Alliance Strategy

[Bierwagen]

Evening!

Our Alliance team is complaining that they don’t have a chance of winning under AARHE.  They complain that Stainist Xenophobia is too harsh and that the Axis has the advantage.

Personally, I think they are just used to the 80% win rate of OOB and don’t like playing on an equal footing with the Axis.

It probably stems from an inability to switch out of the old tactics of OOB, but I’m just not seeing that as a bad thing.  With the defender retreat option, the battlefield is much more dynamic and less threatening because you can opt to save your high value assets (e.g., critical for Russia).

So, I’m hoping you might have something I can offer them to highlight that the Allies do indeed still have chance in this game.

Can you offer or point to any tactics/strategy discussions I can show them that might give them some “ah-hah’s” as to how to run thier countries more effectively?

Still enjoying the hell out of AARHE.  I can’t go back to playing OOB, so I have to convince them to stick with this.

• Bierwagen

[Imperious Leader]

Our Alliance team is complaining that they don’t have a chance of winning under AARHE.  They complain that Stainist Xenophobia is too harsh and that the Axis has the advantage.

Increase the lend lease payments that are allowed by 50% to start, eventually yours and their experience will adapt to the dynamic strategies of the game and this will prove to make it continually hard on the axis to win. So i am saying to make this small change until they get their feet wet and they will eventually see that with more skill they can cast off this additional compensation.

Personally, I think they are just used to the 80% win rate of OOB and don’t like playing on an equal footing with the Axis.

The game designed to remove the axis bid. Axis should win about 50% of the time ( this is a goal BTW)

It probably stems from an inability to switch out of the old tactics of OOB, but I’m just not seeing that as a bad thing.  With the defender retreat option, the battlefield is much more dynamic and less threatening because you can opt to save your high value assets (e.g., critical for Russia).

yes thats exactly it. They are using old habits. This is totally new ideas, but obviously some old ideas can still work.

So, I’m hoping you might have something I can offer them to highlight that the Allies do indeed still have chance in this game.

Can you offer or point to any tactics/strategy discussions I can show them that might give them some “ah-hah’s” as to how to run thier countries more effectively?

Still enjoying the hell out of AARHE.  I can’t go back to playing OOB, so I have to convince them to stick with this.

I can do this, but frankly I have been personally playing 1939 AARHE which is incredible game. I have to ask others what they are doing to win as allies using the phase one or two maps. IN those i have a minimal game played, but have played lots of 1939.

How bout you tell me what they are doing and i can chat with them. I will PM you.

[tekkyy]

Might be obviously but the 3 Allies can essentially attack Germany together in AARHE. Similarly for US UK combo in the Pacific. Though for me Russia is still having a hard time, like in OOB. This can’t be solved neatly with house rules, a map-changing variant is needed to model the ramp up of Russian production imho.

Maybe you can post a general flow of gameplay for us to comment on. Haven’t been playing recently though hehe. (I am rushing a research write up.)

[Imperious Leader]

I think he has played alot of games since that time and at the time of posting he had not played but a few games before and had not known about a number of rules that would have made a huge difference in winning and losing.

[Bierwagen]

The last three games have swung back over to the Allies, and we didn’t muck with the increased payments (e.g., left it at 12 IPC for lend lease).

I’d attribute it to America buying Russia a FTR each turn to keep Germany at bay and enabling Russia to fight back the Japanese.  However, the Japanese are still very strong – and under good leadership are pushing in huge amounts of infantry with air cover.

America never seems to be able to keep a fleet in the water.  So, we’ve just given up and let the Japanese own the Pacific trying a KGF strategy.

German U-Boats are extremely ugly until UK gets Anti-Submarine warfare.  Then the subs are worthless and the invasion usually starts.

German jets usually end up kicking the Allies back on their heels until they can regroup or overrun him usually with terrible losses from the Jet power defending on a 5 and giving ARM+1.

I’d say it’s easily 50-50 now with all the losses we had in the beginning to the Axis.

Still really enjoying it.

• Bierwagen

[Imperious Leader]

I knew this would happen!!!

The last three games have swung back over to the Allies, and we didn’t muck with the increased payments (e.g., left it at 12 IPC for lend lease).

Yes good that you stuck it out a few more games.

I’d attribute it to America buying Russia a FTR each turn to keep Germany at bay and enabling Russia to fight back the Japanese.  However, the Japanese are still very strong – and under good leadership are pushing in huge amounts of infantry with air cover.

What version you playing?

America never seems to be able to keep a fleet in the water.  So, we’ve just given up and let the Japanese own the Pacific trying a KGF strategy.

Americans must allocate a starter fleet to get her pacific game going, then go after Germany but with small tidbits of replacements until Germany is contained. The game was designed so that you cannot “ignore” either theater, to make American player more dynamic.

German U-Boats are extremely ugly until UK gets Anti-Submarine warfare.  Then the subs are worthless and the invasion usually starts.

Yes thats supposed to happen, but the Germans have some tricks to keep it going a bit longer, with upgraded subs and jets, but they must pursue different strategies at different times in the war and be able to change gears and ‘notice’ when the change appears so as to maximize her resolve in other areas of the game.

German jets usually end up kicking the Allies back on their heels until they can regroup or overrun him usually with terrible losses from the Jet power defending on a 5 and giving ARM+1.

Yes yes thats it! you see the power of Hitlers Panzers!

I’d say it’s easily 50-50 now with all the losses we had in the beginning to the Axis.

Still really enjoying it.

Good show. provide feedback and HQ will make adjustments and clarifications as they arise.

Now back to the eastern front!