Diplomacy Magazine -- Chapter Two From: loeb@greco-prog.fr (Daniel LOEB) Date: Tue, 30 Jun 1992 15:19:10 +0000 Issue #288 of Chapter Two of the Electronic Protocol By Daniel Loeb (loeb@geocub.greco-prog.fr) June 30, 1992 Distributed via: rec.games.pbm rec.games.board dipl-l (max50k) ------------------------------------------------------------- Electronic Protocol Games played on the Diplomacy Adjudicator ------------------------------------------------------------- **** TABLE OF CONTENTS **** PART ONE - Opinions, Letters, and Editorials: Internet Guide to Diplomacy Available New Judges Chaos Game : Zenith Judge News European Zines Diplomacy Conventions European Zine Poll 1991 Inappropriate Message in Grass Variant Series: 1938 Diplomacy Summer is Coming Diplomacy Article Archives Service: Opening Summary PART TWO - Summary of all moderated games on the Judge: List of games For more info about the Judge For more info about the Electronic Protocol For Archives List of Diplomacy Adjudicators List of Game Masters PART THREE - Report from the Battle Front Osijek Game Summary ***** PART ONE ***** **** INTERNET GUIDE TO DIPLOMACY AVAILABLE **** Contact: Nicholas Fitzpatrick (nick@sunburn.waterloo.edu) Contents: Judge, Electronic Protocol, DIPL-L, Hall of fame, Archives, Usenet. Version 2 of the Hall of Fame is also available from Nick.... **** NEW JUDGES **** From: Nicholas Fitzpatrick <nick@SUNBURN.UWATERLOO.CA> I just thought people would like to know just how easy it is to install a judge, I just finished installing one, and it took less than an hour. And I know almost nothing about C! The name of the judge is nick@watfrost.waterloo.edu and there is presently a moderated game forming by the name of ayr Feel free to set up your own games. The source code for the judge is available by anonymous FTP from milton.u.washington.edu in the /public/misc sub-directory! ----- From: Mark Nelson <amt5man@ECUSUN.LEEDS.AC.UK> Does anyone (Ken perhaps?) have a complete list of which sites are running Judge? OK we all know about the one at Washington. Then there is one that has recently started in Denmark. I have just discovered that there is one at Durban. Are there any others? ----- From: Randy Appleton <randy@MS.UKY.EDU> I don't think we really want too many judges being started up. I like playing diplomacy, and I even like playing through the judge. However, we can have a larger variey of games, and shorter waits per game for startups, if we have only a few judges, than if we have many. In this case, there are strong aruments for centralization. Response from Lars Mathiesen (U of Copenhagen CS Dep) <thorinn@diku.dk> "I'll just note that the purpose of the DA in Denmark was to sit quietly in a corner and run a non-supported variant (Ultimate Shambles). The publicity was an unintended side-effect of telling Daniel Loeb about it....." Response From: Mark Nelson <amt5man@ECUSUN.LEEDS.AC.UK> "I agree. I think it's better for email dip fans if there only a small number of Judges." "(1) A Judge per continent sounds fine provided that there is a large enough player-pool. (2) I like the idea of a Judge which has the facility to run unusual variants that are not offered elsewhere. Additional thought (shows you get value for money in my locs!) Perhaps all Judge's should have a GETABLE file listing other judges. Initially players might want to play on their `local' judge *but* we don't want to have all Europeans playing on the European Judge, all AMericans playing on the American Judge etc." My comments: I think that Washington should remain the MAIN Judge, but that other judges should be set up in order to lighten the load on Washington, and so that GM's can have a place to go in case the Judge in Washington goes down. **** CHAOS GAME: ZENITH **** From: Nick Fitzpatrick x3821 <nick@SUNBURN> There is a chaos game in formation by the name of zenith. In the chaos variant there are 34! players, who each get one supply centre. There are presently 16 players signed up, so there is a need for 18 more. All are welcome, there is no dedication limit, and players are welcome from any site. To join this game, send the command signon ?zenith password chaos to the judge (judge@u.washington.edu). Unlike iona this game will NOT be stared without 34 players (or I QUIT!) If you speak German you might be interested to know that there is a chaos game forming by the name of voll, for German speakers only. They still need 30!! more players. Reply From: Karl Dotzek <karl@adler.ims.uni-stuttgart.de> Right now we are down to 28 and it's more or less clear that we will start at about 17 players with two randomly distributed centers each. That means 11 more players needed. 