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ALSATIAN END-GAME STATEMENTS
GM:
Brian Frew
Started: July 2005
Finished: October 2005
Result: Draw F/G/R/T
| Country | Player | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | Result | | Austria | Stef Meihuizen | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Lost 1910 | | England | Jase DeBoer | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Lost 1910 | | France | Kester Bearne | 5 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 17 | Drew 1910 | | Germany | Wayne Read | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 3 | Drew 1910 | | Italy | Jeff Grzybowski | 5 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Lost 1910 | | Russia | Sebastian Egerton-Read | 6 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 8 | 7 | Drew 1910 | | Turkey | Pablo Echevarrķa | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 7 | Drew 1910 |
GERMANY (Wayne Read ) Alsatian - German EGS - Wayne Read
I started writing this EGS in A1904, so apologies if the early years
are a bit sketchy.
This game didn't get off to a great start, I started a new job two
days before the S1901 deadline and was then without e-mail during the
day for the following week - good old IT Dept.
My initial thoughts on seeing the line-up were......... aaargg! 4
out of 5 of my neighbours are GMs, and highly placed at that!
My other neighbour (Austria) was Stef, we'd played in the 1904
Tournament and had ended up on good terms (I'd gone out of my way to make
sure he survived.) Strangely enough I was Germany to his Austria. I think
that that coloured my judgement when it came to this game as I started
it with the idea of maintaining a strong Anschluss right from the
start.
I knew Kester very well, he'd GMed me on many occasions, we'd met in
Gunboat games and even met socially a few times. This was the first
time we'd met in a proper game, but he probably understood my style of
play better than anyone on the board so I felt we could also work
together.
Seb and Pablo were new to me so I had a lot to learn about them. Jase
and Grizzy, on the other hand were known from previous meetings, but I
didn't have any strong feelings one way or the other concerning allying
with them, I would take things as they came.
So it was that I started the game with the idea of a F/G/A alliance
at the forefront of my mind.
What became immediately apparent was that Kester and Seb were the
talkers in the game. I had the bulk of my correspondence with these two
throughout, no matter what relations were like on the board. Jase was
very late in joining the game and this cemented my feelings that a F/G
alliance against England was on the cards.
Stef also didn't get off to a good start, and this gave me a lot of
problems in 1901. F & R were standing out as potential allies, but I
just couldn't come to terms with the idea that I should ally with both of
them as Germany. Surely if they both did well I would get squashed in
the middle? I had a decision to make come A1901 and I spend a very long
time mulling my options over. In the end I think I got it completely
wrong - I decided to follow my initial feelings and stick with Stef and
Kester. This resulted in me standing Seb out of Swe and moving my forces
East (much to just about everyone's surprise I think).
At the end of 1901, Italy and Russia worked together in Austria, this
caused me and Kester to reconsider our planned attack on England and
instead looked at a Western Triple in response to the situation in the
East. So it was that a late change of plan saw Jase taking Bel.
S1902
Oh hell! France is in Ruh, England is in HEL & SKA, I've upset
Russia, who is definitely working with Italy, and my only Ally is about to be
eliminated!
I'm friendless, surrounded, going to be down to 4SC and in serious
trouble!!!
I was pretty sure at this point that I'd be out by 1904. There was a
glimmer of hope though, France and Russia doing well, but apparently
were not allied. I started my game long balancing act of working with
each of them in turn against the other to eek out part of the draw - but
boy was there a long way to go!
I start negotiating like mad with Seb and Kester, I'm desperate to
mend my bridges and get some co-operation going.
A1902
Luckily for me my messages don't fall on deaf ears, Kester turns his
attention to taking Bel and also moves into the Med and invades Italy,
while Seb supports me in Den to > thwart any English move there. Jase
takes Hol, but that was to be expected.
My note to Brian with my orders reads: "Well, I'm pretty amazed, last
season actually went as I'd hoped. I'm now working with Seb and Kester
against Jase. There's a good chance that no matter what I do I will
eventually be eliminated by those two, but at the moment some of the
pressure is off so I can only hope to turn either F or R against the other
in exchange for my help.
I could lose Den this season, but if I do then either Hol or Nwy (or
both) will fall and I'm hoping that Kester will also take Lpl, so
England will be in big trouble. Getting a couple of those Fleets on my
Northern border disbanded would be a big relief."
