Slitherine

As I read the chart, the Entente does not gain a victory "star" for knocking out the Ottoman Empire. Nor do the Central Powers gain a point for keeping the Ottomans in the war. This seems a bit odd, at least to me.

Gamewise, there is little point for the Entente player to spend resources to take out the Ottomans. Why bother? Why not simply hold the Suez Canal line and send those units instead to Italy or the Balkans? There are 35 Ottoman production points, assuming you capture the entire place, but how many of them will you actually recover?

From the point of view of the Central Powers player, why care if the Ottomans collapse? You can always hold the Entente at the Straits.

Am I missing something?

If a nation surrenders it affects the morale of its allies, bringing them closer to surrender. In addition, knocking it out will free whatever units that were involved on that front to fight elsewere. Where and when to attack or defend is one of the key strategic decisions.

In addition the game won't end until all enemies are defeated OR 1919 is reached. So you'll have to deal with them sooner or later. In what order is up to you.

You're right, there should probably be a star for the Ottomans.

The factors that should make you care at the moment are strategic rather than victory point related.

All nations within an alliance suffer a morale penalty if an ally surrenders. This is a motivation when playing as either side - either to keep your morale high or to bring your enemies to surrender.

When playing as the CP, the Ottomans can be used for two very effective means: Combined with an 'East First' strategy, putting pressure on the Russians in the Caucasus can stretch them to breaking point. It's quite difficult to have an impact on British national morale, as their homeland is generally secure. Taking Egypt from them is one way you can do that.

When playing as the Entente, the factors are pretty much mirrors of the above. If you don't put pressure on the Ottomans, you free them up to attack the Russians, who are much more vulnerable.

If you add a star for the Ottomans there needs to be a balancing star on the Entente side - for Italy, maybe?

Hehehe I was near to capture the site, eh avoran? imagine if i win a star x)