***Update 12/6
We’ve been playing this game for about 2 months now (getting in a round ever few days). My opponent eventually reconquered the US, but not until US5, buying me a lot of valuable time. It’s G13, the Allied and Axis incomes are about even, and the way forces are aligned right now, it’s going to be a long game.
Germany: Germany has taken Leningrad and Stalingrad, but Russia is still holding on to Moscow. Germany has one bomber and one sub, and the rest of its forces are ground troops. Main objectives right now are keeping a hold of the two Russian cities, repelling allied landings in Western Europe, and putting some pressure on the UK’s Norway major and Iraq minor.
Russia: Having been hit hard by almost 12 rounds of German IPC spending on the Eastern Front, Russia is now a mass of infantry in Moscow with a few tanks and planes to help. They have more than enough infantry to overcome the defences at Leningrad or Stalingrad, but as soon as they move towards one city, Germany moves towards Moscow. Basically both sides are at a stalemate: Russia can’t break the seige without outside help, and Germany can’t afford to spend enough to crush Moscow without leaving Europe underdefended.
Japan: Japan held on to Western US until US5. They took the transport fleet, reloaded it in Japan, and used it to take the money islands. With a steady source of income, the transport fleet kept moving into the India Ocean, eventually taking South Africa. The Japanese are sitting pretty: they have tanks racing across Africa with a big transport fleet outside the South Africa factory. Mainland China is a little underdefended, but Japan has a Hong Kong major that’s been pushing out mech stacks. The US just retook Hawaii on US12, but it cost them dearly in terms of their Pacific forces. I’m more than happy to let 90+ IPC Japan and the US duel it out in the Pacific. Hopefully that will give Germany the break it needs to finish off Russia.
UK E: UK E is in a weaker position than my opponent recognizes, I think. A lot of their money is about to disappear as Japan nibbles away at Africa. They’re income is split between majors in Norway and England and a minor in Iraq. If I’m lucky, he’ll be so stretched defending his positions that he won’t be able to hold on to Norway or Iraq.
UK P/Anzac: Japan isn’t directly threatening either, but neither has the money to launch an offensive. If Japan ignores them for too long, they may become trouble.
Italy: Italy had almost free reign in Africa from turns 5-9, following some mistakes by the UK. They got up to over 50ipcs a turn at one point, but they spent almost all of their income on their navy and defending Gibraltar. Italy was able to trade ships with the US and the UK for about three rounds in the Atlantic, buying Germany a few more turns of unmolested aggression against Russia. Now they are down to their European and Balkan holdings, buying masses of ground forces to repel any further invasions.
USA: The US has had a tough game. US2-US5 was spent getting the Axis out of North America. US6-US10 was spent battling the Italian Navy and German subs. They finally landed the first troops in Europe on US11. US12 saw a shift in the US strategy, from Europe to Pacific. They retook Hawaii and reignited the Pacific war, but I think this strategy plays more into my game in the long run.
I’ll post an update when we finish the game.
This is a game in progress, but my opponent and I have reached the most balanced midgame we’ve had yet in global, all stemming from an unorthodox Axis attack. Also, keep in mind that these attacks are only possible because of my opponent’s strategies. I’m not trying to push some Axis “silver bullet”.
***Backstory: I have played 6 games of global, all against my roommate. I always play Axis, he always plays Allies. He won the first 4 games we played, hands down. It was the same story every time: I would go for England first, then a bear of a Russia would take on Germany while Japan struggled to become a superpower. The last game we played, I went straight for Moscow, taking it on G6. After taking the rest of Russia, and with the fall of India inevitable, my opponent conceded.
I noticed, however, that my opponent usually played a very risky USA. He prefers saving most of his money until US3, then spends it all on a navy in whichever ocean is less defended. This keeps me on my toes, because both my Germany and my Japan have to be prepared for 150+ IPCs of USA navy to appear out of nowhere. As we were setting up our 6th game, this time using the Pacific Alpha set-up, I decided to take advantage of his default USA strategy.
***The game:
1
G1: wiped the UK navy, attacked Russia, and bought a carrier and couple transports.
J1: Attacked Russia and China, bought a ton of transports, moved the original transports back to Japan.
I1: took gibraltar with remaining fleet
US1: my opponent spent 30 on tech rolls (got advanced AA) and saved the rest. He centered his fleet at hawaii and moved planes towards australia, his usual pacific staging area for the USA.
2
G2: Moved the german fleet and transported infantry and artillery to Gibraltar (the entire time, I was making comments like “Egypt is screwed” or “time to get Germany into Africa” to hide my true intentions).
J2: Declared war, invading the lightly defended alaska and british columbia, losing a single infantry. We also defeated the US fleet outside hawaii with the remainder of the japanese navy.
I2: Took the panama canal with a couple infantry off a transport and a cruiser.
US2: my opponent is starting to realize the trouble he’s in. My hope was that he would spend all of his money defending western US, leaving Washington practically undefended when the Kreigsmarine came knocking. In practice, though, he saw the gibraltar threat and spent almost all of his money on Eastern US ground forces, save for buying a few infantry and an AA gun for W. US. He does manage to take out the italian invasion force with a counter-amphibious assault on panama, but it’s too late for his navy to save western US.
