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Special Edition
Date: Spring Prime, Century of the Confused Turtle 12

Exquisitor Exclusive!

Statements from the D8 leaders, past and present!

Agatean Empire: Dave Kettering, Emperor of the Disk

Well, it has been a few months since the beginning of this game. It is sometimes difficult to remember back to the very beginning of Vorbis to reflect upon what has all happened during the game. I did keep every message from the very beginning of this game, so it is just a matter of looking it all up to refresh me memory.

When I started Vorbis...it was my very first game of diplomacy of any kind on the net. I had played the original version on a board, but this net thing was new to me. A bunch of my friends were getting bored playing the original version and we were looking for a diversion of sorts, so that is when I began to investigate the net to see what was available. I came across several sites using my search engine. I looked into AFPDIP initially and was not sure if that is really what I wanted or not. I decided to join the list anyway. One of the first people I met was of course Murky. I was initially intimidated by the way he would tear into people if they asked a question that was covered by the FAQ. I decided to keep my mouth shut for a long time. I didn't type into the list for several months....and then one day, I think it was Dibhala that was starting up and I wrote to Hippie to find out some information about the game. He told me it was going to be a colonial variant. I knew nothing of this version and scared myself away. So then I sat back and watched for a while longer and I slowly got used to the humor that is well known to AFPDIP. I even found myself enjoying it.

Now when the opportunity came to join Vorbis, I did not delay. I had a rough idea of what I was getting myself into and I went with it. Initially, I took the stance that I would wait and see who wrote to me to see who was interested in working with me. The first note I received was from Shane of Ogg, Nick. He asked me to leave the Sea of Storms empty if I could. I was not in favor of this but I decided to honor his request since I did not know anyone. Next, I received a brief statement or two from the Eksian, Hyatt. I am not quite sure what ever did happen to him, but his sole contribution to the game proved to be a valuable one to me at least. After waiting until almost a day or so before the deadline, I decided that I needed to extend some communication myself. I got to talking with the Hubland Barbarian. He seemed like a friendly chap. Then I sent messages out to everyone on the board. I received some very wise advice from John, our friend from down under in the Circle Cities region. My initial read on the board was that I had three immediate neighbors, Hublanders, Ogg, and XXXX. I knew that I wanted to try and eliminate at least two of them as quickly as possible. Originally I set out to try and eliminate the Hublander as quickly as possible. This plan foiled quickly when he offered some assistance after the first year.

I made my first moves very cautiously as I didn't want to upset anyone. After that first turn, I was appalled when I saw that the Shane sat exactly where he told me not to go. I asked him why and he explained that he was afraid that if I decided to move there that I would put him in a compromising position. I guess that he did not put me into a compromising position by going there himself. He apologized for going against his own desires, but enough damage was done that I was easily able to choose my first opponent. This decision was helped when I was offered assistance from the Hublander. The finality in my decision came when XXXX decided not to make an initial move. Since I was not being threatened in any other direction and help was offered, away I went. This worked very well for a while. I found that not only did the Hublander offer to help, but so did Mr Jhake, my eventual long term ally. With the three of us moving in on Ogg quickly, he crumbled fairly rapidly. Jhake and myself earned most of the supply centers and the Hublander wanted me to hit XXXX before he could gain any strength against anyone. Reluctantly, I decided to start a two front war and went and sent support against XXXX. By this time Ydris was in charge, but poor Ydris never really did have a chance. The Hublander and myself kept XXXX at bay for many turns while we finished off Mr Ogg.

I had been trying for quite some time to reach Ted, the Genuan wonder. For some reason, he would not answer my emails. Finally one day he answered them as I was proposing a three way alliance to him. I asked if he would have any interest in working with me and Klatch. The only reason that I was interested in such a move was to get all of my immediate neighbors off the board to give me some breathing room. It was a rough decision to attack the Hublander since he was so good to me up to that point....but I felt it was better to attack him then to let him turn and attack me. It was easy to convince XXXX to join in an attack on the Hublander because the Hublander had been chewing on him for a while. So just before the Shane was gone, we made our move. My excuse to Hubland was a weak one cuz I really didn't have an excuse. I told him that since I had not heard from him that day, that I was attacking him. He told me he would forgive me and we could continue on, but by that time I had made the move and had to continue on. Ted and I made quick work of the Hublanders with a little bit of Klatchian support on the south side.

