CFB Risk Day 15 – You Come at the King, You Best Not Miss
Note: Today's recap written by a guest-speaker, filling in for our friend EastCoast Esq. Get well soon – that's an order, soldier.
“… At least I have chicken.” – some guy
Pre-Recap Announcements:
1. There is no roll tonight. It’s Sunday and the hamsters powering the servers need a break. Submit all moves by 10:30pm tomorrow.
2. Team leaders are asking players to join the Michigan Discord group (see link below). Currently only ~49% of our team is coordinating their actions together while everyone else is just doing their own thing (a.k.a. going “rogue”). We can do so much more damage when working together.
<sigh>… So you really want to do this, huh? *This* is something you think is going to somehow *improve* the situation?
Here is the latest development as of last night: Wisconsin… has decided to go full Leeroy Jenkins. They have very publicly declared war upon Michigan (along with posting an amusing screed online somehow blaming the situation on Michigan’s unwillingness to concede massive amounts of territory & position in exchange for *checks notes*… a single territory). This is a situation oft encountered in multiplayer games: one player/team sees that they are never going be in a position to “win” the game – at least on their own – so they decide to take the route of pettiness and try to take someone else down with them. I say “try” since this is not an evenly matched fight. Not even close – and you’ll see this shortly.
So, thanks to some Wisconsin pettiness and typical osu basic nature, we no longer have any regions. We have very strong presences in the four regions we’ve been trying to keep/take recently, as well as making some forays into the regions Wisconsin once controlled, but no bonuses this round. We (and much of the CFB Risk community) had just pointed out *yesterday* the massive threat growing in the southern end of the map – the AGGIE DEATH STAR is still under construction – but sure, let’s just hamstring two of the only three teams on the board capable of stopping it. What could go wrong?
A quick explanation of “regions”, since we will be discussing them more and more going forward:
The game is moving into phases where teams will be competing to control entire “regions”, which are groupings of adjacent territories. The map is divided into twenty regions, as shown below. Just like in the classic Risk game, there are incentives to control whole regions – but in this game it is a mathematical bonus to *all* attack/defend odds in favor of teams holding regions (those bonuses are not limited to actions taken within held regions – they apply everywhere).
Controlling regions is good. Preventing opponents from controlling regions is also good.
So this will not be an even fight. Michigan is *still* the most powerful team in the game and has done a reasonable job of maintaining that position. Rather than discuss the counts for last night and then discuss how those compare to the previous night, I’m just going to put up these convenient little plots:
Not only are we in a much stronger position than Wisconsin, but we are growing faster than they are as well.
Are you *sure* you really want to do this?
We need to continue our growth to stay ahead in this game so if you haven't already - get involved! If you already have, the get *someone else* involved! Recruiting matters.
This would be a good time to have a high level view of the war: some way to visualize how things are progressing... like a map (now with added region boundaries and sea-routes, for your viewing pleasure).
No one north of SEC country is likely to be happy about this.
Abbreviated front summaries (because it’s Sunday and there is too much else to do):
· All of Canada & Pacific Northwest: devolving into a rock fight between us and Wisconsin.
· US East coast: mostly us & osu squabbling over control, Georgia Tech exists.
· Greater Midwest: mostly us, osu & Wisconsin squabbling over territories as Tennessee (content to be an A&M sidekick) laughs at us both.
· US Southeast: mostly osu vs Georgia Tech while Alabama (also content to be an A&M sidekick) & Tennessee laugh at them. Florida still exists for now.
· US Rockies & West coast: numerous small teams that are likely going to be swallowed up by Texas A&M in coming turns since no one will be coming to help them now. USC died last night.
· US Southwest, Mexico, & Caribbean: AGGIE DEATH STAR nearing completion – only a matter of time. A few small teams still there as well as small outposts from us & osu – none of which are likely to cause problems.
Alright… Let’s play.
A final reminder: it is strongly recommended to join the Michigan Discord server and coordinate with our friendly team leaders for assignments/orders (see link below). This is how to *most effectively* use your attack & defend moves to get us closer to actually winning the game. However… fighting for your school, your team and your home is always a good thing, even if you have your own ideas about how to do that. In the end, it’s still a game and the purpose is to have fun.