'voll' has also any-site, any level and no dedication required. **** JUDGE NEWS **** 1) Judge is back up after being down for a little while at the end of May. 2) Ken Lowe has removed himself of pseudomoderater of certain games. 3) Judge has a new HISTORY command to help catch up on a game. 4) Judge has a SET QUIET command to prevent signon/resign commands etc... from being broadcast in gunboat tournaments. 5) Judge has a new PARTIAL ORDERS flag to prevent CD as long as some moves are in. 6) Judge has a new SET (UN)RATED command to indicate which games affect the "DEDICATION" ratings of players. Contact the JUDGE or Ken for more information. **** EUROPEAN ZINES **** From: Per Westling <c85perwe@und.ida.liu.se> If you are interested to know more about European (snail) zines there are two good sources: * If you can read German you could try to send 3DM+postage to get InterZine from Lukas Kautzsch, Seiterichstr 5, 7500 Karlsruhe I, Germany. Review several PBM zines in Germany as well as some foreign. Not limited to Diplomacy zines. You can find a list of game starts in all the reviewed zines. Monthly publication. * The rest of you could try to get "Mission from God" and send Pound 1 to Andy Key, 144 Perrinsfield, Venymore, Leclade, Glos, GL7 3SE, England. MfG reviews most of the English zines as well as some foreign, and it is mostely Diplomacy zines. If you don't have the requested currency you may try 1 or 2 International Reply Coupons, or just write a nice letter... There exist a similar zine in USA for the North American side of the Diplomacy hobby, called Zine Register. Don't have the address right now but I can send it another time if anyone is interested. **** CONVENTIONS **** 1) Write to Mark Nelson for information about Manorcon 10 (17-20 July, Birmingham University) 2) THE FIRST DIPLOMACY EUROPEAN TOURNAMENT August 31st to September 6th From: Per Westling <c85perwe@und.ida.liu.se> This is the first try to make the annual French Championship a more international tournament. The dates above are for the whole week but the Diplomacy tournament will be Fri 4th Sep - Sun 6th Sep. Foreign players will be exempted from fees. Local hosting is possible for the ones not able to book a hotel. For more information, write to Xavier Blanchot, 99 Bd Raspail, F-75006 Paris, France. You can also phone him at (+33 1) 45.48.21.68 and 45.88.13.37. **** EUROPEAN ZINE POLL **** From: Per Westling <c85perwe@und.ida.liu.se> Results from Zine Ordinatus, the European Zine Poll, for 1991 was as follows: 1. Rhein-Neckar-Zine (Lukas Kautzsch, Germany) 2. Trahison! (Xavier Blanchot, France) 3. Lepanto 4-ever (Per Westling, Sweden) 4. Enkidu (Rolland Rollig, Germany) 5. Amtsblatt (Michael Blumohr, Germany) 6. Prisoners of War (Wallace Nicoll, Scotland) 7. Small Furry Creatures Press (Theo Clark, England) 8. La Gazette des Sport (Frederic Abrassart, Belgium) 9. Electric Monk (Madi Smith, Andy Key, England) 10. Dolchstoss (Rochard Sharp, England) Next year maybe Chapter 2 will be included in this list? **** INAPROPRIATE MESSAGE IN GRASS **** From: Karl Dotzek (GM in Judge game GRASS) <karl%ADLER.PHILOSOPHIE.UNI-STUTTGART.DE@FRMOP11.CNUSC.FR> > Judge Dash Request writes: > >From judge@u.washington.edu Wed May 20 12:02:19 1992 > > Date: Wed, 20 May 92 12:02:11 -0700 > > From: Diplomatic Adjudicator <judge@u.washington.edu> > > To: jdr@u.washington.edu > > Subject: Diplomacy master information > > Orders for Russia in grass submitted by <player-1> > > instead of <player-2>. The message the Judge issues here mirrors not the reality. In 'grass', as I've found out, it was the case, that Russia wanted to secure Turkey about his orders and simply changed the Reply-To field of his message containing his moves to the address of the Turkish player. The Russian player submitted the moves by himself. So the judge's message is wrong. (It was not the case that player-1 had the password of player-2, as one might suspect, seeing the message. That`s not really a bug, but I made a wrong accusation against the players of giving away the password and of submitting orders for someone else without informing the master. I was a bit in trouble, but could clarify things. I told the players to not do it like this anymore, as it doesn't increase any trustworthy (the player, who changed the reply field of his message, can immediately issue a second message overwriting the first set with contrary moves), but why not? If they like to? It is complicated and won't happen very often, anyway. But to foil a noviate? Has not been the case in reality, but could be thinkable. I don't know if this is questionable according to some unoutspoken Diplomacy ethics or if it is still agreeable in terms of Diplomacy expertise and as such a valid method to gain an advantage in the game. It uses the medium for a game's trick, where one could argue, the medium is only there to serve. Exclusively the formulation