Meanwhile, in the south, I always thought that Muntab would get attacked right away and would not last very long in the game. I especially thought this after his original owner turned him loose early on ( I believe that was another Nick, Nick Bond maybe?) So when Olov came in and surprisingly was able to negotiate some breathing room I was impressed. He convinced Ted to stay away in a neutral zone. John was already all over him and I figured that John would keep a good handle on the situation. I still am not to sure why John lost this battle. Jhake was too busy helping to finish off Ogg and the Hublanders to pay much attention to that battle. Eventually Jhake helped the Muntabians take EPH. This was short lived though as the very next turn, Jhake decided to turn on him.

I knew my big decision was coming due. There were four big powers left in the game. Myself, Klatch, Genua and Muntab. I was working very well with both Klatch and Genua and had very little time spent with Muntab. I carefully looked over the board and observed that the majority of my pieces were located in the North near the Genuan pieces. Ted was a wonderful partner and he had allowed me to get dangerously close to his supply centers. I could have easily attacked Klatch as well, but it would have taken me several years to move in that direction. By that time, I was sure that Klatch could mount a defense and then I would be stalemated. My best chance was to turn on Genua. Klatch had just turned on Muntab also and so I was sure that he could not support a war in my direction, so I felt comfortable that I was safe from him. Ted many times indicated that he would attack Muntab, but I never saw any movement from his position to head in that direction. It was definitely my toughest day in the game to have to knife a worthy ally. I put the move in that day knowing what I had done.....and then I waited....1 or 2 days passed and nothing....but then came a letter from Ted. He did not take my moves very well at all. He was very upset (I guess I would have been also). He suggested that I was ruthless and then I was a dictator who wanted the sole win so bad. He also suggested that should he meet me in another game, that he would find it hard to work with me. I never heard from Ted again, I guess he wrote me off. I felt really bad, but could not find it in me to write him back. I hope he got over this.

I did get one last request from Olov right before I attacked Ted. He asked me to go against Klatch to help ease the pressure that he was feeling. I felt I was in a no lose situation, because no matter who I decided to go against, I would have at least a reasonable shot of tying if not winning. So I wrote back to him telling him I had made up my mind and he would see the next year which way I had decided. The decision was made and that was that.

Well the rest of the game kind of went easily. Jhake and I had the majority of the pieces fairly quickly and since I was able to get a real good jump on Ted, he fell fairly quickly. Ted did do me a lot of help because while he was mad at me, he tried to force Jhake into working with him by giving me all of his units until Jhake switched sides. For three straight years, I was able to gain from 9 supply centers to 18 supply centers with a total of 21 being needed to win. If Jhake had switched early on, I might have had quite the battle on my hands. Instead Jhake suggested that he was going to change sides. Both Ted and Olov gave him concessions and Jhake really put it to them. That was the beginning of the end of the game really because Jhake made major gains during this time. Ted eventually changed over again and went against me but it was too late by the time he decided to do this.

It felt kind of strange to have the game handed to you so easily as it was after I took over from Ted. Jhake fell farther and farther behind me as Olov was not making it as simple down south. I once got 5 supply centers above Jhake with only 3 remaining to win the game. When I had this much of a lead, it was extremely difficult not to take advantage of it. I made up my mind several times to go ahead and hit Jhake and get it over with. I knew at that point that no one could stop me from winning. I even went as far as writing my moves up to take a supply center away from Jhake. But each time, Jhake would write me something like how great it was to have a partner like me and then I went soft on it and changed my moves. The only thing I always made sure of was that I never gave up any position on the board. I always wanted to make sure that I was in a position to stay in the advantage no matter what happened. When I got to twenty supply centers with one to go, I decided that enough was enough. I sat down to write Jhake a final message to let him know what I had decided. I saved it, so here it is.

Hi,

How was the trip??

Well it sure does look like you are cashing in quickly......You might be up as many as 19 by the end of this turn. You won't be able to build them all of course.

Well Jake, this is the time of the game where decisions need to be made.... We have done very well up to this point...the game is almost over....and I sense that the other two guys would rather see you win than I......I have received some messages suggesting that you might get the win next year.....I am uncertain what I am going to do at this turn, but I figured I would be completely honest with you as my long term partner. I am debating about possibly going for the win this time. Now I have thought about the fact that I could have gained this win several years ago if I wanted to, but I stuck it out to see how it would go. I could just stick it to you and stab you hard, but that is not necessarily my style, not to my partners. But, a part of this game is to stab and to ally and to win either solo or with others. This makes the end of this game tough. It has been a very fun game, I have enjoyed it immensely, and if I do go for the win, you are largely responsible and I thank you.

