This could get messy fast

[indivisual]

Hey conkies,

Long time listener, first time caller. I've had the pleasure of playing against (and mostly losing to) some of ya. I love this place, it totally makes up for the fact that no one I know wants to play Risk or Axis and Allies anymore... but I digress.

Basically, for one of the games I'm in now, things are holding pretty steady but totally have the capability of getting chaotic. I could explain all, but, well... just see for yourself:

>> Game 5906344.

I got where I don't like to be; that is, I'm in the center of the map. Definitely fighting a two-front war. The attacks have been slowed by the fact that two of the players have missed turns lately. Yellow missed the last one, green the last two. I've been able to get stronger, but the possible card bonuses and deferred troop counts have me worried. Where I'm at, I don't see a way to cover for both green and yellow coming at me simultaneously.

I have one possible strategy, but it's way risky, and I won't post it unless I know someone's willing to consult on it. (Basically, would just want to execute quickly after discussing, so as not to leave green and yellow able to read my plans before they're acted out.) Anyways, if you would be so kind, what would you recommend in this situation?

[72o]

It's escalating, and you're still on the first round of cashes. I wouldn't worry about anything but being the easy target to take out; that is, low on troops and lots of cards. If you think red will fit that bill soon (he's got 20 troops and 3 cards, but the next cash is only worth 8 so it's not worth it yet), you might try to position your stacks so that no one else can kill red. Especially if others are missing turns, I would just keep taking easy 1s and cashing, don't worry about bonuses at all.

edit: I forgot to mention, you should break green. He's missed 2 turns and has a big bonus with a 1 on the border. Just in case he comes back, you don't want him dropping 40+ deferred troops and giving you one turn to keep him from sweeping the board.

[indivisual]

Cool. Thanks for the reassurance, and the big-picture guidance. I know I'm still not quite used to setting up for sweeps in escalating games. Still, you wouldn't be worried by yellow's 34 (possibly 36) incoming troops on the next turn? What's to keep them from taking all of Southern Asia in one move?

[hahaha3hahaha]

-deleted-

[72o]

Cool. Thanks for the reassurance, and the big-picture guidance. I know I'm still not quite used to setting up for sweeps in escalating games. Still, you wouldn't be worried by yellow's 34 (possibly 36) incoming troops on the next turn? What's to keep them from taking all of Southern Asia in one move?

He could do that. It would likely be suicide for him, and would certainly take you out of the game unless green deadbeats, but it's entirely possible. Especially since it's a low rank game, lots of low ranks take bonuses at all costs in escalating. If you fear that, you could move your stack to somewhere he won't go (west Russia, middle east), but then you'll pretty much guarantee he will go and take oceania at that point. Which isn't entirely bad. He will waste troops attacking all the territories down there to get the bonus. 9 of those troops are basically neutrals at this point, assuming green doesn't come back.

Here's what I would do:

Drop your 8 on Spain. Take France. Advance all to France. Attack from Ottoman Empire to Egypt and Sudan (just in case green comes back). Advance none. End assaults. Fort the big stack over to Moscow.

That way, if yellow does what i think he will, he'll take oceania and your 15 stack won't go with it. If he instead goes for red, he won't be able to make it because he can't reach Italy and Netherlands easily anymore.

This will give you the option to cash next turn and either kill red so you can cash mid turn (although only for 12), or drop somewhere where you can break yellow. I wouldn't waste your cash trying to take any bonuses in Europe, because you'll just weaken yourself for yellow to come and break you.

I'm trying to take a screenshot of the game as it is now, so others can see what I'm talking about.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck. Hope this helps. And that yellow doesn't read the forum.

[indivisual]

Well, it didn't end out the way I wanted, but I probably stuck around a lot longer than I normally would have. Like I said, gearing up to the strategy of escalating games is something new to me. But thank you for the tips, here's to a win down the line with 'em.