Game 8

I wouldn't think he would have a seperate set of formulas for each "world" but a standard one that Game 8 might have found the combination for. I know that in Scramble for Empire the investment in trade has been very large for all the major powers and companies. The British Empire has 1.5 Billion Pounds in reserve and is making about 50 million pounds per turn after the massive trade investments. In other games the economic power of a similar large position was no where as robust.

I concur... I must have TGOK and Scramble or I start to detox.

revvaughan, have you always played either Great Britain or England in the various games? I just wondered, out of interest, really.

Makes it easier, I suppose, if a player concentrated on one nation with it's own specific information and issues. And each game is different, so it would be quite interesting to know of your thoughts regarding the different incarnations of GB/England you've experienced.

I had a go with the Commonwealth of Great Britain, once. The game folded soon after I took it on, but to be honest the position was too large a World power for me to handle so I'd have probably have had to admit defeat in my playing the position.

Possibly this is a topic best discussed in it's own thread. And could even be opened up to other players who've played multiple incarnations of the same country in the games.

Off-topic. I'd even be interested to see a separate topic thread discussing the pros and cons of splitting a large, World power position between a number of players. I know of a few instance where this has been done, or is being played as such. I've just started playing a position where the country is split between several player positions, under the direct command of Ruler Agema, and myself and the others in the nation are in agreement to work as a co-operative.

Anyway, I've gone off-topic from Game 8.

On a relevant note. My next turn for Bartholomew Yorke is completed and I'm quite looking forward to continuing playing this Swashbuckler character over the next few turns. Lets see how he takes to learning to ride Queenie, and he's after a few 'choice' books

revvaughan wrote:I wouldn't think he would have a seperate set of formulas for each "world" but a standard one that Game 8 might have found the combination for.  I know that in Scramble for Empire the investment in trade has been very large for all the major powers and companies.  The British Empire has 1.5 Billion Pounds in reserve and is making about 50 million pounds per turn after the massive trade investments.  In other games the economic power of a similar large position was no where as robust.  

I concur...  I must have TGOK and Scramble or I start to detox.  

I am not sure if trade income in Scramble and Glory work the same way since with Scamble in the 1860 we are talking the period of the Industrial revolution with factories driven by steam power, railways and telegraph lines etc.

Basically in scabble positions are limited in what they can do by the 12 Character limit and manpower not cash. So income is a bit like Honour in other AGEMA games.......a way of Keeping score. Or at least this is how it seems to work in the British Empire and amongst its many loyal tax paying trade companies.

Ref trade income in Glory I suspect that it may be linked to some type of conflict scale in a trade region. Clearly being in a war is bad for returns but I also suspect your trade income is hurt not only by wars which you are not involved with but by other peoples conflicts as well and these do not have to involve actual shooting. A slanging match will also hurt merchants confidence.

Rozwi_Game10 wrote:revvaughan, have you always played either Great Britain or England in the various games? I just wondered, out of interest, really.

Makes it easier, I suppose, if a player concentrated on one nation with it's own specific information and issues. And each game is different, so it would be quite interesting to know of your thoughts regarding the different incarnations of GB/England you've experienced.

I had a go with the Commonwealth of Great Britain, once. The game folded soon after I took it on, but to be honest the position was too large a World power for me to handle so I'd have probably have had to admit defeat in my playing the position.

Possibly this is a topic best discussed in it's own thread. And could even be opened up to other players who've played multiple incarnations of the same country in the games.

Off-topic. I'd even be interested to see a separate topic thread discussing the pros and cons of splitting a large, World power position between a number of players. I know of a few instance where this has been done, or is being played as such. I've just started playing a position where the country is split between several player positions, under the direct command of Ruler Agema, and myself and the others in the nation are in agreement to work as a co-operative.


I played as a Denmark when I first got started some years ago. I enjoyed it and hated to leave it behind, but there was not enough for me to do in order to keep active. Then I bit off Britain in Game II... It was a economic and military powerhouse that had allies in a strong Prussia. The game had little to real warfare while I was present, but the economy was massive and we had over 1 billion pounds in the bank.

