| Press for Fall of 1908 in pouchtoo |
Movement
Message from Russia to Italy in 'pouchtoo':
Hm, for some reason I misread the results of the Spring move, thinking you had ordered F Spa-MAO. You really should have! Oh well. Let's see what we can cook up now. If you have no objection, I'll order Tyo-Pie, and Aeg-Ion. That looks pretty good. Also, I'm going down one for Budapest, and you obviously could take another. Can we discuss that? For example, if Dave isn't going to open any of his home centers for a build, maybe you could take Smy instead of Ank? (I do think you should get a build, though. It's obvious that the only weak point in the line is your fleet position.) Tsar J
Message from Russia to Austria in 'pouchtoo':
So, now what? It looks like Mun is a very long shot, unless I take a chance of losing Berlin. Here's what I think. I think I should order Tyrolia-Piedmont. I also think Manus should take Ankara, because that's the best way to get the extra fleet into position. (I guess we might not need another, if my F Aeg is included, but I figured I might disband that one when I lose a unit in the winter.) You ought to move into Tyrolia, by force -- Vie S Tri-Tyo, and opening Tri for a build. If I go down two, we're still ok for maintaining the stalemate line, but cutting it a little close (I'd still have one spare army, I think). Manus could take Smy instead of Ank, if you're willing, too. My personal plan is to make good and sure that I have enough strength to throw the game if necessary! Yours too, I figure. Aside from that, I'm ready to propose that we call it a draw. Maybe wait until after the coming move. Tsar J
Message from Russia to Austria in 'pouchtoo':
Wait, Munich might not be as unlikely as I'd thought. After all, Cal didn't convoy and then move to Burgundy just to support A Mun, and as far as I can tell he doesn't expect you to attack him. If you want to try for it, I can give you two supports. If Cal does take Berlin, you'll have Munich, which is just as good (we could hold it forever, right?). The only problem is that this would mean I can't go Tyo-Pie, and Manus will likely lose Marseilles some time soon. Well, maybe not. Hmmm. Presumably he'll move TyS-GoL, and you could go Tri-Ven-Pie, so Mar and Spa would still be safe if it's still Italian then... which it would be, unless Cal tries something trickly like Bur-Gas, Bel-Bur. Yep, that seems right. Well, still, let me know if you want to take a try for Munich, otherwise I'm content to leave that part of the board as it stands and order Tyo-Pied. Tsar J
Message from Austria to Russia in 'pouchtoo':
Hi Jamie, Sorry about the cut of the Berlin. If I'd had a chance to read the mail from you and Cal before I'd sent in my moves I wouldn't have done it, but I had to send them in Tuesday afternoon. I'll print out the results and take a look at them tonight, but as far as I'm concerned I think the 4-way is probably reasonable. I'm not in a position to hope for much more and I don't want to mess around and hand Cal the win! Let's see what Manus has to say and then if we are agreed we can present it to Cal. -Dave
Message from Austria to Italy in 'pouchtoo':
Hi Manus, I had to send my orders in on Tuesday, thus missing the last flurry of notes. Had I gotten them I probably would have concurred with your moves of the fleets to the west. Jamie is asking about going for the 4-way at this point. What do you think? I'm willing to go along with whatever the majority wants, I think a 4-way for the two of us isn't bad given the position we were in. -Dave
Message from Italy to Austria in 'pouchtoo':
I concur. I'll accept a four-way. Would you like to broadcast a call for a DIAS to be considered. I will set draw right away. Manus
Message from England to Russia in 'pouchtoo':
Since I suspect nobody else will write (at least to me) this turn, I want to make sure we keep out communication lines open. I appreciate your retreat to Livonia (Bot would have worried me a bit) and I hope you intended it as a gesture of good faith, because that's how I'm looking at it. I'm going to continue moving my units south into the Med. In the properly-spelled centre I will consolidate my position as best I can (but as I said, there will be no incursions into the neutral line of Tyo-Pru (or attempts at Berlin). Up north I will continue to send a unit to Norway to continue our bouncing, but will not move anything else towards St Pete's. Fair enough? Cal Sorry this is short, but we're in the middle of packing for our move next Wednesday.
