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France: Builds 2 units
Italy: Removes 1 unit
Russia: Builds 3 units
Turkey: Removes 1 unit
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
Congratulations on all fronts!!!!!!
You not only took Holland and opened up Warsaw for the build, but
England exposed Scandinavia to you!
Your top priority should be to take St. Petes so that you can build
fleets as soon as possible! I know as France I should not be pushing
that, but as your friend and ally I should encourage you to do so.
I know that England is gambling that you will leave him alone. But soon
you will be bigger than he is. You are only one center short right
now. And you will build in an accelerated fashion as time progresses.
Thank you for not siding with England. I appreciate it and it means
that things are soon looking up for you (did you put on thos sun
glasses?). Take Scandinavia and you will be up to 10 centers!!
--Xavier
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 France to Italy
Idalia:
Excellent! I had hoped that Ali would take St. Petes, but that was too
greedy I guess. We should soon talk about next year. I am building for
my fight with England. I do hope that you will still remove one of your
fleets. I will not be picky about which one.
As promised, I will not ask you to further reduce your forces. How may
Turkish centers are guaranteed for this year? I would like to build at
least one more fleet for my defense of France against England. Would it
be OK for me to take Greece or Vienna this year? We can talk about a
second if it looks certain that you will take two centers. But I do not
want to rush things. Do you need my fleet to remain in the Aegean?
Perhaps you can manuever your forces so you end up with a fleet in the
Black Sea? It would be nice for any push North. Although you look
positioned quite well already.
I will have to study things a bit more before rambling on further with
options.
--Prince Boar
Message from France to Turkey
Ali:
I am sorry for the support for Italy against you. I never heard from
you so I had to make the choice that I knew would not be wasted. I
really need a strong Russia and I was also not certain where you stood
against him.
I guess that things are not completely lost. If you are not too upset
with me and will consider writing, I would like to talk about possible
futures. If you just want to write and call me an SOB, I of course
understand that as well. I truly deserve that much. Again, I sincerely
apologize. You are a nice guy whom did not deserve it.
--Prince Boar
Message from France to France
End of Year Statement 1908
(this part written half way through Fall movement phase)
I started the spring fully intending to work with England towards a
"two-way" draw. I was comtemplating betraying him next year and tried
to encourage Russia to hang in there and work with me next year. But it
was looking pretty grim that Russia would be able to help much next
year. I could not figure out how to slow down England's progress
without seeming to interfere.
On the day the deadline was due, after dinner, I started mulling around
whether I should stab England now. My intention was not to make a lot
of progress against him. It was obvious that I would not do so. The
goal would be to prevent him from growing and guarantee that I would be
the largest power. I could then try to advance the situation towards a
victory. At worst I would be the largest power in the draw, hence the
winner of the tournament. But to tell the truth, that means little
compared to a solo.
So in the end I decide to work with Russia and try to deny England from
growing and possible cause him to disband a unit. I did realized that
in doing so, he would simply rebuild a unit in Liverpool since those in
Belgium and or Holland would be destroyed and he would have taken
Sweden. I really did not consider that he was stabbing me this year. I
figured that he would wait until next year, since he was trying so hard
to get me to agree to only one center, so he would get two. His move
against me was surprising a bit, but not really unexpected in
hindsight. I should have known since he was being so agreeable with my
builds, which was a set up last time he stabbed me. Certainly no hard
feelings on my part. Ivy is a good player.
I am enjoying my new interaction with Russia. He seems more friendly of
late, rather than just determined as he usually came across. I guess I
should be worried about that too. :-)
In the south my intention is to meet Italy's needs of letting him
eliminate Turkey in exchange for his allowing me to walk into his
centers. Rather than forcing him to disband, I asked him to agree to
allow me to cause him to disband a fleet. He agreed in exchange for my
helping him take a center from Turkey. I plan to take Trieste and
Vencie from Italy. The concern was that Turkey would outguess him and
then Italy would not get a center from Turkey, hence I could only take
Venice and not Trieste. So I suggested a plan that would cause Turkey
to move in a way that would allow Italy into Syria. Turkey supported me
to Aegean which seemed good for him. Italy also allowed me into the
Aegean. My intention now (mid way through fall) is to still help
Italy. But I may switch.
I am inclined to stick with Italy because he seems to have a agenda that
is helping me. He claims that he does not want England to win and seems
to have an agenda against Turkey. Since it is helping so much, I must
go for it. I think that at first he was doing it to try and force
England to stab me. Now that England and I are at war, I wonder what
Italy will do. I hope that he is so far along this path that he must
continue on it. I also have his home centers. The biggest risk is that
Italy may turn on me just as I betray Turkey. At that point, I would
have to grovel and try to use Turkey's greed for growth. Not much, but
it would be the only plan.
