Strategies for 42.2?

Better players than me will give you some … But you did point out the main default of this game: SAME STARTING SITUATION EACH TIME!

I think about creating some new non-historical maps to balance 50% 50% two countries (or more) and to play with my children too!

:wink:

My suggestion,  get Anniversary Edition before it’s gone… comes with two completely different setups out of the box, and has more strategic options than 1942.2.

What strategies are you currently using? Which side?

Asking because I don’t want to tell you anything you’re already doing.

As I have repeatedly (and somewhat bitterly) complained on other threads, part of the problem is that the setup they give you forces players down a handful of narrow paths because of how easy it is for the Axis to crush the Allied fleets and how little it matters who owns the periphery (Brazil, South Africa, Australia, Alaska, Soviet Far East, Archangel, Norway, and the even less important territories that border them).

That said, here are a couple of alternate ideas for each country.

UK: Don’t do the SZ37 raid. Instead, send the western Indian fleet further west and the eastern Australian fleet further east so that they can help you retake Africa and then reinforce the UK Atlantic fleet around turn 4.

Germany: Instead of a sub or two in the atlantic, buy a destroyer for the Med. Use it to block attacks from the west, send your battleship east one sea zone, and hit Egypt hard on turn 1. Alternatively, buy one carrier and one transport for the Baltic and threaten a Sea Lion (seriously!).

Russia: Open with a build of 4 inf, 3 art, and continue to make similarly balanced purchases, including the occasional tank or fighter. Use the resulting material to make efficient trades deep into central Europe. Alternatively, if you get a bid, try bidding a third fighter to start with, and sink the German Baltic fleet before Germany’s first turn, and then stack in Leningrad.

Japan: Don’t bother crushing India; instead, build a factory in Kwangtung and unload 4 transports there every turn. You can brush aside the Chinese and attack Moscow by turn 5. Alternatively, load up just enough infantry into Asia to hold the coastline for a long time, and then crash into Alaska with 4+ transports just as America is ready to start shucking troops to Europe. Sure, America can kick you out of Alaska, but not without ruining its own shuck and leaving Britain/Russia out to dry.

USA: Build tanks and bombers in Los Angeles (paired with the occasional sub if necessary to hold the Japanese at bay) along with infantry in New York, and send them to meet up in Quebec. Build a US Atlantic fleet and use it to ferry troops from Quebec to your choice of Norway, France, NW Europe, or Morocco.

Might be a bit of repeating what Argothair said but here’s my take for zany plays.
Fair warning: none of these are “viable” but they should definitely spice things up:

USSR: Charge the starting FTRs into the Baltic to interfere with Germany’s opening (even if you have two and it’s a terrible odds battle).
Turn the entire Allied effort into a game to see how long you can keep Karelia alive. Fall back when you need to so you don’t get your stack wiped out.

Alternatively, build a tons of tanks and try to kick Japan off mainland Asia at the detriment of the German front.

Germany: Build an Aircraft Carrier or two and a few Transports and dominate Africa/the Baltic/the Atlantic.

UK: Play in the Atlantic. Funnel 1 FTR a turn to Moscow to help their defense.

USA: Do something totally out of left field like an IC in Alaska. Alternatively, build 1-2 Carriers in the Atlantic and fly FTRs to UK.

UK+USA FTR Conga Line:
1. Build 1 CV off US East Coast (don’t have the board with me so I don’t recall the exact Sea Zones, sorry).
2. Build 2 CV + supporting fleet (DDs mostly) off UK (SZ that’s next to the Baltic Sea).
3. Example turn:
  a. Start with 2 CV, 2 UK FTRs, 2 USA FTRs, other supporting vessels in UK SZ. Start with 1 CV, 2 US FTR in US East Coast.
  b. UK Turn: Move 2 FTRs from UK SZ -> Baltic SZ -> Karelia -> W. Russia -> Moscow, build 2 new FTRs to replace the old ones.
  c. US Turn: Move 2 FTRs from US SZ -> Atlantic -> Africa -> English Channel -> UK SZ, move 2 FTRs from UK SZ -> Baltic SZ -> Karelia -> W. Russia -> Moscow, build 2 new FTRs to replace the old ones.

This essentially dumps 4 new FTRs in the USSR each turn (you can do less/more if you want), which is 40 IPC of income. You can use your FTR fleet to wipe smaller stacks to make trading more bearable for the Soviets.

Hope these ideas help somewhat, even if they’re not the most competitively sound strategies!

My 2 cents, a couple potential options to explore - some Argothair has mentioned. they are sometimes all not best strategies but could work from time to time, depending on how the players react.

1.  Bomber campaign (US)
2.  Kill sea force first (Russia)
3.  Tank campaign (UK at India)
4.  sz37 attack (the one you see the most)
5.  Sea lion threat (Germany) + Africa campaign.  For unprepared Allies player this can succeed.  
6.  US could either focus on Altlantic or Pacific depending on the outcome
7. US attack (Japan) this one needs time to pull off.  You will need to accumulate enough transport and do some fake action so US is not prepared for it.
8.  Try the latest Harris rule by changing the setup.  
9. Add a bomber for Russia - this gives Russia a lot more options.

Maybe not the best strategy, but Russia should start building a carrier fleet in the Caspian Sea as quickly as possible… prioritize spending on this fleet over all else…

The beauty of this strategy will become self-evident quickly once done.

@Nowhere:

Maybe not the best strategy, but Russia should start building a carrier fleet in the Caspian Sea as quickly as possible… prioritize spending on this fleet over all else…

The beauty of this strategy will become self-evident quickly once done.

Well, you lost me. Care to explain the reasoning behind this strategy?

-Midnight_Reaper

I mean, it’s pretty obvious. Kazakhstan is a key territory, and you can’t afford to let the Axis get a Caspian Sub, or the next thing you know they’ll be using an infantry stack push against you and setting up dead zones and stuck shucks like a pro. So you really need the carrier for long-term security.

You’re going to need the loaded carriers to protect the Russian battleships and transports for amphibious operations in the Caspian Sea, duh…

Plus if you build enough warships and transports you have a safe haven for your stack when Moscow falls.

I did mention “this may not be the best strategy”, or even which nation this strategy would mostly benefit, but it IS an alternate strategy you can try that is different from the boring same-old, same-old strategies “normal” people do!

Forgive my joke Nowhere Man! :-D

BTW - is your pseudonym from the Evan Smoak book?

@Private:

Forgive my joke Nowhere Man! :-D

BTW - is your pseudonym from the Evan Smoak book?

https://vimeo.com/143013061

Surprised a Brit doesn’t know this…
Partial answer first two minutes… Skip to 2:01 for the final answer…

Oh yeah …… :-D