124 - Steel with Twists - 31 Turns - Longest Ever?

[Ry Vor]

So let us hear the tales on this possibly the longest of all Steel games, with a shared victory by the Underworld and Gnome - nicely done. For that combo in the longest game, there has to be a lot to discuss! Talk amongst yourselves.

[Lord Diamond]

(GI) The short version:

Giant starts game very optimistic.

Giant notices that DE has taken Avalon. Decides to attack Demon Prince.

Giant puts a hurting on Demon Prince for two turns.

Giant attacked by Underworld and Gnome.

Giant is made bitch by Underworld and Gnome, with a primary emphasis on Underworld.

Giant struggles to get one last bitch slap against Underworld, takes his water capital, and frees 44 prisoners including his own court which has been gone for many months.

Demon Princes ruins bitch slap by taking all those prisoners himself.

Underworld makes Giant his bitch again by re-kidnapping his entire court and winning the game.

Giant curls up in fetal position and cries himself to sleep.

[kevindusi]

Giant curls up in fetal position and cries himself to sleep.

That's a huge fetus.

[Destitute Noble]

The short version:

Giant starts game very optimistic.

Giant notices that DE has taken Avalon. Decides to attack Demon Prince.

Giant puts a hurting on Demon Prince for two turns.

Giant attacked by Underworld and Gnome.

Giant is made bitch by Underworld and Gnome, with a primary emphasis on Underworld.

Giant struggles to get one last bitch slap against Underworld, takes his water capital, and frees 44 prisoners including his own court which has been gone for many months.

Demon Princes ruins bitch slap by taking all those prisoners himself.

Underworld makes Giant his bitch again by re-kidnapping his entire court and winning the game.

Giant curls up in fetal position and cries himself to sleep.

No need for prolonged explanation when the end result is the fetal position. It'd be no fun if you just dominated every time...;-)

[Lord Diamond]

You'll have to ask Wynand whether or not it's fun to dominate all the time. I suspect that the answer will be "Hell Yes!". I wouldn't mind giving it a shot....

[Ry Vor]

Please do tell, and tell persona and kingdom.

[DuPont]

(DW) I picked the DW because that was the one remaining kingdom I had not played since the relaunch. In fact, I had tended to think of it as kind of a boring kingdom, but I figured I'd give it a whirl. I did not wish to fight the RD, so made a deal what would give me control and him the city. Things went well - I grabbed the first HC seat (though I bobbled getting an issue on it) and on turn 3, I controlled my region. I sat back for a couple of turns to consolidate - the RD was having some diplomatic trouble, but I really didn't want to get drawn into any fights he was getting into. I'd had that happen in other games. With the winter one me, I figured I needed to fight somebody and picked on the WI, who seemed to be busy in Oakendell.
It didn't go all that well - I made some progress, but as I'd gone in without allies and found the UN in there as part of the mix, I could see it would only be a static war. I made peace with the WI in exchange for keeping a couple of pop centers and prepared to look for a new target.
I wasn't idle - I had been raising my influence and emmisaries. I had two princes and three dukes on turn 9 - just as well, because that was when the firestorm hit. The WI, when I was still attacking him, had apparently recruited the RA/SO/BL to come up north and attack me. There is a limit to what one can do with a three on one, so I just hunkered down to fight in my mountains. I lost control of the region on turn 10. In survival mode, I used my emmisaries and groups to my best ability. I talked to the DA, telling them that having me out of the game would be bad for him, as he would then be sandwiched. I can survive off of very little, and he was kind enough to set up a standing order to sent me 9k gold each turn. That made a huge difference, especially during winter months. I knew that with their forces up north dealing with me, their home areas would be vulnerable. Eventually, the BL seemed to go away - with only the RA and SO, I was able to recapture the region on turn 23 despite losing my capital a few times (but never my king). At some point, the RD had vanished - not sure when he quit, but he had never even taken Hammerhold. I claimed it for myself and made it my new capital. I had hoped to be able to get back in the game - nobody else was controlling more than one region, either.
Alas, it was not to be. While the RA only had a limited presence from that point on, the SO came back in full - with all his wizards (at this point, high level) and started to do damage. I had been on the defense too long - I didn't have enough to counter that. I did get two level 3 wizards to hold off the regional effect spells, but he would be able to take pop centers and dome them to prevent me from taking them back. I lost control again and while I had no intentions of quitting, I knew I was fighting a losing battle. I tried to tempt the WI into the fray as he needed another city for his SVC and I pointed out that the battered Hammerhold might be a likely target. I was quite happy when the game ended as it had become a slog.
I really can't say much about it as I was only ever involved in my little corner of the map. My goal became to tie up the SO/RA so they couldn't win. Not sure if it was me that kept them off the podium or not. The SO certainly used his wizards to great effect in the last few turns. The biggest mistake I made was probably going at the WI without allies - I just don't like double teaming and wanted to see what happened if I went in alone. I felt reasonably safe because I had a NAP with the DA, but I wasn't expecting three kingdoms to jump over the Eastern Steppes and land on me that way.
For Iron Willed, I nominate the DA (The Silent One) who, like me, had to hold off some major forces. And because he was the one who kept me alive when things were at their worst.