The builds are a relief too, with Kester building an Army in Mar,
while Seb builds F(Stp)nc.
S1903
England takes Den off of me, but I combine with Kester to disband the
English unit in Hol. Russia also supports me in Mun, to protect against
a French stab, so things are still ok. Kester's rapid rise is a worry
though.
This is part of an e-mail to Jase: "Things are certainly looking
dire, up until last season I saw you as my biggest threat, but now it's
easy to see that Kester poses the greatest threat to the whole game. He
will build 3 this season (Rom, Hol & Lpl) and with Italy wide open and
him gaining a toe-hold in England it's not hard to see him getting to
around 14 SC fairly soon. I think he's done a good job of getting us
fighting, last season you lost Hol while I lost Den, but who will get the
build? France!
Is it time for you, me and Seb to stop fighting over Scandinavia and
turn to face the real threat? I think Seb recognises the situation and
would be willing to go along with a deal that at least gained both of
us a survival. After all no one wants to be on the end of a solo!"
Jase's response goes further than I expected, he agrees, and as he is
going to be away on holiday he offers me his proxy for the next two
seasons! He's ordering his own units this season and even though I'm not
100% sure I've got his proxy I amend my orders to take full advantage.
My note to Brian with my orders reads: Even though I'm not in good
shape and could to be down to 3SC this year, things are actually going
reasonably well. Russia supported me last season and could again this
time, also France moved against England.
I fully expect that Kester will attack me again, but the easing of
the English pressure will be a welcome relief. If things go as I hope
then you could see an R/G/T alliance at the end trying to keep France from
getting to 18!"
How's that for a prediction guys? And S1903 too!
A1903
All is going well. Jase moves out of Den to HEL & ENG, I appear to
take Den back by force and Jase disbands F(Nwy) to release the Russian
Fleets.
Theoretically I now have the English units for the next two seasons,
so lets see what damage I can do?
S1904
My message to Brian:
"So, I did have the English proxy! :o)
Things aren't looking so bad now, but still stuck between the two big
boys.
I've had some hard discussions to make this season. Everyone is
warning about a Russian Solo, and I can see it's possible, but he's also the
only guy who seems trustworthy (for now). Kester says he now wants to
ally, but both of them see England as expendable, and I've got his
proxy!! Do I take the two builds for myself (Hol, Bel)? This will give me
greater bargaining power, and security, but drops Jase in it. The up side
of this is that Kester will get more of the English centres which will
bring F and R into conflict quicker.
The BIG problem with this plan is that I'm not 100% sure that F & R
will fight. Kester is moving into the Med under the pretence of helping
Grizzy stop the Juggernaut, but we have yet to see this actually
happen, Italy is most likely the target> . I'm probably being paranoid here
though as R & F could've worked together already to take Mun from me.
In the end I've decided to stick with the guy I feel most comfortable
with - because I have his proxy - but to also keep Russia happy at the
same time. Russia will attack England soon and maybe then I'll decide
to throw my all in with F & I. "
A1904
I order the English units again and things are looking good. I
thought long and hard about taking Bel for myself this season but in the end
I supported English F(NTH) there. Instead I attack Bur and to my
surprise the attack succeeds and not only that, but Kester forgets to retreat
so the situation in France is much better than I could've expected.
I send a message to Pablo seeking an agreement that if Seb stabs
either of us then the other will help out. He agrees, but I think that the
two of them are a lot closer than either are letting on. In the message
to Pablo I also said that my attack on Kester should help him as France
will either pull units back of have to disband some in the Med. Within
hours of sending that to Pablo I got a message from Seb in which he
says "I would be surprised if Kester disbanded in the South since that
remains his last stronghold". Strange, I hadn't even mentioned that idea
to Seb when I wrote to him!!
Any future builds will have 'Eastern Defence' as their prime
objective.
S1905
My position continues to go from strength to strength. Jase supports
me to Pic and I follow this up with Mun-Bur so I now have two Armies on
French soil. Kester amazed me by not covering Gas, Par or Mar. I
suspect he expected me to go for one of these provinces and thought that
Pic-Bur would bounce a follow up move to Bur leaving him with only one
German Army to deal with. As it is I can now take Par with relative ease
(all that is needed is a move by England to ENG to cut support).
