Safe Russia strategy

[simon33]

@ShadowHAwk:

@simon33:

Going around via the Med is a serious commitment though. If the Axis take Cyprus (which I think you meant instead of Crete)  they then have to land on TransJordan or Syria. In all cases they are vulnerable to being hit by Italy.

What italy?? Italy is dead with or without a bid after round 1 they are lucky if they got something floating in the med at all. All those air units combined with tactical bombers can destroy italian fleet units on the way from gibraltar to cyprus. With only 10-15 income what is italy going to produce in the face of +5 allied aircraft? Sure germany can station 3 fighters in south italy that is 3 fighters less for the attack on russia and 1 turn delay for UK fighters going to russia.

Italy still has its sz95 navy in every game I’ve seen.

Usually still has its air force. Has Libya and will get Greece.

That counts to 11ipc i1 plus any bonuses, less convoying. Generally,  if it scrambled it will be able to sink the British forces who remain and collect the no for no ships, also meaning no convoying of its income.

[simon33]

I don’t know what you expected seancb. Experienced players generally win as axis.

There may be strategies which turn the tables but these have not been proven yet.

[simon33]

@seancb:

Keys to winning without a bid:
Strategic bombing with the USA, every turn
USA buys 4 bombers on turn one they can get there quick when you get invited to the party.

When I’ve done moves like this they just don’t repair the damage in West Germany and build in Germany which you can’t strategically bomb without taking somewhere to land, e.g. Finland/Norway. Also, they quickly take Ukraine and/or Leningrad which are difficult to bomb.

[simon33]

In BM the French navy is left alive because you don’t have to kill it. In standard it’s normally hit isn’t it? Guess it depends on what Italy has left and has to hit.

[simon33]

FWIW, with a 2ftr 1tac scramble I get 2.66 remaining units if one fighter is brought from London and 4.34 if two fighters are brought (for 5 total planes).

The UK has to lose planes to keep ships alive in SZ97. This might make sense if Taranto and Tobruk are combined because Egypt is left so weak. If Ethiopia is done instead, the attack on Egypt is only a 41% possibility even without the blocker in Alexandria. Perhaps Italy would do so.

You generally have the Cruiser in SZ96, which will tie up probably the sub and bomber , while the dd and cruiser might go after the French ships. If you are willing to go for a coin flip on one you can attack both.

Ok, so there is a strong possibility of not making the NO even with the scramble.

[Private-Panic]

Not sure whether anyone else has said it, but holding Moscow is often not necessary, if the allies still hold Egypt.

As G will usually have odds on Moscow at some point, then saving that Russian stack by abandoning Moscow and withdrawing south to the Middle East can mean that losing Moscow does not lose the game.

The experienced contributors to this thread will know all this, but thought it should be stated for any less experienced players.

Or perhaps those experienced players will tell me why I am wrong! :roll:

[Omega1759]

@Private:

Not sure whether anyone else has said it, but holding Moscow is often not necessary, if the allies still hold Egypt.

As G will usually have odds on Moscow at some point, then saving that Russian stack by abandoning Moscow and withdrawing south to the Middle East can mean that losing Moscow does not lose the game.

The experienced contributors to this thread will know all this, but thought it should be stated for any less experienced players.

At some point defending Moscow is just protecting 3 IPC (unless if you hold Irak and the African territories) and the troops and the Allied planes sitting there can be tied up at pretty minimal cost for Germany (stack of troops strong enough to hold near Moscow which is is being reinforced with cheap units, + planes + fast movers sitting elsewhere).

Russia holding Bryansk for as long as possible is important. After that, not losing Russia while keeping pressure on Stalingrad and Caucasus seems to be the strategy. Many of the German players build lots of mechs and later add some tanks that can head south and really cause big problems. Ideally Russia is able to keep this mass busy long enough (e.g., trading territories and chipping away at it, or forcing that force to stay north) for the UK to get their act together.

UK fighters are particularly valuable because they can shift from protecting the Russian front to protecting the Middle East and they also add to the strike value of the Middle East stack.

[simon33]

@ShadowHAwk:

I never had that result, first the UK takes 1 or 2 hits on the carrier you got 21 defence and 5 hitpoints vs 22 attack and 9 hitpoints.

A game with a bid will normally add a sub. You mention taking hits on the planes which is about what I said. If the Cruiser is there and SZ96 then yes, you are exceedingly unlikely to get the NO.

[oysteilo]

if anyone is interested in taking on a league or non leage game for 0 bid to show I am wrong I am up for it. I am not a very good axis player but feel confident at this one. text me

[Arthur Bomber Harris]

I am betting that nobody takes you up on that offer, Oysteilo.  My experience with people running around saying that the game is balanced also insist on playing Axis, or they are more casual gamers who balk about a TripleA game where you can more carefully plan your moves and calculate the probabilities.  They also don’t realize the quality difference between people who play 10 games a year in local groups compared with the hardcore League players who are doing an order of magnitude more matches and has in depth experience with a much wider range of game situations.

