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France: Builds 2 units
Italy: Removes 1 unit
Russia: Builds 3 units
Turkey: Removes 1 unit
Message from France to England
Ivy:
It was a nice move how you were able to pin our fleet in Brest. As soon
as the Dauphin saw you move to NAO, he told me that you had it stuck and
would limit our fleets in the North. He was impressed while frustrated.
So you now have to ask yourself: Is your elimination worth preventing
my victory? One highly possible outcome for this game is a FRI draw.
Not bad for Nick and I who were very down for a while. But less than
the two-way that you and I dreamed about. It is just a question of what
you prefer to see. No matter what, I hope to keep talking with you.
Votre ami
--Prince Boar
Message from Russia to England
Ivy,
My apologies. I looked at my position, and my situation, and the
board situation, and concluded that I could not afford to attack
France this year. Doing so would have required War-Sil, and have
risked my effective elimination by Mos or Gal-War, Nwy-Swe,
Hol S Den-Kie. It would also have doomed me to an almost
exclusively supporting role in your battle with France, in the event
you didn't stab.
France believes that I'm committed to coming in second to his
solo, but I still hope that a draw is possible, and I'm willing to
look for ways that we can accomplish that, if you're still interested.
Nick.
Message from France to all
1908 Symposium on Philosophy, Europe and
Everything.
- by Prince Xavier Boar
[Hello, this is Allan C. The reason that there was no
seminar last year is that there was simply no
commentators. With Baseball, Football, Hockey, and
Basketball all going on at the same time, the ESPN crew
were too busy. So the organizers finally got a bright
idea. If ESPN can hire retired sport stars, that they
should look for retired stars of diplomacy. I do not
know much about philosophy, but the former commentators
assure me that Prince Boar really does not either. He
cannot even spell Buddha correctly!]
[Here is the non censored part of the State of the Union
Speech. Quite entertaining if you like social fiction.
Get it, I said social as opposed to science! Oh forget,
I will leave the comedy to the players in this game!]
My dear French citizens. It seems like deja vu. We are
again at war with England. And although our resources
seem greater than the last time, we still have about the
same number of forces defending the homeland. And yet
England is larger than he was before.
We expect the same type of war, with England nipping at
our edges trying to wear us down. This time the Dauphin
hopes to avoid casualties to French citizens by taking a
more conservative approach. We are less desperate,
therefore we must treat French lives as the dear
treasures that they are. But we will always remember the
sacrifice made by our lads in Burgundy in the year 1903.
No matter what happens, we assure you that we will not be
betrayed by Ivy a third time.
[Isn't the intention of any type of fiction to be
entertaining? How did I get myself into this gig?
Besides, I am English and I take offense to... Oops, I
forgot that my contract does not allow me to reveal my
identity. I am just Allan C., anonymous commentator.]
[Here is the philosophy portion of the seminar.]
Philosophy
This years lesson is on the philosophy of Voltaire. He
was often called the Laughing Philosopher. I chose to
speak of him because laughter can help us get through
these difficult times. Probably no philosopher ever
understood better the health-restoring role of laughter
in our lives. It has been suggested that his laughter
might have been his greatest contribution to his and
every age.
All of Voltaire's satirical work was an attack upon those
who took themselves too seriously, politicians, kings,
priests, axe grinders, etc., to those to who considered
other people's ideas as being obviously wrong and stupid.
He is one of the most quote philosopher with such
insights as "think for yourself and let others enjoy the
same privilege"; "It is only charlatans who are certain";
and "common sense is not so common". The latter Ivy was
trying to tell me just a short while ago.
In times of trouble or strife, may we all follow his
example and find laughter to be the antidote.
[Yes indeed, Voltaire spent his life attacking those who
belittled the beliefs and opinions of others. This was
Allan C. and now I am out of here!]
Message from France to all
Sorry for my silence this weekend. I have been busy and
even had to send messages from a different account. But
I can tell you that if you have children, Monsters Inc.
is a cute movie. It was a bit scarier than I thought it
would be, but all the kids did seem to like it. So if
you ever wondered where those monsters in your closet
came from ......
France
Message from England to France
Prince Boar,
Nuts.
Ivy
Message from England to all
Prince Boar,
You have one last chance. If you (1) pull back your armies from Germany,
(2) agree to neutralize the Mid-Atlantic, (3) return Italy to the Italians,
(4) and especially apologize openly to Russia, Turkey, and Italy for trying
to make saps out of them, then and only then I might, just might, let you live.
Ivy
Message from England to Russia
Nick,
>My apologies.
Unnecessary and irrelevant. Let's go forward.
>France believes that I'm committed to coming in second to his
>solo, but I still hope that a draw is possible, and I'm willing to
>look for ways that we can accomplish that, if you're still interested.
France is becoming smug. After the last moves he referred to "my victory"
and tried to appeal to my pride to get me to revenge myself on you. The
message boiled down to this: since he was going to win, I might as well
get some satisfaction by attacking you. I will not do it. That kind of
play is for losers. France wins only if one of us let's him win.