of text has to be used for convincing another player of one's aims, no technical device. It could be viewed unfair to gain an advantage by simply having better knowledge of the medium. Maybe there could be at least a future improvement for the judge in the form that it checks the 'From'-field of the message against the ID it has in its database for the specified game and power, instead of checking it with the Reply-To field. That would avoid the sending of the above message erroneously. **** VARIANT SERIES: 1938 DIPLOMACY **** From: Per Westling <c85perwe@und.ida.liu.se> by Lew Pulsipher This game was designed specifically for face-to-face play by complete novices. Consequently not many changes have been made, and no rule changes, and there are five players (since novices who could get seven or more together would play standard Dip). Old timers who want to try a game with a few changes occasionally may also be interested. [1.] The 1971 Diplomacy rules are used except as follows. [2.] The game begins in Spring 1938. Player countries and initial units are: \begin{tabular}{lllll} France F Brest A Paris A Marseilles Germany F Kiel A Munich A Prussia A Berlin Great Britain F Edinburgh F London F Liverpool Italy *F* Rome A Venice *A* Naples Russia A Ural A Sevastopol F St. Petersburg (nc) [3.] Sweden, Turkey, Spain and Poland each are occupied by an army in Civil Disorder. [4.] There are 29 centers. Victory criterion is {\em 16} units on the board. [5.] Kiel, Denmark, and Turkey in the game act as Kiel, Denmark and Constantinople, respectively, in standard Dip for movement purposes. **** SUMMER IS COMING **** Please volunteer as a sub. Please warn your GM of any impending absences. Note that I will be running a summer math camp (July 12-31). **** DIPLOMACY ARTICLE ARCHIVES SERVICE **** Mark Nelson <amt5man@ecusun.leeds.ac.uk> maintains a fairly large list of Diplomacy Articles. I would like to see as many of them as possible permanently archived in Electronic form. Please write to Mark and request the articles that you are willing to type into your computer. Send the articles to me and I will print them in EP Chapter 2. People in North America can have material in return for subs to North American zines. (Mark's choice). Elsewhere, contact Mark for information. *** FRANCE cF01 The problems of the first 2 seasons, Danny Collman, 1987, 3 cF02 The terror of 1901--more French openings, Mark Nelson, 1987, 2 cF03 How to play France, Derwood Bowen, 1987, 1 cF04 An Introduction to French Openings, Mark Nelson, 1987, 8 cF05 France, Eric Vereiden, 1 cF06 French Openings, Steve Doubleday, 1984, 3 cF07 A Look at France in 1901, Francois Cuerrier, 1989, 3 cF08 France, Harry Drews, 1975, 2 cF09 The French Openings, Duncan K. Smith, 1973, 2, includes cF10 cF10 A reply to cF09 cF11 50,000,000 Frenchman can't be wrong, Richard Egan, 3 *** GERMANY cG01 The first two seasons, Danny Collman, 1987, 2 cG02 Anschluss, Richard Sharp, 1977, 2 cG03 Diplomacy Strategy-Germany, John Wilman, 1983, 2 cG04 Germany, Konard Baumeister, 2 cG05 Germany, Derek Cawes, 1984, 2 cG06 Germany Opening Strategy cG07 German Variations, Geoff Challinger, 2 cG08 Germany, Harry Drews, 1975, 2 cG09 When the Twain shall meet: germany in the Midgame, Richard Egan, 3 cG10 A look at Germany in 1901, Francois Cuerrier, 1989, 3 cG11 Germany--The quick or the dead!, Cal White, 1989, 2 cG12 Germany, Gerald Todd, 1990, 2 **** OPENING SUMMARY **** Spring 1901 opening list is still being updated. Write to me for a copy. ***** PART TWO ***** **** MONTHLY LIST OF EP GAMES ON THE DA **** --- EXPLANATION --- Here is the monthly update on games played on Judge. Each game is represented by a line of data (followed possibly by a line of comments --- please send me comments I can use if you are a GM!). The games are sorted according the the variant rules which are used. Column Explanation ------ ----------- (1) Name of game including a "#" if game is "private" or "unlisted" (2) Electronic Protocol number (and Chapter) if available. (3) Location of the Diplomacy Adjudicator being used (see list below) (4) Name of the GM (see list of GMs below). (5-10) Updates on game in chronological order (most recent on the right) The updates for a game in formation indicate the number of players needed to start. For example, -5. The updates for a game in progress indicate the season (F for Fall or S for Spring), the last 2 digits of the year, and the phase (M for movement, B for builds, and R for retreats). All this is possibly followed by the indication of the number of replacement players (-1), temporary replacements (T1) needed, or needed later on (*1). --- LIST --- Name EP# Judge GM Jan3 Feb4 Mar10 Apr3 May22 June30 ------- --- ----- -- ---- ---- ----- ---- ----- ------ STANDARD RULES cicada USA jdr -3 