Hardest Nation to play

I think there is more to it than “Hardest.”  But I think the nation that is the worst off of those nations would have to be Italy.  If Uk wants to, he can really Fck him up round 1 and make italy unable to do anything worth while for the entire game.

Germany hands down.  9/10 times it’s up to Germany to carry the entire war.  Italy depends on its ability to rock out with it’s hanky out!

I actually think playing USA is actually pretty tough.  Sure they start out with the biggest income, but having to split that on two fronts is really hard.  You have to try and guess the right amount for each front or the Allies are screwed.  Going all out in one theater or the other isn’t really the answer either as the Axis can end up going hog-wild in the other theater and win with enough victory cities.  It’s a little harder for Germany and Italy to get 8 of 11, especially if Russia can put up good defense, but it’s possible.  If Japan doesn’t have to worry about USA, they can pretty much own the Pacific and Southeast Asia.
Some people think Italy is hard to play with, but I disagree.  UK doesn’t have a strong enough presence in the Med, especially if you send a couple of German planes down to Italy’s airbase to help protect the Italian fleet.  I think the only thing that will give Italy problems is if the UK manages to keep London out of German hands.
I was surprised that no one voted for Russia.  That would have been my 2nd choice.  They are pretty much just defensive almost the whole game and can lose a lot of territory to Germany pretty fast.  Plus, if the Italians come up from the south, they could lose Stalingrad.  That could be the 8th VC for the Axis.  I think Russia is very hard and frustrating to play.

France would be the hardest :D

But of the “major” powers, I’d say Italy 'cause they’re the wipping boy in Europe when the war gets brought to them by the massive US and have a hard economy.

USA is easy. Sit back, build, wipe out everybody.
Germany is … well hard because they’re the carrying force, but they will quickly gain good ground and income.
Japan is hard and needs to be very offensive on multiple fronts and will usually get slapped upside down by the USA, but well, I still subscribe them more chances than I would Italy :o
UK - while pressed in both theatres they can afford to loose one capital and still move on. Makes it easier for the controlling player. Plus if Sealion is not attempted (fast), London can just chug along.
Anzac - well, pretty much just harass with fighters/ship and your job is done.
Russia can be difficult, but usually can survive relative easy.

I agree with KNP7765. USA is very difficult to play WELL.

To me the UK is the most difficult to play, because they have to worry about so many things - India, Britain, Egypt, etc.

I consider difficulty to be how hard it is to know what to do.  With Italy it’s generally only hard to survive the initial British attack (and maybe subsequent American attacks) - aside from that its course is fairly straightforward.

I also chose UK, I feel they’ve been the ‘hardest’ nation to play right since the original game in the 80s.  Having such a large empire to control and defend with minimal forces makes them the toughest.

I chose Japan because to me it is the hardest.  There is so much it can do and so many directions it can go in, that itself is difficult to manage if you start going too many directions at once.  Next I would say Russia because if you don’t trade well with Germany you can be in one tough spot.

Soviet Union isn’t hard. In real life Russia is easy to defend too. Just destroy all the cities and wait 'till winter :-D

I agree that the USA must be hardest to play well. So much depends on the US´ spending its dollars at the right units in the right theaters. Especially the building of steady supply lines over water is challenging.

Further UK has a though job, never being strong enough to make an actual difference on its own and getting slowly beaten…

I find Germany most demanding, because you have to stay focussed ALL the time…

I would go with the UK, followed by the US as the hardest nations to play.  Both nations are challenging because each has to adopt a reactive strategy to what the Axis players do in the first few rounds.

Depending on how successful the Germans are in the first turn, the UK is forced to make some hard choices with VERY limited resources in the Atlantic… do you cripple the Italian fleet and try to slow the Axis advance in Africa, or do you pull back to the North Atlantic and challenge the German fleet in the Baltic (or prevent a Sea Lion if that is what the German player is trying)?  In the Pacific, you have to react to the Japanese strategy also… if Japan is going India crush you have to hunker down and try to buy as much time as you can.  If there is not an India crush, then your goal is to help the Chinese by keeping the Burma Road open, while trying to grab up territories in the South Pacific with a very limited surface fleet.

The US is challenging because the way that they allocate resources after turn 3 can make or break the allies war effort.  The US has an abundance of resources, but they must split them on two fronts… if the Axis are winning in one theater, then it is up to the US to tip the balance of power back to the Allies.  If you are up against a skilled Axis team that uses Japan to put pressure on the US’s interests in the Pacific, while the German/ Italy combo are putting major pressure on Russia, then you have a very tough decision indeed!

Germany hand down also

2nd hardest is UK

Easiest- France :-D

UK is definitely the hardest country to play, followed by Germany, then Japan, then Russia, then Italy. China, US and France are easy to play in my opinion, especially France!  :-D

@knp7765:

I actually think playing USA is actually pretty tough.  Sure they start out with the biggest income, but having to split that on two fronts is really hard.  You have to try and guess the right amount for each front or the Allies are screwed.  Going all out in one theater or the other isn’t really the answer either as the Axis can end up going hog-wild in the other theater and win with enough victory cities.

USA generally can dump 90% + of their income in Pacific. If Germany goes for Russia, UK can slow them down, if Germany goes for UK, sure, US should start spending a bit in the theater but Russia will be very strong, meaning they have plenty of time to beat Japan senseless.

All these comments have merit. But if Russia falls, then game over. If you are playing with several different players you will not want the new guy to play the Russians right?

Correct. You want the new guy playing China w/supervision from someone else. Or France is a good country for a newbie to play. LOL!  :-D