(written after moves were due, but before they were revealed)
My moves were to support Russia against England and Italy against
Turkey. I do worry that each my turn on me. If Italy does, I could be
in real trouble, especially after supporting him against Turkey. I
would have to grovel to Turkey. Hopefully his self interest could cause
him to work with me. I do have the excuse that he never wrote and he
was harassing Russia, someone that I needed. I still hope that Italy
continues his vendetta against Turkey and will let me grow. I fear
though that his motivation was to punish England for not stabbing me.
Now that England has attacked me, Italy may decide it is time to turn
around and reclaim his homeland.
England did make a nice move to the NAO last phase. It forces me to
order Brest to MAO, which will bounce. The ramification is that I
cannot build a second fleet in the North. When I decided to move
against England in the spring, I was planning on building fleets in both
Brest and Marseilles. I will basically be in defensive mode. I hope
that this will make Russia more likely to work against England, since I
will be pinned down and less able to grab a bigger share of England.
(written after the results)
That went about as well as it possibly could. England not taking Sweden
meant that he could not build a fleet in Liverpool. This will allow me
to hold my position in the Atlantic. I may even be able to make
progress, although I am not sure. I might not even want to make initial
progress to keep Russia from getting nervous. Taking Belgium may be my
only real goal.
My goals for next year will be to continue to encourage Russia to hit
England hard and to make slow progress against Italy. I do not really
want him to make too quick progress against Turkey. I would like
England to fall before Turkey is eliminated. I worry about what Italy
will do next. Then again, if England is all but out, then Italy will
have no reason to not turn and fight me. I still only have 4 units in
the south. At least he may only have two fleets. I need to consider
moving the army in Munich south.
Roger
Message from Russia to France
Xavier,
> Congratulations on all fronts!!!!!!
Yes, I really didn't expect things to go that smoothly.
> Your top priority should be to take St. Petes so that you can build
> fleets as soon as possible!
I'm inclined to agree.
> Thank you for not siding with England. I appreciate it and it means
> that things are soon looking up for you (did you put on those sun
> glasses?). Take Scandinavia and you will be up to 10 centers!!
Could I interest you in pulling back from Munich? (It can't hurt to
ask, and it would add to my security.)
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 France to Russia
Nick:
>Could I interest you in pulling back from Munich?
I have not yet even studied the board. I can certainly consider it.
Giving you peace of mind is important. But so is not leaving a gap
hole in my defenses. Perhaps it will help if you tell me what you are
worried that A Munich might do? Taking Berlin last year was NEVER an
option. I need a strong Russia behind England.
We will talk soon. My adjustments are in.
--Prince Boar
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 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 Russia to France
Xavier, My Friend,
> >Could I interest you in pulling back from Munich?
>
> Giving you peace of mind is important. But so is not leaving a gap
> hole in my defenses. Perhaps it will help if you tell me what you are
> worried that A Munich might do? Taking Berlin last year was
> NEVER an option. I need a strong Russia behind England.
Last year wasn't a concern, but by 1910, it might be an option for you,
and I'd prefer to avoid the temptation. 8-) Even if I take Mun, Ruh,
and Bel, and that seems unlikely, your defenses will remain secure. A
move to Bur, or Tyl, both make sense for Mun, I think.
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 Russia
Nick:
Did Ivy call you a sap or am I misreading his message?
He was probably just frustrated when he wrote it. But he
cannot blame you for wanting growth and security. And
just because you do not see things as he does, does not
mean that your way of looking at things is wrong.
I am pinned down in the Atlantic, you have 3-4 centers
within easy reach. Your moves makes sense to me, even
if I was not completely biased! :-)
I strongly urge you to build Army Warsaw :-) :-)
You might want to consider moving Mos -> St. P -> Fin and
War -> X -> St. P. Just be careful not to get
bounced and remain in Moscow in the fall. You want it
open for a build.
Have your heard from Italy or Turkey? I never did hear
from Turkey so I felt that he would not help us against
England, hence the best thing seemed to be to eliminate
him so that he no longer was harassing you.
--Xavier
Message from France to Italy
Idalia:
I am still trying to understand Ivy's broadcast. I think
that he called everyone saps? Or did he just mean that I
was trying to do so? Really, just because you see things
differently than he does, does not mean that you have to
be wrong! I hope that my broadcast response that he
intended it humorously was correct.
Write when you can, no rush. I hope you had a good
weekend.
--Prince Boar
Message from France to Turkey
Ali:
I assure you that I am not trying to make a sap out of
you or anyone, as Ivy suggested. I am sure that he wrote
it in a moment of frustration, so I certainly will not be
upset by it. I choose to look at it as if he was joking.