cheetah USA desper S01M marengo 129 USA scottb F07M S09M F10M F11B S14M S14M osijek 137 USA cebulad S05M S06M F07M F08M S11M sparrow 133 USA casmacin S05R S06M F07R F10M S14M S17M Austria and Turkey digging in to prevent English win. normandy USA loeb -3 -3 S01M*1 F01B F03M S06M French game. Nous parlons francais! grass USA karl -5 S01M S03M S04M R/T eat up A, while the rest seems to concentrate East(IMHO). kaiser USA karl -3 F03M F05M A elim, Balk+Med unquiet: R+T intertwined, while E hits the North croatia 148 USA nick F02R F03M F04B F06M F08M F10M Russia eliminated, Austria down to 1, Turkey & Eng in lead quebec 154 USA nick F02M F03M F05B F07M T eliminated; AIG down to 1; diablos USA j_oregan -7 -5 STANDARD GUNBOAT - Identities of players unknown. All messages are public. conan 163 USA pl436000-2 F02B S05M S07M F11B S14M-1 eldritch USA j_oregan -5 S02M Dedication level 20. Press allowed. Continues during summer. dppa 167 USA loeb F01M S03R F05M S07M ddpb 168 USA loeb F01M F03M F05M F07M dppc USA loeb -5 F02M S05M S07M dppd USA loeb F01M S04M S05M dppe USA loeb S01M S04M F05B dppf USA aubert -5 F01M F02M-1 dppg USA aubert S01M F03M warp sped dpph USA aubert -5 S03M Play against a computer opponent (DPP version 2). No press. YOUNGSTOWN RULES (10 players) Extended map including Asia and Africa. giggles USA dwiseman S07R F08B S10M F10M F11M S12M Local ERIM game timor 160 USA nick -10 F01M F03M S04M S05M Russia and Japan co-operating, France and China too? krauts USA karl -9 -9 Press to be written in German. Long signon period anticipated. Spiel in Deutsch, alle Verhandlungen werden auf Deutsch gefuehrt. YOUNGSTOWN GUNBOAT GAME sunda 171 USA nick S01M F04R F05M sumatra 182 USA nick -1 F04M F05B EP#182; Russia retreats from all; major German expansion. Warp speed Gunboat Youngstown games. 24h deadline, 72h grace. luzon 192 USA Marty S02R F04M-2 mindanao USA Marty -7 -6 celebes USA Nick S01M LOEB9 RULES (9 players) Spain and Scandinavia are added as extra players. eylau 153 USA loeb S03M F03M S05M F06M S09M S12M 5 units forced to retreat simultaneously. Russia eliminated. GREAT BRITAIN RULES (7 players) Britain starts with 6 SC's but all armies! hastings 139 USA loeb F04M-1 S05R F07B S10M F13M S16M CHAOS RULES (34 players) Regular map. Each SC is owned by a different player. fontenoy 114/4 USA NONE F08M F09M F10M F11B F14M F15M 6-player draw approaches iona 169 USA NONE -13 S01M F02M F03M F04R S06M Southern and Northern alliances face off voll USA NONE -26 German language game zenith USA NONE -11 1898 RULES / GUNBOAT GAME corsica USA dmb S00M MACHIAVELLI RULES - An economic variant of Diplomacy marketed by Avalon Hills vega USA cebula -3 U54M U55M S56M F57B S59M Pope almost out. The price he paid for Florence was too high. poverty USA andre -6 -5 U54M F55M U57R F59M sober USA andre -2 F54M A gunboat Machiavelli Variant without Loans and special units. ULTIMATE SHAMBLES RULES morat 172 Denmark thorinn S02M F04M **** FOR MORE INFO ABOUT THE JUDGE**** For X: Send Y to JUDGE@U.WASHINGTON.EDU: ------ --------------------------------- (*QUESTIONS ABOUT A CERTAIN GAME*) More detailed information about a game: LIST <name-of-game> History of a game: SUMMARY <name-of-game> Detailed Recent History of a game: HISTORY (after signing on) Regular updates for a certain game: OBSERVE <name-of-game> <password> Copy of variant rules: GET INFO.<name-of-variant> or GET PRESS or GET GUNBOAT (*GENERAL QUESTIONS*) General information HELP Update of the list of games above LIST More detailed list LIST FULL To be informed of all game changes OBSERVE CONTROL <password> Default house rules GET EP.HOUSE.RULES Other information: Contact me (loeb@geocub.greco-prog.fr) or Ken Lowe (jdr@u.washington.edu) or your game master (see list below) **** FOR MORE INFO ABOUT THE ELECTRONIC PROTOCOL **** To solve Email problems, contact one of the email wizards: swb@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu, andre@hern.stonemarche.org eisen@cs.jhu.edu, eisen@jhuvms.bitnet, or wcw27974@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu Other information: Contact Eric Klien (eric_s_klien@cup.portal.com) **** FOR ARCHIVES **** 1) Use the HISTORY command for recent game result. Use the GET command (especially GET FLIST) to receive JUDGE related files. 