Now, I have not made up my mind yet, there is still three days remaining, but I thought it was only fair to let you know that this was a possibility since there are no moves for me otherwise this game. It gets kind of boring if you can't even make a move. There are thoughts about maybe going into BRI this time to see what happens, but I sense that BRI will be blocked and REH will be opened up for you. I also have the indications that MOM and BRI will be open to you next turn, and you are in a much better position to claim them than I am.

Anyway, we can talk a few more times between now and then and maybe we can work things out. I just thought that I would send this to you so that it would not take you by storm.

If you feel you need to take action against me based on this I will understand and I would fully expect you to get both of the other two guys to join in with you. Maybe you can stop me, maybe you can't, but it is an option that you hold.

Take care Jake, and let me know what you think of all of this. What might you do differently?

Dave

This letter like my moves against Jhake never materialized. I guess you could call me a wimp, I guess you could call me cutthroat, it all depends on who you talk to. I did go through the entire range of emotions at one time or another during this game.

The game finally came to a close....and just as I was ready to finish it off the last time, I realized that there could be no two way tie. I asked Jhake about it cuz I knew he had been involved in the mastery of the test and he said we could tie. Jhake came up with several plans to allow us to tie.....all of them as you all know sadly went away. The GE, as he should have done, followed the rules and told us we had to share a three way victory or one of us had to take it out. This disturbed me as I had never seen a game of diplomacy that had an odd number of supply centers. Jhake and I stewed over this for quite some time. At one point, he suggested that we just put in hold moves infinitum until the GE gave in. That would have been funny (for us). I would have loved to have gone out with a tie. A two way tie would have been the right way to end this game as I would have never won had it not been for Jhake to begin with. He was instrumental taking a rookie like me and teaching me the ropes of the disc. For this I am very thankful. I might have gone with a three way at one point, but after Ted turned on me, I could not see him as a possible third party. Olov I might have been able to keep in, but it just didn't make sense to have equal representation between us with 20 supply centers each and him with only one. The rules are the rules none the less and there are good reasons for each one of them. Jhake and I decided that we would rather have one of us win than to allow a three way tie, so we talked it over and decided that since I had the positional advantage, that the game could go to me, but it would be done in such a way as to let Jhake support me into Momerathia just to make a point that we were joint all the way to the end. I could have easily supported myself in, but I was real happy to know that he was willing to do it for me. Jhake is a trooper.

I wanted to share a few of my thoughts about each player. I will try to be brief...

Nic Chilton (Ogg): I would have worked with you in a heartbeat if only you hadn't double crossed me so early on. I felt if you could do it once you certainly would not hesitate to do it again. I applied everything I knew how to convince you to leave SOS and it worked (Thank God). Once you left, I knew that there was no way I could trust you in Vorbis again. Sorry, I hope there are no hard feelings. Maybe we can work together in another game.

Bruce Hyatt (XXXX): I never really got to know you. I hope that you will come back and join us again. I certainly do owe you a thank you for your one act in Vorbis. That act of course is making no moves in move one. That was the one thing that probably allowed me to do more than any one single additional move could have done. Good luck and hope to see you in the future.

Nick Bond (Muntab): I really have nothing good or bad to say about you. I think you left awful early on and I was happy to see you return in Susan. Too bad we did not get the chance to talk during Vorbis.

John Fouhy (Circle Cities): John, I thank you as you were instrumental in the early stages of the game. You gave me some insight to the board that I could not have known on my own. I was very green and you helped me along. I would have liked to repay the favor, but by the time I was in a position to help you, you were all but gone from the board. There will be other games in which we might play, but thank you for your small role in Vorbis. You made the game a better one for me.

Ydris (XXXX): Ydris, Ydris, you never really had a chance. I might have liked to try to work with you, but you could never seem to get off your home supply centers. I thought about trying once or twice to help you, but in the end it was best for me just to keep you quarantined in the corner of the map until I had time to do something with you. Sorry it had to work out that way, but maybe it will be better next time. Who knows. I guess you probably had an idea that it would happen that way when you joined.

