Octopus's Garden

Issue Fifty-Two

18th November 2000

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HELLO, good evening and welcome to issue 52 of Octopus's Garden, the subzeen with its very own game-end statements. An html version of this subzeen is available on the Web at http://www.manorcon.demon.co.uk/octopus/index.html. It's also sent to the TAP mailing list, which you can join automatically by sending the message 'subscribe tap' to majordomo@diplom.org. The message 'unsubscribe tap' sent to the same address will get you off the mailing list.

So long, and thanks for all the fish...

GOOCH (Glorious! Our Old Conrad's Here!), brown:

Conrad von Metzke, USA.

BLUES (Blue Locomotives Using Electric Steam), blue:

Berry Renken, The Netherlands (to Round 7), W. Andrew York, USA (from Round 8).

TURN (Totally Unpredictable Railway Network), green:

Rip Gooch, Canada.

PEAT (Perfunctory Engineers Arriving Timely), pink: .

Richard Weiss, USA.

All start Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

GENEVA (Peter Sullivan) :

There are two basic strategies on this map - to build into the various dales, vales and valleys and keep everyone else out (the "Agressive Pennines" strategy) and to build a good, straight, North-South route on the eastern part of the map and let the western part go hang (the "East Coast Main Line is the only line that ever made a dime" strategy). Without leapfrog, my experience with face-to-face play is that a determined "Aggressive Pennines" player can stitch the game up fairly easily unless everybody tries it, and so I was expecting the Leapfrog rules (which make it easier to break regional monopolies) to make the Eastern strategy more attractive. As it was, Conrad's margin of victory was mainly down to his control of various northern Pennine towns, so I guess that just goes to show how much I know.

This was the first leapfrog game that I have g.m.ed. The rationale for using leapfrog rules on this map is that it enables players to break up each other's regional monopolies along the long valleys of the west of the map. As it was, most of the leaps were in the plains of the east, with players trying to get a leap ahead of each other. Although the extra book-keeping for the leaps (basically, keeping a leaps chart) wasn't particulary onerous, I don't feel the leapfrog rules added much, and in future I would probably run without leapfrog on maps that marginally require it, and avoid altogether maps where it is mandatory.

Round 12 -- "John C. Breckinridge" -- RR 1702 TK

Railway Rivals Map TK

36) (14-26) Jackson - Louisville

REDNECK 20 ; BOURBON 10.

Running: TSR 267, CUDZU 235, BLUES 228, REDNECK 222, BOURBON 219.

37) (22-34) Henderson - Nashville

BLUES 15-1-2-1 ; TSR 15-3-1+2 ; REDNECK +1+1 ; BOURBON +3+1.

Running: TSR 280, BLUES 239, CUDZU 235, REDNECK 224, BOURBON 223.

38) (33-44) Nashville - Morristown

TSR 20-1-1 ; BLUES +1 ; BOURBON +1.

Running: TSR 298, BLUES 240, CUDZU 235, BOURBON/REDNECK 224.

39) (45-@3) Chattanooga - Ohio

BLUES (to Kenova) 20-1 ; TSR/CUDZU (to Cincinnati) 10 ; CUDZU +1.

Running: TSR 303, BLUES 259, CUDZU 241, BOURBON/REDNECK 224.

40) (53-65) Ashland - Johnson City

BLUES 20.

Running: TSR 303, BLUES 279, CUDZU 241, BOURBON/REDNECK 224.

41) (62-13) Pikeville - Dyersburg

BOURBON/CUDZU 20-5; REDNECK 10 ; BLUES +5

Running: TSR 303, BLUES 284, CUDZU 248, REDNECK 234, BOURBON 232.

42) (@4-51) Virginia/West Virginia - Frankfort

REDNECK 20-1 ; CUDZU 5+3+1+1 ; BLUES 5-1-3.

Running: TSR 303, BLUES 285, CUDZU 258, REDNECK 253, BOURBON 232.

Players were advised privately about the revised Round 12 runs, due to the presence of an illegal (1-hex!) run. Congratulations to Andrew, and my thanks to all the players for playing. Special thanks to Eric Brosius for taking over as stand-by for Berry Renken. Please can you let me have any further game-end statements by FRIDAY, 8th DECEMBER, 2000 to Peter Sullivan, octopus@manorcon.demon.co.uk

PRESS:

MIKE: Congratulations to the Winner and podium finishers.

BOURBON to TSR: Just as I turn down chances to help the biggest player to a win in Diplomacy, I'm not giving a player who's way ahead for the win a deal that does him more good than me.

TSR-BOURBON: Mike, I don’t really see a need to have these discussions in public, and am disappointed that you insisted on doing so, but, given that this is your choice, I am happy to defend my position. OK, let‘s deal with your point. The fact of the matter is that you were perfectly happy to engage in an exchange of powers with me in races 36/39 – in fact, you made a proposal to me. If I had accepted, it would almost certainly have put the game beyond BLUES. This is a fact. So you had nothing in principle against ‘handing the game to me’. The only reason it fell apart was that I refused to accept your greedy split of the winnings in your favour. Your misguided (and misleading) sense of integrity mysteriously only developed after I insisted on an equal share of the spoils. Finally, on the issue of fair play, I’d point out that I wrote to Peter after the first generation of runs insisting that these should be re-cast to be fair to other players – despite the fact that this was only against my own interests; I trust you did likewise?

TSR-BLUES: Good luck – it should be tight!

CUDZU : Race 42: I go to Kenova which was part of the trouble all along if I remember right. I also go past the blue grass portion of the state and to the capital, so I should have a solo. Run me in this solo. the hell with the consequences as Melissa Etheridge would say. And power to the race fixers, right on. I've had a great time. Thank you for Peter for your strong GMing up til the final little fall in the horse much, anyway, but even then your strong decisiviness. thanks to each and all for a fun racing adventure.