2) Contact the archivists, jlitvin@hfglobe.intel.com/John Litvin, or nick@sunburn.uwaterloo.ca (Nick Fitzpatrick) for back issues 3) Anonymous FTP Machine: Directory: Contents: Milton.U.Washington.Edu /public/misc source for judge, postscript maps Ftp.Fu-berlin.DE /public/misc/diplomacy variants, hall of fame, articles, judge source 137.248.151.12 /pub/incoming/ep-chapter Old issues of EP. **** LIST OF DIPLOMACY ADJUDICATORS **** USA judge@u.washington.edu Canada nick@watfrost.waterloo.edu Denmark judge@diku.dk **** LIST OF GAME MASTERS **** Brian Bacher bacherb@physics.orst.edu David M Bowen dmb@bigd.cray.com dmb@sequoia.cray.com Dave Cebula cebulad@physics.orst.edu Karl Dotzek karl@adler.philosophie.uni-stuttgart.de Jamie Dreier pl436000@brownvm.brown.edu, pl436000@brownvm.bitnet Bryant Durrell durrell@umaxc.weeg.uiowa.edu Nicholas Fitzpatrick nick@sunburn.waterloo.edu Nawwar Kasrawi skiman@leland.stanford.edu Edward J Koll koll02@snybufva.bitnet Koll02@snybscva.bitnet Danny Loeb loeb@nestor.greco-prog.fr Ken Lowe jdr@u.washington.edu ken@milton.u.washington.edu Matt McLeod c9106225@wombat.newcastle.edu.au Michael Luft scottb@cs.utexas.edu Sean MacIntosh casmacin@atlas.cs.upei.ca John Aidan O'Regan J_ORegan%csvax1@iruccvax.UCC.IE Doug Van Belle ASDAV@ASUACAD.BITNET Andre Verweij andre@duteina.tudelft.nl andre@hlniob.uucp ***** PART THREE ***** **** OSIJEK GAME SUMMARY **** From: cebulad@physics.orst.edu Dave Cebula (Master of Osijek) Thanks everyone for a good game. You made life relatively easy for me as a GM and I thank you for it. We managed to finish this one, despite the fact that everyone seemed to want a turn as France. Good Luck to all of you in future games. I hope to see you in cyberspace again soon. Game summary and comment by the players follow. Osijek (EP#137) ended in a declared Russian-German draw with France listed as a survivor. Summary of game osijek through F1910B. Master: Dave Cebula cebulad@physics.orst.edu Austria: Alan Freeman moron@mentor.cc.purdue.edu from F1902M: Matt Ender ender2@husc.harvard.edu England: Bill Wendling wcw27974@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu from F1907M: Niklas Persson t89npe@bellatrix.tdb.uu.se France: Louis Lenders louis@mbfys.kun.nl from S1909M: franz tamayo angels_gary@merlin.nmhu.edu from F1909M: CHRISTOPHER M. MORGAN morgan_c@merlin.nmhu.edu from F1909R: Kirk Randall cheng@u.washington.edu Germany: Scott C. Best nsc!gpo.nsc.com!sbest%clasic.dnet@sun.c Italy: Jonathan Amsterdam jba@ai.mit.edu from F1906R: Bill Dunlevy dunlevy@erim.org Russia: Patrick Plaisted pat@kcgl1.eng.ohio-state.edu Turkey: Cliff McKeithan cmmjr@flight-sim.gatech.edu Historical Supply Center Summary -------------------------------- Ven Nap Edi Lvp Par Por Bel Mun Ber Swe Stp Mos Con Smy Rum Ser Vie Year Rom Tun Lon Bre Mar Spa Hol Kie Den Nor War Sev Ank Bul Gre Bud Tri 1900 I I I . E E E F F F . . . . G G G . . . R R R R T T T . . . . A A A 1901 I I I I E E E F F F F F E G G G G G R E R R R R T T T T R T A A I A 1902 I I I I E E E F F F F F G E G G G G R R R R R R T T T T R T T R R A 1903 I I I I E E E F F F F F G E G G G G R E R R R R T T T T R T T R R R 1904 I I I I E E E F F F F F G G G G G G R E R R R R T T T T R T T R R R 1905 I I I I E E E F F F F F G E G G G G G E R R R R T T T T R T T T R T 1906 F I F I E E E F F F F F G G G G G G G R R R R R T T T T R T T T R T 1907 T F F T E E E F F F F F G G G G G G G R R R R R T T T T R T T R R T 1908 T T F F E E E F F F F E G G G G G G G R R R R R T T T T R T R R R R 1909 T F F F G E E E F G E E G G G G G G G R R R R R T R T R R T R R R T 1910 G R F F G E E G F G E F G G G G G G R R R R R R R R R R R T R R R R History of Supply Center Counts ------------------------------- Power 1900 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 `10 Player Austria 3 3 \ Alan Freeman 1 Matt Ender England 3 5 4 5 4 5 3 \ Bill Wendling 3 4 5 3 Niklas Persson France 3 5 5 5 5 5 7 7 6 \ Louis Lenders 4 4* Kirk Randall Germany 3 5 5 5 6 6 7 7 7 9 10 Scott C. Best Italy 3 5 4 4 4 4 \ Jonathan Amsterdam 2 Bill Dunlevy Russia 4 6 9 9 9 6 7 8 10 11 16* Patrick Plaisted Turkey 3 5 6 6 6 8 8 9 7 5 1 Cliff McKeithan Index: 10 24 28 29 30 28 32 36 35 38 54 * = 1 unused build. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Comments from the Players >From Turkey: I started the game off with a tight alliance with Russia, a half-hearted non- aggression pact with Austria, and no comment from the Italian player. My intent was to go with Russia through Austria, and this was quickly realized. Unfortunately, I goofed up strategically and gave France time to come to Italy's aid before I could get enough momentum. So, Russia and I were effectively stopped at Italy's doorstep. Russia managed to take Venice, but given the arrival on the scene of two French armies, there was no hope of keeping it. So, backed by German assurances of help, I stabbed my faithful ally Russia (to my eventual demise). The stab started off okay, but I made the mistake of counting too much on the German assistance (which never came). Not only did Germany not help me, he helped Russia. So, I ended up stalemated against Russia in the Balkans. I can't stand going on for years with no progress, so I agreed to return the centers gained in the stab of Russia, since the Franco-Italian alliance had