Message from Russia to Austria and Italy in
'pouchtoo': HEY. MANUS. SPEAK. WE'RE WAITING TO HEAR FROM YOU. Tsar J
Message from Russia to Austria in 'pouchtoo':
Ok, so if we *ever* hear from Manus, we'll be ready. Tsar J
Message from England to Austria in 'pouchtoo':
Hi Dave: Hope we still have things to talk about. As I think I mentioned previously, I have not made any attempt to broach the neutral provinces between us and I hope we can at least avoid any open conflict. Let me know what, if anything, I can do to get your cooperation in an attempt at a 2-way. It's pretty obvious that a solo is unlikely and I'd really like to avoid a boring 4-way. This game deserves to finish with a better result than that. Cal
Message from Austria to Russia and Italy in
'pouchtoo': Greetings fellow despots! It seems we are agreed on the principle of a 4-way. From the latest dispatch from England I think he is likely to veto that for at least the first round so I think we need to go ahead with the draw proposal >from someone, but then prepare our moves. My thoughts on the moves: Italy needs to fill in the Med and protect his two centers. Count on Cal heading into Gascony as soon as he sees that happening if not sooner. My suggestions: Spa - Mar, Wes - Spa, Tys - Gol, Ion - Tun In the north there is a chance at trying for Munich. However it does not seem likely to succeed. It seems more important to me to have Tyr go to Pie in order to shore up Mar. If we have the Russian army there supporting then the Italian fleets are free to defend the Med. So, my suggestions are: Russia: Tyr - Pie, Sil s Ber, Pru s Ber, Ber s Lvn - Bal, Lvn - Bal. Austria: Vie - Tyr, Boh s Vie - Tyr Through fortuituous circumstances, Russia can protect Norway with a single unit this turn. We do need more fleets in the south. I think that the best approach is to have Armenia go to Ankara. My reasons for this are: 1) Jamie is the devil and can't be trusted. *grin* 2) We want Manus to build one more fleet he can send west to complete the wall. 3) By having Jamie disband some southern units, it will clear up our areas of influence some. More imporantly, Jamie can then take back a center next year and build another fleet in St Pete to shore up the northern door. Them's my thoughts. Comments? Kaiser Dave
Message from Italy to Russia and Austria in
'pouchtoo': Manus speaks! It's just that my mother always told me it wasn't nice to speak before being spolen to. Yeah, that's the ticket. Manus
Message from Russia to Austria and Italy in
'pouchtoo': Ok, I can live with all those moves. I'll go down two units. I'll disband the southern fleet, since Manus will build a new fleet. I agree that's better. I much prefer *not* having to coordinate moves with Manus before each turn! He's just too damned polite. So let Manus handle the Med line all by himself, with my A Pied just supporting something in or into Mar. Hmm. Just for the sake of completeness: if the line is going to hold Mar and Spa both, Manus needs F GoL, F Wes, F Naf. Well, strictly speaking, U Naf. Along with U Spa, U Mar, I mean. He'll have enough units. There are potential problems, though. For example, against Dave's suggested moves, if Cal orders Por-Spa Bur-Gas Pic-Bur NAO-MAO then there's a problem holding Spain next year (since it's vacant). Or, if instead Cal does Bur-Mar, then the problem will be holding Mar while protecting Spain. Still, the fallback position holding Mar and not Spain would be very simple and completely tight. And Manus has that Turkish army to remove if/when he loses Spain. I'm a little confused about something. What do you mean, Dave, by saying that I can protect Norway with a single unit? I first thought you must mean I could protect Stp, but in fact I can protect Stp with zero units, since Cal has no units next to Stp. I don't own Norway. Ah, that's it, you thought I owned Norway. Since I don't, there is not a lot of point in my trying to build a northern fleet, I think. Well, anyway, the moves suggested are fine with me. (Most of them I suggested to Dave, I think!) The only thing I don't agree with is this: >so I think we need to go ahead with the draw proposal >from someone, but then prepare our moves. Let's not propose anything now. There isn't much Cal can do, but things are just a little neater if he is unaware this season that we're just going to be setting up the final drawn position. Tsar J
