Whats your favourite SURPRISE move?

One of my favorites is buying a Russian bomber turn 1 and using it if the Italians leave all their transports unescorted.  That bomber will reach all the way down and land in Cyprus.

I like an Italian move from the Mediterranean to fortify/counterattack UK. I also like sending German planes thought to be heading to UK down to the Med. But surprise isn’t my strongest element…

Retreating to move faster (another example of strafing’s utility).  So long as you’re confident it will take more than one round of combat and you aren’t totally outgunned, this can be useful.  Infantry and artillery can effectively move 3 spaces, naval units up to 4 spaces, mechs and tanks up to 5 spaces … plus you get to cut through enemy lines.

All air assaults on land forces.  Players often overlook possible land battles if no enemy land unit is in range.  One situational application: preventing enemy expansion by killing ground forces before they can load onto a transport (sometimes the best option if you can’t sink the transport).

When it doesn’t hurt you, consider saving a big chunk of IPC during your Buy phase as Germany, Japan, US, or UK.  This can obscure your plans, delay a major strategic choice, or just make your opponent paranoid.

I like to us the American bombers in the Eastern United States and attack the Japanese fleet, if Japan decides to do a Pearl Harbor that’s unsuccessful. Using submarines to wipeout lone carriers, in which base the planes are killed if the sub scores a hit on the carrier.

Taking Iceland, usually on turn G2.  You might lose the unguarded transport but it really is handy having Iceland for Axis Atlantic defense.

Bryansk airbase.  I don’t know if it will ever come up again, but one time Japan landed a bunch of planes to reinforce the Germans who just took Bryansk.  Then UK landed in Greece and Italy took it right back, so Germany built an airbase in Bryansk to allow Japanese planes to sink the British fleet. Surprise!  Next round the Americans moved in to Finland only to be wiped out by German mechanized forces from Novgorod supported by planes from Bryansk airbase.

Using the US income to buy frivolous things!  I once had Java with the US and bought a naval base so the ANZAC navy stationed there could reach a Japanese transport navy that was lightly defended.  The best part was watching the Japanese player squirm when he realized what the US was doing and there was nothing he could do about it.  Lesson: don’t let the US have Java!

Many times the Japanese will think their fleet is “safe” after their turn.  Then, if the Allies have a good combined fleet in one sea zone adjacent to a US territory or island, on the US turn I’ll plop down a naval and/or air base so as to extend the range of the UK and ANZAC units enough to kill the Japanese.

This could work in European theater too, but I usually don’t see it present itself the same as in the Pacific.

Here is a rather fun one, close to impossible to stop. Supprice comes round two.

Japan round 1

Buy 3trannies 1art.
Take french indochina with 3inf and a tank
Make sure every possible unit can reach yunnan r2
Take majority of ships to z36 exept 3destroyer,2subs and a cruiser left in z6.

Japan round 2

DOW allies!
Buy airbase, naval base and a inf.
Close burma road so it cannot be retaken.
Land fighters in French indo China and on 3carriers z38
Place air and naval base in French Indo china
Let India collect its NO.

Japan round 3

Attack India with 7inf,5art,11fgt,8tac,2bmb,3bombard and possible 1mec,1tnk blitz from Yunnan.
Collect 26 extra IPC from India.
One enemy less on the board.

And take Denmark with US and sail in with UK to take Berlin  :-D

@ErwinRommel:

And take Denmark with US and sail in with UK to take Berlin� :-D

Can have just as much fun directing all that German attention on London as you sneak that Russian Trn out on R2… Hope you didn’t forget to cover Berlin while jumping all over London.

Really stinks when you spent all that effort on taking London and Russia takes Berlin (and those 80+ IPC), even if its just for a single turn before Germany reclaims it.

Whoops…

@ErwinRommel:

Here is a rather fun one, close to impossible to stop. Supprice comes round two.

Japan round 1

Buy 3trannies 1art.
Take french indochina with 3inf and a tank
Make sure every possible unit can reach yunnan r2
Take majority of ships to z36 exept 3destroyer,2subs and a cruiser left in z6.

Japan round 2

DOW allies!
Buy airbase, naval base and a inf.
Close burma road so it cannot be retaken.
Land fighters in French indo China and on 3carriers z38
Place air and naval base in French Indo china
Let India collect its NO.

Japan round 3

Attack India with 7inf,5art,11fgt,8tac,2bmb,3bombard and possible 1mec,1tnk blitz from Yunnan.
Collect 26 extra IPC from India.
One enemy less on the board.

Can’t the US2/Anzac2 move block that Flotilla of Trn coming from Japan by moving into SZ37?

Be wary of DOW Allies… US1 can NCM a SS from Philippines to SZ38 to block your planned NCM into it on J2.

Granted, SZ41 can still be cleared for that NCM move through, but you still face the SZ37 situation unless you leave ships behind to stop the Allies from blocking it.

LOL! I know this is not AA, but its just as good!

So I was playing Risk and the other people were going for me.
Me:Why are you going for me? oh I know! Im the best player in this and you want to get rid of me!
Friends: no were not!
Me yeah you are! LOOK AT THIS! IF YOU WERE NOT YOU WOULD NOT LEAVE THIS SPACE OPEN, so Friend #2 can conquer you!
Friend #1 looks at the board and finds it, Friend #2 looks at that and starts moving guys there. on Friend #1 turn he attacks F#1, not me! They have a long bloody war, why I place 15 guys per turn, doing nothing, why they are losing 25 guys per turn!

When attacking a sea zone that can be defended by kamikazes and you think the enemy plans to use them (i.e. they have nothing else left), attack using only subs and planes.

Another good one can happen when there is an enemy fleet with carriers next to a land territory controlled by the other side.  Let’s say Italy attacks a British fleet and damages the carriers so the planes go on the adjacent land territory.  On Germany’s turn, they attack that fleet which now has no air defenses.  The same thing would work with a US  strafe on a japanese fleet to remove the air defenses and then UK/ANZAC finish it off.

Always fun targeting CV’s with those Kamikazes and laughing to the bank as those Ftr’s crash because they have nowhere to land… Whoops!

Remember:  Don’t send Ftrs off CV’s from Hawaii to SZ6!

or bring an empty carrier

Can’t the US2/Anzac2 move block that Flotilla of Trn coming from Japan by moving into SZ37?

Be wary of DOW Allies… US1 can NCM a SS from Philippines to SZ38 to block your planned NCM into it on J2.

Granted, SZ41 can still be cleared for that NCM move through, but you still face the SZ37 situation unless you leave ships behind to stop the Allies from blocking it.

There will be no block as Japanesse warships will occupy z36,z37 and z38.

I once left my Trn undefended in SZ6 with all my aircraft off Tokyo out doing other things.  Japan was at war with the US:

Japan attacks Russia, opening up Mongolia.  Send a US Bomber from Hawaii to take out undefended Trn in SZ6 while landing on Buyant-Uhaa.  FML on that one.