Having never played with bids before, can someone explain the rules around how the allies can spend their money from bids? Are there limitations or can it be split up amongst the allies in any way they want?
Read the first post in the thread for an explanation of bids.
our bids have been 0, 0, 6, 10, 12, 13, 13. i bet it will settle in @ 9-12.
we play all bid $$ must be placed in 1 country, not inf all over the place, for example.
our bids have been 0, 0, 6, 10, 12, 13, 13. i bet it will settle in @ 9-12.
we play all bid $$ must be placed in 1 country, not inf all over the place, for example.
Well, the disadvantage of that method is that if Russian puts 2 inf and 1 tank in Buryatia, for instance, then it can attack Manchuria on R1, which can really then unbalance the game. The ladder rule for Revised was that you could only place 1 unit per territory/SZ, on spaces where you already had units present.
Several players have expressed the need for the Allies to have a bid on Spring 1942, 2nd Ed. for reasons of game balance. I personally haven’t felt the need for it so far but I’m curious to see what may be the most ‘common’ bids, please feel free to add suggestions to where to �place them (1 UK infantry on Egypt, 1 artillery on Caucasus, etc.).
If you are playing victory cities then the game is horribly unbalanced. It is too easy for the Axis to get the 9 cities. Leningrad, Moscow and Calcutta are easy pickings by the Axis by turn 5 to 6.
I like an allies bid of at least 10.
IMO, the two most critical plays for the Allies bid is either (1) support the EUS fleet with a 2nd destroyer, or (2) support the British attack on the EI Japanese fleet on turn 1 with a destroy or a sub, and an artillery for the amphibious attack on EI.
You shouldn’t waste an allies bid on the Soviets.
Of these, I believe (2) is more critical.
If the Japanese don’t lose that EI fleet, then I have found that Calcutta easily falls by round 4-5. So the game really is decided on turn 1 by a 65% percent attack by the British on the EI fleet. That percent has to be raised, or the game is very tilted to the Axis.
Against an opponent of similar skill and experience, I don’t see how the Allies win this version without a bid.
If you are playing victory cities then the game is horribly unbalanced. It is too easy for the Axis to get the 9 cities. Leningrad, Moscow and Calcutta are easy pickings by the Axis by turn 5 to 6.
IMO, if both Moscow and Calcutta fall by turns 5/6 then you don’t know how to play the Allies.
If you are playing victory cities then the game is horribly unbalanced. It is too easy for the Axis to get the 9 cities. Leningrad, Moscow and Calcutta are easy pickings by the Axis by turn 5 to 6.
IMO, if both Moscow and Calcutta fall by turns 5/6 then you don’t know how to play the Allies.
Actually, it is quite possible if turn 1 (1) the US transports are sunk off of EUS, (2) the British navy is decimated, (3) the British fail badly on the 1st turn 65% chance attack on the East Indies Japanese fleet.
Those are all either very likely, or quite possible.
Combine those with a bad Russian turn 1 failed attack on the Ukraine, the loss of Karelia by turn 2 to 3, and Moscow easily falls depending on how few British fighters are in Moscow on turn 5.
IMO, if both Moscow and Calcutta fall by turns 5/6 then you don’t know how to play the Allies.
I agree. The Allies need to use very different strategies than in the past, which is why I imagine a lot of people feel the Allies are at a disadvantage. The game may be called “Second Edition,” but you have to treat it as an entirely different game.
I think a 9 bid for allies. Now after playing enough games. Allies stand no chance.
I see that the sensible and experienced people here are gauging this game at around 8-12IPC bid. Sounds good. I will have to try it. Thanks.
What have people been putting their bids into? I feel I’d take allies with an 11 bid all day, but would be hessitant to take a 10 bid or lower.
a 10 bid I’d get a UK inf for egypt, an inf for karelia (to go to west russia), and an artillery for caucus (to save a tank). I used to like the US destroyer bid, but if I don’t get that ifantry in egypt then Germany just takes out egypt and ruins my day. Those who say you can just send a Russian fighter there don’t understand how bad that is for russia. That allows Germany to take and hold Karelia the first turn, and makes it more costly to take Ukraine. That is why an 11 bid would be so powerful. You could bid for the US DD and a UK inf for egypt.