Message from Russia to England in 'pouchtoo':
>Since I suspect nobody else will write (at least to me) this turn, I want to >make sure we keep out communication lines open. Ok. Nobody's talking at all. Unless Manus is talking to Dave, which I doubt very much. >I appreciate your retreat to Livonia (Bot would have worried me a bit) and I >hope you intended it as a gesture of good faith, because that's how I'm >looking at it. > >I'm going to continue moving my units south into the Med. In the >properly-spelled centre I will consolidate my position as best I can (but as >I said, there will be no incursions into the neutral line of Tyo-Pru (or >attempts at Berlin). Up north I will continue to send a unit to Norway to >continue our bouncing, but will not move anything else towards St Pete's. > >Fair enough? Yes, in the sense that if you do all that, you may expect me not to try any attacks against you. I am not sure that I can attack anyone else this move, though. You've made yourself into a pretty big leader. Tsar J
Message from Austria to Russia and Italy in
'pouchtoo': > I'll go down two units. I'll disband the southern fleet, since Manus will > build a new fleet. I agree that's better. I much prefer *not* having to > coordinate moves with Manus before each turn! He's just too damned polite. Yeah, I've noticed that about him. Needs to get down in the trenches a little and roughen up his approach. > Hmm. Just for the sake of completeness: > if the line is going to hold Mar and Spa both, Manus needs F GoL, F Wes, F > Naf. Well, strictly speaking, U Naf. Along with U Spa, U Mar, I mean. He'll > have enough units. There are potential problems, though. For example, > against Dave's suggested moves, if Cal orders > > Por-Spa > Bur-Gas > Pic-Bur > NAO-MAO > > then there's a problem holding Spain next year (since it's vacant). > That is the reason I suggested TYS - Gol, not wes. Having it bounce would be ugly. In the above scenario we end up with a guessing game as there can be a double attack on Mar or a triple on Spa. Either way Tun moves to Naf and the line holds. > Or, if instead Cal does Bur-Mar, then the problem will be holding Mar while > protecting Spain. > > Still, the fallback position holding Mar and not Spain would be very simple > and completely tight. And Manus has that Turkish army to remove if/when he > loses Spain. > Ayup. > I'm a little confused about something. What do you mean, Dave, by saying > that I can protect Norway with a single unit? I first thought you must mean > I could protect Stp, but in fact I can protect Stp with zero units, since > Cal has no units next to Stp. I don't own Norway. Ah, that's it, you > thought I owned Norway. > > Since I don't, there is not a lot of point in my trying to build a northern > fleet, I think. > Ah. You are right, I was thinking you owned Norway. Just keep bouncing it. To be annoying and increase our bargaining power we can still consider having you move to Fin and build in STP next year. > Well, anyway, the moves suggested are fine with me. (Most of them I > suggested to Dave, I think!) > Ayup again. > The only thing I don't agree with is this: > > >so I think we need to go ahead with the draw proposal > >from someone, but then prepare our moves. > > Let's not propose anything now. There isn't much Cal can do, but things are > just a little neater if he is unaware this season that we're just going to > be setting up the final drawn position. > Sounds good to me. I haven't figured out how to deal with draws yet anyway. It's been 5 years since I played on the judges. Kaiser D.