A draw is easy, but even at this level players may lack the will. A 5-way
could be forced on France, but I doubt that Italy will hear of it. A 4-way
is also possible if we let/help Italy finish Turkey. A FRI 3-way is not
possible, because the Austrian/Balkan centers that France is certain to
get, plus the English centers that I could hand over, would easily put
France over the top.
What is required is will. The Vietnamese knew they could outlast the
Americans, because we did not have the will for a longer fight. The
Taliban believe the same, and they are probably right. Quitting when
things are not easy is frequently an American characteristic. How easy it
would be to stop the French solo; we just have to decide to do it and stick
with it.
So, what about tactics? For starters I can easily fill Nao, Iri, and Eng
with three fleets. It will be impossible to take Mao, because France will
build a fleet in Marseilles and move it to Spain in the spring.
You need Warsaw->Silesia in the spring and possibly Mos->War, although Mos
supp Ukr->Sev may be helpful, depending on Turkey's destroy. Does Italy
write to you?
Where we really hurt is in Belgium. We should have had your fleet in Nth
to protect Belgium, but it's not there. France will force an army into
Picardy in the spring in order to take Belguim in the fall. I see one way
to save Belgium: Kiel->Berlin and Denmark->Kiel. Then we triple-attack
Munich in the fall. France will lose Munich if he takes Belgium. In fact,
with Bel->Ruh we can guarantee Munich if we think that is more important
than Belgium.
Ivy
Message from Germany to England
I wouldn't hold your breath on this one. He's got the game won, and he
knows it. You can't complain though, you had your chance. (I'm
referring to when he was sitting wide open to you) He's playing for the
win and you didn't.
Looks like your fears at the beginning of the game were well founded.
Boar is the master. He has Russia and Italy just handing him the game.
Nick might be a moron, but you have to give credit to France for using
him well.
Fredd
> Prince Boar,
>
> You have one last chance. If you (1) pull back your armies from Germany,
> (2) agree to neutralize the Mid-Atlantic, (3) return Italy to the Italians,
> (4) and especially apologize openly to Russia, Turkey, and Italy for trying
> to make saps out of them, then and only then I might, just might, let you live.
>
> Ivy
Message from France to all
>Broadcast message from England in 'titleist':
>You have one last chance. If you (1) pull back your
>armies from Germany,
>(2) agree to neutralize the Mid-Atlantic,
>(3) return Italy to the Italians,
>(4) and especially apologize openly to Russia, Turkey,
>and Italy for trying to make saps out of them,
I was prepared to agree unilaterally to all your
terms until I read the last. For I believe them,
like you, to be good chaps who make their decisions
based on their perspectives. Who am I to tell them (or
you) that they are wrong :-)
>then and only then I might, just might, let you live.
:-) :-)
I guess that I am done for then! :-)
Since you brightened my morning with your humor, let me
try to repay you.
Why did Black Beard go broke?
Because he had to get his pirate crew's ears pierced and
it cost him a Buck-an-ear! :-)
--Prince Boar
PS: This does not mean that I am cheering for the
Buccaneers today. Go Packers (and Steelers ;-)!
Message from England to Russia
Nick,
I thought this might amuse you. Fredd is still out there.
Ivy
>Message from Germany to England in 'titleist':
>
>
>I wouldn't hold your breath on this one. He's got the game won, and he
> knows it. You can't complain though, you had your chance. (I'm
>referring to when he was sitting wide open to you) He's playing for the
>win and you didn't.
>
>Looks like your fears at the beginning of the game were well founded.
>Boar is the master. He has Russia and Italy just handing him the game.
>Nick might be a moron, but you have to give credit to France for using
>him well.
>
>Fredd
Message from Russia to England
Ivy,
> >My apologies.
>
> Unnecessary and irrelevant. Let's go forward.
Well, since my stab was, in part, based on my concern that you intended
to eliminate me, and that concern was misplaced, an apology is appropriate,
in my view, but I am certainly prepared to go forward.
> France is becoming smug. After the last moves he referred to "my victory"
> and tried to appeal to my pride to get me to revenge myself on you. The
> message boiled down to this: since he was going to win, I might as well
> get some satisfaction by attacking you. I will not do it. That kind of
> play is for losers. France wins only if one of us let's him win.
Yes, he clearly hopes that ER conflict will give him the time he needs to
win
in the Med against IT. Hopefully, by playing up my alliance with him, we
can use his overconfidence against him.
> A draw is easy, but even at this level players may lack the will.
I have still seen no evidence that Turkey is doing anything other than
entering orders and waiting to be eliminated, and that's unfortunate,
since he can still build much needed southern Fleets.
> So, what about tactics? For starters I can easily fill Nao, Iri, and Eng
> with three fleets. It will be impossible to take Mao, because France
> will build a fleet in Marseilles and move it to Spain in the spring.
> Where we really hurt is in Belgium. We should have had your fleet in
> Nth to protect Belgium, but it's not there. France will force an army
> into Picardy in the spring in order to take Belgium in the fall.