I had asked some of my local friends to participate in the various games by reading the turn and helping with the letters and the orders. Our schedules were rather tight and it didn't work out too well. If that was not something that would bother Richard I would give it a try again I think.

Anyway, I've gone off-topic from Game 8.

On a relevant note. My next turn for Bartholomew Yorke is completed and I'm quite looking forward to continuing playing this Swashbuckler character over the next few turns. Lets see how he takes to learning to ride Queenie, and he's after a few 'choice' books

No doubt this could be an interesting time for the good major.

The quote didn't indent it appears...

I played as a Denmark when I first got started some years ago. I enjoyed it and hated to leave it behind, but there was not enough for me to do in order to keep active. Then I bit off Britain in Game II... It was a economic and military powerhouse that had allies in a strong Prussia. The game had little to real warfare while I was present, but the economy was massive and we had over 1 billion pounds in the bank.

Now a response to Stuart...

I tend to think the same way about the economic model. War can hurt some and help others at the same time so I expect that the conflict, weather and a host of other items goes into the matrix. The only thing I would be rather certain about is that he has one formula and changes the variables.

The is most probably one standard economic model for the game system, but each game has due to it's unique interaction of player actions differing outcomes, setting differing tax levels & import duties, for example, or trading in different areas in different goods, add in wars, plauges famines natural disasters etc & each game suddenly develops it own unique economic feel.

Certain posiitons may well have an economic bonus, I think England may well have one, although not sure if it is used every game.

Probably fair to say that each game starts from the same foundation, but are built up over time into differing structures.

I suspect that all positions start with inbuilt advantages and disadvantages so if nothing out of the ordinary is happening ie just payers carrying out R & D holding the odd meeting of a diet or a ball, no wars & no famines etc.

- The Emperor & the Pope will drift effortlessly to the Top of the Honour List.

- England, UDP & Venice will see their trade & income grow more rapidly than other powers.

- Powers with large populations like France, Russia, Spain will gain a military advantage due to having thousands of recruits to recruit.

- England, UDP, Italian states & smaller positions with active and inventive populations will make far more discoveries than large socially static positions like Russia & the major Ottoman positions. One naval academny in the UDP or England or a Military academny in Prussia will always seem to come up with more than ten academies in Russia even if the Czar has the higher honour.

As important as the natural drift is how positions seem to be a lot more durable or fragile to outside shocks and changes you may make.

Players of Russia, the Ottomans and Moghul India have in the past noticed that doing anything other than winning a war is going to upset some section of society or other and hurt your honour if not cause actual riots on the streets.

While French, Austrian, Spanish, Swedish & Prussian EH seem's fragile and unless handled with care seem to take a dip at the most minor bad news and take a huge amount of time and effort to turn it round (oddly some positions seem to have robust trade but a fragile EH). In contrast Russia, Venice, England and others seem to be naturally robust and no matter what you do to them they always seem to recover rapidly.

Good example of this was England in G2 which for dacades was battered by the Philip of Anjou player. It lost its Indian colonies, Ireland became a independent Kingdom etc, etc but England still ended up as the major Economic Power in the Game.

Venice is another weed which always gets up but I can confirm that it is possible to break the system if after knocking it down you continue to jump up and down on it. It may have a 100% recovery rate or something like that put 100% of 0 is still 0!

Think a fragile or robust & time in your favour or against goes a long way towards why players like certain positions and do not get on with others. Basically:

- Are you a "Orchid Grower" who can cope with frustration and likes to grow and nurse maid a fragile state. Then pick something like Prussia or the ultimate challenge for this type of player something in the Polish Commonwealth.

- Are do you like a "Stock Car".......a really tough and durable position which you can throw around and will recover rapidly from your mistakes? I which case play Russia or England.

- Or do you like to play against time and the odds? Sweden and the Crimean Khanate are good positions for players who like to play knowing they are against the clock and some day the Russian Hordes are going to make their move. Only the more the Russians delay the worse its going to be.

