The tribal counsil war party is over after months of deliberating smoking rag weed drinking ale and puking the Mighty nation of Khand will now come to a vote. puff, puff now what we deciding on, gulp oh yeah belch…Heard Gondorians have landed 2 weeks away ride, we should send some chariotmen w/spears with the finest garments and weapons and armorment we can afford and greet thy new neighbor. Pass the pipe Gorovod and stop keeping all ale to yourself, “What are you Irish” stop drinking all the good ale…Where are we going again?
So you ride to war against us while your diplomats praise us with flowery words! Southern dog, the Gondorians will slaughter your drunken kind! You are lucky to be so far from the Riders that we cannot slap you directly! <spit>
So the Men of the East choose the evil path? Is there hope yet then for the wart faced servants of Sauron? The Men of the South must consider the advantages of a great wave of darkness flooding in from the Sea…
Speaking of which, Corsair, it would be wise of you to stand aside when it behooves you, I trust your lack of response to my earlier email means you completely understand what I mean.
So, Dragon Lord… how many mages in that army the Sinda just ran over.
Elrond
You really want to know?
I can’t believe I did that! I am usually so precise with my orders and yet i did something as dumb as that… Well I can guarantee that I would never have made that mistake if things had gone the way they SHOULD have in Mirkwood, but alas I can only rely on my own ability. Bad thing is, last turn my ability was apparently abysmal. I am a good player, but all players make mistakes.
Dragon Lord
I am utterly impressed that you are willing to admit to either, especially considering the circumstances.
And yes, I do want to know! Actually, I will ask the Sinda to exchange .pdf’s after the game is over so we can compare the army sizes for overrun.
Elrond
Nothing like a little push into Mordor to see the DS icon ants scurry. Of course, they still didn’t round up enough to keep Morannon clear. Too bad my stunties forgot their war machines - bit perhaps my Freep friends have some ?!
Stuntmaster
Is it too early to ask for a concession?
Elrond
not to early for this game 
Boromir
The DS are surrendering.
If anyone wishes to see my PDF’s just send me a holler. I played to the best of my ability till the last turn where I made some last minute changes and moved 100 troops instead of 700 troups, thus earning me 3 dead characters. This is not what is making me surrender. I would go on, but the fact that my team had more drops and unresponsive players than I have ever seen. Not only that but 2 drops by turn 2. This caused several things not to happen. I should have taken the Sinda town, and the Dark Lts should have had troops to help me take on the Sinda capital. I had a strong enough force to destroy any Sinda army (since the Woodmen were moving toward the WK). I also had Maben ready to pickup any artifact. But popcenters didn’t get revealed and artifacts didn’t get located.
There are a few on my team that tried real hard to make this happen and I admit that I didn’t take the reins and try to lead the team.
I think this could have been a great game. I dont’ mean to steal any of the Freeps thunder, your team stayed on course and I salute your strong front.
I would like the chance to play against your team again, but the frustration of this game puts me where I will not play a non-grudge 1650 or 2950 game again. Not as anything but a neutral or a pickup for a friend.
They are, whoa that was quick?
Kalgren,
This is my first 2950 game in a long time and first where I was not on a grude team or joined FA with a bunch of guys I knew. I agree that the “free join” game leaves much to be desired, and I am sure many on the FP would agree. And, in truth, many on my team would be sure to agree I was basically a pain in the ass all game and more than likely irritated most of them. It was a learning experience for me and I wish you the best in the future, as I wish my teammates.
Are you informing ME Games before the turn runs of the DS decision? I’d rather not pay for the turn if unneeded.
JB
I would like to exchange the Sinda .pdf with you for the overrun turn… even though little will be gained since we know it was 100 troops, I would nevertheless like to look. Please PM me for an email address.
Though I wish this could have ended under better circumstances, I would nevertheless like to thank you for your time and efforts.
Elrond
Kalgren, you need to get each of your remaining active team mates to confirm individually to ME games that you are conceding defeat. If you can do that before process, we can all avoid paying for one more turn, which will be much appreciated.
Thank you for the game. I feel you, and a couple of others were badly let down. Like some of the other neutrals, I picked up some time ago that there was no real “DS team” to even consider joining. Hope you find better colleagues in your next game.
Congratulations to the FP for a quick victory. You played a very good game, particularly on the diplomatic front. Of course, attacking Neutrals does not earn any friends 
KLF of Rhun
Thanks to the FP team for a quick victory (8 turns). John Briggs as Rohan gets the lion’s share of credit for constant dialogue with the neutrals, resulting in the Freep getting 4 of 5 on board by about turn 5, albeit 2 of them working with us subtely while not declared.
Now on to more general matters, regarding the state of the “Open” scenario.
I will not be joining any open games in the future. Why? I have now completed 4 open games of MEPBM - two 1650, two 2950. In 3 of 4, the teams seemed very unevenly matched as to starting experience, strength, and cohesion. Also, the split of the neutrals on all cases ended up being lopsided in favor of one side or the other. In all 3 games, it was over by turn 11 with concession, me being on the winning side 2 out of 3.
In all cases, the games were hardly “fun”. When on the winning side, things seemed to be going so easy that it was like we were playing a poor computer AI, and in reality the other side experienced SS turns and drops early on that hamstrung them further. On the losing side, fighting a battle when you have an instant drop/SS turn without a heads-up from that player, perhaps a missed turn or 2, as well as non-communicative allies, was frustrating as well.
As one of our starting players in game 23 said upon stating he was dropping on T4, the games was about as fun as electro-shock therapy.
I do not know what can be done to improve the chances of getiing in a competitive, enjoyable open scenario- but I do know that my experience with them has left me unsatisfied. For games that last 5-11 turns, that is not only a waste of money (avg. $65 in turn fees), but more importantly a waste of valuable time in reading and posting emails to your group, stating and debating merits of various plans and orders, only to see the game fall apart quickly. That is time better spent on a different scenario (grudge), or entirely different game, IMHO.
Don Palmer