dissolved. Unfortunately, the Tsar still bore a grudge against me (I can't imagine why :-), and forgot to stop once he had retaken his agreed upon supply centers. Alas, I was to far committed in my attack on France, and it only took him a few seasons to clean up the mess that remained of my position. Lessons learned: Be more patient with apparent stalemates, and don't depend too much on another country when you stab. Cliff >From the British Isles: I have enjoyed participating in this game, although the feeling that either Russia or Germany would win eventually, rised after just 2 or 3 turns. After taking over the abandoned England with only three units, I was forced into an alliance with Germany since France didn't reply to my messages and when it comes to choosing between to bad things (an alliance with either Russia or Germany or try to fight on my one) I decided that Germany and I had two common enemies France and Russia. After just two turns it was clear that Germany and I only had one common enemy, France. I tried to get France to join me in an attack on Germany, but still no response. Therefore I decided to help Germany, hoping that sooner or later he would stab Russia or vice versa and then I would get my chance to get back in control by joining the side that would offer me the most supply centers in return for my assistance. But as we all can see that never happened, Germany and Russia stayed allied and know they share the victory. Niklas, King of England >From Germany: Osijek (AP) -- Dozens of dignitaries from all corners of Europe gathered here today for festivites celebrating the peace accord, news of which is sweeping across the continent. Amid crowded fanfare, and several emptied martini glasses, Kaiser Vail of Germany was finally secured for this interview. Q> Kasier Vail, you have stated before that "balance" is the key to securing the control of Europe. How did the balance of the past struggle begin, and how did it develop? A> Balance, yes. Quite important. The key is to strike, and hold, without falling over, you see? It all began with Austria in 1901. He flooded the courts of Europe with bizarre, empty messages and threats. Of course, all of the courts were in communique with each other, and well all recognized him as an immediate threat. There was very little doubt that Russia, Turkey, Italy, and myself were to work togteher to eliminate him as soon as possible. Yet, I shared in none of the spoils, for I still had a French neighbor whose intentions were unclear, and I could not more far east without sacrificing my overall balance. So by the end of 1901, RTI were well postioned against Austria, France had just attempted a move into Munich, and England had just been overextended with a convoy into Holland. Thus in 1902 I had causus belli against France, with an English presence which needed my support. Q> How did further developments in AH influence your strategems? A> The most significant development was in the fall of 1902 when the Russians turned against the Italian forces, and took over Vienna. -- already Austria Hungary was so demolished that other empires were arguing over the spoils. In this same season, Russia was taking a strong stance in Scandinavia, and England suffered setbacks there. By spring of 1903 I was well postioned for an assault on France, but Russia was up to *9* units, and most everyone became quite nervous about this. It was the Italians who alerted us to this threat, and finally convinced England and I to cease any plannings against the French, and work together against Russia. Q> Were the Russians off balance at this point? A> In my opinion, yes. He was doing very well on three fronts, and everyone became very frightened of his progress. There seemed, though, that there was very little we could do about it -- no one wanted to become the next Austria-Hungary, which was totally occupied by the end of spring 1903. Like I said though, heavy lobbying by the Italians convinced us (EFGT) to trust each other enough to work against an immediate victory by the Russian. Q> So how did you begin to work against the Russian? A> It began actually in the fall of 1903, not as most people think which is the spring of 1904 when I moved into Silesia and the Baltic. In 1903, my advisors to England conviced him that his Skagerrak fleet would be better used in a convoy into Sweden than an attack against Norway. This attack was successful and the Russian military forces did not grow that year, and EFGT seemed to suddenly have a chance. Q> If things suudenly looked promising about working against Russia, why did you ever choose to turn against the English, and ally with Russia? A> Yes, ths certainly was a turning point for Germany, for after Russia and I began to work together after this, we nary crossed swords once in