CFB Risk Top 25 Team Standings
We are now down to fewer than 25 active teams in the game from the original 130 and the final rankings are beginning to take shape. Here is where they stand thus far (teams are ranked by # of territories first, followed by a mix of metrics examining how efficiently they used their players & stars:
1. Michigan (47 territories)
2. Texas A&M (46 territories)
3. (an) Ohio State (20 territories)
4. Wisconsin (15 territories)
5. Tennessee (9 territories)
6. Georgia Tech (9 territories)
7. Nebraska (7 territories)
8. Alabama (7 territories)
9. Stanford (6 territories)
10. Texas (6 territories)
11. Florida (3 territories)
12. Hawaii (2 territories)
13. Oregon (2 territories)
14. Iowa State (1 territories)
15. Oklahoma (1 territories)
16. LSU (1 territories)
17. USC (killed Day 14)
18. Washington (killed Day 13)
19. Georgia (killed Day 12)
20. Notre Dame (killed Day 11)
21. Virginia Tech (killed Day 11)
22. UCF (killed Day 11)
23. Minnesota (killed Day 10)
24. Baylor (killed Day 10)
25. South Carolina (killed Day 10)
So remember to drink your Ovaltine, submit your move before 10:30pm tomorrow and have fun storming the castle!
Steps To Play Every Day
(1) Sign up for a reddit.com account if you don’t have one already
(2) Visit collegefootballrisk.com – Click Sign in with Reddit – Select Michigan as your team
(3) Join the Michigan Risk discord by going to https://discord.gg/DRQyjp56kP (this is now a permanent link, so there should not be problems accessing it)
(4) Go to the "vetting" channel and type in your MGoBlog username and Reddit username.
(5) Once vetted, get your orders from the "orders" channel.
(6) Return to collegefootballrisk.com – Click on the blinking "target" icon at the bottom of the page (3rd button from the right), and then click on the territory you're attacking or defending.
(7) Talk trash with your fellow Wolverines as we prepare for tonight's roll.
How Does the Game Work?
It is up to each team to recruit players and coordinate moves. You can choose to defend any territory that your team currently holds or attack any adjacent territory. A "roll" happens each evening to calculate which teams have won which territories that turn based on the moves that were made by individual players. The ultimate goal is to conquer as much of the map as possible for your team. There are a number of different ways to do this, such as through recruiting players in sheer numbers or forming alliances with other teams.
Previous Recaps
Day 0 intro: College Football Risk is BACK - Season 3 is now LIVE!
Day 1 recap: College Risk Again!!! Sign up.... 1st in the books!
Day2 recap: No update
Day 3 recap: No update
Day 4 recap: CFB Risk Day 4: IT BEGINS
Day 5 recap: CFB Risk Day 5 - And THIS is Why They Nerfed Us
Day 6 recap: CFB Risk Day 6 - This Feels a Lot Like Real Life (Sparty Gon' Die)
Day 7 recap: CFB Risk Day 7 - F*cking Sparty (They Still Gon' Die)
Day 8 recap: CFB Risk Day 8 - WE NEED YOU TO AVENGE THE ORANGE BOWL (also, sparty's dead)
Day 9 recap: CFB Risk Day 9 - We Kicked Georgia Out of the North -- Now We Go South
Day 10 recap: CFB Risk Day 10 – The King in the North! (also, sorry about that Penn State)
Day 11 recap: CFB Risk Day 11 – ANN ARBOR HAS BEEN TAKEN!! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!
Day 12 recap: CFB Risk Day 12 – It’s Groundhog Day…again (also, Notre Dame is finally dead)
Day 13 recap: CFB Risk Day 13 – NOW I HAVE A MACHINE GUN HO-HO-HO
Day 14 recap: CFB Risk Day 14 – EPISODE XIV: THE AGGIE MENACE
February 5th, 2023 at 5:42 PM ^
Im up to 3 stars. Time to do some damage. Come on team….we need you.
February 6th, 2023 at 11:17 AM ^
Does anyone know if the new version of the game will carry over stars from the previous season? I should have been a 5 to start but had to start over from 1.
February 6th, 2023 at 11:35 AM ^
Those turns count towards total played and so do MVPs. There are separate categories for turns played this game (3.0) and streak. Star rating is the median of all four categories.
February 5th, 2023 at 5:49 PM ^
Don't mind playing rogue, but I would like to be part of the team. This is now my third request for help finding the "orders" channel. Please
February 5th, 2023 at 5:53 PM ^
Discord Server:
Go to vetting channel. Get vetted. Orders channel will be opened
Meanwhile, defend any territory you feel needs defending
Or attack any Wisconsin territory because reasons
https://discord.gg/FxSKkMcgPU
February 6th, 2023 at 6:31 AM ^
Apologies if you already know. To see the channels, click the yellow M. This will bring them up on the left. Then you can click orders.