Message from Italy to Russia and Austria in
'pouchtoo': I agree with the plans you guys have put forth. More substantive response later, but likely all positive. Sorry so short. Politely yours, Manus
Message from Italy to Russia and Austria in
'pouchtoo': > > I'll go down two units. I'll disband the southern fleet, since Manus will > > build a new fleet. I agree that's better. I much prefer *not* having to > > coordinate moves with Manus before each turn! He's just too damned polite. > > Yeah, I've noticed that about him. Needs to get down in the trenches a > little and roughen up his approach. > Okay, you bastards, I've had it with you insulting me by calling me polite. You're a couple of rotten no-good backstabbers, who cheated me out of my rightful solo in this game. I'm sick and tired of the way you treat me like Mr. Nice Guy when in fact I'm the meanest, most scurviest, low-down son of a bitch you'll ever have the misfortune to come across. I reek of contempt for my fellow man. I would be happy if the NBA never ended its strike. I hate Mark McGwire with a passion. Al Davis is my best friend. How's that? Better? Gee, I sure hope you like it. Gosh, I'd be so sad if you didn't. I wouldHonest. Please tell me I'm up to expectations now Pretty please? With a cherry on top? Politely (oops -- I mean, uh, antagonistically) yours, Manus
Message from England to Italy in 'pouchtoo':
Hi Manus! I guess, given the game situation, we don't have much to talk about, eh? Actually, I hope real life has settled down enough so you CAN talk if you want. Guess I'll be going thru the same thing next week as I move back to Toronto from Aurora. Ah well, at least MY job requires only 8 hours a day from me (well, night actualy, it'a midnight shift). Anyway, here's hoping we can at least keep the lines of communication open. Maybe you'll want that when YOU'RE the leader we're all trying to stop...Later Cal
Message from England to Russia in 'pouchtoo':
>>Fair enough? > >Yes, in the sense that if you do all that, you may expect me not to try any >attacks against you. > >I am not sure that I can attack anyone else this move, though. You've made >yourself into a pretty big leader. Understood. The one thing you could help me with most without openly attacking anyone would be to make sure that Manus doesn't benefit from Turkish centres. You're in position now to do that with a couple of your units. It'd also be nice if he didn't take Sevastopol...Ciao. Cal
Message from Italy to England in 'pouchtoo':
Sorry so silent lately. As you surmised, it was just real life. I think you have misinterpreted my moves and my silence as being somehow anti-England. Please allow me to correct you if this is the case. I do not view you as the leader we're all trying to stop, and in truth, I hope I am still allied with you against Jamie. Honest. I was simply convinced that now would be the time to set up the stalemate line along Gibraltar. Jamie promised me he'd pull back to allow me to do so, and I felt that if I didn't someday say that the "someday I'll set up the stalemate line" I kept saying was coming had arrived, it might never get here because I would be too busy prosecuting the war on Jamie. I do realize that my sudden moves west, which occurred without me consulting you (again, the blame is due entirely to real life, I assure you) probably looked like I was out to get you. I am not. No indeed. I intend to set up a line at Gibraltar and then turn back the remaining units and keep up the battle eastward. Dave left voluntarily and Jamie left under pressure, but neither of them are quite out of my doghouse, if you know what I mean. You, on the other hand, and despite all the "you're puppeting for Jamie!" talk of a few game-years ago, have only tried to toss me overboard when it would gain you an undeniably superior advantage (contrast to Dave's stab of me) and I have nothing but respect for your plan, and hope we are indeed still allied in our causes. As I say, I just felt that the time was right to set up the line that, in my position, I am sure you would feel the need to set up as well. However, I do not, by my actions intend to cause you to pull back any of your units to that line, for it is not only unnecessary but also counterproductive to our shared aims. I have no designs at all on passing Gibraltar, and if allowed to keep Marseilles and Spain, that's all I will ask for. If I've scared you more than this message makes up for, let me know. I certainly hope not, but if so, I will talk until I turn blue to let you know that my aim is just to satisfy the east for a spell, allow Jamie to honor his pledge to leave, and set up a stalemate line. Beyond there, my planning, I hope, includes your planning. Manus
Message from Italy to England in 'pouchtoo':
P.S. As further evidence of my plan to remain in your good graces, I will
tell you that while Jamie liked my moves, he was sorely disappointed
that I did not move into the MAO as he had asked. As I told you
(but I did not tell him), such a move would be beyond my scope.