the remainder of the struggle. My reasons for my actions were twofold. First, for all the seasons leading up to the fall of 1905, when the Russian lost one-third of all his holdings, my advisors in the English court were so close to the kings ear that his orders were not only predictable, but they were practically authored by my empire. And remeber, England still had a fledgling presence on the continent, in Belgium, which would be a most strategic province to secure if ever I was to move against France, which had long been my desire. Secondly, there was Turkey who stood to prosper the most from a fallen Russia, and was also at this time threatening Italy. Thus, if I continued against Russia, Turkey would have grown out of control (at least, out of German control), and there is very little that Germany can do to assail Turkey directly. Thus, Russia and I, after some intense diplomatic session, began to work together. In the Spring of 1906, right as St.Petersburg was positioned to fall to the English, I suppoted Russian back into Norway, and captured the province of Belgium. Such was the disarray in England, that the king fled the country, and a new leader was installed. Also in 1906, France finally stopped assiting the Italians against southern Turkish expansion, and instead turned on Italy. My cause against France was renewed. Q> So how did this new two-front war proceed? A> Actually, I was quite fortunate in that it never develloped into a two front war. If it did, I very well might not be speaking with you here today. As I said, there was a change of monarchs in England, and I managed to convince the new king that working against France with me was by far his most profitable option. When this began to work, in 1907, the French leader resigned, and his country was thrown into chaos. A pair of hoplessly incompetant leaders arose out of that chaos, and they were quickly dispatched as well. Yet, Russia and I were still working together, so while he labored against the falling Turks (which he lulled into a deadly trap in which they were morally wounded), he assited me in invading England, while the English helped me in paralyzing the French. I swear, if EF ever began to truly work together, Germany would have been finished. Q> Did you ever suspect that the Russian support would fail, and the Czar would sweep Europe in a solo victory? A> Ah yes, the mistrust question. Of course, I was always skeptical, but not mistrusting. The Russian and I had the clearest communication channels, and there was no issue which went unspoken, even the discussion of his solo victory. When he forgot to support my attack into Liverpool, and took my holding in Sweden for his *fifth* build of that season (1909), I of course suspected that I was finnaly being paid back for the Swedish Gambit of 1903. Yet before I could even squeeze off a letter to the Czar, he wrote back to me apologizing for his error, and assuring me of his desire to sign a treaty designating a Russiam/German victory. As you know, this came to pass in the spring of 1910. Q> Thanks very much for your time. Any parting comments? Yes, my regards to both Cliff and Patrick for their commitment to Osijek. The three other leaders of EFI abandoned their responsibilities when faced with setback, so I have infinitely high regard for the leaders of Turkey and Russia, especially Sultan Cliff, who maintained his spitits and diplomatic actions all the way up to the end. Kudos and kudos to both of you. At last then, goodbye, farewell, and amen. Kasier Vail of the Second Reich Co-Emperor of Europe >From the Czar: A final greetings to all members of Osijek from the Czar, I would like to thank everyone for a most enjoyable game and send special thanks to both Cliff and Scott, who hung in there from the beginning. Here are some of my thoughts on the game: The first year opened up with the wilcard of austria. To the best of my knowledge, the only one that had any relations with him (i.e. the only one who's mail he was answering) was Italy. RGT all moved against him because they feared his aggression. I was very much suprised by italy's move against him also, as they were supposed to have a treaty. All this spelled a fast doom for austria. I also had little elsewhere to go as I had reached non-aggression aliances with both turkey and germany. F1901: The Sultan used some excellent diplomacy to gain the support of austria into greece while at the same time he and I were plotting the dismantling of austria. S1902: Decisions, decisions. Italy had already broken a treaty with the austrian and sent a bold letter to me telling of his suspicions of my alliance with the turk. On the other hand, I knew that an alliance with the Turk would draw the attention of the other players. I can postpone the decision for a