I prefer using 6 bucks of a bid to add a sub for the UK in the Pacific to help knock out Japan’s fleet of the bb, ac and 2 fighters…if I have enough left over, I will add an inf to Egypt to protect my fighter and/or an extra inf somewhere for Russia.
MM
Great idea with the sub!
Has the bidding changed since I lasted played? At GenCon 2007 the bidding for the “Classic 1942” was you bidded up for Allies and that amount is what you gave the Axis. The link says you bid for Allies and then go down.
And we have been experiementing with around 11.
Even for KPF you need good rolling since it’s hard to keep Germany at bay long.
I would still like to get a KGF going but USA takes a while to get the transport convayer going to Europe quick enough.
And we have been experiementing with around 11.
Even for KPF you need good rolling since it’s hard to keep Germany at bay long.
I would still like to get a KGF going but USA takes a while to get the transport convayer going to Europe quick enough.
This is spring 1942 2nd edition. Classic is lightyears behind this version…
We’ll no one has put any OTB victiory satistics down so had to tell if a bid is granted
This poll would be more informative if the bid numbers weren’t grouped. The difference between a bid at 7 and a bid at 9 is substantial, 10-12 is even more dramatic.
Against an evenly matched opponent, I wouldn’t go lower than 9 for Allies.
As Allies 10 is optimal because it allows you to bid a British Fighter in Egypt, which does triple duty… it covers Egypt on G1, it frees up a Russian fighter, and can be flown to join a sz37 attack (or elsewhere depending on the situation, like to reinforce W. Russia.)
At 9 I think Axis can still feel reasonably confident, and Allies won’t feel like they are just getting mowed over completely. At 10 the situation starts to turn the other direction, since you can do a lot more (in terms of breaking Japan) with a fighter than you can with 3 infantry, or 1 inf and a sub, or a pair of artillery pieces.
You can still break the sz 37 battle with just a British sub, but for only 4 more ipcs, you can get a lot more long term out of a fighter. Otherwise, I’d just distribute it on the ground. Britain seems to be more effective with the bid, than Russia or USA in my experience. A sz 11 destroyer bid is interesting as a way to springboard KJF, but even with a second destroyer, I would still attack using both subs as Germany at fairly even odds, so I’m not sure the 8 ipcs can’t be spent more effectively elsewhere. The bid for this board seems very narrow though.
As I said above, I wouldn’t go lower than 9 for Allies against a skilled opponent, but as Axis giving up anything more than 9 is really rough, for the exact reason outlined above. 11 ipcs on the bid is basically the same as 10 in terms of gaining an air attack advantage, but 12 is just nuts for the air attack advantage, because a British bomber attacking and landing in the right place can totally wreck the Pacific game for Japan. I don’t suggest that sz37 is essential for the Allies to win, but it is probably essential for a Kill Japan First strategy, or a stall Japan and redirect strategy, or any strategy that involves the US making it across the southern Pacific. It’s too easy for Japan to manage their naval defenses otherwise. Also someone mentioned Borneo on UK1 for the KJF game. Every time I have done this I end up regretting it. USA just really needs that territory under their control to make the pacific endgame worthwhile.
If the idea is to give a more inexperienced player a reasonable chance playing the Allies against a more experienced Axis player, I would go much higher on the Allied bid, or maybe remove tanks from Germany. Or try an alternative bid for production. If for example, you allow the Allies to move the Karelia factory to safer location, or the India factory to a different location. Or you could just allow players to destroy factories on the retreat and scorch the earth (Advantage to Allies in most situations.) Otherwise, when the scales are balanced…
If you really want to play allies I would open the bid at 11, so you can probably get them at 9. If you’d rather play Axis but might consider Allies, then open at 12, so you have a shot at 10, and if it goes lower then you can pass.
I see the point of the Egypt fighter (defending Egypt AND helping crush the Japanese fleet) but I still think that it’s not optimal. Given a 10-IPC bid with Allies, I would either get a sub for KJF plus an artillery in Caucasus, or spread it out with an ART in Caucasus, an INF in Egypt and an INF either in China (to defend the American fighter) or in Moscow (for a better attack on West Russia). Because of this, I don’t see that much of a difference between 9, 10 or 11 for the bid. In either case, it’s 3 units on the ground.
