1942.2 Strategy Guide Introduction: Feedback Appreciated

I love this idea! The docs  :-D

I was slammed at work and doing mothers day stuff, but I just had a look. So much cleaner already. Fantastic

Catch you guys in a few. Best!
ELK

Also thinking a little bit more on the factory unit. From a purchasing standpoint, the main consideration is probably still total income over anything else. If you have already achieved the maximum transport capacity off your coastal factories, or achieve a level in the ground game where you are making more money than you could reasonably spend at your facilities on the mass infantry spam, it can make sense to buy new production. This is usually only a consideration for the dominant nation on the map. So for example, when a nation achieves about +1/3rd of their starting ipcs in conquered territory, then production buys can be interesting.  Usually this factory game is played exclusively between Japan, USA and to a lesser extent UK.

Japan starts with 30 ipcs, when they achieve 40 ipcs a round, it often makes sense to buy new production. Most players will buy this either in a forward territory like East Indies, Borneo or FIC, or the safe territory next to the home sea zone, Manchuria. Once they get up into the mid 50s it might make sense to do this again, to put max ground and especially tanks into Eurasia immediately each round. With 24 ipcs income you can shuck 8 inf units out of Japan. With the support factory you can up this production value to between 10 or 12 ground units a round, 36 ipcs in infantry, with the remainder spent on upgrades to art/armor or on air/naval buys. With India that raises the total production in the region up to potentially 13-15 ground units (if you bought a support factory.) That takes 45 ipcs right there to max spam just infantry, so you really want to be collecting pretty heavy as Japan before you go for the second factory. The older games were a bit different in this respect, because India didn’t have a starting factory back then (Classic, Revised, AA50 etc), and tanks were 1 ipc cheaper. Still expanding 5 production points for a cost of 30 ipcs, to drop 5 extra units per round directly into Asia can be very useful. Or up to 7 units a round for that same cost, if they build out of a money island and Manchuria. Additional factories almost always makes sense for Japan, when they are in the ascendant, the only danger of a factory expansion comes right at the beginning under full KJF conditions, otherwise its generally a strong play.

For USA, starting income is at 42 ipcs. To get them all the way up to the mid 50s in ipcs (using my +1/3rd of starting income shorthand) requires that the Americans have either made a full Pacific press with success, or have begun their landings in Europe. In this situation production can be advisable, especially if you’re taking the money islands from Japan, but sometimes also in a KGF, at a location like Norway.

For UK the situation is a bit more complicated. They start at 31 ipcs, and usually this value will be diminishing. Getting them up into the 40s through luck and perseverance can happen on occasion, but UK is usually cash strapped required to spend everything they can for max placement at existing facilities. But UK can also occasionally benefit from a “bluff buy” or a factory  in South Africa, which they can’t afford to fill forever, but which might give them enough of an early mobility advantage to deter Axis forays into Africa. I’ve seen this work, and it was a strong strategy in Classic going back to early SA days, but in the newer boards I think its rather brazen. The UK just has a hard time on this board in early rounds, with everything to do, and never enough money to do it haha.

I said earlier that Russia doesn’t benefit from production buys. I can maybe stretch to imagine rare situations where they might work. Russia starts out at 24. If they get up to 32 ipcs or more per round, like in a full KGF or KJF endgame where the Allies are already totally crushing hehe. The game might be entertaining, but under normal 1942.2 circumstance, never. Germany starts with 41 ipcs, if they get up to around 55 ipcs, again maybe a production buy would work to tilt the balance on the eastern front, or to expand naval production. But again, that seems rare and rather unlikely.

The Factory can also be used as a bait or a draw, if you place one in a contested area of the map, but one where you have a positional advantage. The idea being that the enemy will see you drop the factory and then gun for it, attempting to “steal” your production investment, or get a “free” factory out of the trade. So that’s the bait, trying to draw enemy units into a position where they can be destroyed, or at least distracted. Egypt, SA, Norway and the Pacific money islands can be used this way.

