New player to Global

new myself, and the one time I’ve played as america I had fun. I put a minor plant in Brazil and was able to leap frog units to southern side of the Sahara desert to help uk get back Egypt. Not really necessary but it made quick troop movements and I could still bring transports from eastern shore to Morocco and then bring them up to uk or across northern Africa if needed. Or if Italy is weak you can take Rome.

When I play them again I plan to take out japans fleet as much as I can. Just keep destroying their ships and planes. Taking out their fleet exposes the money islands and keeps them from gaining the victory cities to win. Use anzac to buy nothing but war ships until japans fleet is low and you can get a money island. you will need one transport to move some units to dutch new guinea to get your national objective money and hold it. Plan to also send lots of subs down to the med if Italy has Gibraltar so you can move the subs in and wipe out their fleet and then convoy sea zone 97. Uk can send subs up suez from union of south Africa but be sure you hold Egypt and trans-jordan or else you’ll be locked out. I played as Russia this last time and wiped out the Italian navy with 3 fighters and a tac. Went pretty smoothly!

I plan for lots of transports and some subs on Atlantic side (subs are cheap and German planes cant get them) and war ships on the pacific.

If you are already behind schedule with the Americans you might want to go with some bombers to strategic bomb Germany and they are also useful against Japan when he leaves a transport out or even if you want to eliminate a small fleet. The ANZAC airbase is useful for this as well as establishing a garrison on Midway or Wake. You most definitely need to bomb Germany to slow them down. It will force his airforce to turn around and if you can get Norway you can bomb Germany and West Germany. I use this in every game with nearly 100% effectiveness.

Bombers can be a tough thing for the Americans since they cost a fair bit for a 4 Attack 1 Defense unit.  I find the Western European bombing campaigns to be relatively ineffective.  It is easy to shift production to other factories if a couple get bombed.  Usually one American bomber gets shot down after few turns.  Also note that it is very hard to hit the major factory in the “Germany” territory.  As an Axis player, I am more bothered by bombers based in Moscow hitting Novgorod and Ukranian factories that were conquered by Germany.  This delays troop deployment to the front lines.

Don’t get too distracted from the central goals:

1. Russia: fall back towards Moscow and look for limited opportunities to counterstrike with small numbers of land units supported by the small air force
2. Germany:  Push to Moscow.  If it is too strongly held, swing down to the Middle East and boost your economy.  Look for opportunities to sink the Allied Atlantic fleet if it is insufficiently strong.
   3)  Japan:  control the Money Islands and try to push towards India.  Be aggressive if the US spends heavily in the Atlantic and be more defensive if the US is spending big in the Pacific
3. US: contain Japanese expansion, reclaim one Money Island, and plan an invasion in Normandy or Norway
4. UK: hold India and Egpyt, get planes to reinforce Moscow before G6 or G7.  Support the US fleet in the Atlantic
5. ANZAC: support the US Pacific fleet and look for opportunities to trade pieces with the Japanese.  Economics are usually in the Allied favor.

Diverting too much from these general concepts will usually result in a quick loss for a new player.  Grasshopper has some great videos.  There are also opening moves for Germany and Japan in this forum.  The Allies have to react to the initial Axis moves so there is less of a standard “playbook”.

I tend to disagree with Harris on this. 4 bombers are always my go to purchase USA1. This positions me to send a serious threat wherever I need it immediately (Japan DOW on turn 1) with the small invasion force that exists at the begininng. If the Axis defer to RD3 to DOW on USA, its lights out for the Axis. They can also be used against Japan when stationed in Amur or go straight for Germany/Italy. It’s not about the short game.

Enderel, I suggest you try to build some bombers because the threat projection is enough to cause most Axis players to reconsider any attack plan. At this point in the game you need to get over there as fast as possible with Egypt down.

You might have a chance to recover against a new player, but against veterans I tend to surrender if Italy captures Egpyt on the first round or two and there is no easy way to recapture it immediately.  I also restart after a failed G1 attack on Paris.  Those outcomes happen about 3% of the time and usually are fatal for the Allies.