Message from Italy to England in 'pouchtoo':
Found a typo in the echo of my first message to you: > You, on the other hand, and despite all the "you're puppeting > for Jamie!" talk of a few game-years ago, have only tried to > toss me overboard when it would gain you an undeniably superior > advantage (contrast to Dave's stab of me) and I have nothing but > respect for your plan, and hope we are indeed still allied in > our causes. > For "plan" read "play" (although I suppose both work, but "play" was intended).
Message from England to Italy in 'pouchtoo':
>Message from [email protected] as Italy to England in 'pouchtoo': > >I think you have misinterpreted my moves and my silence as being >somehow anti-England. Please allow me to correct you if this >is the case. I do not view you as the leader we're all trying >to stop, and in truth, I hope I am still allied with you against >Jamie. Honest. Okay, that's a relief. I'm feeling like a pretty big target right now, so I think you can understand my reaction. >I was simply convinced that now would be the time to set up the >stalemate line along Gibraltar. Jamie promised me he'd pull >back to allow me to do so, and I felt that if I didn't someday >say that the "someday I'll set up the stalemate line" I kept >saying was coming had arrived, it might never get here because >I would be too busy prosecuting the war on Jamie. I'm admit I'm a little concerned about the amount of force you're sending my way, force that could be used against Jamie... >I am not. No indeed. I intend to set up a line at Gibraltar >and then turn back the remaining units and keep up the battle >eastward. Dave left voluntarily and Jamie left under pressure, >but neither of them are quite out of my doghouse, if you know what >I mean. I hear you. ;) >You, on the other hand, and despite all the "you're puppeting >for Jamie!" talk of a few game-years ago, have only tried to >toss me overboard when it would gain you an undeniably superior >advantage (contrast to Dave's stab of me) and I have nothing but >respect for your play, and hope we are indeed still allied in >our causes. I'd certainly like to stay that way. Jamie and Dave have made it clear that they feel I am very dangerous right now. I'm of the opinion that a solo is out of the question for anybody, but I WOULD like to cut down the draw size a bit. Jamie would be the prime candidate in MY mind (which is the reason for concern that you're letting him back up off the canvas...), assuming I get any choice in the matter. >As I say, I just felt that the time was right to set up the line that, >in my position, I am sure you would feel the need to set up as well. >However, I do not, by my actions intend to cause you to pull back >any of your units to that line, for it is not only unnecessary but >also counterproductive to our shared aims. I have no designs at all >on passing Gibraltar, and if allowed to keep Marseilles and Spain, >that's all I will ask for. That's fair enough. Will you be able to get any builds to attack Russia with? >If I've scared you more than this message makes up for, let me know. >I certainly hope not, but if so, I will talk until I turn blue to >let you know that my aim is just to satisfy the east for a spell, >allow Jamie to honor his pledge to leave, and set up a stalemate line. >Beyond there, my planning, I hope, includes your planning. I've outlined my concerns above, but other than that, I'm okay with things. I think you realize that you can't get beyond the line and I want you to know that I consider a solo out of the question. Let's operate within that framework and we'll be okay. Cal
Message from Austria to England in 'pouchtoo':
Hi Cal, I agree with you that a four way is boring. The problem of course remains the same. I need to find a way to turn it into a two way that does not lead to either you getting a solo or my being crushed between I and R. So far I have not come up with a long term plan that I think will achieve that. The first steps are to see if I can hang onto my small gains this year and keep Jamie backing off. After that I need to find a way that I can attack one or the other of them without committing suicide in the process. The biggest problem I see is that you are obviously going to want to hold your stalemate lines to prevent your own collapse, but that puts you on the front lines and means that if I hit I or R from behind you'll be in a position to exploit that before I can form up my own lines. Thoughts or ideas from you on how we can work around that are very welcome. I'm not giving up on the idea, and am willing to take some small steps the next few turns while we look for a solution. Regards, Dave
