Game 8

The Real Louis wrote:.  In slightly over a game year (with a lot of real-world investment) I've built the position up from a 4 in both Honour and Economy to 36 and 9

Can some one please explain how the ??????? you get a Honour score up from 4 to 36 Honour score in a touch over a game year!? That is a average increase of around 3 honour points a turn?

I always believed an increase of 2 honour points in a turn was a myth. When it actually happened to one of my characters I assumed it was an mis-print esp as honour went down by a point the next turn. But then I won an election and my Elector got made Holy Roman Emperor and I got 2 honour points which seemed to indicate that it was possible but a bit like getting a Eagle in Golf so three points must be like a hat trick in cricket.

Can someone advise if a 3 honour point increase in a turn is actually common? And what am I doing wrong is it me or just the positions I have played? Do some positions like being King of France, Blackbeard or the Pope have a built in ability to rocket honour scores not shared by lesser mortals?

So far various characters of mine have:

1) Visited Mecca & Rome .......1 honour point.

2) Got married & had heirs born......1 honour point.

3) Had nice funerials with large sums paid out as per wills......1 honour point.

4) Saved Capital of Ottoman Empire .....1 honour point.

5) Built tons of stuff and hosted huge numbers of Opera's, Bull Fights, Horse Race Meeting's etc, etc

6) Even risked life of character by having him lead a Cavalry Charge which pushed a 30,000 strong Hapsburg Army into the Danube and saved Hungary......think I got 2 minus one for insulting the Grand Mufti on same turn.

But I have never seen a three point increase in one turn.

Stuart,

This reflects my experience with moribund positions, and the catch up versus advance problem. If Richard didn't give some kind of bonus to positions, then late joiners to the game would be forever out of the running. Hardly seems fair.

It also matches my belief that if you are near the top of the honour scores, ever point is an effort to get.

If you are way behind, every point is easy, until you get close to the leaders and then it gets harder and harder. You've now caught up and are on even footing with the other players.

That's my experience from game 3 and game 8, anyway. In game 3, I think I got close to 10 honour points on one turn if I recall correctly! It was ~1735 and the position hadn't been played much, if at all during the game, so I was hugely behind. I played to character and honour went up fast. In game 8, since I've been near the top the entire game, every point has been an effort.

Also, I believe that honour is scored in decimals but reported as whole numbers, so rounding does happen. I have on a few occasions gotten 2 points, but rarely. Recently when I noticed a huge turn error that benefited me and reported it. The extra honour point was pale compensation, but I can live with myself, so there's that benefit.

I would also add that I've lost more points in a turn than I've ever gained in game 8, and sometimes for things that I thought were perfectly fine.  Such are the whims of fate, I guess.

From the paper, France has obviously been making a HUGE push on honour every turn. I think if you commit this much effort to it, you can get more as well.

I plod along because I also tend to believe that reputations rise slowly (but can fall quickly) and that there are natural limits to how much you can gain from one turn. Slow and steady may not win the race, but it will keep you in it! Small somethings every turn is better than just a few big splashes a year.

I originally tried to take the top of the honour roll in game 8 intentionally to test if TGOK included some of the features of Scrabble. If you have high honour, are you less affected by bad luck? All the evidence I have gathered to date suggests this is NOT the case In fact, the opposite may be the case. (though I think this is more a function of position size than honour, all things seem harder to larger positions, one of the game balance things Richard does, I think.)

So if I want to get the 3 point increase in honour points I need to take a position in a older game which has not been played for a while and is way down the honour list?

But the theory that bad things do not happen or Agema NPC's will do things for you if you have a high honour score is basically a myth.

I got 3+ points regularly in game 3. I don't think I've ever gotten 3+ in game 8, playing from the beginning and paying attention to honour. When I had to drop game 3, I was still behind the curve, so I think I could have kept that honour growth up for a while longer.

And I've had a fair bit of bad luck in game 8, recently. Nothing truly serious, but lots of annoyances, so high honour isn't a cure. I had better luck early in game 8 when I was only portugal. So I think this confirms what others have said that it's position size that drives this more than honour.

I can see why that would be. As a game master, you don't want a game like this that ends too quickly, so luck breaks better for the small positions than the large. It gets harder and harder for large positions to grow, while it remains easier for smaller positions to do so. That helps maintain some balance in the game.

