1/27. It has been a busy week for me so getting time to play has had to wait. I returned to the game in the middle of my invasion of France, already possessing two of their cities. While continuing the invasion, I decided to bolster my force with riflemen. My theory operated on that as I lost swordsmen and phalanxes, I would replace them with the big guns. This plan only worked in part. I was able to take several more cities with my remaining old units, but they died off pretty quick, too fast for me to replace with the long building time of riflemen. I pulled my last primitive troops back to the city of Lyons, freshly liberated from the oppressive (not so oppressive really) French dynasty. It took lots of turns of menial, repetitive movement and troop management, but soon I had a mass of riflemen ready for invasion. I did learn, however, that within the French city of Orleans there were enemy riflemen. I took the city after several turns of battle, but I took heavy losses. I saved the game with the troops turning south to take Paris. However, I wonder how difficult this will be. It is the enemy capital, and sure to have a surprise in store. Also I worry that another quiz will appear and rob me of my entire fighting force. That would cripple me. This play session has continued to make me wonder if I am “playing” or “working” while on this game. When I get to take a city I certainly feel like I am enjoying the play, and I certainly feel the rhetoric of play as the imaginary, meaning that I have to be creative and innovating to defeat my opponent. But when it comes to troop management, city management, etc, it feels like the game turns tedious and menial. Not necessarily boring or not fun but I begin to lose sight of the end goal and the point of the whole thing. I hope that I can take Paris, so that I can finish off the French and then turn my attentions to the Zulu.

My troops stand ready to descend upon Paris.