Game 8

Jason2 wrote:I'd agree Rev, G8 and G10 are fascinating games.  The way they are playing out in both cases is fascinating and enjoyable, I have definitely rejoined G8 at the right time.  

Scramble always seems its own monster, it often throws up a weird situation that could never happen in Glory

I wonder if the rule of thumb in Agema games is Czar Peter = Sometimes nasty esp to Swedes but normally sane. But have a Czar called Alexis or Alaxander as in G8 and Scramble and things (ie Submarines & French envoys) start to sink and not come back to the surface and everyone elae needs to start treating the Russian Governments with great care.

With the exception of the urge to fly (mostly into mountains) I think most of the situations that have happened in Scramble like Rulers wanting to end slavery, revolts often with outside help, feuding British factions, bickering Germans and French, bickering Austrians and Italians have all happened in Glori.

Its just that in Scramble the weirdness is more concentrated and goes all the way to the bone.

Stuart Bailey wrote:

Jason2 wrote:I'd agree Rev, G8 and G10 are fascinating games.  The way they are playing out in both cases is fascinating and enjoyable, I have definitely rejoined G8 at the right time.  

Scramble always seems its own monster, it often throws up a weird situation that could never happen in Glory

I wonder if the rule of thumb in Agema games is Czar Peter = Sometimes nasty esp to Swedes but normally sane.  But have a Czar called Alexis or Alaxander as in G8 and Scramble and things (ie Submarines & French envoys) start to sink and not come back to the surface and everyone elae needs to start treating the Russian Governments with great care.

With the exception of the urge to fly (mostly into mountains) I think most of the situations that have happened in Scramble like Rulers wanting to end slavery, revolts often with outside help, feuding British factions, bickering Germans and French, bickering Austrians and Italians have all happened in Glori.

Its just that in Scramble the weirdness is more concentrated and goes all the way to the bone.  

I do think vampire nuns and Germans with tubas are still a Scramble-only thing?

I would have to agree with both of you. I have often been frustrated by the lack of seriousness when playing scramble. It does make those upstanding British fellows look rather serious all the time. Maybe we need Melville's decendents to come for a tour.

And now days to try to figure out what all has happened on my 68 page turn. I enjoy this, but trying to keep up with it all is a part time job. Never mind the paper.

Quite glad my turns are small in comparison Deacon!  I try and be "digital" but I think going through 68 pages on a screen would be a hell of a struggle (do it enough at work when reading reports, etc and hate having to do it).

Just reading the newspaper, definitely a lot going on!

I have "just" 60 pages, could not imagine getting it by post now.

I believe I am near 66 pages last check... I print everything and then turn to my spreadsheets, maps and charts for the fun part. Do you guys print?

I do it all online, it's too much to print.

89 pages this turn (although, I cannot complain, I like the detail).

I must confess, I am guilty of printing it off, although I get it ring bound with front & back cover. I like the vibe of ‘reading my dispatches’ on the veranda, with a pot of tea.

To Deacons point, when it comes to it, I am using PDF as well, for the searches on the file.

Spreadsheets, similar to RevVaughan, are a useful tool. You need to collate your data to ‘mine’.

& if I may say, after an initial glance at the turn, it looks like it did not disappoint...

I print and bind mine as well. I spend a good bit of time reading through things and making notes. I guess I love the technology, but there is just something about holding the paper in your hand and flagging and making notes.

I bought one of the Epson Eccotank printers for my study here and it auto duplexes and is very inexpensive to run.

I don't print off though I am a great one for plans and records and comparing year on year figures.  I do sometimes think about printing the newspapers though, I can sometimes struggle to read them on the computer screen.

For something a bit different, I am a bit puzzled at Narva, I get that making the French fly Russian ensigns is an insult but where on earth did the idea come from?  I don't think I've of it before.  Is it a naval form of insult I've missed or something the Russians have come up with?

Jason2 wrote:I don't print off though I am a great one for plans and records and comparing year on year figures.  I do sometimes think about printing the newspapers though, I can sometimes struggle to read them on the computer screen.

For something a bit different, I am a bit puzzled at Narva, I get that making the French fly Russian ensigns is an insult but where on earth did the idea come from?  I don't think I've of it before.  Is it a naval form of insult I've missed or something the Russians have come up with?

Three popular ways with flags to humiliate rivals/show them who is boss at sea:

1) Demand that they salute (ie lower their flag and top sail) your flag in certain waters.........the Anglo-Dutch wars started when the Dutch did not offer a proper salute in the Channel.

2) Fly your flag above their flag...........normally done on prizes to show your flag is superior to theirs.

3) Drag captured flags behind your Flag Ship........normally done after a great victory like Lepanto has you enter your home port to show you have swept the sea.

Probably being Russians they were just not up to date with the correct form of Naval insults......bet that instead of making people walk the plank they will probably fire them into the Baltic from canon and good knows what they will make of kell hauling or flogging with a cat.
Russians will probably think the later means the sale of French POWs to the Circuis as food for the Siberian Tigers.......such Barbarians these Russian types!