while though, as I can still gain Italy's support into budapest by the fall. F1902: Italy got more and more suspicious as the summer went by, which in the end influenced me to take venice. If he had that little trust for me now, he wouldn't make a good ally in the future. The sultan continued to show his diplomatic skill in relaying to me the very anti-russian views italy was saying to him. I realize it was just to better his position, but Cliff played it very well. It seemed as if gef couldn't decide who was allying with who, and the turk and I hoped that they would take too long to unite against us. s1903: I made several mistakes this season. I had a treaty with england which he broke, leaving me in very poor strategic position. I was far too trusting of him after my taking of norway (which he should have expected). I also fear that I have offended the german, and that they will all unite against the Juggernaut. f1903: I undertook a massive letter writing campaign to try and convince the Kaiser to not move against me. It worked, as I gained sweeden back, but at the cost of norway. At least I was a little stronger tactically in the north. s1904: Ouch. The German turned on the juggernaut too soon! I had been attempting to set up a contidion where the german and I could overtake endland and divide it up, while the turk and I would still be working together but not going anywhere. By previous agreement with the turk, 3 of the 4 centers in Italy were his, so I stood to gain little there. By playing the Italian, Turk, and French into each other, the german and I would be the only ones growing. After that, the Turk would be no challenge to me because of his sole naval power. But all this is out the window now. Oh, I was so close... f1904: Through diplomatic means, I managed to forstall at least some of the German offensive against me. Holding onto sweeden was pure luck. I also believe that the Turk was one of the major instigators of the united front against me in the north. 1905: Germany and I are regaining some of our former profitable relations, which is good, because of the Turk's merceless stab. I had feared it was comming, but we had finally broken through into Italy and thought that might sway him and we could continue to work on Italy. 1906: The german seems eager to again aid me, perhaps for fearing of the turk in the event of a quick russian collapse. I've been trying to reforge something with the turk, and may have some success with the german failing to follow an offensive against me. The german's proxy contorl in the fall really helped me back onto my feet. Thanks Scott! The English has been far too aggressive with his german ally, especially since it was germany who saved him from me only 2 years ago. 1907: I managed, after a shaky spring, to gain peace with the turk. Although I think he did have a slight upper hand in a war against me, he agreed that it would be long and slow and take all his forces to conquer me. England had agreed to leave norway alone and then proceeded to attack it at his first opportunity (again! although a different ruler), something that does not lead me to trust him. S1908: England is continuing to pursue gains in Scandinavia, but fortunetly germany is leaking word to me and will continue to offer his support. In conjuction with this, I told england that I feared a german turn against me which should help make him unsuspecting of our plans to invade england. The Kaiser is beginning to question my friendly moves in the south and I'm trying to convince him that I am simply trying to throw the Turk off balance, rather than becomming involved in a stalemate. F1908: I stayed up 'till 2am trying to decide who to stab: germany or Turkey. Either could have been successfull. Occupying the pru-sil-boh-try line would have been very formatable, but I chose to move against turkey for two reasons. Revenge :-) (only a minor concern actually), and if he did indeed move to the med as we had planned, he would, in the end, offer less resistance. 1909: Fortunetly, I was able to convince france to move on the turkish positions in italy. At the same time, germany and I also managed to coordinate the destruction of the army in marsellies, which lead to the german gain in the fall. 1910: I was lucky in the spring with the disbadment of the fleet in Con. From here, the Turk could not deny me control of his homeland. I went for the duel victory with Scott in the end because we had worked so well together (all in all) that I really didn't want to move against him (or him against me). Thanks everyone for a great game! Thanks for mastering Dave! Pat -- Yours, Daniel Loeb loeb@geocub.greco-prog.fr HOME 150, cours Victor-Hugo; Appt D45; 33000 Bordeaux France WORK LABRI; Universite de Bordeaux I; 33405 Talence Cedex France Up