Axis biased

[Cow]

Actually the game does favor axis strongly, I fail to take egypt round 1 and don’t even get a single hit and my two subs missed the carrier completely and died. The allies still got steam rolled, even with a terrible axis opening @_@

I thought man, maybe I need to play a few more games as the allies to see if it really favors the axis, then I heard the quote of the day from one of my friends to another who felt the same way, “There is Germany and there is your capital, GERMANY IS RIGHT THERE AND YOUR CAPITAL IS RIGHT THERE. OF COURSE RUSSIA LOSES.”

I just feel like, the games are being rushed now. Maybe the allies need to start with a whole destoyer more, which is pretty sad when put into perspective to the income one makes.

All the axis and allies games seem to have serious balance issues lately.

They should slightly favor the allies instead of the axis, it would at least make more sense, considering the axis are the ones in position to make an early push.
~
Thinking 8 bid would make the allies interesting.

[Koningstiger]

@Cow:

Actually the game does favor axis strongly, I fail to take egypt round 1 and don’t even get a single hit and my two subs missed the carrier completely and died. The allies still got steam rolled.

I thought man, maybe I need to play a few more games as the allies to see if it really favors the axis, then I heard the quote of the day from one of my friends to another who felt the same way, “There is Germany and there is your capital, GERMANY IS RIGHT THERE AND YOUR CAPITAL IS RIGHT THERE. OF COURSE RUSSIA LOSES.”

I just feel like, the games are being rushed now. Maybe the allies need to start with a whole destoyer more, which is pretty sad when put into perspective to the income one makes.

All the axis and allies games seem to have serious balance issues lately.

They should slightly favor the allies instead of the axis, it would at least make more sense, considering the axis are the ones in position to make an early push.

I’ve started my 2nd game of '41 (still in round 1; Japan to play) , but so far the Allies are doing a bit better than in my first game. The Germans failed to take Egypt and The Russians put most of the infantry they had in Russia and Karelia/ Archangel  into West Russia. The two new ones were placed in Caucasus (purchased). The Germans then took Karelia, but failed to retake West Russia. Die rolls have also favored Russia in these exchanges. India also seems pretty safe for now after taking out the small Japanese fleet and by being in that position now blocking the largetr one from reaching India on J1. So it seems that if the die rolls are right for the Allies, they may hold on long enough for the US to put in some weight, but it really does seem to Axis have a huge advantage in games in which die rolls are average.

[Mallery29]

Are you guys that bored in that you feel like you HAVE to go for Egypt?  Are we that set in our ways that we just can’t ignore it completely?  Sink the carrier with your subs, bring your N. Africa tank over to Europe.  Drop it in Gibraltar first to ensure the FTR from the carrier is sacked. 
Now, I realize it will be a DD vs. a bomber, it may be worth the risk. If you want them to fight for N.Africa, leave the tank, use an inf to take Gib, but save the DD by leaving it in a different space.  At least now you give the allies too many targets to hit at once.  Will UK go for N.Africa? Maybe, but those units would help out Russia/India more, so why not retreat.  Units are way to valuable to sack in this game, especially as the allies. And why would UK attack a territory with NO VALUE!

Stop wasting Germany’s time with a 42/40 strat and going for a 1 IPC territory…it’s not like the 1IPC is going to allow UK to drop a zillion ships against you anyways. Just don’t put your DD/Transport off the coast of Egypt (FTR/DD will hit you possibly), so just utilize the Italian and Gib. Med zones.  It’s not like Germany is going to lose this game, but I just don’t see the point of Germany wasting it’s own units for Egypt when we all know Russia is the key to the game.

[Cow]

Mallery29… you are missing the point.

we hit egypt and we lose, 2 subs hit the carrier and we lose… somehow axis are still winning hard. hmm kinda funny game.
~
Egypt is a fun attack and it is not a bad attack either. It keeps japan from having to deal with the added ground units so the KJF allied strat isn’t so bad…

[Mallery29]

I understand the point COW, I understand this is favored about 100000% in the Axis camp….for competent players, a bid IS required, but even with the bid, why waste the time with Egypt?  Give the Allies 10IPC, and go from there.

[UrJohn]

@Mallery29:

Give the Allies 10IPC, and go from there.

I think 10 is way too high. I think 3 or 6, 1 or 2 INF for SSR, is going to be enough.

[Mallery29]

@UrJohn:

@Mallery29:

Give the Allies 10IPC, and go from there.

I think 10 is way too high. I think 3 or 6, 1 or 2 INF for SSR, is going to be enough.

Try 1inf and let me know the results(fear the same downfall of the allies with it)….two would probably be the minimum I would go to help, but why give the IPCs to Russia?  You need a DD for either the US transport or the UK CV.  the inf may help Russia for an extra turn or two, but without reinforcements, Caucus suffers the same fate…surrounded.  Figure that the US/USSR base will both be down 1 IPC off turn 1, and UK could potentially be down 3 (If they focus on the islands J1).  So by end of Turn 1, you are at R:6 (could have 9 cash, but that will be the last time it sees it), G:14, UK:9(12 cash as well, but see Russia) J:13 US:16 (Axis base: 27 vs. Allied base 31) with no Naval units to do anything with against Germany.  It’s going to take at least 3 turns of savings for the UK to put a fleet that might stand up to the Germans…US can’t fight the Japanese and Germans without the extra DD in the Atlantic.

[Gargantua]

Honestly, what did you guys think you’d get from a beginners game that could have come from the back of a cereal box?

