IIRC it went something like this (lesson learned–log your solo games!):
G1 is a very good round. Takes all of France, kills the SZ97 Cruiser, kills 110 & 111, wins the dice flip with Nova Scotia. Loses basically the entire air force but takes out the full scrambles on the UK’s part.
UK1 buys Inf & a Fg, loses Taranto badly.
I1 lands in Syria, buys ground troops. I2 takes Egypt, buys transports. Japan’s just doing its think, about to go money islands.
R2 declares on Japan, takes Manchuria.
J3 money islands simultaneously, wipes Russia out of Manchaku. I3 clears North Africa & Malta, buys CV & fleet elements.
G4 attempts a Dover landing, fails. Knocks those Inf numbers down, kills a Fg or two. UK rebuys Inf but can’t rebuy Fg. Successfully lands Scotland. Takes first line of Russian territories, stacks up in E Poland.
I4 takes Gibraltar with overwhelming force, leaves a tall stack of Inf & a few AAA there, moves entire fleet off the Iberian coast.
J4 is completely focused on Calcutta & continues to be for the rest of the game.
R4 has massive stacks in Ukraine, Novograd, each independently weaker than the slowly massing Ger stack but together far stronger. Retakes everything but E Poland.
US buys Tr, an Atlantic fleet, etc. US4 stages in 103 for a London landing if Sea Lion works & Normandy if it doesn’t. (France is completely undefended). Takes Caroline Islands.
G5 lands London, takes E Ukraine with big stack. Goes 50/50 on the deadzone skirmishes.
I5 suicides into the American fleet in the Atlantic. Doesn’t kill it but does knock a destroyer or two off, kills the fighters, tips the BBs.
R5 cuts off the German stack. US5 retakes London.
G6 kills the US fleet (another one is building in Norfolk), falls back to E Poland.
I6 is a full fleet buy. J6 takes India.
By round 7, Ger is uncontested in W Europe & is maneuvering/stalling around the swamps to keep russia’s deathstacks from merging. The Soviets have Norway & the second largest airforce after Japan around Russia/Novograd. They’re skirmishing with Italy in the middle east & Japan in China. The Atlantic is virtually under Axis control. Japan is in India but is losing China. The US is marching around the pacific but isn’t strong enough to really contest a Japan without any major fleet losses.
The UK isn’t going to make it when Ger lands a third time & there’s no American fleet poised to save them a second time. Italy is all through Africa–the Allied african forces haven’t died yet but keep falling back. Italy’s got Gibraltar on lockdown & is starting a shuck shuck to the Middle East. They built an airbase in Albania last round & are working on a bomber fleet.
I called it in favor of the Axis, although I suppose with really good US/Ru plays it might resolve the other way in 6-8 more rounds.
I’m guessing if I had a failure it was playing too passively as Russia. I had a deadzone along the front the whole time & was not in a position to fight in Germany’s home territory (although I had a tank in position to blitz through an undefended Romania/Slovakia, it was killed by a ballsy Italian air attack. Germany would be able to build up & take Russia eventually if it wasn’t having to spend resources holding off the Americans in the Atlantic, but the US really needed to start spending in the Pacific with Japan knocking out the Commonwealth (3G40 rules). I might try running this one again but playing much more aggressively as Russia.