Message from England to Austria in 'pouchtoo':
>Message from [email protected] as Austria to England in 'pouchtoo': > >I agree with you that a four way is boring. The problem of course remains >the same. I need to find a way to turn it into a two way that does not >lead to either you getting a solo or my being crushed between I and R. >So far I have not come up with a long term plan that I think will achieve >that. The first steps are to see if I can hang onto my small gains this >year and keep Jamie backing off. Makes sense. I'll be pretty much doing the same thing, consolidating my position. >After that I need to find a way that I can attack one or the other of >them without committing suicide in the process. The biggest problem >I see is that you are obviously going to want to hold your stalemate >lines to prevent your own collapse, but that puts you on the front >lines and means that if I hit I or R from behind you'll be in a position >to exploit that before I can form up my own lines. >Thoughts or ideas from you on how we can work around that are very >welcome. I'm not giving up on the idea, and am willing to take some >small steps the next few turns while we look for a solution. The best way to do it, I think, is for you to, as you said, take a year or so making some small incremental moves to put you in a position for an attack on one or the either. When the attack actually comes, you do the moving and I'll do the supporting. If you make all the gains, our size disparity evens out to the point where, hopefully, we can trust each other. Any preferences as to a target? Manus's moves have pretty much forced me to try to enter the Med, so that would make it easier for me. If we attack him, I'd pick up Marseilles & Spain, but you'd get all of Italy and Tunis. On the other hand, Jamie and you have a history and he IS the next most dangerous power to you after me, given the game situation. I have a reasonable number of forces up north to do the job, but would you be willing to have me help you attack him while I'm still putting pressure on Manus in the Med? Your call. Regards Cal
Message from Italy to Austria and Russia in
'pouchtoo': Okay, boys. I think the deadline is tomorrow, and I'd like to beat it (what a kind soul I am, sometimes). How we set for planning? Manus
Message from Russia to Italy and Austria in
'pouchtoo': >Okay, boys. I think the deadline is tomorrow, and I'd like to beat >it (what a kind soul I am, sometimes). How we set for planning? Well, we are pretty well set, except we are waiting to hear what you think of the plans. Tsar J
Message from Austria to Italy in 'pouchtoo':
Hi Manus, Just a reminder so you don't have to dig through all the old mail, what we figured on was: Arm - Ank, Spa - Mar, Wes - Spa, Tys - Gol, Ion - Tun. That protects Mar, gives the best protection for Mar and Spa next turn and you get another fleet build from Ank. Jamie will move to Pie to lend support for Mar. He'll lose two which will include the southern fleet and thus make us a lot safer. -Dave
Message from Italy to Austria in 'pouchtoo':
Thanks, Dave. That does save me some time. Now I only need to pull up a map and double-check a couple things. Much obliged! Manus
Build
Message from Austria to Italy in 'pouchtoo':
Guess we should both build fleets? Dave
Message from Russia to Austria in 'pouchtoo':
Could have taken Munich. Can't save Spain anyway. Oh well! You know, I think we probably *could* eliminate Italy safely.... Nah. :-) No, I'll remove the F Ion and A Gre. Tsar J
Message from Russia to Austria and Italy in
