Axis Victory, Possible?

Well, it is generally agreed the Axis are at a disadvantage. Try playing with the Russia Restricted rule, which means Russia cannot attack on the first turn, but they can still buy, do noncombat movement, and place units.

It should tip the balance of power a bit.

my (admittedly limited) experience has shown that even with decent Allies, Russia should fall within the first 6 turns or so for the Axis to force the Allies to at least concede the game. The longer the Allies hold out, the surer their victory is. An aggressive focussed attack by the Axis can bring about swift victory tho’ - and this is without Russia restricted.

If you are playing against other new players, then the Axis can certainly win. The game really isn’t unbalanced until you get the advanced level of the game.

In addition to the Russia Restricted rule, I highly recommend playing with another common variant as well: the 84 IPC victory rule for the Axis, but no IPC victory is allowed for the Allies. This keeps the Allies from being too stagnant/passive and playing ‘infantry buildup’.

Economic victory doesn’t make much of a difference no matter what way you look at it. If you’re playing a game of numbers, there are 147 IPCs on the board. If the Axis are able to get 84 of them, that means the Allies can only receive 63 IPCs per round. Suddenly you can use their strat of turtling against them now that you have the IPC edge.

Second, if you’re the only one attacking, great! Choose Japan and gobble are much territory as possible. Before long, Russia will be force to send troops to defend its home boarders in the Far East, and that is the time for Germany to strike. If the Allies don’t counterattack, then they will be forced to. Asia alone is worth 19 IPCs, along with a handful of Allied held islands. This alone should push Japan to over 44 IPCs a turn and catapulting the Axis chances of success.

I usually try to get the axis combined IPC over 70 by the end of round 3 (gain about 6 IPC per rd–mostly Japan) then you have a chance. I figure if I get 71 IPC or so as the axis and the allies get 76, I can make up a 2 man disadvantage. And then in rd 4 try to take the IPC lead. I’ve found that if I’m not close to 70 by rd 3 then I’ve likely taken too long to mount a serious offensive and the allies are already building up for an invasion. If Ger can hold from Egypt to South Africa (6-7 IPC) then you’re in good shape. And you guys are right Japan must just press towards Russia as quickly as possible.

Heres a piece of advice, Industrial Complexes are overrated. When possible, use Transports instead. Remember, don’t build too many tanks, Infantry are far more effective.

Yeah, remember an early IC is a huge investment so be sure you can protect it. Now the only countries that have to worry about ICs are Japan and UK (competitively, the 3 other powers should not buy ICs). The greatest placement of an IC is India and it has its strengths and weaknesses. Personally, I’m against an IC in India for UK, though others are for it. For Japan? You really don’t want to build an IC in India until later in the game, after you have sufficient infantry to take the rest of Asia. I like an IC in India because it allows me to also move ARM in Africa, southern Europe, or Russia if need be.

Also DarthMaximus is right. Axis and Allies is a game of numbers, and whatever side can outproduce the other has the greatest shot of winning. I don’t think the Allies have the advantage at the beginning of the game (unless you base this only on starting IPC income) but the Axis in terms of striking point. Germany and Japan (especially) need to press this point by attacking as many areas as possible and netting absolute IPC income each turn. Whenever you have loss the momentum (ATB) for the Axis, then the game is lost. However, that doesn’t mean making foolish attacks. Germany shouldn’t bum rush Russia and Japan should risk not outrunning themselves in Asia in the first turn (and I see this happening a lot). It all comes down to sustained operations under the optimal of attacking conditions.

Problem is, although they have a huge force on the board, the Axis powers are bottlenecked. Japan needs a few turns to purchase the needed Transports to get themselves in force onto the Mainland. Germany needs to reinforce Africa, but besides that there is really no place for the German player to go.

True. But at the start of the game, the Axis have so many more options than the Allies. The only Allied power that can really attack a territory on the first turn is Russia, and that’s with no RR. As the turns increase the Allies’ options increase immeasurably. That is why the Germans and Japanese most strike as quickly as possible. Even with such a limited transport fleet, Germany and Japan can make huge land grabs on the opening turn. For Germany, up to three Allied territories (4 IPCs) and Japan up to two territories (4 IPCs).

Hmmm. Germany taking Cuba and using it to conduct mass bombing raids?

Anonymous, hats off to you as you just received my coveted “Noprize” for your insane tactics. :razz: It’s moves like these that really make Axis and Allies great, and break away from the traditional move. It seems you got a pretty tight strategy going on, though be sure to fortify Cuba against any likely American air raids on those defenseless bombers.

Another good spot for an Axis bomber base is Brazil. It’s worth 3 (that’s always a nice bonus) and you can bomb the heck out of every Atlantic sea zone plus a few territories in Africa. Of course Germany can already do that from Western Europe, so I guess I meant to say a Japanese bomber base.

Corporal Punishment,

I use the same idea, too. :smile: What I do is defeat the Americans at Pearl Harbor and move my forces all the way into Brazil. But with the IC, I’m more intent on build Subs and causing carnage to Atlantic waters. With the Japanese Navy serving as back up, I longer have to worry about pesky fighters! I find this a surefire way of making sure the Allies don’t attempt to reconquer Africa from the Germans, giving them the economical boast. Once I’ve thoroughly ruined whatever American ships exist (by blockading their coast), I then move in for the kill and wreck havoc all over the North Sea. Great game we had, the Germans and Japanese teaming up to manhandle UK and USA back to ports of Karelia.

8 bombers and 16 fighters!? Well they say nothing suceeds like excess. But what were the Allied Players doing? I’m more of the type where a good plan right now is better than an excellent plan 5 minutes from now.

I disagree, I think Brazil is a horrible Axis base. It is too easily taken by America. South Africa is better, America can’t get there right away.