes Greece in
what season and such) can be fine tuned when we see the rest of the builds.
For now, I'm anticipating an early split of Tri/Gre to Italy and Rum/Sev to
Turkey. I'm sure it won't work out quite like that but that seems at least
a reasonable starting place for negotiations.
>
> Austria has said he's building "eastward-looking armies" this turn.
>
He's told me the same thing. I'm expecting Vie and Bud. I'd question him
hard if he built in Tri.
> I've been playing dumb regarding AI relations,
> so my sense is he probably
> believes things are well in hand.
>
I get the same sense. I also get the sense that he's trying to get me to
somehow leave Venice undefended so he can move there when he wants.
>
> If you build F Nap instead, then the only move that's really
> in keeping with IT would be Ion-Adr, Nap-Ion.
>
Which is the move that I would most likely make. There are other
alternatives including convoying to Albania.
> This would still allow you the convoy to
> Greece in the fall, but I don't think it would give you the
> same advantage
> against Austria proper that an army in Ven would, and it
> would delay your move to Greece by a turn.
>
I'm not concerned about delaying the move to Greece until the Fall. After
all, if I moved there in the spring, it would get to retreat somewhere most
likely Albania which would make it that much more difficult to also get
Trieste next fall.
Bottom line, you can expect me to build a fleet in Naples. I've told this
to whomever else has asked as well. If I were to alter that, then I'd have
several others questioning my reliability.
Keep in touch and feel free to comment, positive or negative, on whatever
I've said.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Italy to Austria
>
> All has gone well for us, so far.
>
I agree. I am most pleased.
> At this point, I assume Russia is screaming about AT, and
> begging for your help.
Actually, not as much as I had expected. He was very calm and took his
beating like a gentleman. He did inquire as to whether or not my army in
Tyrolia was available to stab the traitorous, scum-sucking Archduke.
> I am not comfortable with an AT alliance, and you
> should have no fears on that point;
I don't. You'd have Turkey at your back all game and come the end-game it
would be too easy for you to get squeezed out of the final decision.
> I hope to keep Turkey at Russia's throat for another
> turn or two, then stab him. If you are uncomfortable
> with that, I am willing to go after
> him immediately, but I think that's a weaker option.
>
That should be fine. I don't really want to see Turkey get another build
though. And I'm also a bit interested in acquiring another fleet as
protection against a growing France. I have a hunch he's going to come out
on top in the West. If I can't successfully divert him into England, it's
going to be difficult to finish off Turkey if we wait too long.
> For the spring, I suggest Tyr-Boh, as well as the Lepanto moves
> Ion-Eas, Nap-Ion.
I'll hold off on committing my units until I see the builds. For instance,
should Germany build two fleets, I'd feel much more comfortable about moving
my army out of Tyrolia. Should he build two armies, then Tyr-Boh coupled
with Mun-Tyr would be devasting to me and he'd be much more likely to make
that move if he had two new armies to cover Munich.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Turkey to Italy
Roberto,
I guess the bottom line is this. If I build A Ank, will you firmly commit
to moving against Austria in the spring, either with Ion-Adr or Tri-Alb?
My strong preference is for the army build, but I have to have something
solid to go by before I can decide that for sure. I realize that even with
just a promise I could still get screwed if the promise is broken, but it
would go a long way in helping to ease my concerns.
Regards,
Ali Baba
Message from Turkey to Italy
Roberto,
Sorry, I should have read more carefully. Let me rephrase my last press.
> If you build an army, I will not go thru with the Lepanto. If France does
> not build a fleet in Marseilles as well, then I will be free to discuss an
> Austrian attack. The details of the attack (ie: what unit takes Greece in
> what season and such) can be fine tuned when we see the rest of the
builds.
> For now, I'm anticipating an early split of Tri/Gre to Italy and Rum/Sev
to
> Turkey. I'm sure it won't work out quite like that but that seems at
least
> a reasonable starting place for negotiations.
This gives me the assurance I need. I understand your need to see what
France does before committing to anti-Austrian efforts. In any case, let us
solidify this position: that if I build an army, you agree not to send any
fleet to Aeg or EMS. Agreed?
Please advise.