There is also the school of thought that buys factories to lock down some peripheral territory or region, or some specific sea zone. Basically with infantry or destroyer spams. These can help to secure income into the endgame or to secure a defense power or counter attack advantage. East Indies and Borneo seem particularly ideal when used this way. Basically 2 or 3 rounds of solid ground builds, and its nearly impossible for the enemy to retake such islands once they have a factory. Sometimes Japan can take this approach early as a way to secure the income in the Pacific vs a sudden Allied build up.

Other considerations that might come into play with the factory unit are things like blocking actions. A factory is a permanent blocker. Once bought it can’t be removed. This can sometimes make a factory buy on the Eastern Front interesting, in the event that USA or UK takes one of those spaces during a KGF scenario. Provided Germany is not in a position to take and stack it, the factory can prevent certain blitz routes. I’ve seen this happen occasionally in W. Russia, usually in the hopes that USA can drop 2 units directly onto the Russian front line, and be stack supported with Russian units/Air immediately. Basically any “originally German” territory on the eastern front could potentially be used this way, its rare, but might be a reason for preserving those American infantry in Szech for exactly this kind of late game play. A similar build can also be achieved by UK, with a tank rush. The danger here is that G takes the factory and stacks it eventually, but it can force heavy trading if USA or UK wants to ignite the dynamite, and then leave the Soviets to clean up the mess when they bounce, in W. Russia for example hehe
:-D

I think factory units are fun. Even at the OOB cost of 15 they can be entertaining. A good factory game on 1942.2 can be the among the most intense.

Control of the Center: Just like in chess, the player who has the most attack power covering the middle of the game board has the overall advantage and the best chances to prevail in the endgame.

Broadly speaking the center is that swath of Russian and British starting territory that separates Germany from Japan overland in Eurasia. Most specifically it refers to the territory of Moscow itself, and the pivot territories immediately surrounding Moscow, especially Caucasus, but also West Russia and Kazakh. These last three territories form a little scalene Triangle of Doom around the Russians, if the Axis manage to break one of those corners and stack it, the Allied position can rapidly collapse. But the center also extends beyond Moscow, and the production choke point of Caucasus, to cover all those territories and sea zones that stand in the way of Axis convergence at the middle of the gameboard.

It radiates out from Moscow, and involves territories like India, and Egypt/Trans (Suez), Persia, Karelia/Arch, Novos, Evenki and Ukraine.

This region of the map is a focal point for turn order exploits, many plays that involve grouping teamed units together, to project an increased attack/defense power over the course of multiple turns.

In the long term, all nations are trying to stack heavy ground in this region, in order to first deadzone and then dominate the rich production/income at the center. And long term, it is the attack/defense power of Infantry and Artillery that is the undisputed king. But in the nearer term, during early rounds, players can use the “movement” advantage of air units and armor to try and tilt the balance in one direction or the other. Here air transits and tank drives are used to back up the movement of inf/art stacks and cover them as they push around and work to get into position.

So long as the Allies are able to maintain a wedge between the two Axis powers, their overall economic strength and turn order advantage (3 turns rather than 2), makes Center control relatively straight forward. But as soon as Axis achieve economic parity, and start chiseling away at the key pivot territories and production pockets around Moscow, the balance in the war could easily start to favor Axis. Everyone is trying to get the pendulum to swing their way.

There are two schools of thought here. Once is to push heavy inf and artillery stacks early, then catch up in later rounds with more mobile units. This is the more conservative style of gameplay, that puts a premium on the gaining the late game advantage with larger ground numbers. Usually you’ll be giving up some territory/income early on, in the hopes of recouping it later, during the mid-game rounds, once those ground forces have moved to the front.

