Greetings to Austria from Russia,
You and I have a problem. I want Rumania. You probably don't want me to have it. Too bad. If you try to prevent it, you will have difficulties with Germany, Turkey, or Italy. If you move against Warsaw, you will earn my lasting enmity.
On the other hand, if you permit my occupation of Rumania, then we can be allies, working together against either the Turks or the Germans, with me doing much of the work and you grabbing most of the spoils. I may even be able to offer you diplomatic support against the Italians, since both the French and the Turks are presently friendly to me.
Greetings to Austria from Russia,
I believe it is wise to inform you of my intentions, so that my moves are not misinterpreted.
My strategic intention is to sieze Rumania and Sweden, and then to adopt a defensive stance for several turns, to see what happens elsewhere on the globe. If these rather peaceful intentions are resisted or thwarted, then I may respond with extreme hostility immediately.
Diplomatically, my doctrine is to avoid all entangling alliances and only to make simple agreements of non-aggression and demilitarization of certain strategic regions.
Tactically, for a variety of reasons related to establishing a Russian presence in Rumania, it is my intention to move my Warsaw army into Galicia this Spring. Please understand that my purpose is simply to limit the amount of force you can bring to bear against Rumania. It is my intention to move the Galicia army on to Rumania in the Fall, should the tactical situation permit this.
Once the Rumanian situation is stabilized, there is no reason we cannot be friends, and even allies - at least for a few years, until our common enemies are sufficiently weakened.
On Nov 16, 2010, at 7:20 AM, Hynek Bíla wrote:
Greetings from Austria.
You are the last player with whom I have not yet established any contact. It is partly because my initial plan was a fairly standard Austrian opening: alliance with Italy, non-aggression treaty with Germany, and war against Turkey and Russia. But it seems that Italy doesn't plan to attack Turkey, and this means that such plan is not feasible. So, I have to make an alliance with either you or Turkey. If, hypothetically, the Alliance with Turkey succeeded in the East, Austria probably gets Warsaw and Serbia, while Turkey gets Bulgaria and Sevastopol, the possession of Greece, Rumania and Moscow is not clear. In any case, it would leave Austria in a vulnerable position, because practically Turkey wouldn't border any country except Austria, and a his natural course of play then is to break the alliance. On the other hand, I have seen a very successful Russo-Austrian alliance in a game which I lost (as Italy - see http://webdiplomacy.net/board.php?gameID=38862#gamePanel ). In that game, Russia was the winner, while Austria took a second place. I wouldn't mind that outcome. As Austria, my main motivation is to survive.
I would like to know if you are potentially interested in cooperation. If so, we can make any sort of agreement, whether secret or public, as you wish.
Greetings to Austria from Russia.
Yes, I am interested in cooperation. My proclaimed intentions, from which I do not intend to waver unless I am threatened or attacked, are to seize Sweden and Rumania, and then remain passive and neutral for several turns. However, if Russia is threatened (by, say, Austrian moves against Warsaw or Turkish moves against Sevastopol) then I will ally myself with one of you to defeat the other. I believe that Turkey has been lying to me. You have been honest. Therefore, I prefer alliance with you. If you can suggest a sequence of early moves for me which leaves me secure in Sevastopol, Warsaw, and Rumania, and in position to support your own advance into Bulgaria, then I am quite willing to listen.
What is the diplomatic situation in the Adriatic? Is the Trieste fleet free to move toward Greece? If Italy does not intend to attack Turkey, who will she attack instead? If we do dismantle Turkey, what do you propose as a target distribution of the spoils?
Greetings again to Austria from Russia
I realize that you have no reason to trust me, but if you could be convinced to do so, the following opening strategy would work well:
Spring Russia A Warsaw -> Galicia A Moscow -> Ukraine F Sevastopol -> Black Sea (bounces) F St. P -> Gulf Austria A Budapest -> Serbia A Vienna -> Trieste (bounces?) F Trieste -> Albania
Fall Russia A Galicia -> Rumania A Ukraine supports A Galicia -> Rumania F Sevastopol -> Black Sea or Armenia (bounces?) F Gulf -> Sweden Austria (Depends upon situation in Trieste, but in any case occupies both Serbia and Greece)
Winter - Both Austria and Russia build twice. Italy and Turkey regret the error of their ways.
I realize that my move A Warsaw -> Galicia puts you at risk, but I need to make it to protect myself from your potential treachery. You can bounce it, of course, but then you will not be able to both take Greece by Fall and remain secure in Trieste. Your suggestions are welcome regarding any alternative solution.
