Octopus Overlords

Good. That makes 8. If there are no objections we can go with the following:

tgb vs. Hepcat
Zarathud vs. AWS
Issi vs. El Guapo
NickAragua vs. Holman

Work it out among yourselves via PM regarding setting up games and the side each player is going to take. Over at Q2T they included optional cards but no Chinese civil war. Also no bonus influence for either side. In order to accommodate everyone's schedule, let's set the timer for 45 days - the maximum.

It may be tough, but it would be nice if we could have all games in the first round finished by the end of next week

I'm trying to create an account for online play, but the link in their account verification e-mail doesn't work.

Anyone else who is waiting to get their account verified should probably go ahead and e-mail Playdek support. They manually activated my account.

Zarathud wrote:Archinerd should join!

Ah! I Missed this. I'll get in on the next one.

I was able to get my account activated through the email just now.

I think I've added everyone as an in-game friend except Nick. Or else I've added a bunch of people who use the same names as y'all.

Add the oo (for OO) to my username.

Got my account up, they seem to have fixed their account creation system.

My account name within the game is ElGuaposki. My steam name is ElGuapo.

Zarathud has chosen to play the Soviets in our match.

The match between Isgrimnur and myself is now underway. I am fighting for global freedom as the USA, and Isgrimnur is fighting for global oppression as the Soviets.

It's not all world dominance and global oppression in Russia. We know how to party wildly and have all the sexy secret agents.

I've been playing against the AI to brush up. So far, I'm 3 for 3 -- three games in a row lost because I accidentally drove the world to DEFCON 1.

tgb and I are struggling over Central America right now. I just tried realignment attempts twice in a row...and managed to net a total gain of 1 influence.

I want to see the damn dice they're using. I think they're uneven!

AWS260 wrote:I've been playing against the AI to brush up. So far, I'm 3 for 3 -- three games in a row lost because I accidentally drove the world to DEFCON 1.

For the most part it's easy to not push the world to Defcon 1 - between dumping a card on the space race and holding a card, you shouldn't be in a position of having to lower Defcon. The big exception is the Lone Gunman / CIA Created cards, which can't (unless boosted by other cards) be played on the Space Race. But here's a guide on how to dump those cards without ending the world.

hepcat wrote:tgb and I are struggling over Central America right now. I just tried realignment attempts twice in a row...and managed to net a total gain of 1 influence.

I want to see the damn dice they're using. I think they're uneven!

That would explain how Isgrimnur keeps rolling 6s on coup attempts.

In one of the realignment attempts, I even managed to put more of his influence into the country.

hepcat wrote:In one of the realignment attempts, I even managed to put more of his influence into the country.

?

Realignment rolls can't add influence (for either side), though you can wind up wiping out your own influence, which can give the opponent control of the target country (if he has enough influence in the country).

Sorry, badly worded. Yes, I removed mine and ended up giving him control.

ok - makes sense.

I generally find realignment rolls to be rarely worthwhile compared to coups or just adding influence. I wind up doing them maybe once a game at the most.

We've been dancing on the edge with coups and the nuclear destruction track. It seems to drop to two during the first turn of every round.

And yeah, lesson learned. Realignment rolls aren't really worth it in most cases. I'll be avoiding them from now on unless I'm absolutely up against it and have no other choice.

hepcat wrote:We've been dancing on the edge with coups and the nuclear destruction track. It seems to drop to two during the first turn of every round.

And yeah, lesson learned. Realignment rolls aren't really worth it in most cases. I'll be avoiding them from now on unless I'm absolutely up against it and have no other choice.

They do make sense in some cases - if you have an isolated enemy country surrounded by a couple friendly countries. But I find those cases to be atypical.

And yes, most of the game is played at Defcon 2. Very often the USSR begins each year with a battleground coup, both to flip a country and to deny the US the opportunity to do so. NORAD can be a useful way for the US to counter-balance this.

I rarely use realignment. If Defcon is at 2 I'd rather go for a coup in a non-Battleground country then risk it.

I have to admit, my sacrifices to Nurfel, Goddess of the Dice, have been paying off big time, both here and in the games I've played over at Q2T. I won my last game over there by a combination of a couple of lucky deals, but mostly by barreling my way down the Space Race track.

I sure do miss my wife, though.

Post WWII started off with the Marshall Plan and a Red Scare/Purge, followed quickly by a Korean War that failed. The Nuclear Test Ban solidified South Korean control for the US, as well as Pakistani inroads. Not content with the failure of his regular forces, Kim Il-sung staged a Coup, completely elimiating foreign influence in the Southern peninsula. The US/Japan Mutual Defense Pact countered by heavy lobbying in South Korea as well as making inroads to India. The Soviets countered with a resurgent China, reasserting the dominance of North Korea, Best Korea, taking control of the entire area.