[oysteilo]

@ShadowHAwk:

If i got time ill take you on Oysteilo as i like a challenge and i still think i could make it happen.

Most experienced leage players are experienced with exactly the same game over and over again with little variation, i prefer to think more outside the norm.

That would be fun to do! Let me know. If you like we could start a non league game and just have it run in the background and you can post whenever you have time. When I play with one of my friends we never use bids either, but we drink beer and wine and then after a few rounds it is a balanced game  :-D :-D

[simon33]

Just start the thread here if you don’t want it to count for league: http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?board=40.0

[oysteilo]

@ShadowHAwk:

@oysteilo:

@ShadowHAwk:

If i got time ill take you on Oysteilo as i like a challenge and i still think i could make it happen.

Most experienced leage players are experienced with exactly the same game over and over again with little variation, i prefer to think more outside the norm.

That would be fun to do! Let me know. If you like we could start a non league game and just have it run in the background and you can post whenever you have time. When I play with one of my friends we never use bids either, but we drink beer and wine and then after a few rounds it is a balanced game  :-D :-D

O yes on the forum i guess, will have to see how to handle that, guess we can post tripleA save files or something?

I think what I need is your email and you need to register that email here http://dice.tripleawarclub.org/register.php
This is to ensure autentic dice and that neither of us are using fake dice. I can set up the game and we can take it from there.

[simon33]

If you haven’t played by forum before look at this thread: http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=27127.0

[oysteilo]

@ShadowHAwk:

@oysteilo:

@ShadowHAwk:

@oysteilo:

@ShadowHAwk:

If i got time ill take you on Oysteilo as i like a challenge and i still think i could make it happen.

Most experienced leage players are experienced with exactly the same game over and over again with little variation, i prefer to think more outside the norm.

That would be fun to do! Let me know. If you like we could start a non league game and just have it run in the background and you can post whenever you have time. When I play with one of my friends we never use bids either, but we drink beer and wine and then after a few rounds it is a balanced game�  :-D :-D

O yes on the forum i guess, will have to see how to handle that, guess we can post tripleA save files or something?

I think what I need is your email and you need to register that email here http://dice.tripleawarclub.org/register.php
This is to ensure autentic dice and that neither of us are using fake dice. I can set up the game and we can take it from there.

O yes i think i did this before ( i normaly play in tripleA lobby or Offline )
Just use tripleA with dice server and then post the savegame right?

exactely, let me know when you are ready.

[taamvan]

The Safe Russia strategy?

Play Axis against someone who thinks the Allies have even odds

[oysteilo]

No need to taunt taamvan. It is possible to win with zero bid. Skills and luck plays into it, but I will say this, low luck and equal (good) skills=allies are doomed.  But maybe my opponent has some fancy moves I am not prepared for. In any case I think we play dice and no tech

[seancb]

Been gone for a while. I will gladly play someone as Allies without a bid. I’m not afraid to lose and tend to play outside the box so maybe someone will see something they missed and can incorporate into their games. I prefer to play a live networked game. It might take us a while to play but we’ll figure it out a few turns at a time. PM me and I will send contact info.

[theROCmonster]

@seancb:

Been gone for a while. I will gladly play someone as Allies without a bid. I’m not afraid to lose and tend to play outside the box so maybe someone will see something they missed and can incorporate into their games. I prefer to play a live networked game. It might take us a while to play but we’ll figure it out a few turns at a time. PM me and I will send contact info.

You’re a good sport, but I hate to tell you the allies have no chance. GL! :) This map has a couple egregious errors that are just too hard for the allies to overcome.

[taamvan]

I wasn’t really trying to taunt you, oytello, but rather offer something important up

I have noticed that exploiting your opponents (mis)conceptions or idiosyncrasies is a very important part of winning.  I have talked with people who say

1. I don’t SBR, ever
2. I don’t intercept, ever
3. I don’t bid, ever
4. I don’t build MiC in X place
5. I prefer KGF/KJG
6. I only play (one team)

etc. and I have found that once you know your opponents preferences, it can dramatically alter your play because you can tailor your predictions to his predilections.    If he HATES SBR, you don’t need to leave planes protecting your factories.  Some people even say “We don’t play with SBR (or something else) because that’s broken”;  if that were somehow true, it gives a big advantage to the Russians and UK (as bombing out the Russians/London/India is crippling);  the rules permit SBR whether any given player likes it or thinks its a good idea or not.  As a further example, if you don’t personally do SBR, or think it is worth it, then the Axis is weaker (because they have lost a tool that they can normally exploit simply because you don’t like it), so that would make me tend to want to play the allies (since I will SBR with either team).

So, know your opponent, its the path to victory. (sez Sun Tzu).