Favorite EiA Moments

[Reknoy]

Just wondering if people wanted to share.

I have two:

(1) Played EiA at AvalonCon (what a great time -- we played with this guy who was part of a tag team that won the game a year before and the competition was better than it became as the years passed). I played Prussia and was able to field a nice army towards the end (diplomatically I took care of myself).

We ended up creating the dreaded (*gasp*) monster stack in the end to go get Nappy.

It was one of those situations where the convention was nearing a close, so the French decided to gather his own monster stack and dance with us. We picked Esc. Assault and Nappy picked Retreat (don't ask how it got there). He rolled a "6"! Then he committed the guard (would actually break us if he rolled well enough) -- but he rolled a "1" on his attack! So our morale loss (for pursuit purposes) was at an all time low.

I was playing Blucher and was allowed the die roll for pursuit. I rolled a "4" (modified to a 5 with Blucher). The pursuit loss (we're talking Prussians, Austrians, Russians and some Turks thrown in) was close to 80 factors of cavalry.

Yes -- a truly mythical, nonsensical possibility, sure to rankle some purists (wait, did I call myself that at some point?)

But it was SO FUN.

(2) Playing PBeM ("Before the Snow Falls" -- a good group of PBeMers) as France. Positioned my fleets to the south and persuaded GB to ignore me in the setup (he positioned to the north to protect himself and to take Denmark, etc.). Took the French and Dutch fleets to Constantinople with a corps counter on one fleet! Ultimately allowed me to reinforce an army into Turkey -- for what purpose? To DoW on Russia and lead the Turk up north. While the Austrian and Prussian were chasing me around the middle, Russia was clinging to its life and wholly unable to aid its allies. Russia bowed out with a conditional after I took the easternmost capital and threatened Moscow. After that it was going to be a rearward assault on Austria with Turkey from the East while pounding Prussia/Austria from the West. But the game fell through -- the ultimate fate of too many PBeM games... *sigh*

Anyone else??

Reknoy

[Reknoy]

I think I hear crickets chirping.

Ok, here's another one.

Playing Prussia in a Vive La Revolution variant game.

A buddy of mine was playing Austria.

As should be the case, Austria and Prussia allied and fought France.

Through the course of the next few sessions I began to gather those things that would grant me dominance.

The final piece came from France -- Lorraine.

Here's the best part, though. The French player (who I will never forget) was at war with Austria, Prussia and maybe one other country.

France made peace with Austria and Prussia, and through the process Austria was able to take Lorraine (he had a corps there and France guarded the corps peace pick against Austria -- thinking he was going to gouge the army).

Prussia then went to war with Austria and took Lorraine by conquest (this was staged).

It was March and France made overtures to Prussia to cede Lorraine back (he still didn't get it).

The ceding step came and went and he looked at me in disbelief.

I said, "Wait a second, then you'll understand."

Then we reached the new political combinations step and I declared Prussia dominant (had enough of the other countries to make it). Lorraine became a Prussian province!! And my morale went up, etc.

Way too much fun.

[XBuild33]

I have a favourite EIA moment I'd like to share.

This was back when I was in the military and all 7 of us were soldiers in the same company. The long and short of it was that diplomatic efforts occurred during many working hours while the game board collected dust.

I was playing France, and had formed an unholy alliance with Prussia which lasted most of the game. The game followed pulses as the adversaries would win or lose battles and then spend months rebuilding and diplomatic wrangling.

1812 opened up with the entire board converging on Prussia and France.

From the West, Spanish troops readied to cross the Pyrenees.

From the south, Turks and Ottoman troops were ferried by english and Turkish fleets. (Britain had ominously stopped her blockades a few turns before)

Russia and Austria launched a concerted attack on Prussia who'd created the confederation of the Rhine but wasn't as of yet fully recuperated from an earlier campaign which saw Austria cowed and Russia withdrawn after severe punishment.

A tall stack of English troops waited in London ready to launch.

Leaving Davout and Ney behind, Nappy attacked the Spanish, throwing them back toward Madrid, chasing them all the way there causing them to sue for peace.

Turkish and Ottoman troops caused Davout to lose 3/5 of his forces, in an Escalated assault versus escalated counter assault which gave the Turks a severe morale as well as numerical advantage. (This late in the game I was often choosing my tactic by grabbing one from my enclosed hand)

Ney held Paris (weakly) as the Turks drew near.

Austria was gobbling up the Confederation as well as menacing Berlin. (the Austrian army was still weak after the last campaign)

Blucher was fighting the Russians, but faring poorly due to bad die rolls. Three armies were converging on Berlin, one moving steadily backwards.

