#11. This was a gunboat (no communication between players). How did England know, Germany will support him into Belgium, even though Germany could have taken it?

difficulty: beginner

The solution:

Since there is no communication between parties, the only way players can communicate is via the actions they take. Instead of England being a psychic, he simply checked orders (or viewed the big map) after the previous round (see below), and saw Germany was actually supporting him to Belgium. Next phase it was an easy choice for him.
The same year, as you will see below, England also supported Germany to Sweden, however it is not shown on the regular map (click the map above, and find the differnce in Norway). To find out your party's intentions you have to either check orders, or "view the big picture", literally :).

Worth to note, if you take a look at this game carefully, you will see, there were many occasions, when England and Germany cooperated, even though they couldn't communicate. Such examples are, taking Brest in 1906, StP and Moscow later. However communication is not that easy, as you will find in the last 2 phases, after England and Germany bounced in Moscow, they both supported the otherone 1 round later, achieving nothing.

Look the map below, 1 phase earlier, Germany was already supporting England to Belgium, from English channel, and England was supporting Germany to Sweden from Denmark. A clear sign, they have allied, and a clear warning for everyone else!

Conclusion: always check the big map (or the orders), especially in gunboats, as it shows unsuccessful supports/convoys as well, helping you to communicate your intentions and understand others'.

The game:

http://www.webdiplomacy.net/board.php?gameID=88274#gamePanel
Autumn, 1902