The US staged a failed coup in Iraq, demonstrating their hatred of global peace and prosperity. The outrage of the event led to a popular uprising in Romania, with the Abdication of Carol II, cementing Soviet control, er, the free will of the Romanian people.

Sputnik was launched, demonstrating the technological prowess of the Soviet people! The Westerners attempted to answer with Explorer I, a cheap rejoinder meant to save face.

Diplomatic ties brought Afghanistan into the Soviet Co-Prosperity Sphere, while the Japanese people were given an option counter to the demands of their Imperial conquerors. The capitalist pigs countered by making vassals of the newly freed Pakistani people and the long-suffering Filipinos. Despite these actions, the hegemony of the Soviets in Asia raised their fame even more. In retaliation, the Pakistani people were met with even more Western propaganda.

Having failed to demonstrate their ability to protect the people they wish to subjugate, the westerners suffered a devastating PR blow.

Leading off the next phase, deluded, traitorous individuals suppressed the righteous, popular uprising of Fidel Castro in Cuba.

Not to be deterred, the Free Syrian people were brought to their senses and entered into the great People's Uprising. Continued efforts in Iraq delivered closer ties. The US countered by pandering to the Iranians, Lebanese, and the long-suffering French. A coup, er, people's revolt in Iran delivered a new government more in keeping with the wisdom of the age. Not content with the result, the western pigs staged a counter-coup. While the results of the treachery were not successful, it has devolved the state of the region into one of contention. These dangerous, irresponsible actions has brought the world to to the brink of nuclear war!

Despite this dangerous action, the people of Iraq have sided with us in the coming storm, and efforts to repair the Iranian relationship have begun.

Nice. Thanks for doing that.

Also I should be online this evening from about 8 pm eastern on, so I should be available to bang out some turns.

The alternative was actually doing work.

I'll see if I can get in for the turns. Looks like the MIL and the BIL's dog are moving in, since the BIL's AC broke, so maybe everyone back into the house can keep themselves distracted.

As for the lack of an mobile iOS option, I played a few turns last night from my phone via Chrome Remote Desktop without issue. Obviously, there's a bit of scrolling involved, but it's a solution.

Isgrimnur wrote:The alternative was actually doing work.

I'll see if I can get in for the turns. Looks like the MIL and the BIL's dog are moving in, since the BIL's AC broke, so maybe everyone back into the house can keep themselves distracted.

As for the lack of an mobile iOS option, I played a few turns last night from my phone via Chrome Remote Desktop without issue. Obviously, there's a bit of scrolling involved, but it's a solution.

Is Chrome Remote Desktop complicated to set up? I was a liberal arts major.

Not at all. You install a plugin from the Chrome store through the browser, same as you would a pop-up blocker, Ghostery, etc. You hit Share, set a PIN. Install the app on your phone, make sure both Chrome and the app are signed in using the same e-mail, then connect, enter the PIN, and you're good.

In a pinch, I could even walk you through it.

I'll check that out. It would be nice to be able to do turns remotely, since most of them just require a couple clicks.

Side question: can I use Chrome Remote Desktop to convince my wife that our laptop is possessed by ghosts?

Yes, that's the best!

That depends entirely on whether you want to set up a new GMail address with a scary ID, as the viewed computer gets a bar that states, "Your desktop is currently shared with email@gmail.com with a Stop Sharing button.

hmmmm. That's a problem. Unfortunately I doubt my wife would be convinced by SpookyGhost@gmail.com.

AWS led the US in a rush towards the Space Race, quickly getting a lead on VPs with the Olympics. However, Russia avoided NATO and held onto Norad before the first reshuffle, playing Red Scare to limit the US operations for the turns before AND after the reshuffle. While Russia missed the opportunity to push harder to lock down the Middle East AND Europe before scoring, the US was down to Western Germany and the UK. My expectation is for the cards to start shifting towards the US.

My desperate hope is for the cards to start shifting toward the U.S., or else my God-fearing capitalists will end up controlling the moon and not much else.

I believe the US has to fight to stay in the game early on, but I do recall the general consensus being that about halfway through the mid war, things start to swing in their favor.

At least that's what I'm hoping. tgb is eating my damn lunch right now!

It's definitely true. The Early War event deck favors the Soviets, while the Late War event deck favors the U.S. In particular there are a ton of events in the Late War that make it hard for the USSR to hold on in Europe.

Like I'm doing anything to hold onto Europe now.