http://warlight.net/MultiPlayer.aspx?GameID=1261494

Probably the best ladder game I've played to date. It was so tense and back and forth all game. I thought I had lost the game 3 turns before I ended up winning, and I thought I had the game won 3 turns before I had those losing thoughts. Really exciting game, where artificial order delaying played a big role in the outcome.

Yes, Impaller speaks the truth. It was 16 turn War. A true dog fight.

The stats don't lie. Armies I killed of his = 199, his of mine 202.. it was that close.

We basically each spread to get a reasonable number of sets and then all mayhem broke lose. There was situations where the obvious best play was the large stack attack, but both of us were paranoid of giving up a tactical advantage in other areas. In addition, we each wanted desperately to have the final delayed attack of our choosing. So what it boiled down to was a vast discrepancy between what you theoretically wanted but what practically needed to happen, hence the desirable 14 attack became a moderate attack of 6 or 7 by the time it was all said and done.

Lots of guesswork made deploying each man an excruciating decision. Most of our 2 and 3 attacks were being blocked early so we each overcompensated and made on-the-fly adjustments just to ensure that small victories (meaning spots that neither completed or broke sets) were won.

It was also telling how fierce it was in how most matches once the jousting begins both players slowly expand to a new areas. This was not the case here. Before long we each knew each others income and the exact sets that each had. The challenge was thrown down. Neither of us could afford one single exploratory man, let alone 3 or 4. To reference to Impaller's quote of the match: "I wouldn't touch Caucuses with a ten foot pole." Indeed, it came down to who would blink first and crumble under the pressure of perpetually making the "right" decision. Thats the narrative version. Alas, I've gone off on a tangent. Where was I... Oh yeah, the stats don't lie.

The telling stat of the game: order transfers: Impaller 68, Blue 49. I delayed as often as possible but my stragglers were prudently moved to the fronts where they became the following turns failed attacks, or killed defenses. I can usually out delay most but Impaller's Pink forces are adeptly trained in this black art.

Lastly, perhaps his most masterful delay came in the form of a 15 minute time out where he wisely stepped out, gave himself a pep talk, and purchased fluids to get replenished while I lay starving and in wait. Laugh as you may, it too turned out to be a shrewd move.

Congratulations Impaller, you continue to impress me.

lol, sounds like it was a fun game. Well played by both!

Haha, well written BP. I did purchase some fluid refreshment from the local grocery store and contemplated how I was going to lose the game. Then I came back and got it done. The ol' starve em out method. It worked in the medieval ages, so I figured it would work here.

Awesome game you two. Your bouts are always fun to watch and you can learn a lot from your games.

Turning point in this game was turn 12 for sure. BP had it in the bag, just a little more grinding necessary. I think if you held off on your attacks from Venezuela and Cuba and Congo to Somalia you would have won the game right then in there. Instead it was a +11 income swing to Imp in one turn. Although, in game and playing live I assume, you're in the mode of covering all your bases and didn't stop to just defend.

Another note is 3 turns to take Greenland with 2 spots nearby, not ideal at all, you would have had the jump on Georgia and could have possibly made it a lot tougher for Imp in the Africa and Central America fight.

I would say to BP, nice work going toe to toe with Imp (a rare feat), I'm sure if you guys played a best of 9 series it would probably would come down to a 9th game match (of course coming from a 4-3 series :P )

Imp -- Beautiful comeback, Mr. Consistency prevails again!

BP and I have had a few long "best of" series, although I've lost count where we are at this point.

Very diplomatic of you, Impaller. we have practice lots but the only "Best of" series we finished was a best of seven that he was 4 -1, albeit only one win was by blowout. Nonetheless he was gracious enough to play me a ton when the ladder was first introduced; I was not very confident on Medium Earth at the time and needed some mentoring on how to dig myself up out of the doldrums.

Perhaps we'll set up a best of nine and post the links later. I assure you, however, a realistic goal for me would be 3 or 4 wins before he gets 5.

It was a well played game by both sides up until the last three or so turns, where BP clearly lost the sense of game-flow and made small micromanagement errors. Had he taken a break and looked over the last few turns a bit more closely, he might have come away with it.