Japanese airbase strategy?

@purplebaron:

Having finally gotten a few games on both sides under my belt, I was pondering some alternative strategies.  One thing I’ve found as Japan is that a large portion of my naval budget went to carriers, in order to leverage the massive number of planes you start the game with.  I was wondering.  Has anyone considered forgoing carrier purchases, using the ones you start the game with to grab territory then buying airbases for a few key islands and using those airbases as “fixed carriers”  Seems like it might free up a good chunk of change for destroyers and subs.

Or you can capture US airbases. I always take Guam to prevent US bombers from hitting SZ6 and if you are looking to hit Hawaii you can take Wake and land plenty of fighters and bombers there. The other option is Midway but it is farther to the Carolines and the Marshalls and it might be a good idea to have other islands close to escape US counterattacks.
As to building airbases I only tried doing it at the Solomons (the Marshalls or any other islands are far from any big targets) to prevent the US fleet from moving into NSW’s sea zone. But the real key to projecting power might be simply to conquer and hold New Guinea and drop your airforce there. Of course this has the inconvenience of J how having a lot of places out of position to move elsewhere, even with an airbase there.

@Hobbes:

@purplebaron:

Having finally gotten a few games on both sides under my belt, I was pondering some alternative strategies.  One thing I’ve found as Japan is that a large portion of my naval budget went to carriers, in order to leverage the massive number of planes you start the game with.  I was wondering.  Has anyone considered forgoing carrier purchases, using the ones you start the game with to grab territory then buying airbases for a few key islands and using those airbases as “fixed carriers”  Seems like it might free up a good chunk of change for destroyers and subs.

Or you can capture US airbases. I always take Guam to prevent US bombers from hitting SZ6 and if you are looking to hit Hawaii you can take Wake and land plenty of fighters and bombers there. The other option is Midway but it is farther to the Carolines and the Marshalls and it might be a good idea to have other islands close to escape US counterattacks.
As to building airbases I only tried doing it at the Solomons (the Marshalls or any other islands are far from any big targets) to prevent the US fleet from moving into NSW’s sea zone. But the real key to projecting power might be simply to conquer and hold New Guinea and drop your airforce there. Of course this has the inconvenience of J how having a lot of places out of position to move elsewhere, even with an airbase there.

Of course, an airbase on New Guinea doesn’t permit scrambling, as New Guinea is not an island by game definition as it has a land border.  Unless this has been identified as an exception in a new errata ruling.

No, New Guinea is not an island.  Islands must be contained in a single sea zone, and New Guinea is split with two sea zones.

@dinosaur:

No, New Guinea is not an island.  Islands must be contained in a single sea zone, and New Guinea is split with two sea zones.

Yes and the scramble ability is one reason I to build the airbase on the Solomons instead of New Guinea.

Yes and the scramble ability is one reason I to build the airbase on the Solomons instead of New Guinea.

Wait, you mean the Japanese want to try and build an AF on Guadalcanal and the US want’s to prevent that? Wow, it sounds quite a bit like what really happened. ;)

As I said in another post, I really get the feeling that the designers put a lot of effort into encouraging players to follow at least some parts of the historical goals and strategies actually used in WW2.

@Uncle_Joe:

Yes and the scramble ability is one reason I to build the airbase on the Solomons instead of New Guinea.

Wait, you mean the Japanese want to try and build an AF on Guadalcanal and the US want’s to prevent that? Wow, it sounds quite a bit like what really happened. ;)

As I said in another post, I really get the feeling that the designers put a lot of effort into encouraging players to follow at least some parts of the historical goals and strategies actually used in WW2.

Yeah, but building the Solomon airbase is another Japanese historical mistake that I won’t be repeating again ;)