February 5th, 2023 at 5:55 PM ^
Have you been vetted? You can't see the channel until then.
February 5th, 2023 at 6:38 PM ^
I'm in the same boat as Carolina Maize. I've been vetted for awhile but no orders.
February 5th, 2023 at 6:44 PM ^
If you’re vetted, you’ll be able to see the #orders channel on Discord.
February 5th, 2023 at 7:09 PM ^
In current system you don't "receive orders" - you go on the discord channel, see the list of targets chosen by the team leaders, and select where you want to move. Easy.
February 5th, 2023 at 11:19 PM ^
I believe I've been vetted. Discord is challenging for me, maybe that's the problem. I'm familiar with the game play, I have over 100 turns logged and am currently a 3 star. I must be missing something obvious otherwise it seems there would be a detailed step by step answer from someone. Rogue it is
February 6th, 2023 at 8:26 AM ^
I see a Carolina maize (which I assume is you) in the discord server but you haven't posted in the vetting channel. Which is why you don't have access to the orders channel.
February 5th, 2023 at 8:28 PM ^
Putting this up high so hopefully someone who needs it sees it.
DON'T USE SAFARI (my usual browser)
Thats the reason that the Reddit CFRisk page wouldn't load links were broken and much of the Discord pages were worthless.
Been using Chrome for the last few days and everything has been fine. Still a few hoops to jump through but otherwise it's fine.
February 5th, 2023 at 11:28 PM ^
From the vetting channel:
@everyone REMINDER: If you want to be vetted via MGOBlog please post "Risk 1.0 Bot" on https://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/college-risk-again-sign-1st-books. We will also need your Reddit account for bot/data purposes. Thank you!
February 5th, 2023 at 5:49 PM ^
B1G can't do anything right......
I'm a 4 star, about to be a 5 star now, but I can't join discord. So rogue it is, I guess. In past rounds the Michigan team organized over Reddit PMs. That was nice, and I always followed orders.
February 5th, 2023 at 6:16 PM ^
Why can’t you join Discord?
February 5th, 2023 at 6:34 PM ^
There is a backlog of people trying to get vetted and only 1 or 2 people doing the vetting in their spare time - it may a little time to get everyone.
February 5th, 2023 at 5:51 PM ^
My favorite quote by my favorite television character of ever
February 5th, 2023 at 6:13 PM ^
The reason people are going rogue is because it's a complicated shit show compared to the way it used to be. It's hard to get vetted, figure out if you've been vetted, figure out what orders are, figure out how to carry out orders...
February 5th, 2023 at 8:36 PM ^
Discord.com Michigan Risk 3.0 is where the text channels are to discuss strategies and things (Michigan Union), post a message to get vetted (Vetting) or check the current orders (Orders).
You actually make your moves (as well as see results, regions, bridges, stats, etc) on the college football risk site. https://collegefootballrisk.com/
February 6th, 2023 at 11:14 AM ^
People are also going rogue because the strategy is questionable. Alliance with ohio. LOL. Anyone with 2 brain cells to rub together should have known ohio would fuck Michigan. Just as I'd expect we'd fuck them too.
It doesn't matter if it's football or an underwater basket weaving competition... fuck ohio.
A couple of years ago Michigan had a +2:1 margin over the next closest team in the final weeks and still lost.
People have been consistently fussing about the instructions since this started.
February 5th, 2023 at 6:16 PM ^
Wisconsin being dumb means I don't think there's a chance of stopping A&M. I think at best, we just go all out on taking on Wisconsin and OSU.
February 5th, 2023 at 6:19 PM ^
Speaking as a rogue, an alliance with Wisconsin was a mistake - they just hate us. The alliance with OSU made some sense as there is some mutual respect but Wisconsin just got in our way. Keeping A&M from overtaking us will be difficult absent some good rolls and a prompt annihilation of Wisconsin.
February 5th, 2023 at 6:28 PM ^
First year playing, I joined when OSU took A2. It's been a lot of fun. If you're on the fence about getting involved I'd strongly recommend it. It takes like 5 minutes of time to participate and is quite a bit of fun.
Go Blue!
February 5th, 2023 at 6:49 PM ^
Vetting in discord should take 5 minutes tops perhaps even a minute or two.
If you need help with administering discord then please let me know.
