I can agree with what you state most of the time in most games – but if such was the case – then I should have gone freep also , as the only one who really contacted me on the evil side was the Dragon Lord and in this game I think saying the DS didn’t contact the neutrals where a cop-out as I know the Dragon lord contacted all us neutrals each turn !!
Of course…!! 
Oh, and hey, 2wk Game 86 has been waiting since April 9 for set up…and yet there are still 16 nations available…
… but what’s the benefit of getting a status-report 5 times instead of only 1 times?
Can’t imagine that they’re differing so very much from each other!
Have Fun!
Gixxx
It’s not a status report. You’re playing with people, you want to know who you’ll be playing with. If it turns out that Team A is a bunch of quiet, humourless boors, while Team B are friendly, funny, insightful and overly communicative, there is a very VERY VERY good chance that joining Team B will be more worth your money and time than Team A. This isn’t a computer game we’re playing. If people don’t bother to communicate, they get kicked off Grudge games don’t they??? So…why join the non-communicators in an Indie game? See?
Brad
IK here…
Yup - didn’t post on forums. Yup - didn’t send notes to every neutral. Nope - not blaming neuts for “ruining the game”. Nope - not blaming Terry for bankrupting - **** happens. Yup - had a few bad rolls on some key orders, but doesn’t everyone? In any case…
As Dark Side, we opted to let the Dragon Lord handle diplomatic communications. If neuts want quantity over quality, it’d be nice to know that up front. I can certainly send a “Hi! Welcome to the new game XX! Hope you join our side! What do you want?” form letter to every neutral I ever play with, but what’s the point? The DS is certainly communicating among the team. This game, I did my part by researching artifacts for Easterlings every turn. Meh. I highly suggest that next game, if anyone here is playing a neutral and you want more messages from a particular team - just ask the guy that IS talking to you. If DragonBoy said “the neuts want to hear from you guys”, you can darn well bet we’d send SOME kind of correspondence, no matter how redundant it is.
Simple fact is we got outplayed. The two big neuts going freep didn’t help, but it’s part of playing this kind of game - shoot, the neuts could ALL turn freep, and we should be able to put up some kinda fight. Everyone (on the DS, that is) seems to want a “good game” of it though - so I’m betting this one’s over.
With that in mind, grats to the freeps - well played.
… so the best story-teller bribes the neutrals!
Not my idea of a neutral, but I’m famous for NOT sharing the most popular opinion.
Have Fun!
Gixxx
Hmm, I know this IK-pic.
You’ve played with Rob against- or with us several years ago.
… and I know Drano and his friend (also playing ME) on the same floor.
Am I right?
Have Fun!
Gixxx
Yes you are…
If neuts want quantity over quality, it’d be nice to know that up front.
See? Why is incumbent on the neutrals to force the rest of the players to take the game a little less seriously and have fun?
I can certainly send a “Hi! Welcome to the new game XX! Hope you join our side! What do you want?” form letter to every neutral I ever play with, but what’s the point?
Read the stuff again where I make the point…
I highly suggest that next game, if anyone here is playing a neutral and you want more messages from a particular team - just ask the guy that IS talking to you.
Again, blaming the neutrals - why do other people have to tell you what they want when I’ve been telling you all for years… 
we’d send SOME kind of correspondence, no matter how redundant it is.
It’s not redundant, you have to build relationships to work with each other. If you can’t be bothered, than the neutrals have to assume you’re not great to work with. That might not be the case - don’t argue if it’s the case, you’ll waste time saying “I’m a great ally!” just to make yourself feel better… Coke spends billions on marketing because it works … marketing your allegiance works too…
Simple fact is we got outplayed. grats to the freeps - well played.
I would hazard to guess that “we got outplayed” and “the neutrals joined the other team” are linked somehow… Something to think about for the next game.
Brad for the Free
Gixxx - yup, it’s me 
Nice to play with you again.
Fax - I appreciate you telling me what I’m saying and what I’m not. In the past, I was so often misunderstood, I came to rely on people like you to make my intentions clear. It caused me to stop posting on forums altogether, and to communicate directly with neutrals even less.
But I assure you, if I was blaming neutrals for ruining this game, I’d come out and say, “YOU FARGIN NEUTRALS RUINED THE GAME.” Since that’s not the case, I’d prefer you let me say what I have to say and stop quoting bits and pieces out of context. Thank you.
“We got outplayed” and “neutrals joining the other team” is only linked insofar as “apparently”, we were supposed to flood neutrals with emails. Communication is a two-way street, and if I failed in my job of communicating with them directly instead of through one player, then it’s just as much a fault of someone not contacting me - whoever that is.
Don’t read into my posts too much. I will reiterate once, for the sake of driving home a point that I am not blaming the neutrals for us getting outplayed. I say what I mean, and “the “freeps” outplayed us” is my final statement. Congratulations to them.
[delete]
Well, glad to see that you’re willing to consider possibilities and learn something. “People like me” sometimes do that.
Of course, silly me, every game ends up with all the typical finger pointing and whining about the neutrals. It’s quite comical, wonder when I’ll learn that one…
Cheers,
Woodbrad of Bradwood
Hey Mike,
that’s really coooool!
Must be years ago!
Let me know if you will start another game!
The ME-playing friend on the same floor, wasn’t it “Retrorotty” or something similar?
Have Fun!
Gixxx
… but only sometimes!
I won’t learn any longer, the senile stubbornness has broken out.
Ha, ha, ha!
Have Fun!
Gixxx
LOL – for the shortest game I have ever been in – we are up to 5 pages of posts – guess a page a turn and over 170 replies – has been alot of posts in this game for only 5 turns
And I took a couple weeks off too…
… but you know that we weren’t communicative (enough)!
Hey Mike, it’s always a pleasure to play with you and I hope to see you in another game (or better join our grudge team)!
Have Fun!
Gixxx
Gixxx, if you have a position open on any current grudge games, why not shoot Mike a private mail…?
Will do so!
Are you able to write the whole stuff at work?
Have Fun!
Gixxx
It’s the friday before a long weekend here…the desktop is chugging away converting an old asbestos inspection database into a normalized structure to develop a .NET app for handhelds while the laptop…
Gixx – always good to see you and a pleasure to play with you instead of against – I just signed up for the next Gunboat , figured don’t have to worry about neutrals as they are already aligned and always wanted to give a gunboat game a try !! Might take ya up on that grudge when one of my other games finish – seems as if only grudge and hopefully gunboats are the only games I really enjoy !! Brad is kicking our but in one now 
Mike