It’s like asking Steven Hawking to Play Einstien Tic-Tac-Toe.  OF course they’re going to find out the Game’s broken.

[MistuhJay]

@Gargantua:

It’s like asking Steven Hawking to Play Einstien Tic-Tac-Toe.  OF course they’re going to find out the Game’s broken.

Heh, like the scene from Wargames where the computer plays tic-tac-toe against itself, thus averting nuclear war! :-D

[Cow]

tic tac toe results in a draw all the time.

[Koningstiger]

What bothers me about '41 is that there’s no need for japan to go South and take the Pacific Islands, especially since that had been “fixed” in the preceeding versions of A&A: they’re hardly worth any IPC’s and what’s worse; the axis don’t need the extra IPC’s! Moscow is only a stone’s throw away once you land in Siberia and that way Russia is bound to fall! (Soften them up with either the Japanese or the Germans and then take the territory with the other Axis power, depending on who needs the IPC’s most). (I retreat the Russians from Siberia, since the the territory isn’t worth any IPC’s anyway. Perhaps I should leave them once and make Japan fight for it. At least that way they can’t use their airforce anywhere else if they want to have a sure win (otherwise it’d “only” be 4 infantry and 1 tank against 3 Russian infantry, although I generally use the bomber and sometimes a fighter too).

I really think an extra destroyer off the Eastern US and/or a British one accompanying the carrier and one US infantry in the Northern Chinese territory might go a long way in creating a more balanced game. It also seems to take forever before the Allies can mount any serious landing on the Western and Northern European shores: the luftwaffe is not desperately needed on the Eastern front (enough tanks available and also enough infantry if you build 4 infantry for Germany every turn and because of the enormous size of the territories 'their move of just "1"isn’t any problem either, unlike in AA50 or Europe and global '40 where you need to rebuild and then move your infantry for several turns before they reach the front again. No such problem here.Anyway, my point here is: any UK built transports and/or surfaceships will be wiped out by the Luftwaffe for many consecutive turns. Due to the limited resources the UK can mostly just build either a destroyer so perhaps a transport or two subs. The latter might seem like a better choice, but once you do start building the transports you need to threaten the coast, you’ll get wiped out by the Luftwaffe still.

BTW, I haven’t yet failed to take out the entire British fleet in the Atlantic and North sea with at most the loss of two subs. Last time I even managed to retain the two subs that are normally used to sink the carrier to go on to threaten any US built surface ships.

[Witt]

I found UK can do the same. They can buy 1 Ft while they still have money and with 3 Fts and a Bomber ensure Germany cannot rebuild an invasion fleet.

[Koningstiger]

@wittmann:

I found UK can do the same. They can buy 1 Ft while they still have money and with 3 Fts and a Bomber ensure Germany cannot rebuild an invasion fleet.

IMHO, Germany doesn’t need one until after taking out Russia. Once that’s been done they’ll far outproduce the UK and will eventually be able to build a new fleet. Of course the US can play its share too to strengthen the British position, but it seems they are busy enough with Japan. As I said, Japan doesn’t even seem to need to get any additional IPC’s.

Last time I initially forgot to set up the bomber, fighter and tank in Japan and they already seemed pretty strong to  me!

[Witt]

Japan is very strong, but I let my fleet get killed on US4 or 5, by which time income was only 9, down from 16. Uk had 10 inf and 4 Air in UK and I still had to build German navy with only 20 IPCs. He said I had won, but I was not so sure.
Losing the Jap fleet was (always is) Japan’s death knell.
I think an inexperienced player as Axis could make this game a close run thing.

[Koningstiger]

@wittmann:

Japan is very strong, but I let my fleet get killed on US4 or 5, by which time income was only 9, down from 16. Uk had 10 inf and 4 Air in UK and I still had to build German navy with only 20 IPCs. He said I had won, but I was not so sure.
Losing the ��� fleet was (always is) Japan’s death knell.
I think an inexperienced player as Axis could make this game a close run thing.

Don’t you mean Allies rather than Axis in your last sentence?

In my current game there was a big showdown between the US fleets and the Japanese one and the latter came out on top with a carrier and one fighter remaining. Now the US will have to completely rebuild its Pacific fleet and Japan can concentrate on only infantry for a while (they still have a battleship and two transports left too off the coast of French-Indo China).

So far the only balanced A&A games to date seem to be Guadalcanal, revised and A&A Pacific (original), in that order. I suppose AA50 is quite ok as well, although it might certainly help to use the houserule (actual rule in global '40) that no factories can be built on Islands to keep japan from building one in the east-Indies.

[Witt]

No, I did mean Axis should be the inexperienced(newer) player and we who can see things more clearly play the hard pressed Allies therefore balancing the Axis bias.

[Koningstiger]

@wittmann:

No, I did mean Axis should be the inexperienced(newer) player and we who can see things more clearly play the hard pressed Allies therefore balancing the Axis bias.

Sorry. Must have misread it. Seems perfectly clear the 2nd time I read that sentence.

[Witt]

No problem. I thought I was going barmy. Had to read it three times to be sure too!

[Mallery29]

I would say 42.2 is a very balanced game.  Who engaged who in that Pac Flt battle?  Never be the aggressor.  Especially as the Japanese…let the dirty gringos come to you just pour the troops into Asia and watch Russia fall.

[Witt]

@Mallery. Was a 1941 Naval battle and was my
fault for not checking numbers. We were finishing anyway as my friend had to leave: his mummy wanted him home for supper!