Olov Winstrand (Muntab): Olov, I never heard from you until it was D day. By that time I had pretty much made up my mind. I might have considered your offer if it had come at an earlier time, but as late as it was, things just kind of happened. I think I really did get you upset at one point when Susan was starting out.....I know I suggested that if he could give me insight as to how to end Vorbis peacefully that it may pay great benefits in Susan. He wrote a very sharp letter back to me and suggested that cross gaming was not permissible. I apologized and we moved on. Sorry I put you in that position, I did not mean to do that. I hope that we can possibly work together in Susan or wherever life might take you.....thanks for joining us in Vorbis.

Igor Grossman (Hublands): Igor, you proved a few things to me that I wasn't sure about. I wanted to eliminate you first and it really never had anything to do with you. You then offered me assistance in exchange for assistance with XXXX. I obliged and found that I enjoyed working with you. I think the only reason that I went against you in the long run was because your local position and the fact that you were moving into Llamedos and Lancre was making it difficult for me to have a position to fight from. So i took my licks and hit you to move on. I enjoyed working with you while I did. You were a great partner. A little slow from now to then on the communication, but all in all great. I always wanted to chat a bit more about your homeland (Israel I think). That always intrigued me, but that opportunity never really came up. I would love to visit over there sometime. Sorry if there are any hard feelings in the game against me. It was purely a matter of gamesmanship that I bit into you. Good luck and I look forward to meeting you again in the future.

Ted Abbot (Genua): Ted, you were the hardest one to get hold of from the very beginning. I guess I was using the wrong email. I remember getting on ICQ with you. Ted, you were the best communicator throughout the entire game. I knew I could always count on Ted writing me that very night after I sent it out. I found myself enjoying your play very much. The three of us had worked very well from the very beginning. I probably could have been happy just taking it to a three way tie. But then I came to realize that you may never have hit Olov and then it would be a four way tie......the longer I waited, the more nervous I got about it. Well, eventually I had to go one way or the other. Either way, I had to hit a partner. I guess I felt my success path was better going against you. I hope that you are not as upset as your letter initially suggested. I hope that time has somewhat healed all of that. If not, I can only apologize, but when it comes right down to it, it is only a game. And I can not get too upset about a game. Maybe in some future game, we can be long term allies, and maybe not too, who knows. Sorry guy!!!

Jhake Aard (Klatch): Well my friend, I thought this day would never end. I want to start out by thanking you for the fair play that you conducted in Vorbis. It was very enjoyable to play this game as your partner. You offered me great insight to how the game is played. We did very well all the way until the end. I thought several times that I would end it all and you would be upset at me too. But we made it. I could not have won this game without your constant support. It was a joint effort from the beginning. We began with Ogg and ended in Momerathia. I really really wish that the end could have been better. A two way tie would have been more fitting, but obviously not possible even to the people of Om. Oh well, it is finally over and I am very glad that I had this experience. I look forward to seeing your happy face on another game in the future and maybe we can work together and maybe I will just have to see what you are worth as an enemy *LOL*. Thanks again Jhake.

Elizabeth Hostetter (aka Aellath I think): You provided a great stability to the game. I really enjoyed all your witty responses at times....and certainly your patience throughout the game was tremendous. Not quite sure I could have done as well. I notice that you seem to thrive doing the updates like that. AFPDIP is lucky to have someone like you to do these updates. I can't really say that I know you that well as I really only consulted you on business, but I look forward to a future occurrence when we might get together more often. In a game maybe. I loved all of the Exquisitors' comments following each year on the web site. It was interesting to see how it would come down.

Craig Dutton (Grand Exquisitor): Very well done Craig. From the web page to the tie break discussions at the end, you operated a very fair game. Your web site was not only informative, but very user friendly and extremely useful. I especially thought that the forum provided an interesting format that was additional to the game. I wish more people had used it, but it was fun just the same. I also liked the flow maps. Even if it did make me look like an amoebae. I don't know what else to say except thanks for a fair game and such a well controlled game. I look forward to working with you in future versions as well.

Finally, my last comments would be that the game was great for me. I never thought I even stood a remote chance of winning on my first try. I am not sure I could have done it by myself but with the help of Jhake, Ted and Igor (oh and I can't forget Bruce) it made everything possible. I wish all of you the best of luck in the future. Hope that we can cross paths again soon. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this great game. This sure can be addictive can't it?

See Ya.

Brother Dave

PS.. Sorry I am soooo long winded sometimes....that is one of my faults. *L*