Ali Baba
Message from Italy to Turkey
> In any case, let us solidify this position:
> that if I build an army, you agree not to send any
> fleet to Aeg or EMS. Agreed?
>
Agreed.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message from Italy to England
>
> You are going to receive a LOT of mail now.
>
Indeed, I had six emails (in addition to the broadcasts) in my inbox this
morning. How refreshing that somebody actually cares about little ol'
Italy. Life is indeed beautiful. Oh, dang, you mean I have to spend all
day replying to those emails. Oh well, the price we must pay.
> So, once again, I seek information on Italian intentions.
I seem to have a good thing going out east and would hate to waste what
seems like a glorious opportunity. When I look west, all I see are
countries with 5 units. I don't see nearly that many units when I view my
eastern horizon. As candid as I can get, I think the pickin's are easier to
the east.
Now, if, and it's a big if, I could get assurance from Germany, in writing,
that he wanted to take on France, I might change my mind. As you point out,
he's a poor communicator. I didn't receive anything from him prior to the
fall moves until 3 hours before the deadline. Sorry, didn't get that one in
time. One of the reasons I'm in Tyrolia now.
Feel free to spill the English intentions anytime you like. :)
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Message [from Russia] to all
> Broadcast message from masseyd@btv.ibm.com as Master in 'titleist':
>the Showcase article for this game.
In games that I Master, I urge the players to write an EoY (End of Year)
statement, or statements, during the Adjustment Phase each year. Some
players Broadcast in-character "State of the Union" speeches, which would be
fun for the Observers, but if we each send Doug a note each year revealing
why we made the choices we did, it will make the Showcase much more
instructive for people to read later. Why has Austria attacked Russia when
Russia opened to Ukraine, and tried to take Rumania with a Fleet? Why did
England risk no Builds, and get two? Why did France and Germany bounce in
Burgundy in the Spring AND the Fall? Why is Italy in Tyrolia? Why did
Russia choose a Northern Opening? If Turkey wanted to attack Russia, why
didn't he open to Armenia? Some of these questions might be addressed in
EoGs, but others will be overlooked, and the answers may reveal the
differences between victory and defeat.
Message from Germany to Italy
Roberto:
I'm not overly concerned with your army in Tyrolia. Although England
tells me that France is trying to get you to use it against me. I guess
the plan is for EFI to carve me up. Oh well that plan is sure to be
brought up by someone. The question is will it be enacted. The
trouble with it is that who gets what and what happens after I'm carved
up. I know that it'll be exceptionally difficult for Italy to hold onto
any gains gotten from the Germany homeland, with England and France
holding the other pieces of Germany.
I do wonder what you're planning on doing with it? You seem to be
working with Austria fairly well. Still heading east into Russian
territory?
Fredd
Message from Italy to Germany
> I'm not overly concerned with your army in Tyrolia.
> Although England tells me that France is trying to
> get you to use it against me.
>
Don't believe everything you hear. France has not asked for any Italian
cooperation on the German front. And if he did, I would politely decline.
England's forte seems to be hear-say.
> I guess the plan is for EFI to carve me up. Oh well
> that plan is sure to be brought up by someone.
>
This is news to me. There has been no talk of EFI vs G. You're the first
to bring it up. I'll mention it to them if you like. :)
> I do wonder what you're planning on doing with it?
> You seem to be working with Austria fairly well.
> Still heading east into Russian territory?
>
That is the current plan although a lot depends on the builds. Tyrolia is
pretty much a free unit for me at the moment and I'm willing to use it to
support your position. As you point out, holding German homeland would be
extremely difficult if not impossible for me and the last thing I want to
see is EF taking over Berlin.
Life is Beautiful,
Roberto
Austria: BUILD Army Budapest
Austria: BUILD Army Vienna
England: BUILD Fleet Edinburgh
England: BUILD Fleet London
France: BUILD Fleet Brest
France: BUILD Army Paris
Germany: BUILD Fleet Berlin
Germany: BUILD Army Kiel
Italy: BUILD Fleet Naples
Turkey: BUILD Army Ankara
Centers
Austria: 5
England: 5
France: 5
Germany: 5
Italy: 4
Russia: 4
Turkey: 4
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