On the Axis, I tend to surrender if I lose a majority of my air force on G1 attacking the British navy.  I also give up if China somehow is crushing Japan due to ridiculous dice rolls during the first couple of rounds.  Those low probability outcomes also tend to be game over events.  Dice can make the game exciting, but it also can make it impossible if the events happened early on.  The snowball effect makes you start falling further and further behind.

Sean: I am curious how the USA1 4 bomber build holds up against good Axis players. It would seem that you couldn’t threaten the shores of either the Atlantic or the Pacific for quit some time after that purchase.  The Allied fleets tend to need another loaded aircraft carrier or two before they can sit within striking range of the Axis forces.  I usually build the fleet part first before moving on to planes which can easily get into position.

As Allies if you are on Norway, USA wants a fair few bombers to keep hitting Germany. Hitting West Germany from London is far less useful unless the allies are creating a western front.

BTW, if Germany is silly enough to use its mobile units to push hard and fast into USSR, that’s when you counter attack. Often you want a few artillery to help with that, normally when you can’t build in Ukraine or Leningrad any more.

If Taranto fails so badly - only one hit!? I think you’re looking at an early surrender.

Well seems as if your game is turning.

To Harris:
I might not have as many posts as you but I assure you I am no novice. We play with some very difficult house rules in our group that allow political events as well as weather events which require near expert play to gain a win for either side.

The bomber purchase provides instant punch to the US navy in 26. Place 3 in zone 10 and one in EUS. Even if they need to redirect to England they can make it by way of the AB. They can also catch up to the SZ26 navy on the next turn including the 2 in EUS, mobilizing in Queensland for a USA3 blitz on Japan. This is a confusing move for any experienced Axis player as now the US has the option to redirect to Germany or Italy. But the having five A4 rolls combined with the existing airforce and navy in Hawaii, WUS, and navy in SZ26 allows for the US player to annihilate any pocket fleet that Japan leave hanging. These are combined in Queensland and with Anzac naval support can do some quick damage to any island force, particularly Caroline Islands is of interest to me always as a base of operations.

This also predicates that on a DOW J1 you can build a massive fleet in the Pacific US2 because you will have full money. If no DOW J1, then move USA fleet from 26 to 64 and utilize in the European theater and replace on US2. All forces are in EUS - Atlantic theater and ready to go to Gibraltar, land ftrs/bombers in Morocco or Algeria  and leftover Frenchies from RD1 (threaten Rome/Denmark/Norway - you pick) and redirect any stupid German airforce that wants to play with your fleet, only helps Russia.

Generally pacific builds consists of a 2 to 1 ratio of subs-destroyer. Following turn is 5-6 bombers. This forces Japan to start building fleet instead of troops for India/China crush.
I say try it in your next game and let me know how it goes because the subs are great fodder with a massive bomber fleet. Anytime a battle goes south with the subs just retreat and wait for the next group to arrive. I can end up with 11 bombers attacking Japan by round 5. Japan will really begin to think about where there money goes.

Enderel,
Send bombers to Europe soon as you have the initiative it appears. Threaten the Italian navy and cut off supply to Egypt.
Then build your US invasion force. Don’t forget to pick up the guys in Brazil. 2 transports loaded with one arty or tank.
Build one destroyer or transport for UK in Canada along with one fighter in London and 3 infantry every other round. One mech or tank from South Africa each turn will retake Egypt once the US is in position. If he builds a factory in Egypt, bomb it and make him pay to use it.
Have fun and welcome to the most frustrating game next to golf.
Sean…

Norway is more of a theoretically softer target to weaken Germany. Losing 10IPC per turn (including Finland) and fairly difficult for the Germans to retake. However, it is also fairly difficult for your land forces to move into USSR or mainland Europe in time to save Moscow. So it isn’t really a knock out blow, more (as you aptly put it) a death by a thousand cuts sort of move.

Getting on Normandy in force does more damage but is also much harder. You probably want to take down West Germany in the same move to slow down any counter attack. I like the Spanish beachhead strategy here because it’s a bit closer to the USA and a bit harder for the Germans to throw you off. Even if the Germans take it back it has taken focus off Moscow and you can usually retake it again.

Sean:  Thanks for the additional information on the US1 bomber build.  I am surprised that you can pull it off so effectively, but you must have mastered the nuances that come with the opening.  A large number of subs sure can be crippling against Japan as you start forcing them to build large numbers of destroyers every round.