I agree that France will build F Mar, but I don't think he can force Pic
and defend MAO this spring. Bre S WMed-MAO is needed to bounce
NAO S ECh-MAO, so he has a strength two attack on Pic which can
be bounced by ECh S Bel-Pic. If we combine this with my asking
France to support Hol-Bel, and you retreat to Nth, we'll have five Fleets
to defend your Home Centers.
> to save Belgium: Kiel->Berlin and Denmark->Kiel. Then we triple-attack
> Munich in the fall. France will lose Munich if he takes Belgium. In
fact,
> with Bel->Ruh we can guarantee Munich if we think that is more important
> than Belgium.
I've asked France to pull back from Munich; we'll have to see what he
says. I think we can establish a stalemate defense against France in the
north, by continuing my "playing for 2nd place" alliance with France for
another year. I've already gotten him to agree that the English Centers
should go to me, since he has the solo potential in the Med, so we ought
to be able to establish our defense.
> Mos supp Ukr->Sev may be helpful, depending on Turkey's destroy.
> Does Italy write to you?
Occasionally. I'm going to write to him and the worthless Turk suggesting
disbands. I'd like to take Sev this year, if at all possible, to increase
the
STL alliance Fleet strength in the south.
> >Message from Germany to England in 'titleist':
> >
> >Looks like your fears at the beginning of the game were well founded.
> >Boar is the master. He has Russia and Italy just handing him the game.
> >Nick might be a moron, but you have to give credit to France for using
> >him well.
Well, he's right that Boar is a master, (certainly one of the 1700+ players,
quite probably Roger Yonkoski), and he did solo in the semi-finals. (I know
this because I listed France first on my preference list, and Russia 2nd.)
It's
also nice to know that Fredd thinks as highly of me as I do of him, though,
of course, my opinion is accurate, while his is mistaken. ;^} Had Fredd
devoted his attention to eliminating France, rather than trying to take StP,
we wouldn't be in this situation, now. Ah well...
In alliance,
Nick.
Message from France to England
Ivy:
>Nuts.
It is hard to respond to that. :-)
perhaps the only thing to say is
and Berries? :-)
OK, I realized that you were hoping that Russia would
hold back and join you against me. But your exposed
back is a great temptation.
So what do you hear from Italy and Turkey? Anything? It
is almost like half nopress isn't it?
--Prince Boar
Message from France to England
Ivy:
Sorry about those steelers. That poor kicker, missing 4
of 5. I hope that his confidence is not shot. I did
pick up Hines Ward in my Fantasy League (I could have
chosen Burress as well). So now I too am a Steelers fan,
as long as they are not playing GB. Did I pick up the
right one (Burress vs. Ward)?
Well, at least the Packers won so the weekend was not all
bad.
--Prince Boar
Message from England to France
Prince Boar,
Well, good prince, I think I am ready to throw in the towel. Nick's latest
correspondence is much too clear (when properly interpreted) to give me any
hope. I don't mind at all being lied to, but very few people will tolerate
lies turn after turn. I'm not one of them.
Russia intends to continue his cooperation with you and then hope for the
best.
Consequently, I expect to do as Roberto has done, and you may take
advantage of the situation as you see fit. I expect you will want to see
my moves before placing much confidence in what I am saying. However, I
might suggest that you try to postpone giving Belgium to Nick this
spring. I would like to move Channel->North Sea in the spring and perhaps
attack Holland in the fall. You could then take Belgium in the fall. And
Kiel too for that matter.
Whatever!
Ivy
Message [from Russia] to all
This pause is brought to you by the Observers at 'vgfp_titleist' who
encourage you to submit end of year statements. Analysis and speculation is
welcome even from Powers whom have forgotten that this is the Full-Press,
rather than to No-Press, Tournament (yes, you Turkey), or from Powers
already eliminated.
Message from England to Master
Doug:
My End of year 1908
Yuk. At the beginning of 1908 I concluded that France's positional
advantage was just too great for me. If I tried to race eastward with him,
I would fall way behind him. He was just too close to the Balkan/Austrian
supply centers.
So I turned on him. And simultaneously he turned on me. I suspected, and
this was soon confirmed, that Russia was in the French camp. I did my best
to persuade Russia that France was simply setting himself up for the solo,
but Russia wasn't having any of it.
By year's end I concluded that my position was hopeless unless Russia
changed sides. The last message I got from Russia, though, made it pretty
plain that Russia was going to stick with France and simply hope for the best.
I got no response whatsoever this year from my letters to Turkey and Italy.
In 1909 I may "pull an Italy" and bare my back to France while attacking
Russia.
France appears to have a good grip on solo possibilities. Since he
apparently had a solo in the semi-finals, we may see someone emerge from
this tournament with a super rating. The first to go over 2000?
Allen
France: BUILD Fleet Marseilles
France: BUILD Army Paris
Italy: REMOVE Fleet Greece
Russia: BUILD Army Warsaw
Russia: WAIVE
Russia: WAIVE
Turkey: REMOVE Army Sevastopol
Centers
England: 7
France: 11
Italy: 7
Russia: 6
Turkey: 3
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