I’m not going to discuss whether KJF is worth it or not, as the original poster didn’t specifically ask for that analysis, and because it has been sufficiently discussed by the top two posters. But I’ll post what I’ve seen are effective KJF strategies/tips for the fun of it.
Overall strategy:
1. You will need to build an IC in India as the UK to apply land pressure. Without any land pressure Japan will be free to expand and trounce any American navy that swings by. You will also need the Russians to support it somehow, with either a tank to India on round 1 or keep a tank or 2 in Caucasus to counterattack India if the Japanese decide to take it on their first turn. If you don’t do anything to support India on turn 1, it will fall and be useless immediately.
2. You need to keep a watchful eye on Germany in Africa. I may not be able to tell you definitively how to win, but I can tell you for sure how to lose. Letting Germany keep Africa is a sure road to disaster. You will need to think about how to do this efficiently. You are already in trouble if Germany decided to attack Egypt, since you’re not counterattacking with Indian troops. The UK will have a difficult time maintaining troops in India as well as fielding enough navy/units to go into Africa until around Round 3. It may be worse if the Germans kept their fleets alive. You will probably need to keep the Eastern US navy in the Pacific to pipeline troops to Africa. You may wish to build a Brazilian complex and keep your 2 transports next to it to contest Africa.
3. Russia will be playing a lot of defense. Don’t expect to trade frontline territories for long. With the US very much away and the UK sinking nearly half their income into India every turn, your support is going to be lacking.
4. The US needs to look at how to do long term, irreversible damage to Japan - how to scrub out the Japanese navy and take away income. A Sinkiang complex may or may not be advised, depending on how much Russian support you can expect and how hard the Japanese took China. Generally it’s ok to do, but you need to have more than just 2-4 Russian infantry in Sinkiang if the Japanese have 5+ infantry and 4+ fighters in range. Don’t overtax Russia as it does need its fighters to stave off the Germans. If you can get a complex up safely in Sinkiang, do it, since if the Japanese can’t take it on Round 2, it becomes very difficult for them to take it unless they give up taking the northern route.
The US will be purchasing mainly navy to deal permanent damage to Japan. You will undoubtedly in every case be purchasing 1 carrier to start off with since you have 2+ fighters to land on it, making it an impeccable 16 IPC purchase. I highly recommend starting with a 2nd carrier purchase no matter which overall naval route you’re taking for a few reasons - 1. it’s efficient use of your money, since for 16 IPCs you get 2 units in the water that defend on 3/4 and attack on 1/3. That’s at least as good as buying 2 subs. Buying another fighter to put on the carrier is also a great buy (10 IPCs for a 3/4 unit is quite good considering your other naval options). Past that, there are a few ways of looking at things:
a. My favorite strategy is to island hop. This gives you the advantage in the waters since you’re not actively going after his navy. He will have to go after yours in order to stop you from getting his islands. Stage in Solomon Islands no later than Round 2 (do it on Round 1 if he ignored Pearl Harbor). From here you can hit Japan, Borneo, Philippines, and Indies. He cannot defend all 4. Methodically tear apart his islands, which contains a lot of his IPCs.
b. Plan B is to make a lot of subs after your first 2 carriers purchase. The reasoning behind this is that subs are the most efficient anti-naval unit, dollar for dollar, once you’ve already matched up initially existing fighters to carriers. Keep massing subs until you have an advantage, and make sure to spend all your money on super subs tech the round before you attack!
c. Plan C is to put a complex in Alaska, and start churning out mass battleships. I know it sounds silly, but it’s very dangerous for the Japanese. The US will put 1-2 battleships off of Alaska every turn, which directly threaten the Japanese seazone (as opposed to placing them in Western US). If Japan lets the US get even a slight advantage, it’s over, as the US can simply strafe the Japanese fleet, heal their battleships, then come back again full force. The battleships will also help bombard the crap out of the mainland once the navy is scrubbed.
You may end up using a mix of the three (i.e. island hop first, then build up mass subs to charge the Japanese navy as you go along)It’s very difficult to decide what to do with the US, in any case. You must maintain Africa, as well as maintain Sinkiang if you went that route, as well as build a threatening navy. You don’t have money for all 3.
Specific tips and tricks:
-stack Buryatia with 6 infantry on Round 1. Buryatia is an important landing site for Allied planes that are attacking SZ60. You will not be able to hold Buryatia for long, but you need to make a strong stand in the north. The US can hit SZ60 with surprisingly a bomber from the eastern US and a fighter from Hawaii on Round 1 if Buryatia is under Allied control, which is devastating if the Japanese did not realize this and simply made their naked transports in that seazone.
-put your UK bomber in Sinkiang on Round 1. It can bomb any complexes if the Japanese decide to put them up, and hit any naked transports off of Japan. You will send your fighters off to the East as well eventually, but you may need them to defend your capital depending on the German navy.
-attack the Kwangtung transport with your full Indian navy minus the fighter. This creates a distraction in the waters.
-attack the Solomon islands sub with the UK sub + fighter from the Indian fleet. The fighter will then land on Pearl Harbor. You have a 2/3 chance of nailing the sub before it submerges. This move makes Pearl Harbor quite tough for Japan to attack safely. What to do with your Australian transport is up to you. You may very well need it to support Africa, so in that case start running it either east or west (west may not sound safe but the japanese may not be able to spare the force to destroy it with so many other things going on).
-counterattack Pearl Harbor if there’s a battleship + 2 fighters + 1 carrier or less. The US can send 2 fighters, 1 bomber, 1 transport, and 1 battleship against Pearl Harbor on Round 1.
-keep any surviving UK fleet together after the first moves with the US fleet amassing in the Pacific. This makes it very difficult for the Japanese to attack directly.
-each US carrier can bring up to 4 fighters into battle. For instance, if you have 2 carriers to the right of SZ60, the 4 fighters already on those carriers can attack SZ60 and land in an island closeby, while 4 fighters from Western US can hit SZ60 and be declared to land on the carriers. This means if you’re looking for a purchase that you can use right away next turn to attack, you can buy 4 fighters if you have the carriers in position.