February 5th, 2023 at 6:50 PM ^
I'm glad we honored the non-aggression pact with Wisconsin (as much as we could with a massive rogue contingent).
But now it is time to go full wolverine on the badgers. I urge any rogues that can not coordinate orders on Discord to focus on attacking Wisconsin held territory or defending our borders with Wisconsin.
Why Wisconsin not OSU?
1 - It makes strategic sense. We are a bit scattered around the map now. If we can consolidate the North we will have a good base of protected territories that will conserve our power for the later rounds when we will have to face TAM. TAM already has a large protected base in the South.
2 - OSU is not a current threat and they have been more trustworthy than Wisconsin so far. This could change but they have been more focused on the SE. Their leadership seems to be trying to battle the SEC and win the game rather than just attacking us.
3 - Wisconsin will be coming for us. We border 9 of 15 Wisconsin territories. Their leadership seems to have decided that they can't win so they are just trying to kneecap us.
WOLVERINES!
February 5th, 2023 at 9:28 PM ^
First I applaud all the players and the leadership that has built the great Michigan Army.
I’ve held my comments to see how things play out until now and I think I speak for many when I say I’ve been watching this and I just don’t see a credible strategy.
Nobody wants to fight a war on two or multiple fronts. Not even when you have far superior forces. Isn’t that War 101. Yet Michigan decides to land forces on all 4 corners of the map. And we have had single islands of stranded forces littered across the country. That doesn’t make sense in War and it doesn’t make sense in Risk as far as I know .
I fully expect Texas A&M, which as expected is consolidated in a contiguous part of the country, to first eliminate all the remnants of forces at their rear in the south. And once their rear and flank are protected, ignoring the paths of attack via the Pacific and Atlantic, charge north like an army of zombies.
I don’t expect a response from the leadership here as to strategy on this public forum. But am I the only one surprised about our strategy? Were we baited into these weak defensive positions?
February 5th, 2023 at 10:12 PM ^
I believe the Alliance getting dissolved so early caused much of the problem - the extension into the corners of the board was probably decided when the non-agression pacts were in force. There wasn't much in terms of options with wisc & osu hemming us in.
February 5th, 2023 at 10:20 PM ^
A lot of that is due to rogues. The generals only get orders from about half the daily players. The other half do what they do.
If you go to the Discord you can discuss strategy. I definitely don't agree with all of it, and I've been vocal. Nevertheless you will get an ear and possibly an explanation.
But why we are in the middle of Mexico? Because some enterprising irregulars went to the middle of Mexico
February 5th, 2023 at 6:55 PM ^
Discord is ultra irritating. I uninstall it from my phone within a couple hours of installing it every single time. Why can't you just dm us our moves on Reddit?
February 5th, 2023 at 7:03 PM ^
Sounds like a phone issue. Discord sits innocuously on my phone and I use it once each day to see where to attack/defend for this game.
It's a completely different group of individuals working on it this year. The orders software from last year was dropped on them the day play started this year without any guidance on how to update the code for this year.
The way orders work this year is better from a player perspective since you get to pick from several choices rather than being given one specific play.
February 6th, 2023 at 11:22 AM ^
+1 for JHumich.
Discord is a bigger shit show (bugs, vulnerabilities, security issues, abuse cases) than reddit is and the app on mobile is ass.
February 5th, 2023 at 7:04 PM ^
If you're a rogue (I'm not) I would say either attack Wisconsin-held territories or defend territories bordered by Wisconsin. We're trying to take and hold regions so we get a star multiplier for the next turn.
February 5th, 2023 at 7:43 PM ^
Do we need just one territory in any region to control that region?
February 5th, 2023 at 8:11 PM ^
No you need to control all of the territories on a region to control it and receive bonuses. Usually there are 6-8 territories in a region.
February 5th, 2023 at 11:28 PM ^
I stated it badly. I meant to ask whether there are any regions where we only need one more territory to control the region. If so, what is that territory?
February 6th, 2023 at 7:08 AM ^
Yes, there are four regions where we need one territory to gain control.
Canadian Shield = Cote Nord
Great Lakes = Sault Ste Marie
Mid-Atlantic = New Jersey
PNW = British Columbia
February 5th, 2023 at 9:49 PM ^
Michigan's strategy had been so bad. Stop wasting players on protecting Midwest regions that are being swamped and spread out and go after Texas AM. Texas AM has run circles around us. Get it together. It's been like this every year. The discord mods are way too emotional and territorial.