I talk to Seb and get his agreement to leave Edi in favour of moves
to Lpl and NAO, the latter of which is guaranteed.
During this season I also have a discussion with Seb about EP vs.
Tournament points. I point out that if he were to go for the solo,
everyone would unite against him and the result would be a large draw (with
low EP), alternatively if he, Pablo and myself pushed for a 3-way draw
then we would get good EP and he could still get good points for the
Tournament. Hopefully now we can play for the 3-way draw, I'm still nervous
though as Seb is telling Pablo that I'm expendable and me that Pablo is
expendable.
A1905
It turns out that I'm the one who's expendable! Seb takes Edi and
attacks Mun, which I bounce, this triggers a conditional build in Ber so
at least I'm in a good position to withstand an attack. I write to
everyone in earnest with the idea of getting a stop the leader alliance
going. I'd already told Kester that I'd do this if Seb attacked so
hopefully he'll be up for it. Seb has actually stabbed a year too early, he's
now facing 5 enemy Fleets in the North compared to his 3, if he'd have
waited 2 more seasons he would've been in Lpl and it's likely that I'd
have turned on England (sorry Jase) so 2 English Fleets would've been
disbanded instead of 1 - and France would've been in a worse position. As
it happens Kester takes two SC off of Italy this season to brilliantly
gain a build.
S1906
Pablo also gets attacked by Seb, so Russia is undoubtedly going for
the Solo, unfortunately for him both stabs were ineffective and only
resulted in uniting the board against him.
A1906
I can play safe this season or take some risks, I decide to take
risks and attack Tyr instead of standing in Mun, Kester commits to
supporting me. If the move succeeds I will keep Par. If not Kester will take it
and I'll probably lose a unit.
S1907
Seb defended Tyr so I lost an Army while Kester gained 2.
During this season Seb leaked a message from Kester to him in which
Kester had advised Seb to cover Tyr the previous season! Seem Kester got
a little greedy. He did exactly as we had planned > and gained a build
at my expense apparently through 'bad luck', when actually he'd
achieved the best outcome for himself through cunning. :o) Extremely well
played Kester - if this isn't how Diplomacy is supposed to be played
then I don't know what is?
Seb, pleads for me to change sides again, and promises to ease the
pressure on me. I write positively, but still think that sticking with
Kester is my best chance of a good result.
I agree with Kester to attack Boh (at the risk of losing Mun), so
that he can take Tyr, but at the same time ask him to move to Bur as I
expect to either lose Mun or to come under attach from Sil & Boh next
season.
A1907
Blimey - what's happened? Seb has retreated from my borders, as a
result I've ended up in Boh, and because of the moves agreed with Kester
I've now got two French units bordering an empty Mun! Talk about a fast
moving game.
I wouldn't have been too bothered about this, but the Intel from Seb
the previous season shows what lengths Kester is prepared to go and
has made me very nervous. I voice a plan to move back to Mun, but Kester
insists we keep up the pressure on Seb. I'm torn, but in the end agree
to keep attacking, I do however order Ber-Mun, just in case the French
Army in Bur gets itchy feet.
It does make sense to keep the pressure up as Russia can't defend
every SC adequately in the Balkans and must guess. I send a message to
Seb, saying that I appreciate his moves and say how worried I am about
Frances chances of now going for a solo. I tell him I'll be moving back to
Mun, so with luck he'll feel confident enough to leave Vie unsupported
(that's if Kester supports me there of course)
S1908
All is well. Kester has moved out of Bur and did support me to Vie,
which succeeded, much to my surprise. I had half expected to gain Swe
which would've triggered a new Fleet, but taking Vie triggered an Army
instead. And good job too as I'm very stretched in the centre now.
Jase made it to NTH, with Kester's help so Swe should be a formality
and I'm going to use A(Vie) to tap Bud so that Pablo can take Ser. I
hope he orders correctly, I've sent him the guaranteed moves, he seems a
little defensive about people suggesting things to him though.
A1908
Jase comes through with a move to Nwy so Swe is finally mine.
I tapped Bud, but Pablo messed up his orders and stays put - again.
You just can't help some people!