[Mauler]

Grats to all for a game well fought!

On our end, after some fierce horse trading, the UN and I hammered out an agreement that would last the whole contest. I was not immediately able to hammer out an agreement with the RD which led to some early excitement but that was quickly cleared up.
We agreed to build up and stay quiet, but the first opportunity came at turn 5 when the AN moved on the DA. The DA and I struck up a good rapport so we moved to quickly secure a deal with the TR and moved on the AN holdings. I was the "military" power, knocking over each capital, while the UN picked off the emissaries. The AN was teetering on the brink, when the GI/WA moved on the DE. We then struck up a 3 way accord and moved to support the DE. With my armies battle hardened and already in region 5 picking off the AN pops, it was an easy transition.

Around turn 15 things went all pear shaped when the BL and TR joined the GI/WA/AN front. With the SO/RA also moving on 8 and 5 respectively, we were understandably concerned.

We were pleased to stymy the TRs SVC attempt around turn 20. From the posts I believe that he felt that he had missed due to a lack of attention, but he should be reassured that it was a concerted effort rather than any failing on his part.

We then scooped up the TR properties and made a failed bid for the win. With some help from our friends in the North and East we were finally able to close out the match.

A great challenge as evidenced by the length of the contest. I tip my hat to both our friends and opponents.

Chancellor: Wynand for being the porte-parole of our group.
Iron Willed: Helix. While our enemies may curse the effectiveness of our assault, none of them had 6 kingdoms (largely military powers) assaulting their region simultaneously. 5+ battle reports a turn and still held on to region 8 for most of the game. Nuff said.
Infamous: LD destroyed one of his own villages after we captured it. Why do you have so much hate in your heart? ;op

[Wynand]

You'll have to ask Wynand whether or not it's fun to dominate all the time. I suspect that the answer will be "Hell Yes!". I wouldn't mind giving it a shot....

Again, thanks for kind words LD. To be honest, I was pretty convinced I couldn't win this one given the amount of kingdoms that were acting against our little coalition. If the game had gone one more turn, I'd be unable to claim again.

I'll post my summary shortly...but I have to say, this was a deeply enjoyable contest and I appreciated the tenacity of yourself (GI), LT (WA) as well as the Accerak (BL) and Rick - persona? (SO).

I think it's unfortunate that Yellowbeard (TR) decided to throw in the towel on an extremely viable position that could have had a podium finish, if not a win...but I believe that really cemented our path to victory (it got the GN region 1, and allowed me to get into 4 for my third substantial).

As far as dominating goes, I think my victories are fairly one dimensional; I have had limited success in my two anonymous attempts (In 111, I got smoked by Cipher by turn 8; In 131, I got hammered by what I can only assume is three different teams)....

I am going to try more of those games going forward to see if I can obtain some better outcomes...at the same time, Kev and I are going to try and connect over the phone this week to discuss some ideas for new formats...ones that prevent the "gang banging" but still allow some form of communication and limited cooperation. I think finding structural ways to address these issues (to Ry'vor point) are the way to go.

Again, appreciate most of the participants sticking it out to the end on this one....makes for a competitive contest.

Cheers,
Wynand

[Ry Vor]

Mauler was the Gnome in this game.

Grats to all for a game well fought!

On our end, after some fierce horse trading, the UN and I hammered out an agreement that would last the whole contest. I was not immediately able to hammer out an agreement with the RD which led to some early excitement but that was quickly cleared up.
We agreed to build up and stay quiet, but the first opportunity came at turn 5 when the AN moved on the DA. The DA and I struck up a good rapport so we moved to quickly secure a deal with the TR and moved on the AN holdings. I was the "military" power, knocking over each capital, while the UN picked off the emissaries. The AN was teetering on the brink, when the GI/WA moved on the DE. We then struck up a 3 way accord and moved to support the DE. With my armies battle hardened and already in region 5 picking off the AN pops, it was an easy transition.

Around turn 15 things went all pear shaped when the BL and TR joined the GI/WA/AN front. With the SO/RA also moving on 8 and 5 respectively, we were understandably concerned.

We were pleased to stymy the TRs SVC attempt around turn 20. From the posts I believe that he felt that he had missed due to a lack of attention, but he should be reassured that it was a concerted effort rather than any failing on his part.

We then scooped up the TR properties and made a failed bid for the win. With some help from our friends in the North and East we were finally able to close out the match.

A great challenge as evidenced by the length of the contest. I tip my hat to both our friends and opponents.

Chancellor: Wynand for being the porte-parole of our group.
Iron Willed: Helix. While our enemies may curse the effectiveness of our assault, none of them had 6 kingdoms (largely military powers) assaulting their region simultaneously. 5+ battle reports a turn and still held on to region 8 for most of the game. Nuff said.
Infamous: LD destroyed one of his own villages after we captured it. Why do you have so much hate in your heart? ;op