3
G3: With E. US so heavily defended, I decided to dump everything into Central, at least to create an obstacle to let Japan hold on to W. US for another turn.
J3: Take W. US with minimal AA losses.
US3: Takes back central and builds a crapload of submarines and bombers. The German Navy will not survive beyond another turn, no matter what I do.
4
G4: I try to pull back my navy as far as possible (right off the coast of brazil), but Germany’s adventures in the atlantic are dead. Time to finish off Russia.
J4: Japan retakes Central and starts focusing on DEI, Asia, all that good stuff.
US4: US retakes Central (again) and destroys the German Navy. The US is still forced to buy mostly land units, because Japan still has a significant army in North America.
***The outcome:
So that’s where we are now. Germany is locked in a showdown with the Soviets. It’s a mobile force of tanks and mechs looking for the weakest link in his wall of infantry. The whole of Western Europe has maybe 3 Germans in it, but nobody is threatening an invasion for at least two turns.
Russia is looking extremely strong, so long as they only need to defend. They have a ton of infantry, but still a very small airforce and almost no tanks or mechs. They got their hands on Norway on R3, but I’d rather have Russia there than the US or UK.
Japan hasn’t really done outside North America much besides harass China and Russia. On the other hand, there isn’t a single enemy ship in the entire Pacific ocean, and W. US’s (and one turn of Central US) IPCs have helped a lot. Combine that with 7 transports and a Major in hong kong and Japan is looking ready to explode.
The Western UK is neutered. They have a few subs that have been causing me trouble, and they built a mini navy on UK4 that’s about to be bombed into oblivion, but that’s about it. They have been kicked out of Egypt, and due to heavy losses from a risky UK3 attack, they are all but finished in the rest of Africa.
UK East and Australia had been doing a little thorn in my side type action, but I destroyed both of their navies on J4, so now they’re on the defensive.
Italy is looking great. They have both N.O.s, they are crusing through African and the middle east, and they have a significant navy in the med right now: a carrier (2 fighters), a battleship, a cruiser, 2 destroyers and 2 transports.
The US is a non-factor. Their global navy consists of a couple of subs. They won’t be able to get their entire country back until US6, and that’s only if Japan doesn’t retake Central again. The IPC’s I’m draining from them probably won’t matter in the long run, but Japan will have conquered enough in the DEI and Asia to make up for the eventual liberation of the West Coast, and more importantly, the US has been delayed from acting in Europe: US forces won’t be able to land in Europe until US7 at the earliest, and then they have a beefed up Italian Navy to get through first.
I’ll let you know how the rest of the game goes, but given that we play a round every few days, it may take a while.
You’re right: it is a very specific strategy, but this info will be of use to anyone playing against a US who either saves their cash or builds heavily in the Pacific.
Also, the US doesn’t get their NO if the Axis controls either Western, Central, or Eastern United States. So even though you’re only taking 10 IPCs for yourself, the US is out 40 IPCs until they take back Western.
Wait can Japan build a Major in Hong Kong with the new Alpha rules?
Japan hasn’t really done outside North America much besides harass China and Russia. On the other hand, there isn’t a single enemy ship in the entire Pacific ocean, and W. US’s (and one turn of Central US) IPCs have helped a lot. Combine that with 7 transports and a Major in hong kong and Japan is looking ready to explode.
Stop cheatin!
Sounds like a fun game though… I love those strategies that work once and probably once only.
He’s not cheating, it’s simply using OOB setup … as he should, because alpha+ is unstable
it’s simply using OOB setup …
Not OOB. But I did misread the Alpha and thought he was using Alpha+
@Blitz:
Wait can Japan build a Major in Hong Kong with the new Alpha rules?
No new major ICs can be built. Original ones can’t be upgraded (unless liberated by the original power or a friendly power).
@Blitz:
Wait can Japan build a Major in Hong Kong with the new Alpha rules?
No new major ICs can be built. Original ones can’t be upgraded (unless liberated by the original power or a friendly power).
No, you can build majors on your original territories.
@SalothSar:
If your going for the USA why attack Russia?
My opponent will play a very offensive Russia if I’m not aggressive with my German attack. By G3 or G4, his Russia would have enough of an airforce to be a real threat to any invasion force of my own. If I attack G1, I can keep him limited to infantry buys – infantry can be a tough nut to crack, but at least they aren’t mobile or offensive enough to disrupt my invasion plans.
Case in point, that’s where we’re at right now. He’s got a mass of infantry that can only realistically protect one or two of his cities, and I’ve got a slightly smaller force of tanks and mechs that can outrun him to the weakest city and take it.
@Blitz:
Wait can Japan build a Major in Hong Kong with the new Alpha rules?
No new major ICs can be built. Original ones can’t be upgraded (unless liberated by the original power or a friendly power).
No, you can build majors on your original territories.
True. The only major factory I have purchased in thus game was a major factory in Rommania (I think you only need a minor) and once, a major in Shanghai (Japanese).