I generally agree with Stuart that different positions have different built-in advantages mostly hidden in the rules. I don't think they're equal, but I think everybody has what it takes to succeed... If your neighbors give you the time!

As for the economy in game 8, my guess is that it is the randomness of the start conditions. I think the mechanics of the economy are pretty much the same from game to game, but I suspect Richard somewhat randomized the global starting economy. And I think we hit the lottery in game 8 by starting with really great starting conditions.

The research success baffles me, but to be fair, in game 8 I can afford, and have, an enormous number of research facilities these days. But even in the early days before I had them all on-line, I had good success. I did ask on-turn about it a bit, since I got a ton early then the rate slowed way down, and my interpretation of the answer is, "you got the easy ones, harder inventions take longer."
I take the point that not all research advances are equally hard, so might want to think about that while doing research.

To bolster Stuarts point on the recovery in game 2... I took over England in 1733 and ran it up until the end. In the time that it was under my care the economic engine produced amazing results every year. I replaced every ship in the massive navy in a two year time frame to modernize and the bank balance still didn't take a hit. The military alliance with Prussia was bolstered by Britain sending roughly 20 million pounds per year to keep the Prussian army and the Riechsarmee in the field. Even with these expenses the economic bottom line was about 1.4 to 1.5 Billion when the game shut down. If I am not mistaken that was with an EH of 6.

revvaughan wrote:To bolster Stuarts point on the recovery in game 2...  I took over England in 1733 and ran it up until the end.  In the time that it was under my care the economic engine produced amazing results every year.  I replaced every ship in the massive navy in a two year time frame to modernize and the bank balance still didn't take a hit.  The military alliance with Prussia was bolstered by Britain sending roughly 20 million pounds per year to keep the Prussian army and the Riechsarmee in the field.  Even with these expenses the economic bottom line was about 1.4 to 1.5 Billion when the game shut down.  If I am not mistaken that was with an EH of 6.  

Shee!!

The Real Louis wrote:Is 8 a really dull game? (compared with 9 & 10) Or are we just more "serious" (or guarded) players, less inclined to frivolous jokes about haggis and the Russian navy, lest they be misinterpreted? Answers on a postcard, please..

Well as for my part I have not found the game dull and boring!, however after taking over a position and being a Newbie at TGoK I am not sure if I was left in a good or bad position ? but I am sure that I have made plenty of mistakes that impacted my position in a negative way, I always have a mental image of Richard rubbing his hands together in glee as he mutters you "foolish newbie".
The end result is that I have had to put down a rebellion and try and fish my EH from beyond the S-Bend of my Royal Commode. which has put a dampener on my pyromaniac tendencies towards the unbelievers own commode's.

I also find it tedious to constantly have to lick the jam and cream of my fingers so as to sign orders dealing with Rumelia's tiresome troubles! Hence not much gets done until the month of Ramadan.

One Grain.

The Turn has arrived.

My admittedly biased take on the news:

Mostly it was a quiet month.

-The Ingrians hang a English nobleman as a spy. Might have something to do with being mad about an English fleet on your shore.

-Sweden laughs at Russia for buying a pig in a poke. Ok, maybe that's just my interpretation of "You guys knew what you were getting, don't blame me!"

-Much hazzahing by Russian troops about avenging Tsar Peter... who they all hated anyway.

-Emperor Pedro wakes ups up from his drunken stupor to yell at a Cardinal. This exhausts him enough that he decides to take a nap.

-Russians apparently sent 6.2 trillion orthodox emissaries around the world to try to get all the Orthodox and their patriarchs to make nice nice with him as the number 1 Orthodox. Never mind that the first among equals of the Orthodox is the Patriarch of Constantinople, and that the Russian Patriarch ranks a mere 5th in seniority.

Take your time with the turn though. Responses aren't due for a bit over 3 weeks.

I do wonder if things might get a bit nosier soon...if the French carry on poking the English the way they are, I can see the Royal Navy stopping off at the French coast after they've sunk Ingria

I think that will depend upon Ingria. My limited military experience is that these things take way longer than you think they should, so the English may be on station there for a long time.

