I figure I should write up a few thoughts; I've been writing retrospectively for a while now but might as well summarize.
PBEM 62: Two Duels and a Sandbox.
Yeah, that about sums up the strategic outcome, here. In retrospect, I don't really see how else this was supposed to have gone differently for interactions; Pindicator and I were very close to each other with a big wide land border full of nice tiles, likewise THH/Dazed. Ichabod might have been near as the crow flies but he was wonderfully isolated by his geography. This isn't really a map complaint, I guess...I didn't specify how our layout was supposed to run and you deal with the cards you get dealt. I under-emphasized the effects of the subtle start position shifts and few tiles' addition on the PBEM 61 map that resulted in a much more equitable split, so that one is on me. Thank you for rolling this, Gawdzak.
On the subject of dealt cards, I had a bad feeling when I saw that Seven was posting in the thread, but seriously...the list of combos should not have had Hannibal, Isabella, or Victoria. The Seven Method of beaker evaluation isn't, um, accurate for most people. Still, water, bridge. Because HOLY MOSES is India awesome. Even with the weaksauce Burger King Charlie, fast workers were ridiculously good for me throughout the game. I have exactly zero excuse for not having burned a couple more French cities out of the diagonals, and the Great Lighthouse ought to have been mine, pure
there. I completely and whole-heartedly endorse playing BtS India when you get the chance, it changes the whole game. Even in a crazy start with AH food only.
As for the players, guys it was a pleasure playing with you all. Dazed, I'm sorry it didn't work out for your crazy work schedule in the end here. THH, sorry for assuming checked out ness over there, you were faithful to play for a long long time of being checked out, nothing but kudos there.
Pindicator...man, we need to stop being in conflict. It's not funny anymore. I had foolish hopes that I could get a secure holy city border, but I can see now that was never going to happen. And once I saw the initial tilt I figured it was for the long haul. Fast workers, Pro, Imp are always going to beat the pants off of Fin, Chm, France...that sucked. I'm not sure if I should have been more aggressive or what, so were a tough defender so I always figured it was going to be a slow process. Hope it wasn't too miserable an experience.
Finally, massively well-played there, Ichabod. Nothing about my above comments about the duels should be taken as a slight to you accomplishment; you played the hand you were dealt very well, capitalizing on the stone monopoly to Pyramids, keeping up with expansion and economy, and planning very methodically and well. You avoided the Representation trap, using the excess happy to grow on a great cottage core first before messing around overmuch with specialists. You had some decent geography for security, but you capitalized on it by avoiding overextension or being strung out. I was able to block you in one sector, but by then it hardly mattered. A deserved victory
Pity we never were able to go toe-to-toe for a satisfying final confrontation
GG all.