Keep it up. I was myself thinking an invasion of America in AAE40 so I find your global strategy quite interesting!
@SalothSar:
@SalothSar:
If your going for the USA why attack Russia?
My opponent will play a very offensive Russia if I’m not aggressive with my German attack. By G3 or G4, his Russia would have enough of an airforce to be a real threat to any invasion force of my own. If I attack G1, I can keep him limited to infantry buys – infantry can be a tough nut to crack, but at least they aren’t mobile or offensive enough to disrupt my invasion plans.
Case in point, that’s where we’re at right now. He’s got a mass of infantry that can only realistically protect one or two of his cities, and I’ve got a slightly smaller force of tanks and mechs that can outrun him to the weakest city and take it.
How can a Russian player be agressive if they can’t attack until R4?
It’s not about where is Russia attacking, but what is Russia buying. Every time I’ve left Russia alone until R4, I have a much harder time overcoming them.
If you attack early, Russia must buy infantry, or you can take Moscow by G6. If they only have infantry, your attacking options increase because they can’t counter attack effectively.
If you attack late or wait until R4, Russia has time to build combined arms forces – tanks, mechs, artillery, planes. Then, every move I make in Russia I have to make sure my attacking force can’t be counter-attacked and destroyed.
This may just be the way my opponent plays Russia, but I’ve noticed a pattern – Attack on G1 or G2, fight Russia outside Moscow. Attack G3 or G4, fight Russia in Poland.
In this game, there was no reason to wait. I could pick up the 5ipcs within the first few turns so that the loss of the NO is balanced out. The German army that I sent to attack the USA didn’t include any of the ground units I could use to attack G1 or G2, so I had enough troops.
I updated my post with progress of this game.
Your in trouble though I think since the USA can now focus back on building up huge forces. If they put enough ships to defend the west coast and then send everything else into germany they can land on norway to shore up the brits then push their way in. How are you going to defend vs that and still pour enough into the east front to stop Russia from counter attacking? Stalemates are a bad idea for tha axis because the worst thing you can do is give America the time to get going.
Your in trouble though I think since the USA can now focus back on building up huge forces. If they put enough ships to defend the west coast and then send everything else into germany they can land on norway to shore up the brits then push their way in. How are you going to defend vs that and still pour enough into the east front to stop Russia from counter attacking? Stalemates are a bad idea for tha axis because the worst thing you can do is give America the time to get going.
Well, I’d agree with you if we were back a few rounds. By round 13, though, time is no longer on the Allies’ side. The US has been giving the war all its got for 8 rounds or so. It’s not like there’s this huge force that could come in and save the Russians if they could just hold out a little longer.
Last night in round 13, I was able to take out most of his remaining offensive weapons. At the start of US14, my opponent conceded.
Here’s the final bank graph:
I was only able to pull this game off because I made very few tactical mistakes, and I was able to capitalize on all of my opponent’s errors. That being said, my initial strategy put me in the position to win. Each of the three Axis powers had a very specific role to play in the victory.
Japan
1. Invade the US to cause as much chaos as possible.
2. Focus on taking as much money as possible from “soft spots” and money territories (Africa, China, Siberia, DEI).
Germany
1. Invade the US to cause as much chaos as possible.
2. Focus entirely on Russia, buying only tanks and mechs.
3. Repel any European invasions that the Italians can’t.
Italy
1. Gain as much money as possible in Africa and the Middle East.
2. Build as big of a fleet as possible and stall the Americans in the Atlantic.
3. Build ground troops to repel invasions.
Basically I won the game because German and Japan took too much territory that was too hard to retake. The only reason that Germany did as well as they did (I was playing against a turtling Russia) is because they could afford to spend their entire income on mechs and tanks for Russia. That was only possible because the US couldn’t get in the fight because it was too busy retaking Western US and fighting the Italians in the Atlantic. By the time the US was landing in Europe (US11), Germany had enough IPCs to buy some defenders.
This is a game in progress, but my opponent and I have reached the most balanced midgame we’ve had yet in global, all stemming from an unorthodox Axis attack. Also, keep in mind that these attacks are only possible because of my opponent’s strategies.
That explains it, then. No way the allies ought to let that happen just like that.
I wouldn’t have given up…but thats just me. I would have kept the fighting going until the axis won the game.
I wouldn’t have given up…but thats just me. I would have kept the fighting going until the axis won the game.
I would have kept playing this game, but I completely understand why my opponent quit. It’s hard to play the same game against one opponent for two months only to end in a slow defeat. I’ve been in his shoes a few times, too: part of me wants to keep playing in case he makes a mistake, and part of me wants to start all over again so I can use all the new strategies I gleaned from this game.
What are the units on the vertical scale of the graph? And what colorcorresponds to what country?
That’s a graph of the country bank over time. So if you recorded the amount of money in each country’s bank at the end of every turn, then graphed it, that’s what you would get.
There’s a legend on the right side of the graph that explains which country is which – the blue on the top is the Allies total and the orange is the Axis total.
