We had a 6 player game on the Metaserver last night.
We assigned countries by random... *we pick an aimal and then roll the dice in the corner taking our animal when it shows up.
As a result Italy was the A/I person.
The game started with a few interesting opening choices:
Russia when to Silesia as France went to Burgundy and the Channel
England went north (Norwegean and North Sea)
Turkey went full north (Bul-Bla-Arm) and was bounced in the Black
Italy went south to Apulia and naples and the Tyr
While Austria covered Trieste and no one went to Galicia.
The Early game evolved into an Aus-Turk alliance against Russia
while Germany and England worked on Russia and France and Italy was
put under the anti-machine crusade of Austria.
The middle game period entered when there was a series of stabs from the west with Germany going against Austria, only to lose Munich to the French and the English attacked him in the north, while Turkey stabbed the Austrians...and the Italians circled the wagons in Naples and Apulia trying in a futiile attempt to get Venice back which was not happening even if the Austrian had to sacrafice Budapest to do it.
Then the Turks and the Austrians reconciled at about the time the Germans and the french thought they were reconciled with the British. Surprise, England womps on them both as Russia and France die in the same turn.
The End game sees Germany being squeezed when Turkey stabs Austria again
and the Austrians have to remove 3. England is now surging to 16 centers and is looking to win the game with Austria's help when Turkey and Germany (now down to a single nomad unit in Warsaw) decide to try to go for a draw and see if England can be stopped. A series of a few orders and England is stopped in the center and rolled back in the south losing Spain and Marseilles
and the Turks get out to the Mid Altantic with clear blue to the North which compensates for the loss of StPete to the English in the East.
So a 4 way draw was looking real good when German has to go and the A/I takes over for the one center German unit in Warsaw. It of course moves out to the Ukrain to cut the support of Moscow which England slips into.
Not being able to vote a draw while the AI was alive, we agree to kill Germany (*all A'I's must DIE) and we do so and the game is voted a draw between England (16) Austria (7) and Turkey (11).
This was a classic 3 power end game problem where if the power in the middle (in this case Austria) is attacked/stabbed it has the ability to throw the game to the other party. While there was a stalemate line formed in the center the Russian front and the Atlantic front were in full flux which made the game more of a strategic balance of power stalemate rather than a hard core East-West line stalemate (Spain-Germany-Scandinavia- Stp in the west for 17 centers) Tunis-Italy-Austria-War-Mos in the East for 17 centers)
We assigned countries by random... *we pick an aimal and then roll the dice in the corner taking our animal when it shows up.
As a result Italy was the A/I person.
The game started with a few interesting opening choices:
Russia when to Silesia as France went to Burgundy and the Channel
England went north (Norwegean and North Sea)
Turkey went full north (Bul-Bla-Arm) and was bounced in the Black
Italy went south to Apulia and naples and the Tyr
While Austria covered Trieste and no one went to Galicia.
The Early game evolved into an Aus-Turk alliance against Russia
while Germany and England worked on Russia and France and Italy was
put under the anti-machine crusade of Austria.
The middle game period entered when there was a series of stabs from the west with Germany going against Austria, only to lose Munich to the French and the English attacked him in the north, while Turkey stabbed the Austrians...and the Italians circled the wagons in Naples and Apulia trying in a futiile attempt to get Venice back which was not happening even if the Austrian had to sacrafice Budapest to do it.
Then the Turks and the Austrians reconciled at about the time the Germans and the french thought they were reconciled with the British. Surprise, England womps on them both as Russia and France die in the same turn.
The End game sees Germany being squeezed when Turkey stabs Austria again
and the Austrians have to remove 3. England is now surging to 16 centers and is looking to win the game with Austria's help when Turkey and Germany (now down to a single nomad unit in Warsaw) decide to try to go for a draw and see if England can be stopped. A series of a few orders and England is stopped in the center and rolled back in the south losing Spain and Marseilles
and the Turks get out to the Mid Altantic with clear blue to the North which compensates for the loss of StPete to the English in the East.
So a 4 way draw was looking real good when German has to go and the A/I takes over for the one center German unit in Warsaw. It of course moves out to the Ukrain to cut the support of Moscow which England slips into.
Not being able to vote a draw while the AI was alive, we agree to kill Germany (*all A'I's must DIE) and we do so and the game is voted a draw between England (16) Austria (7) and Turkey (11).
This was a classic 3 power end game problem where if the power in the middle (in this case Austria) is attacked/stabbed it has the ability to throw the game to the other party. While there was a stalemate line formed in the center the Russian front and the Atlantic front were in full flux which made the game more of a strategic balance of power stalemate rather than a hard core East-West line stalemate (Spain-Germany-Scandinavia- Stp in the west for 17 centers) Tunis-Italy-Austria-War-Mos in the East for 17 centers)