My take anyway.

Rise of +2 Honour for Rozwi in Game 10 - June 1700

My records show that I reimbursed the Treasury the upkeep cost of my personal property.
Sent a gift to the Governor of Portuguese East Africa (a lets be friends gesture).
Issued money to cover living expenses of the two diplomats who travelled to Mozambique.
(Probably wrote an article for the newspaper concerning the above diplomacy).
Held a feast for my chiefs, and asked their opinion on stabbing spears.
Serviced the first wife.

Rozwi has only received +1 Honour boosts after that, but I've purposely been less active with my 'diplomatic orders' so that all of the things I do want doing in a turn get done.

Stuart, I think Deacon's initial response just about nails it. Bouncing off the bottom is relatively easy (especially if you have ship-loads of in-game currency to invest, as I did), but gets harder as you go up (one of the reasons I'm now content to taper-off). I was doing a variety of things each turn, and couldn't often tie a particular act/investment to a specific increase. In Louis' case, de-taxing the nobles & the clergy, building historical palaces (in Paris, and at Fontainbleu, as well as working-up Versailles itself to something like its true extent and appurtenances), and churches, chapels & cathedrals, playing the pious card a lot, as well as the mass banqueting and honouring of notables, and puffing of French superiority in the arts & science at every possible opportunity (not that the superiority needed to be real, just well-advertised). I believe that contributing to the Press certainly helps to focus these efforts - so, if you do something with Honour in mind, puff it!

A parallel/contrast was my first, and only previous, game (of which I've forgotten the number) where I took on Moldavia from round 1. There I took as my personal objective topping the Honour Table, and achieved it, without paying for any supplementary orders, just from pandering to the political and religious biases of my nobles and clergy...

Turn is out, and the Swedish queen has arrived in port. Who knows what caused the delay?

Sweden has sold Ingria to the Russians.

And Austria leads trade in Europe followed by Spain, perhaps the most interesting thing is that the Moghul and Kwangtung China are both beating out Bavaria.

Deacon wrote:

Sweden has sold Ingria to the Russians.

.

What is the going point for a few sandy fields and a area of marsh with some nice views of the Baltic?

I asked to play Sweden once wondered at the time what is the cost of giving up Ingria in terms of recruits & income (mostly from tax on Russian trade). Anyone any clue?

No clue, but I think it is a key way to avoid war with Russia. They need a port, and if they can't get one by trading, they'll get one by war.

I can't speak to Sweden's situation in Game 8, but the paper makes it read like the kingdom's struggling so a cash infusion and a war avoided may be a good strategic choice.

There was some trouble in that province some time back I believe. If memory serves me correct the army had to be deployed and almost brought to bear on the people there. Perhaps it was a chance to give a potential enemy what they wanted and at the same time to get rid of something that was not very useful in the first place.

revvaughan wrote:There was some trouble in that province some time back I believe.  If memory serves me correct the army had to be deployed and almost brought to bear on the people there.  Perhaps it was a chance to give a potential enemy what they wanted and at the same time to get rid of something that was not very useful in the first place.  

The sales comment did include something about problems with population.

Somehow I imagine the Russians will have fewer problems. If vodka doesn't work, pointy things will.

Indeed... Many pointy things shall take care of the issue in short order. Certainly if said point things are fired from a barrel or galloping along at a nice clip.

Not sure how my man Cabess ended up in two places at the same time this month, but at least they were both in Africa...

If he can be in two places at once, I'd promote him quick!

Just a note to anyone who may be in correspondence with our glorious nation this turn (May), or otherwise expecting inter-action, our eminence gris has just returned from celebrating his wedding anniversary overseas (Malta - where does that come up in Gok?) with only 6 days to the deadline and much domestic detail to catch-up on our responses may be limited or non-existent. Please be assured this is not due to lack of interest or on-going involvement, just a temporary glitch. Thank you for your patience. Blame it on the 18th C mails.

Message from Ottoman Anatolian Ambassador "Tell the King, his son and the foreign minister of Hispania to stay in one place." was very funny to find out that everyone had disappeared for his highly glorified banquet.

Just a note that the June turn is being processed as I type. I got an email prompt from Richard saying he hadn't got any orders from me (because they had got lost in the ether en route, not my fault or his), which - with a bit of frantic back-and-forth - resulted in me managing to get some orders/diplos in. Not sure how much will make the cut, but fingers crossed - and hugely relieved & grateful that Richard sent out the prompt. Kudos.