I hope that I was correct.
Still waiting for your nasty letter. I hope that sap is
the worst word you will use. :-)
--Prince Boar
Message from France to Italy
Idalia:
Is there any merit to trying to convoy Bulgaria to
Smyrna? I suppose this would require Smyrna -> Eme.
Would you need the Fleet in Syria to support this move?
This seems to put your fleets out of position? Maybe it
is a bad idea. Just something to think about.
Perhaps it is best to just take Sevastopol (assume Turkey
disbands A Sev) and then bring an army down the backside
next year.
Well, I best get to bed and stop thinking up hair brained
ideas. :-) I should leave the tactics to you and the
Dauphin.
--Prince Boar
Message from Russia to France
Xavier,
> Did Ivy call you a sap or am I misreading his message?
No, he accused you of trying to make me a sap, which is
slightly different. 8-) Fredd did call me a moron in a letter
to Ivy, though, which I found amusing, since it was his
decision that taking StP was more important than eliminating
you, that put us in this situation, and since he has, once
again, looked at the surface and completely missed the
underlying significance of the situation.
> He was probably just frustrated when he wrote it. But he
> cannot blame you for wanting growth and security. And
> just because you do not see things as he does, does not
> mean that your way of looking at things is wrong.
Given my, "Ivy, are you insane?" Broadcast after F1907B,
I thought his implication that I would be a sap for listening
to you rather restrained, actually. 8-)
> I am pinned down in the Atlantic, you have 3-4 centers
> within easy reach. Your moves makes sense to me, even
> if I was not completely biased! :-)
Yes, I've spent most of this game begging Ivy for assistance,
and I've gotten it only when it was convenient for him, I thought
the time had come to equalize our forces.
> I strongly urge you to build Army Warsaw :-) :-)
Gee, I don't know, a fourth Unit might inspire an EIT coalition
to contain the Russian threat... ;^}
> You might want to consider moving Mos -> St. P -> Fin
> and War -> X -> St. P. Just be careful not to get
> bounced and remain in Moscow in the fall. You want it
> open for a build.
My moves, in large part, are going to depend on Turkish and
Italian disbands. I can't afford to move North with my full
strength if I'm facing A Sev, A Ukr, and A Gal.
> Have you heard from Italy or Turkey?
Not since F1907B, and F1906M respectively. I sent them
both notes today.
Your Friend,
(Who can't believe Mariano Rivera blew the save in Game 7. *sob*
What is that guy, human or something???)
Nick.
Message from France to Russia
Nick:
>No, he accused you of trying to make me a sap, which
>is slightly different
Ah, I see. So rather than just insulting you he was
insulting both of us. That is much more fair really :-)
I like it when Ivy takes shots at me, it shows that he
still cares :-) Should I just call you sap for now on?
I rather stick with Nick if it is all the same to you.
Sorry about the Yankees. I am not a Yankees fan, so I
was naturally a bit tired of them winning the series
every year. But I have no love for the Diamondbacks
either. I am more of a football fan!
We can talk after the disbands and I of course understand
why you would not want to leave Warsaw and Moscow
completely exposed to Turkey and Italy. I think that
Italy is focussed on Turkey, but we know that Turkey will
steal a center if he needs to in order to survive.
--Xavier
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 France
Xavier,
> >No, he accused you of trying to make me a sap, which
> >is slightly different
>Ah, I see. So rather than just insulting you he was
>insulting both of us. That is much more fair really :-)
I choose to view it as a declaration of perspective,
rather than an insult. Ivy doesn't view playing for
"second place" to a solo as a legitimate goal. I
guess he thinks an EFT 3-way is a "better" result for
me, since I would have helped to stop your solo. 8-)
>I rather stick with Nick if it is all the same to you.
Nick if fine, but my father always used to say, "You
can call me anything, as long as you don't call me
late for dinner." 8-)
>Sorry about the Yankees. I am more of a football fan!
I'm actually more of a basketball and football fan,
myself, but this year, rooting for the Yanks seemed
like the thing to do.
>I think that Italy is focused on Turkey, but we know that Turkey will steal
>a center if he needs to in order to survive.
I agree that Italy is unlikely to attack, but if
England tells him that I'm throwing the game to you,
and their only hope for an EFI draw is to eliminate
me quickly... As for Turkey, I have no idea what
he's doing other than protecting his DDR rating.
Personally, I think he should resign, and let
someone interested in high-level full-press play
play out his position.
Nick.
Message from Italy to France
I have ordered the removal of the fleet in Greece. In return, I would ask
that you order Aeg to support Smy-Con.
Idalia
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 France to Italy
Idalia:
>Aeg to support Smy-Con.
Absolutely!
--Prince Boar!
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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