Nappy Rushed back to France (after forcing the most harsh penalties possible on Spain), meeting the Turk south of Paris just as English troops landed in Denmark. Two successive battles sent the Turk scurrying towards Italy, it's army gutted, bereft of cavalry.

With Nappy two long moves from helping his ally, the remaining allies prepared for their masterstroke. Three armies were to converge on Berlin from three directions, with a very much diminished Prussian army dwarfed six to one. Now, their devious scheme became plain, cast into the light.

For the first time Nappy took advantage of the dominant power rule. Moving last and then first, Wellington with 70,000 men was met at Hamburg by 250,000 French. Using the most random method of choosing my tactic, my attack would come in the form of a probe. The Brits had chosen escalated counter assault!(how my heart wilted!) Die rolls worked for me wonderously on this occasion while for the enemy they failed. Committing the Guard staved off a humiliating defeat, causing the Brits to retreat after losing some 60,000 men. I'd lost 70,000 plus. Praise God, and pass the powder!

The next month, began with the French moving first, noticing strangely enough that Wellington and his orange coated flock had failed to move from the Hamburg hex. Here began one of those rows that arise from different interpretation of the rules.
Mutual concensus decided that Wellington hadn't sought the safety of the fortress, and became a guest of France in Paris.

With 1/3 of their available forces stripped from their plan, Austria and Russia made one more final gamble for Berlin which failed.

Franco-Prussian forces led by Blucher drove the Ivans back across the Nieman, reducing their forces to a pittance.

Meanwhile, again Austria was humiliated, the last generous peace outdone by tremendous French vengeance.

[Reknoy]

Thankfully you admitted to it being an UNHOLY alliance!!

Whenever Prussia or Austria allied with France, everyone else in the game would pound the erstwhile Prussian or Austrian until nothing remained but rubble.

For the French, of course, it's a brilliant diplomatic coup!

[XBuild33]

The biggest problem with EIA was trying to keep seven guys interested for as long as it takes to work out a 200 hour game. That was the only game that went from beginning to end.
Fortunately we were on an overseas deployment in a place where beer and exercise were the most commonplace and affordable entertainments.

I fear this game will suffer the same problems, I'm therefor hoping for a very strong and unpredictable AI. I've played other multiplayer games where five or six purportedly enthusiastic players would find themselves stymied because one of the players suddenly found himself busy, or beset by one of life's problems. AS the days passed, interest waned, and in the end it turned out to be a wasted exercise.

[Reknoy]

I'm with you -- my only "full" game was played with 6 totally dedicated players and will likely never happen again.

I, too, am hoping for a solid AI that can take the place of up to half of the countries.

[ZONER]

Well for the past year and a half my most memorable moment is that a group of us (7 players now we started with eight but lost one along the way) have gotten together every other Friday night and play yet another game. We have had the rare 8 month game session (world wide enforced peace) and to many of the "we only made it through one month where did the time go" sessions. Movement, supply and combat are the most tedious and a computer can handle them much more efficiently than a human. The most memorable situation from this game was an alliance between Prussia, Austria and France that did not last long due to the Austrians declaration of a Christian Palestine. He then declared that any Christian nation that did not help in the crusade would become an enemy of Austria. France balked at the holy roman emperor and dared him to declare war him. The next turn Austrian troops crossed into France and proceeded to be crushed under nappy's foot. A said day in the world, so many dead Christian soldiers and no one left to go on the crusade.

[Bill_L.]

Playing France and being declared on by my game long Spanish ally who then marched across the Pyrenees with an army of around 100 factors and totally annihilating it in battle then doing it again 4 turns laters after he reconstituted it with approximately 85 factors.

[carnifex]

hehe yeah i got one


my favorite moment was when i figured out that i could take my fleet and ram it into antwerp, where the spanish fleet was based. he could have moved it into lille, but they went to antwerp and i saw my chance.

i did some quick calculations and saw that the result could swing both ways hard

i could screw myself really bad on a bad roll and wind up with the franco-spanish fleet owning englands waters forever, but then again i had about two thirds chance to at least break even so i took the roll.

now, up until now our group didn't really ram ports. losses were guaranteed and ships were very expensive and took a long time to build, so people tended to be conservative with stuff like that. that's why i guess the guy didn't think of moving to a more fortified port.

anyway, the fight bested my expectation. he rolled for his guns and got the worst result, and then i rolled the best for mine

man, i creamed the spanish. i charged into port, took some casualties, and emptied broadside after broadside into his sorry counters.

the feeling was a nice high, particulary since the game wasn't goin so hot until then. i got a bunch of points and the spanish made peace when i told him that the next time my fleets could move i would again run the guns and would continue to do so until his navy was gone regardless of how many losses it took.

he lost half his navy and sailed away, and the french fleet wasn't very threatening after that