'pouchtoo': Manus, Build F Rom! And, when Cal dislodges your F Spa in the Spring, you can just retreat to Wes and the line is secure (with the new fleet in TyS). I can put the army that's currently in Ukr into Warsaw. Then that part of the line is secure. (When Cal finally gets around to taking Stp, I retreat to Mos.) Dave, it would be kind of nice if you'd waive your build. If it's too late, never mind, I think I can tolerate an extra red unit running around with nothing to do.... After the adjustments, let's gently inform Cal that the game is over. Tsar J
Message from Russia to England in 'pouchtoo':
Sorry, you were just too scary. I couldn't attack anyone, because whoever I attacked would just throw the game once he had nothing left to lose. This was pretty obvious, wasn't it? We were just pretending. :) Tsar J
Message from Russia to Austria and Italy in
'pouchtoo': Hm. You know, it's probably best if you (Manus) just order Spa-Wes with support from Tys. Because if you order Tun-Wes and Spa H, it has no place to retreat if it's dislodged. And if you don't order Tun-Wes and try to support Spa, Cal could sail into Wes. Ok? If you get Tun-Naf, which I expect you will, the line is especially simple: all you have to order is Naf S Wes, and GoL S Mar! I'll add Pie S Mar. Your new fleet isn't even necessary. If by unlikely chance Cal bounces you from Naf, you can still start doing stalemate orders right away with GoL S Mar, Tys&Tun S Naf, or Tun-Naf, TyS S Wes. Tsar J
Message from Austria to Russia in 'pouchtoo':
>You know, I think we probably *could* eliminate Italy safely.... > >Nah. :-) >No, I'll remove the F Ion and A Gre. Now, now, stop giving me ideas. (<: > And, when Cal dislodges your F Spa in the Spring, you can just retreat to > Wes and the line is secure (with the new fleet in TyS). > Just for fun, I was thinking about the following spring moves: Mar - Gas, Spa - Mar, Pie s Spa - Mar, Gol s Spa - Mar Rom - Tys, Tun - Naf. Since Cal is going to assume that Manus will do Mar s Spa, Gol s Spa, Tun - Wes, he's going to have to hit Spain with three units, and he can't wait until fall because of the fleet coming up from Tun. The only guaranteed attack he has is to attack from Gas and have Bur hit Mar. That means that if we do the above, we end up with fleets in Naf, Gol, Mar, Tys and armies in Pie and Gas. That Gas army could give Cal fits. We can also take a shot at Munich. I don't know if there is much point if we are going to just call it quits, but if we are going to go on and consider things.... Thoughts? -Dave
Message from Italy to Austria and Russia in
'pouchtoo': This is a complete nightmare day for me but I thought I would at least check in and let you know your messages are being received. This is the worst day -- I hope tonight is better. Manus
Message from Russia to Austria in 'pouchtoo':
Dave, >Just for fun, I was thinking about the following spring moves: > >Mar - Gas, Spa - Mar, Pie s Spa - Mar, Gol s Spa - Mar >Rom - Tys, Tun - Naf. > >Since Cal is going to assume that Manus will do Mar s Spa, Gol s Spa, >Tun - Wes, he's going to have to hit Spain with three units, and he >can't wait until fall because of the fleet coming up from Tun. The >only guaranteed attack he has is to attack from Gas and have Bur hit >Mar. That means that if we do the above, we end up with fleets in >Naf, Gol, Mar, Tys and armies in Pie and Gas. That Gas army could >give Cal fits. We can also take a shot at Munich. Hmmm. That's true, only he can see he has an extremely good shot at getting Spain by supporting MAO with Por and Gas. (Those would be my orders, I think.) That fails only if Italy orders Mar-Gas and also has GoL S Spa, which is a risky move (it loses Mar, obviously, to Bur S Gas-Mar). Of course, even if Cal does not leave Gas vacant, it is unlikely to cause any real trouble. If he plays Por&Gas S MAO-Spa, for example, Manus can still just retreat Spa-Wes and he has the stalemate line. The only possible downside would be in case of a very odd set of English moves: Por S Gas-Spa, MAO-Wes, Bur-Gas. That would be ugly, since the Italian F Spa would have to disband, and Cal would be in Wes. Manus could not build next winter in that case, either. Unless the A Ank took Sev or Con, which I wouldn't be too happy about. Anyway I'd rather avoid that. What I'm hoping is that Manus can just disband that army next winter, paying for the loss of Spain. How about your suggested moves but with GoL-Wes instead? The support GoL S Spa-Mar is pointless anyway (Pie S Spa-Mar by itself is just as good no matter what Cal does). That way, even if Cal played the moves I'm worried about, he wouldn't be in Wes, and Manus could just do Naf S TyS-Wes in the Fall, completing the stalemate line. >I don't know if there is much point if we are going to just call it >quits, but if we are going to go on and consider things.... > >Thoughts? I think it's a draw, but I am willing to go along with moves that are completely safe and also a little bit aggressive. Tsar J