I can not believe that the established maritime powers are so stuck in the past of the 17th century and not embracing the progression of the 18th century. That's alright, let Russia being the leading light amongst maritime powers.

From the shortly to be issued Romanov Naval Regulations;

CREWS:
Opinion is divided. There are the nations of England, France, Spain and the UDP who say you do need crews and our glorious Tsarevitch Alexis who says we don't. Russian naval shortcomings are attributed to its crews so we shall eliminate that problem at source and all ships will be crew-less. As a side benefit this will also make Russian ships cheaper to build.

Hmm, a fleet without crews...this might have potential for the League

Just finishing up my turn, which always takes forever. I need to get better organized. I always end up just giving up at some point and sending it off. I am hoping next month is better, but it's income month, so I know it won't be.

But, I wanted to stop to offer a polite round of applause for Russia. I am rereading the paper with delight. I would have never done it myself, but crazy completely works. It's likely to lead to some fireworks, but I am hoping it continues to be a grand display!

Finishing up today as well.. Game VIII has become a rather interesting world to say the least. Now on to Scramble.

So how do people use spreadsheets?

I have one with annual income and investments over the years to try to remind me of what I've done, but much of the rest I just do brute force and it's challenging. I have armies and recruits scattered everywhere given the size of the empire.

Anybody want to share advice on how to better organize?

I have spreadsheets for Army, Navy, Academies, Arsenals and anything else that I want to track. I can't keep my own desk straight so three AGEMA games is too much not to organize in that fashion.

revvaughan wrote:I have spreadsheets for Army, Navy, Academies, Arsenals and anything else that I want to track.  I can't keep my own desk straight so three AGEMA games is too much not to organize in that fashion.  

I think I need to hire you to do my turns for me. :)

I'm working through page by page, updating orders, doing things I realized I forgot to do, and came across an academy doing... nothing.

I didn't complete any research this month, don't remember any from last month, so I wonder how long these guys have been hanging out, cashing their pay checks and laughing at their king because they were getting paid to do nothing. :oops:

To be fair, with the wealth of my lands and game 8 in general, I have a _lot_ of academies.

Like Revvaughan, I tend to use spreadsheets for keeping track of what's happened before, for comparative purposes.  I also have a "five year plan" for the future, usually with quite a detailed plan for the current year (sometimes even going as far as listing what military units I plan to raise/institutions I plan to open for each month).  Having said that, I am also quite good at forgetting to tell academies to research things when they aren't already doing so.

As to turns themselves, I tend to find I am quick to do the orders, sometimes even getting those done the same day I get the turn, but it's the letters I tend to leave to the last minute to write

The spreadsheets get confused at times, but they help me organize forces and research. My biggest problem is forgetting that I have already asked a question or that I have ordered something when I haven't. I tend to read a lot at weird hours of the night due to my schedule and I print everything. I flag and write in the margins of my turn report and sometimes forget to put that in my orders. Then I wonder why it never gets accomplished.

Hiring the British Government to run your turns for you... This could be rather interesting to say the least.

The French Ambassador wondered if he had been compromised by enemy agents.

How could the Sultan suspect he was looking to purchase or lease the Island of Singapore? Was there some secret source of information? Were their plans somehow being revealed to the world?

Lovely view... Got to keep and eye on the French and the Russians.

Jason2 wrote:Odd request, working on how to play the Hanseatic League and what it's goals should be, part of that is its ideal military.

Now, at the risk of telling you all the obvious, all three cities in the League had micro-armies and I've got details of those.  Also I have records for the micro-fleets of Bremen and hamburg.

I am using those for my development plans for the League but I am, to a degree, venturing into the unknown with this one.  I wonder, for comparison, does anyone have either historical comparisons for the militaries of the maritime republics of Genoa and Venice, or the in-game setup militaries for either position, they would be willing to share on the forum? 
I have done some googling but can't find anything online that lists the military of Venice or Genoa in 1700 or soon after

Found this oared galley comparison table in Conway's History of the Ship - The Line of Battle - The Sailing Warship 1650 - 1840 isbn 0851775616

Marshal Bombast wrote:

Jason2 wrote:Odd request, working on how to play the Hanseatic League and what it's goals should be, part of that is its ideal military.

Now, at the risk of telling you all the obvious, all three cities in the League had micro-armies and I've got details of those.  Also I have records for the micro-fleets of Bremen and hamburg.

I am using those for my development plans for the League but I am, to a degree, venturing into the unknown with this one.  I wonder, for comparison, does anyone have either historical comparisons for the militaries of the maritime republics of Genoa and Venice, or the in-game setup militaries for either position, they would be willing to share on the forum? 
I have done some googling but can't find anything online that lists the military of Venice or Genoa in 1700 or soon after

Found this oared galley comparison table in Conway's History of the Ship - The Line of Battle - The Sailing Warship 1650 - 1840 isbn 0851775616

Thanks Marshal That's the problem with currently (when not furlonged) with working in an aviation museum, no easy access to such books

Or anything useful for Glory/Scramble really...