Thanks for the compliment and yes there were many iterations before I “mastered the nuances”. It takes a solid commitment and a clear plan of attack.

Pacific speaking:
The best thing about it is if the bombers are directed at Japan, it forces his fleet to stay in a group therefore relieving the massive bounce on India that every Japan player wants. If he leaves one transport undefended, you attack it for free. That should always be the first look move before anything else. This cuts off supply saving the money islands. The only bad thing is that USSR has to stay in Amur or Buryatia. Amur is best because if you get a chance to strat bomb Japan, you do it, after transport duty of course. I like the mobility of the bomber. They can make a big naval battle for the USA much more palatable even when odds suck. The best is when you can catch Japan out of position (and it will happen). Attack his carriers and once you damage them, run. Planes go in the drink for free with no where to land. With good ANZAC behind, it won’t take long to demolish Japan’s income base. Any extra subs can just convoy. He builds a destroyer, you kill it. Generally, what happens is the IJN fleet is neutered back to SZ6 cause he’ll need to build navy. This allows ANZAC and any available US units to go retake islands or better, Philippines.

One other fun thing is if he builds an industrial complex on the mainland, you smoke that too and now it’s an albatross. Ties down fighters to defend it.

Europe speaking:
If no DOW J1, go to Europe with everything you have. Instant pressure on Rome. This leaves Germany by theirself to fight USSR. No more can openers. If Italy leaves their fleet open, smoke it too.

USA has all the money and can replace stuff quick. Bombers get their quick and, if needed, can die quickly in a can opener for UK invasions, particularly Norway/Denmark. Paired with a few fighters and destroyers, they can send Italy or any other fleet down in a hurry. Hell, I often just stack Gibraltar while adding a few loaded trannies each turn. You can send 2 or 3 waves into Italy and turn the Nazis around in a hurry. Libya makes a fun spot to land to smoke Italy into the stone age if Egypt is secured and can make it to Moscow from there with 6 moves.

In a last ditch effort you can always send them to Moscow to soak hits and 5-7 extra PIPs can make the difference when it finally comes to fruition.

In conclusion,
We used to have a hard time winning with the Allies until we finally realized the full Jedi power of the US bomber paired with any other type of unit. We never used bids.

It is a hard strategy to hold steady but when played effectively with a few land unit purchases is virtually unstoppable, less some $hitty dice roll comes up. Even then, just buy more.

@seancb:

Generally pacific builds consists of a 2 to 1 ratio of subs-destroyer. Following turn is 5-6 bombers. This forces Japan to start building fleet instead of troops for India/China crush.

I just had to give som additional thumbs up fo9r this comment :D Buying other combat ships  than subs, dds (Or CW + ftrs) is rarely correct. the 2 to 1 ratio shos that sean knows how fodder works and how it is the most important thing in these battles.

The only reason to stop buying the subs is if japan for some reason dont respond with fleetbuilding and only buys planes instead. But then you should win anyways :D

@ShadowHAwk:

@Kreuzfeld:

@seancb:

Generally pacific builds consists of a 2 to 1 ratio of subs-destroyer. Following turn is 5-6 bombers. This forces Japan to start building fleet instead of troops for India/China crush.

I just had to give som additional thumbs up fo9r this comment :D Buying other combat ships  than subs, dds (Or CW + ftrs) is rarely correct. the 2 to 1 ratio shos that sean knows how fodder works and how it is the most important thing in these battles.

The only reason to stop buying the subs is if japan for some reason dont respond with fleetbuilding and only buys planes instead. But then you should win anyways :D

which is why i said that it didn’t work against a too planeheavy japan. on theory, the DDs + other surface ships ofc needs to be enough to stop all the planes of japan + 2 rounds of plane only builds of japan.

What would prevent japan from attacking your fleet of subs-destroyers with air and a few destroyers. With 20+ planes they can whipe out your whole fleet with minimal losses as subs cant even hit the planes.

I normaly go for a carrier heavy fleet followed by subs destroyers for attacking power. Ideally i want my carriers to bait an early attack from japan that i can crush in the counter and get his carriers and BB out of the way so anzac and UKP can clean up the rest.