One possibility is that during the Summer diplomacy, we jointly request (you publicly, me privately) a declaration by Italy and Germany (and perhaps even Turkey) that Russian moves from Galicia against either Vienna or Budapest will considered hostile.
The Prince
As one of the Eastern players in the other game, I'll give some feedback. This feedback will be about stuff which may or may not have mattered considering that your emails were not received. And it also may be stuff that you've already figured out, but which could benefit others.
You and I have a problem. I want Rumania. You probably don't want me to have it. Too bad. If you try to prevent it, you will have difficulties with Germany, Turkey, or Italy. If you move against Warsaw, you will earn my lasting enmity.
In 1901, Russia tends to be viewed as havin...
And so it came to pass that on Christmas Day 1911, the three Great Powers of Europe signed a treaty to divide the continent between them peacefully, ending what future historians would call the Great War.
The sun truly never sets on King Jack's British Empire, which stretches from Spain to Stockholm, from Casablanca to Copenhagen, from the fringes of the Sahara to the coast of the Arctic Ocean. They rule fourteen major world capitals, and innumerable smaller towns and cities, the greatest power of the age and the unquestioned master of Western Europe.
From the steppes of Siberia to the minarets of Istanbul, the Ottoman Empire is no longer the Sick Man of Europe but stands healthy and renewed, a colossus every bit the equal of the Christian powers to its west. Its Sultan calls himself the Caliph, for the entire Islamic world basks in his glory, and his Grand Vizier has been rewarded with a reputation as one of the most brilliant and devious politicians of the age. At his feet grovel representatives of twelve great cities, and even far-flung Tunis has not escaped his sway.
And in between, the Austro-Hungarian Empire straddles the Alps and ancient Italy. Its lack of natural borders presented no difficulty for its wily Emperor, who successfully staved off the surrounding powers and played his enemies off against one another while building alliances that stood the test of time. Eight great cities pay homage to his double-crown, and he is what his predecessors could only dream of being - a true Holy Roman Emperor.
And hidden beneath the tricolor map every student learns in grammar school are echoes of subtler hues. In Germany, people still talk of the mighty Kajser Sotala I, who conquered the ancient French enemy and extended German rule all the way to the Mediterranean, and they still seeth and curse at his dastardly betrayal by his English friends. In Russia, Princess Anastasia claims to be the daughter of Czar Perplexed, and recounts to everyone who will listen the story of her stoic father, who remained brave until the very end; at her side travels a strange bearded man who many say looks like Rasputin, the Czar's long-missing adviser. The French remember President Andreassen, who held off the combined armies of England and Germany for half a decade, and many still go on pilgrimage to Liverpool, the site of their last great victory. And in Italy, Duke Carinthium has gone down in history beside Tiberius and Cesare Borgia as one of their land's most colorful and fascinating leaders.
And the priests say that the same moment the peace treaty was signed, the blood changed back to water, and the famines ended, and rain fell in the lands parched by drought. Charles Taze Russell, who had been locked in his room awaiting the Apocalypse, suddenly ran forth into the midwinter sun, shouting "Our doom has been lifted! God has granted us a second chance!" And the mysterious rectangular wall of force separating Europe from the rest of the world blinked out of existence.
Pope Franz I, the new Austrian-supported Pontiff in Rome, declares a month of thanksgiving and celebration. For, he says, God has tested the Europeans for their warlike ways, isolating them from the rest of the earth lest their sprawling empires plunge the entire planet into a world war that might kill millions. Now, the nobility of Europe finally realizing the value of peace, the curse has been lifted, and the empires of Europe can once more interact upon the world stage.
Chastened by their brush with doom, yet humbled by the lesson they had been given, the powers of Europe send missionaries through the dimensional portal, to convince other worlds to abandon their warlike ways and seek universal brotherhood. And so history ends, with three great powers living together side by side and striving together for a better future and a positive singularity.
...
On to the more practical parts. If you think you've learned lessons this game worth telling the rest of Less Wrong, you should send them to either myself or Jack. I say either myself or Jack because Jack had the most supply centers and therefore deserves some karma which he could most easily get by posting the thread which the other two winners then comment on, or if you insist that three way tie means three way tie, I'll post the thread and the three winners can all comment and get up-voted. We'll talk about it in the comments.
Thanks to everyone who played in this game. I was very impressed - it's one of the rare games I have moderated that hasn't been ruined by people constantly forgetting to send orders, or people ragequitting when things don't go their way, or people being totally incompetent and throwing the game to the first person to declare war on them, or any of the other ways a Diplomacy game can go wrong. Everyone fought hard and well and honorably (for definitions of honor compatible with playing Diplomacy). It was a pleasure to serve as your General Secretary.