As a reminder as people are working up their may turns, the royal wedding of the hispanic crown prince and his cousin the austrian princess is scheduled for June in Lisbon. Ambassadors and other notables who plan to attend should be in transit. Wedding will likely be late june, weather and travellers permitting so you still have time to send someone if you were thinking of it.

The Royal Navy has plenty more where those come from. I just hope it will not be necessary to strike in such a way. Spies are necessary, but at least make sure they are good and counter intelligence has to work a little hard next time. Oh... When caught fess up and take your lumps!

We shall send someone to the wedding and hope that all goes well.

Jason wrote:I do wonder if things might get a bit nosier soon...if the French carry on poking the English the way they are, I can see the Royal Navy stopping off at the French coast after they've sunk Ingria

Poking the English? Mais non! We fastidious French would never stoop to such a thing...

revvaughan wrote:Spies are necessary, but at least make sure they are good and counter intelligence has to work a little hard next time.  Oh...  When caught fess up and take your lumps!

Well, if France had any spies in England they would be highly-trained... But taking lumps (in any circumstance) is not something we French contemplate!

The Real Louis wrote:

revvaughan wrote:Spies are necessary, but at least make sure they are good and counter intelligence has to work a little hard next time.  Oh...  When caught fess up and take your lumps!

Well, if France had any spies in England they would be highly-trained...  But taking lumps (in any circumstance) is not something we French contemplate!

The alternative is make sure your agents have a good cover story and blame someone else.

I notice in G10 that when a French Agent was caught in the UDP he claimed he was a poor Protestant exile forced to spy on his hosts by nasty men in France who had power over his wife and his dear little daughter.

The court actually extended mercy to the poor chap.

But if you are not so fussed about what happens to your agent I suggest you use recuits from other Nations (Italians & Irish seem to be best) so you can deny that they are anything to do with you.

For agents with really confused back stories I dont think many games match G7 were I am sure that many agents are double if not triple agents. With the British state totally inflilrated by Jacobites, HEIC/Orange Order, Blackbeard/Sons of liberty as well as by foreign powers which have also infiltrated the Sons of Liberty etc.

Of course all this coat turning does not make them much different from many of their political and military leaders.

The Real Louis wrote:

revvaughan wrote:Spies are necessary, but at least make sure they are good and counter intelligence has to work a little hard next time.  Oh...  When caught fess up and take your lumps!

Well, if France had any spies in England they would be highly-trained...  But taking lumps (in any circumstance) is not something we French contemplate!

Surely the fact that any of these theoretical French spies would sound like the cast of "Allo Allo" might make them easy to spot however

Well... One of the chaps was English and rolled very quickly on his handler when we was snagged with some documents in an unmarked case on the streets of London. The handler copped to it, but refused to name any others. However, the incriminating evidence found on him and at his place of domicile has led to additional arrests. Counter intelligence is a tricky thing.

revvaughan wrote:Well...  One of the chaps was English and rolled very quickly on his handler when we was snagged with some documents in an unmarked case on the streets of London.  The handler copped to it, but refused to name any others.  However, the incriminating evidence found on him and at his place of domicile has led to additional arrests.  Counter intelligence is a tricky thing.  

This is a "no comment" comment - as anything direct I might say might count as "playing outside the game". But kudos to the rev.

June 1708, and Major Bartholomew Yorke made the newspaper again! Well... His horse, Queenie, did at least.

Quite the equine feel to this latest turn. What with horses and carriages being gifted backwards and forth in Lisbon. And major incidents being only narrowly averted while gathered royalty go out riding. British cavalry goes to war. While Russian Cossacks suffer fatal attack. And, just for variety, over in Poona it is revealed that "brace of dead rats" is off the menu.

(there wasn't a rat emoticon)

On subject of counter int in games do players prefer agents or watch units?

Stuart Bailey wrote:
On subject of counter int in games do players prefer agents or watch units?

Everything you can afford, of course.