Message from Austria to Russia in 'pouchtoo':
> Hmmm. > That's true, only he can see he has an extremely good shot at getting Spain > by supporting MAO with Por and Gas. (Those would be my orders, I think.) > That fails only if Italy orders Mar-Gas and also has GoL S Spa, which is a > risky move (it loses Mar, obviously, to Bur S Gas-Mar). Of course, even if > Cal does not leave Gas vacant, it is unlikely to cause any real trouble. If > he plays Por&Gas S MAO-Spa, for example, Manus can still just retreat > Spa-Wes and he has the stalemate line. > > The only possible downside would be in case of a very odd set of English > moves: Por S Gas-Spa, MAO-Wes, Bur-Gas. That would be ugly, since the > Italian F Spa would have to disband, and Cal would be in Wes. Manus could > not build next winter in that case, either. Unless the A Ank took Sev or > Con, which I wouldn't be too happy about. Anyway I'd rather avoid that. > What I'm hoping is that Manus can just disband that army next winter, > paying for the loss of Spain. > > How about your suggested moves but with GoL-Wes instead? The support GoL S > Spa-Mar is pointless anyway (Pie S Spa-Mar by itself is just as good no > matter what Cal does). That way, even if Cal played the moves I'm worried > about, he wouldn't be in Wes, and Manus could just do Naf S TyS-Wes in the > Fall, completing the stalemate line. > That would force fleet Spain to disband wouldn't it? That was the original reason I didn't go for that move, but now that I think about it some more, it's probably not a big deal. All right, how about that. We don't need those moves until after the builds anyway. dave
Message from Russia to Austria in 'pouchtoo':
(I'm about to go home) >> Hmmm. >> That's true, only he can see he has an extremely good shot at getting Spain >> by supporting MAO with Por and Gas. (Those would be my orders, I think.) >> That fails only if Italy orders Mar-Gas and also has GoL S Spa, which is a >> risky move (it loses Mar, obviously, to Bur S Gas-Mar). Of course, even if >> Cal does not leave Gas vacant, it is unlikely to cause any real trouble. If >> he plays Por&Gas S MAO-Spa, for example, Manus can still just retreat >> Spa-Wes and he has the stalemate line. >> >> The only possible downside would be in case of a very odd set of English >> moves: Por S Gas-Spa, MAO-Wes, Bur-Gas. That would be ugly, since the >> Italian F Spa would have to disband, and Cal would be in Wes. Manus could >> not build next winter in that case, either. Unless the A Ank took Sev or >> Con, which I wouldn't be too happy about. Anyway I'd rather avoid that. >> What I'm hoping is that Manus can just disband that army next winter, >> paying for the loss of Spain. >> >> How about your suggested moves but with GoL-Wes instead? The support GoL S >> Spa-Mar is pointless anyway (Pie S Spa-Mar by itself is just as good no >> matter what Cal does). That way, even if Cal played the moves I'm worried >> about, he wouldn't be in Wes, and Manus could just do Naf S TyS-Wes in the >> Fall, completing the stalemate line. >> >That would force fleet Spain to disband wouldn't it? Yes, it would, but I don't think that would be a problem anymore. Since the result would be Italian fleets in Naf, GoL, and TyS, so Manus could get the F TyS into Wes in the Fall, and the three fleets Naf/Wes/GoL plus A Mar, A Pie, would be a stalemate line. >That was the original >reason I didn't go for that move, but now that I think about it some more, >it's probably not a big deal. All right, how about that. We don't need >those moves until after the builds anyway. > >dave Right. But it might be wise to inform Manus pretty soon anyway :-) That's why I was mentioning his Spring moves earlier, because I worry about his, uh, timeliness. Tsar J