Maximum centers in standard game?

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I'm sure this must have been asked before, but I couldn't find a
thread on it via Google Groups search. What's the maximum number of
centers that's been achieved in a standard game (apart from contrived
situations)? I recently finished with 24 in a no-press game (Russia
in NLDN:jade6), which is the most I've seen. So I got to wondering
about the record, if anyone keeps track of such things.

[Yes, I realize that this is a shameless boast. But I'm genuinely
curious as to the answer.]

Thanks,
Martin Moore

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In article <f5c064be.0410181237.5302c01c@posting.google.com>,
Martin Moore <mjm214@bellsouth.net> wrote:
>I'm sure this must have been asked before, but I couldn't find a
>thread on it via Google Groups search. What's the maximum number of
>centers that's been achieved in a standard game (apart from contrived
>situations)? I recently finished with 24 in a no-press game (Russia
>in NLDN:jade6), which is the most I've seen. So I got to wondering
>about the record, if anyone keeps track of such things.

I'm not sure how you could tell; most >18 outcomes have a
certain air of capitulation to them, and the line between that
and "contrived" seems fuzzy.

My hat's off to you for 24, though. What was the endgame play like?
It's hard to stop the leader in no-press, but this sounds like it
went beyond merely "hard"....

Mary Kuhner mkkuhner@eskimo.com

 

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mkkuhner@kingman.gs.washington.edu (Mary K. Kuhner) wrote in message news:<cl1g1k$jd9$1@gnus01.u.washington.edu>...
>
> I'm not sure how you could tell; most >18 outcomes have a
> certain air of capitulation to them, and the line between that
> and "contrived" seems fuzzy.
>
> My hat's off to you for 24, though. What was the endgame play like?
> It's hard to stop the leader in no-press, but this sounds like it
> went beyond merely "hard"....

I think you have a good point -- an "air of capitulation" undoubtedly
contributed to the total. By "contrived", I was thinking about
situations such as one I read about on BOUNCED, in which the two
remaining players cooperated to let one end up with all 34 centers.

In this game, the timing was optimal for maximizing the center count:
going into the final year, I had 17 with an obvious forced win. I had
slowly built up an overwhelming position (in the EOG, I summarized it
as "Europe overrun by a horde of stampeding tortoises.") If the
remaining powers had worked at it, I probably would have been held to
20 or 21. But France and Italy, who had been bitter enemies for
years, kept fighting each other until the end (although Italy did kick
me out of Venice on the final turn, or I'd have had 25.)

Definitely one of the more unusual games I've played in. I had one
marauding army that went from Berlin down to Rome, then back to
Bulgaria, and finally ended up in Venice.

Martin

 

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In article <f5c064be.0410181237.5302c01c@posting.google.com>,
mjm214@bellsouth.net says...
> I'm sure this must have been asked before, but I couldn't find a
> thread on it via Google Groups search. What's the maximum number of
> centers that's been achieved in a standard game (apart from contrived
> situations)? I recently finished with 24 in a no-press game (Russia
> in NLDN:jade6), which is the most I've seen. So I got to wondering
> about the record, if anyone keeps track of such things.
>
> [Yes, I realize that this is a shameless boast. But I'm genuinely
> curious as to the answer.]



This may not count, but in a game against six AIs (Dumbbots), I
finished with 34 centers.



--
Greg
----
greg -at- spencersoft -dot- com

 

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I did 23 in a Vermont Group no-press tournament game, vgnp2093 on SEPO

http://www.floc.net/observer/SEPO/vgnp2093/vgnp20931r.gif

mjm214@bellsouth.net (Martin Moore) wrote in message news:<f5c064be.0410181237.5302c01c@posting.google.com>...
> I'm sure this must have been asked before, but I couldn't find a
> thread on it via Google Groups search. What's the maximum number of
> centers that's been achieved in a standard game (apart from contrived
> situations)? I recently finished with 24 in a no-press game (Russia
> in NLDN:jade6), which is the most I've seen. So I got to wondering
> about the record, if anyone keeps track of such things.
>
> [Yes, I realize that this is a shameless boast. But I'm genuinely
> curious as to the answer.]
>
> Thanks,
> Martin Moore
>
> <Do not reply to the return address above; it's a spam dead-end.>

 

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mjm214@bellsouth.net (Martin Moore) writes:

The problem of course is that the dividing line between a contrived
situation and what you're thinking about is VERY loose (no, not
that thread again.... ;-)

There are the cases where people have achieved the 34 center
victory, but obviously this required a LOT of complicity.
The standard for achieving this usually is that the last
move also includes some kind of St.Pete to Smyrna or vice
versa convoy. I can't cite you chapter and verse, but I've
seen many 23-25ish "real wins". No press adds a wrinkle (I'm
sure you could find people to say this is easier and others
to say it's harder in that variant. No-press is not a standard
game.... ;-)

But I can't specifically recall a >24 center win in no press,
so until someone tells you otherwise, go ahead and claim the record.

Jim-Bob

>I'm sure this must have been asked before, but I couldn't find a
>thread on it via Google Groups search. What's the maximum number of
>centers that's been achieved in a standard game (apart from contrived
>situations)? I recently finished with 24 in a no-press game (Russia
>in NLDN:jade6), which is the most I've seen. So I got to wondering
>about the record, if anyone keeps track of such things.

>[Yes, I realize that this is a shameless boast. But I'm genuinely
>curious as to the answer.]

>Thanks,
>Martin Moore

><Do not reply to the return address above; it's a spam dead-end.>