Japanese Strategies

Hello, I play pacific 1940 a lot.  I have also played global a few times.  Pacific 1940 second edition is a great game but I can almost easily win every time if I’m Japan and I attack on the third turn.  A new rule was passed around late 2014 to allow the USA to receive a 30 IPC bonus if Japan attacks or declares war on them before turn 4.  This seems to balance the game a little but I can still always win with Japan.  The strategy for Japan is pretty much the same.  Take the money islands, build a minor in French Indo China and Kwangtung and knock out China and India.  Post in the Philippines with your huge navy and three fighters that can scramble and those six deadly kamikizes.  Let Anzac and USA come to you so you can use the fighters to defend at 4 when the big navy battle happens.  Eventually you will be making more than the allies with the money islands NO and the India NO.  You should be around the 70-75 mark.  Then when the time is right strike at Sydney or Hawaii and hold it and you should win as it will be six victory cities.  For the allies, man this can be tuff lol.  You better hope Japan attacks you on turn 1 or turn 4 because turn 2 and especially 3 it’s going to be difficult. 
1:  China:  buy men and hit and run and fall back to the north west of China. You will be lucky if the Burma road is open more than two turns.  Pull back and make Japan come to you.
2:  UK:  pull everyone back to India and just buy men!!! Try to bring your navy down to Australia and unite them with Anzac and hopefully later USA. If it looks like India is going to fall then pull your airforce out and send them to Australia to hopefully land on a Anzac or American carrier.  If Japan hasn’t declared war early then take as many islands in the south as possible .
3:  Anzac:  small ships and transports are good.  if it looks like Japan is going to invade then pull your forces to south Australia because from there you can hit any territory.  Use your small ships to convoy raid or unite with the main USA fleet.  Queensland is a great staging area for the allied navy early in the game.  Also since there’s a airbase there fighters don’t hurt also since they can scramble.
4:USA: the big boy lol.  The problem is when USA is neutral she only makes a freaking 17 ipcs a turn.  While Japan is around the 40 mark and Japan has soooooooo many aircraft at its disposal.  USA I say aircraft carrier early then mainly subs, destroyers, and a transport every turn with land units.  A few rounds into the game get a navy base on the Johnson islands and start combining your fleet with the Anzac fleet and hopefully a small UK fleet. try to take the money islands by sacrificing transports because Japan will have a bigger navy early in the game.  When the time is right move to Dutch New Guinea with your fleet and prepare for the big battle.  Sometimes it’s better if Japan attacks you and sometimes it’s better if you attsck them.  Hopefully you will have a lot of subs at your disposal. If you win the navy battle then Japan is pretty much toast even if they have India and China.  Good luck and let me know how the war goes lol. I am playing anniversary edition on Saturday 😜

@Funcioneta:

Siam is original Japanese (it has a japanese simbol). Manchuria should be as well because historically it was from 1931, but that’s not the case in our game

Yeah, but Manchuria is a Chinese place. Like the Soviets took it, but it’s not like okay this place is Japanese let’s keep it. They are just adding realism to the game. at least i think :|

@507pistol:

Thanks for all the info about this. Now I just have 2 more questions I need answered. First, what is the deal with the US and their money increase? Do they get the 40 dollar increase at the end of their first turn if Japan attacks or is it added at the beginning of their first turn if Japan attacks? The second one is directed towards calvinhobbesliker. How come I can’t bring my aircraft carried with its 2 planes with me when I go and attack Hawaii? They start in SZ 33 then the carrier moves 3 spaces into SZ 26 and attacks the transport along with the battleship and every other ship that was in SZ 33. The planes then fly 4 spaces to attack Hawaii and use their 5th move after combat if they live to land on the air craft carrier. Does this sound legit?

The planes can only move 5 when starting at an airbase… the airbase is on the islands and the planes are in the surrounding sea zone, so it doesn’t gain air movement.

A Japanese player should NEVER be surprised by a turn 3 unprovoked attack.  There is little deterrent for the Allies by then.  You guys are probably in your first few games - fun times!

Damn! If only I had known that, I had 2 capitals in my last game and was working on the final VC! Only got the one NO :(

@MaherC:

British. there.  destroyers. maybe. Malaya. dropped. Japanese. destroyed.

seriously, my brain hurt reading your post.

You forgot the missing “?”.

The fllet goes to Pearl, but not the planes.  The rest of teh planes & bombers on Kwangtung on an airbase gives the dual adjantage of hitting yunnan with all airpower and hitting an allied fleet if it ventures in range.

It seems no one else is playing this way.  I am curious to see how this would play out against the strategies being used out there right now (with no bid).  Someone play against me PBEM?

PS - I find it amusing that someone is giving me -1 karma every time I post.  It is good to see that even without trying I can deeply affect someone’s psyche.  I really can make a difference  :-D!

@Razor:

@Frontovik:

attack round 1 on kwantung, put huge IC there
build 10 inf, and after those 10 keep building tanks and mech inf
move them to india through burma route and watch UK get kicked out of the board

No T1 attacks, please, its far too early. Just think about it, do you realy want USA to collect 62 IPC, UK to collect 37 IPC and ANZAC to collect 18 IPC when you still are on less then 30 IPC ?

You need to attack Kwangtung at the same time you attack Phillipines and Malaya. To do this, you will need to take control of FIC in T1, and then move your trannies into position for several attacks. In T1 you only have like 3 trannies. Your best opportunity to attack will be in T3, or maybe in T2. Not later, and not earlyer.

UK 37 is a huge lie

13 is more accurate, malay can be takes round 3
US + 40 is nothnig compared to what they lose
take kwantung with land forces :)