I'm worried about Kester stabbing at this late stage of the game, so
I'm moving Kie-Mun to minimise the damage if he does move on me. He's
removed the last Italian unit and the last English unit will fall too.
I'm moving West to cover as many SC as possible.
S1909
I was right. Kester attempted to take Mun and was bounced. I'm now in
Ruh and Hol, so should be able to hold on to Mun and Kie. Hol is
another matter, but I'll disband units in the East so as to keep as many
units to hamper Kester's advance.
Unfortunately Kester and Seb combined last season to kick me out of
Vie. The result is that Seb's forces are now stretched and even though
Kester supported the Russian unit in, it has now left Vie, Bud and even
Ser under threat.
Talking to Seb and Pablo now to try and coordinate some sort of
response - both sound positive as I think everyone realises the threat of a
French Solo.
A1909
Good, Seb and I order neutrally to each other. I've disbanded my Army
in Russia so hopefully we can combine now to stop Kester. Pablo also
called off his attack on Rum and was convinced to defend Alb instead. I
know Kester was keen to move there, this was a vital move because if
Kester had landed in Alb, then Ser, Bud and Gre would've been in danger.
S1910
NMR!!! Aaarrgghhh Nooo! I spent ages puzzling over my moves, but I
needed Seb's input to make them work, unfortunately I didn't hear from
Seb until right at the end of the week. He agreed > to the moves, so I
wrote back saying OK, and then eagerly awaiting the Adjudication. Of
course I'd forgotten that I'd written my orders and only saved them by
then! My apologies again guys - it was a genuine mistake.
As a result I lost Hol & Mun - this was expected, but if my orders
had gone in I'd have retreated to Ber and also taken Tyr off of Kester
with Seb's help. This would've meant taking Mun back, of even
guaranteeing taking Tri. Now all I can do is defend Ber and try to help take Tri
with the others. At least Nwy and Den are safe. We should be able to
hold Kester at 17.
A1910
After discussing a plan for the three of us to take Tri off of Kester
(which would've worked) Pablo takes Rum off of Seb instead to claim
equal second place. While I can understand his reasons, with France poised
on 17SC I find the choice a little strange - something could've gone
wrong elsewhere. It seems he made a strange choice at the end of his
Round 1 game too, so at least he's consistent.
The players:
Austria - Stef: I started out with high hopes for a G/A alliance, but
I don't think Stef fully got into this game which left me in a
difficult position early in the game.
Russia - Seb: How would Alsatian have panned out if I'd gone the
other way and dropped Stef, let Seb into Swe and moved against Kester from
the start? I wonder :o(
Sorry Seb, I should've played the player and not my pre-conceived
plan - we got ourselves sorted out later, but then you made a bad stab
which was a shame. I'm convinced that If you'd stuck with the G/R plan
then it would've been you we would've been trying to keep from a solo at
the end and not Kester. You still did the right thing at the end though
- it's refreshing to find players who will react logically even after
you've been fighting each other for most of the game. A great
communicator and someone I look forward to playing again.
England - Jase: Early on we both got played by Kester, but when it
mattered we put the past behind us and pulled together, I was impressed
with your practicality and resolve to do the right thing. Like me, being
stuck between the two big boys proved your undoing, sorry you didn't
make it to the end.
France - Kester: A very good player who seemingly schemed with, and
lied to, just about every other player on the board. I had a lot of fun
playing against you and enjoyed our correspondence immensely. Even when
we were supposed to be allied I never felt comfortable and was forever
waiting for the knife to go in. Too bad about the solo, 17 is so
frustrating!
Italy - Grizzy: We didn't really get anything going in this game, and
I was surprised at how sporadic the correspondence was (from both
sides)
Turkey - Pablo: Talking with you was difficult and you frustrated me
on a number of occasions. Well done though on snatching the second
place.
Finally a very big thank you to Brian. I thoroughly enjoyed this
game, the shifting relationships were fun and full of ups and downs. I went
from, thinking I'd do well, to expecting an elimination, to hoping for
second place, to praying for a survival - all in quick succession. A
game dominated by two good players, Kester and Seb, I enjoyed the ride -
but next time can I be on the other side of the board?!
By the way, all the press in the early years was from me (except for
a couple of lines in A03)
Thanks to all
Cheers
WayneReturn to Top
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