Thanks Louis. Nice to know the game 8 turn is close.

Turn is out.

Not much happening in my little Swashbuckler world. I fear I won't be able to find a boat for those (npc) Royal Society chaps, so may need to find another adventure to pursue ... Currently I'm kicking my heels at Hull, trying to organise a dance (I'm wanting to have it for the Common sort, but my landlord is having ideas above his station and wants to cater to the "nobs"). If I do manage to secure boat hire, and the Society expedition does make it to Greenland (not Iceland, as I wrongly wrote in last month's newspaper. Whoops!) I've got to then present myself to the Danish Rear Admiral waiting for me, and I'm not allowed to do any trading on my own part - which is a bit of a bugger when you're a Merchant rpg character!

(Rozwi, you should come to Hispania. Wine, siestas, and lots and lots of trade).

Wild turn for others.

The Tsar gets himself arrested!!!

"NYENSKANS
The 1st Livonian Regiment of Horse has ridden into Nyenskans and arrested Tsar Peter I of Russia, his architects, and thousands of Russian civilians and recruits as they arrived to do the Tsar’s bidding! These included nobles, government officials, and the families of ex-soldiers and those
of soldiers still with the colours.

A large amount of coin has also been seized. The regiment is said to be in the
service of the Principality of Ingria, within whose territory Nyenskans is believed to fall."

Harvests for the year:

"Good harvests – France, Hanover, Austria, Venice, Anatolia, Egypt, and Moghul India.
Poor harvests – England, Sweden, Denmark, Prussia, and Rumelia."

Poor Rumelia, it seems like they get poor harvests more often than not!

Serfs are now tenant farmers in Russia. We'll see what social upheaval that brings.

France throws parties for Savoy.

Austria throws Parties.

Hispania throws parties and opens some things, and put marble over other things. Oman finally bows to the inevitable and agrees Hispania can have zanzibar back.

Abyssinia is devout while the rest of christendom drinks.

Denmark is too mad at the thought of somebody landing on a piece of ice they own to have a party. Though to be fair, much of what they own is a piece of ice, so maybe the cold just makes them surly.

Pirates threaten the english navy a stone's throw from Hispanic territory in south america. though what the English and pirates are both doing there is a mystery.

We even seem to have a peaceful resolution to the Muscat problem (though I suspect its still not fully resolved but no war for now ) I might have to throw a party...

Rozwi_Game10 wrote:Turn is out.

Not much happening in my little Swashbuckler world. I fear I won't be able to find a boat for those (npc) Royal Society chaps, so may need to find another adventure to pursue ... Currently I'm kicking my heels at Hull, trying to organise a dance (I'm wanting to have it for the Common sort, but my landlord is having ideas above his station and wants to cater to the "nobs"). If I do manage to secure boat hire, and the Society expedition does make it to Greenland (not Iceland, as I wrongly wrote in last month's newspaper. Whoops!) I've got to then present myself to the Danish Rear Admiral waiting for me, and I'm not allowed to do any trading on my own part - which is a bit of a bugger when you're a Merchant rpg character!

Maybe travel to Scotland, find some of the Inuit who were turning up in Aberdeen/Orkney at this time, convince them to be your agents? You sail your ship off the coast of Greenland but never land, your inuit agents go ashore and bring others back out to your ship to do some offshore trading?

Indeed. Seems like Oman is finally coming around.

Though I was surprised at the 10,000 of thousands of slaves comment dropped in as almost an after thought. That's a lot of wealth the Omani are marching around...

Deacon wrote:Indeed. Seems like Oman is finally coming around.

Though I was surprised at the 10,000 of thousands of slaves comment dropped in as almost an after thought. That's a lot of wealth the Omani are marching around...

Me too, was quite taken aback on that, no idea that they were there. Richard did include a bit of a description of Muscat in my turn, did help me understand the situation a bit better-will post it here in the next day or so...

Deacon wrote:Pirates threaten the english navy a stone's throw from Hispanic territory in south america. though what the English and pirates are both doing there is a mystery.

Odd thought, in G8 we have a United Britain don't we? Could the RN be checking to see if Scottish Darien survived or not? And to go one step further, could it not have survived and now is a pirate haven?