Another school of thought, is to use the mobile units first, to strike forward early, and then hold the line. It can be effective as a way to achieve more income early on and to deny the enemy control of a key production location, or a critical choke point. This is the more radical or risky style of gameplay, where you launch to front early with the heavy hitters (expensive, high TUV units, like tanks or air) and then play catch up with your ground stacks. Here the danger is always of overextending yourself too early, and getting caught up in a defensive logistics quagmire. From the German perspective, this where burst ahead in the opening rounds and then dig. Instead of attacking forward against Moscow, your focus is rather to take a Russian factory and then hold it while you wait for the Japanese to arrive and make up the difference on defense power. From the Allied perspective its usually the choice between setting up a fighter/tank wall to cover the center, or actually launching ground forces and marching them towards the center (which requires transports and pushing over several rounds.)

I think there are merits to either approach, and also ways to do them both in tandem, with hybrid buys over several rounds, or with a different role/purchasing focus for each nation on the team. But ultimately the side who controls the center is the side who has “time” on their side. At the beginning of 1942 it is the Axis who have to face down the ticking of the clock, but if they take Moscow that dynamic essentially reverses. Eurasia becomes like a huge island that Axis can cover with an air shield, and since they no longer have the pressure of convergence with Japan, or cracking Moscow, they are free to redirect their cash for other things… like new naval armadas or bomber wings! Basically, its a huge pain for the Allies to recover the center in the endgame once they lose it to the Axis.

Some Allied players will make the calculation that it is more profitable to take a starting Axis capital, even at the expense of losing Moscow, in order to offset the loss, trade capitals and then carry things into the endgame with the Anglo-Americans alone 2v2. That is the “anything goes” sort of deep endgame, which is harder to pin down, since it often turns on narrow climactic battles and fast paced TUV exchanges. This is the Classic KGF or KJF type game from Allies.

There is a third version of Allied victory strategy though. A ready acronym to describe it is escaping me, but basically it involves the Allies just grinding it out at the Center, on the assumption that as long as the Allies this region, and maintain control of London and Moscow, there is virtually no way for Axis to win regardless of how much money they are making. Red Turtle tactics and the like.

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Yeah sure, sounds good. Might as well keep it all strung together. :-D

Strategic factory spam. Just another quick thought on Industrial Complexes…  Especially in the deep endgame, after Moscow falls, 2v2 Anglo-Americans vs Axis, it might be prudent to consider spamming production on all your 2 ipc or greater territories. Doing this before they are contested. In a 4 power match up, when the surviving nations “go monster” like Super G or Super J vs Super USA/UK, a rapid production expansion can sometimes clinch it in a game played to concession where balance of power is still roughly equal. I’ve seen this done by both sides. Usually if Axis control the center, Vologda and Kazakh can support factories, also the halo of factories around sz 16 to get the drop on the med. Also by Japan on the money islands to lock them down.

For Allies usually it is the periphery where this occurs, in Africa or again on the money islands of the south Pacific (if the IJN can’t control them) even out of the way territories like Brazil and E. Canada can lock the Axis off the Atlantic for good, especially if you’re ahead in the naval game. Dropping factories in all secure territories for your side first can put a whole region out of contention and make it harder for the opponent to get in position against you.

It pays to be the side that expands first, provided the facilities can’t be immediately threatened. You could try a move like this at any point, though it becomes more significant after Moscow falls. If you expand production too broadly too early it can be problems for center control, giving up the edge in Russia. Early on I like to expand production only gradually, and only with Japan. Unless Allies make a breakthrough in the south Pacific, or want to try an Africa gamble. But after Moscow falls the money game changes. All surviving nations will usually have more cash to toss around, and the ability to spam infantry or tanks out of spammed factories can help to make the naval transport game less significant, and allow you to control the board just with your air forces and ground alone.

It can also demoralize the enemy to see you doing this all around the board rapidly, placing limits on the potential target areas the enemy can reach “in time” and put those ipcs on lock down for the duration. Just with a modest investment in inf over a couple rounds after the factory is in place. Or as a spawn point for subs/air to control the sea. This can be an effective way to back down and intrasigent opponent when you know you’ll be playing a really long game regardless.
:-D

Happy Memorial day.

Thanks man! I actually had a lot of fun writing this one, so I’m glad to see its still proving useful.
:-)

Io Saturnalia, and best games to all!