ORIGINAL: Canoerebel
Moose, I know that One-Eyed has ceased keeping his AAR, unfortunately. What's your assessment of his overall game morale? (If you've already discussed this recently, I missed it; so just point me to the discussion.) He's certainly in a bad position, given your unorthodox and highly successful play, so I wonder if he's waging a deteriorating morale battle?
As you know, CR, an AAR performs many functions. This one is a daily diary for archival purposes, a handy reference tool for me to look back at force dispositions, a place to muse on strategy, a joke palace, a place for reader questions, and a record of the game's externals. Let me say a piece on that last one and try to answer your question.
First, on Mike. He is one of the happiest people I've ever known. Supremely well-balanced in his life, family, career, hobbies. His job runs hot and cold, with some travel to not-so-nice towns. He has to work some weekends and gets comp time. He has a job where summers are intense times. He also does a lot of satellite things relating to his job which take time and evenings away.
When we set this game up he committed to 4-5 turns a week at worst, and better sometimes. He has never, ever failed to meet that promise. He has sent turns from motel rooms in hell. He has sent them while sick. He has sent them in the middle of the night, and at 0600 very often before work. He communicates perfectly to set expectations on the coming days. No one could wish for a better game partner in that respect. He also does not chat about the game in emails, or give away events in the movies. We don't worry about opsec between us. We do talk about numerous other things in emails with turns attached. He's a funny guy.
All that said, one thing I have learned in this, my first PBEM, is 4-5 turns a week isn't my rhythm. We're closing in on a year real-time playing and are still in June 1942. I have trouble keeping things straight in my head when we miss two days in a row. I want to play faster, at least a turn a day. If I play another game I will specify this up front. Or play 2-day turns.
Second, is Mike winning, or am I? I think I am; I don't know what he thinks. I think I am because of VPs primarily, but also because so far I have succeeded in choking the petroleum industry a lot, and by still holding bases which would provide huge VP mines as well as free Japanese forces to go do other needed things. There hasn't been a lot of naval attrition on either side, and I'm ahead in planes lost by about 500, but overall we have not clashed to any great extent except in Operation FUDD (limited Allied victory in that I hold Toungoo and he does not hold any oil bases in Burma.) I am beginning to move into an expansion phase earlier than is normal. That said, he can still hurt me a lot in China and Burma. I would do many things differently in China if I did the Evacuation strategy again. But I have a two-year master plan in mind, and I'm not sure he does.
Finally, how is his morale?, you ask. I don't know that either. From our emails I think he's OK, but it could be whistling past the graveyard. Or, he might have huge operations unfolding to smash Java, take PBang, and roll up the I. Valley in Burma to Mandalay. I don't think so, but I can't see very far inside his world.
The key question is whether he'll quit. I suppose that's it. And I don't know that either. I made a huge deal when I set up the opponents wanted ad about playing for VPs and final victory. We discussed that. I know him well enough now to know he is an honorable man. I don't know, however, if the game is fun for him right now. On the chance it isn't I'm accelerating some of my moves to at least make the turns a little more "Hulk Smash!" in coming weeks. If those moves work the game might not be fun after they're over and we may need to talk. If they fail he has a new lease on life VP-wise and I need to step carefully for awhile while the toy factory works back home.
I don't know if that answers the question, but it's what I know now. No matter what happens I know 1000% more about this fine game's internals than I did a year ago. That's not nothing.
