WW2 Path to Victory - Strategies

I’m ok for a L.Luck Game…

how many rounds does a PtV game last compared to BM and OOB?

@oysteilo said in WW2 Path to Victory - Strategies:

how many rounds does a PtV game last compared to BM and OOB?

IME it’s the longest version. Almost never have either side achieving victory condition, but one side admitting defeat when it’s clearly over. Can easily go 20 rounds.

I played 10/15 games and if no one makes huge mistakes the game can reach turn 13/15 very often…
I’m talking of LowLuck games with no achieving victory condition, but one side admitting defeat when it’s clearly over.

Always ok for a game if someone wanna try

So when you guys play the Axis and win, how do you do it/what happens?

I am starting to feel like the Allies only lose when they really mess up. The Axis seem to have to play almost flawlessly, to have a chance. What have your guys results been? My group has very very few Axis wins, and some of those have asterisks attached to them.

@daaras said in WW2 Path to Victory - Strategies:

So when you guys play the Axis and win, how do you do it/what happens?

I am starting to feel like the Allies only lose when they really mess up. The Axis seem to have to play almost flawlessly, to have a chance. What have your guys results been? My group has very very few Axis wins, and some of those have asterisks attached to them.

Just to be sure, since you say ”your group”, this is about P2V, right? Or OOB? Or both?

@daaras said in WW2 Path to Victory - Strategies:

So when you guys play the Axis and win, how do you do it/what happens?

I am starting to feel like the Allies only lose when they really mess up. The Axis seem to have to play almost flawlessly, to have a chance. What have your guys results been? My group has very very few Axis wins, and some of those have asterisks attached to them.

My group too…
I have won just once when I managed to take London with a SeaLion.
The only time I have lost against the Axis it was when I played Usa focusing on Europe only, completely disinterested of JAP and lost.
Now I am playing another game when it’s clear that Ger will try SeaLion but I wanted to play K.J.F. the same… London will fall and I will probably loose the game.
In my opinion, if Usa plays a balanced game and the other allies make no mistakes, then the Allies has the 90% to win in PtV (talking about games played by player of the same level…)

@trulpen
@Daaras
If you accept LowLuck and a little bit of editing I’ll be happy to try some PtV games…

Regarding P2V it’s very different from the other two versions. Especially Germany has to apply a rather different approach. Mechs are not as efficient a spam, costing more and really only shining combined with tanks. Therefore a lot more slow-movers should be built, why Germany has to be more patient rather than to go on a swift rampage against Russia. Also carriers are simply an even greater ship in P2V, why it’s rational that Germany also plays a bit more of the sea game.

Italy has more of its own game, but should still make it a priority to help out big brother.

Regarding Japan it’s basically the same outlook as in the other versions, but more territory to cover in China, more likely RDOW and a lot more dynamic on the ocean.

@malmessi74 said in WW2 Path to Victory - Strategies:

If you accept LowLuck and a little bit of editing I’ll be happy to try some PtV games…

Thanks for the challenge! I’m fine with most edit-corrections, but am not so keen on LL.

@trulpen In this regard I am referring to PTV. I’ve been playing Axis and Allies for like 15 years, and have just recently started playing this variant. I do feel like the Allies are heavily favored. My group has even started talking about using an Axis bid.

I do really enjoy PTV, but I also feel like it needs some balance tweaks, which is why I was asking how the Axis win in your games. Are they “real” victories or do they only happen when the Allies make a critical error?

I think in my playgroup we have around a 5% legitamate Axis win rate, in over 40 games. As opposed to the other global variants where the Axis win more than 50%. Especially when I’m playing them lol

@daaras And this has been made much worse with the partition of SZ38. What was that!?

@simon33 said in WW2 Path to Victory - Strategies:

@daaras And this has been made much worse with the partition of SZ38. What was that!?

Primarily to make it harder for J to pressure everything, including Calcutta, in the early rounds.

I also asked about it and even questioned it, but now I actually think it’s an ok change in line with the rest of the version. The recent change of z46 was very good limiting accessability.

Japan is already weak enough without the partition.

@simon33 said in WW2 Path to Victory - Strategies:

Japan is already weak enough without the partition.

I kind of agree.

@regularkid said in WW2 Path to Victory - Strategies:

Hey hey guys. Have been following the recent discussion with interest!

My two cents: Between Germany and Japan, I would definitely say Japan is the stronger nation. In fact, most of my Axis victories have been in the Pacific.
IT DEPENDS ON HOW USA PLAYS, KJF OR KGF…
CHINESE CUERRILLA IS A NIGHTMARE FOR JAP, THAT’S SURE

Also, this may reflect more on my own idiosyncrasies as a player, but I personally find Axis much easier to play AGREE (and win DO NOT AGREE :blush: ) in PTV than Allies. I think as players become more familiar with the nuances of PTV and finetune their strategies, you will see a gradual shift in the Axis’s favor. That was certainly true in the case of Global 1940. . . the optimal strategies emerged over time, until it became clear that the game favored Axis.

As it stands now, I’d gladly take Axis without a bid. INTERESTING

One last point warrants mention: Low luck would naturally create imbalances in the game because it strongly favors the attacker–i.e. the Axis. For a more balanced gameplay experience, I strongly recommend regular dice. OPS, WAS GOING TO CHALLANGE YOU BUT LLUCK IS NOT AN OPTION AS FAR AS I CAN SEE…

@regularkid said in WW2 Path to Victory - Strategies:

Hey hey guys. Have been following the recent discussion with interest!

My two cents: Between Germany and Japan, I would definitely say Japan is the stronger nation. In fact, most of my Axis victories have been in the Pacific.

Also, this may reflect more on my own idiosyncrasies as a player, but I personally find Axis much easier to play (and win) in PTV than Allies. I think as players become more familiar with the nuances of PTV and finetune their strategies, you will see a gradual shift in the Axis’s favor. That was certainly true in the case of Global 1940. . . the optimal strategies emerged over time, until it became clear that the game favored Axis.

As it stands now, I’d gladly take Axis without a bid.

One last point warrants mention: Low luck would naturally create imbalances in the game because it strongly favors the attacker–i.e. the Axis. For a more balanced gameplay experience, I strongly recommend regular dice.

Interesting thoughts. I do agree that optimal axis strategy will take more time to figure out. A big issue in our games has been that Russia’s income stays too high for too long and Germany can’t get enough of an edge in total land units on the board to push much beyond Leningrad, and certainly not enough to split the army and hold both Leningrad and Stalingrad.

Regarding low luck, I’d argue that’s a feature not a bug in P2V. Axis need some help so that helps balance the game IMO. Also, I generally see dice a way of making the game more random, less mundane following the same exact strategy every time, but that’s more of an issue for OOB. P2V already allows for much more variation. Plus LL gives a better test of strategies without as much of a luck element, and there is still much work to be done regarding strategy development.

@trulpen said in WW2 Path to Victory - Strategies:

@simon33 said in WW2 Path to Victory - Strategies:

@daaras And this has been made much worse with the partition of SZ38. What was that!?

Primarily to make it harder for J to pressure everything, including Calcutta, in the early rounds.

I also asked about it and even questioned it, but now I actually think it’s an ok change in line with the rest of the version. The recent change of z46 was very good limiting accessibility.

I also really like the SZ change, along with the money being shifted from the “Money Islands” to the airbase islands and such through NO’s.

Maybe we need many more games, but this version is starting to feel brutal for the Axis. I would agree, that Japan is slightly favored over Germany, but they are both quite difficult. No one has really answered my prevailing question though: HOW did the axis win if it wasn’t through an Allied error?

@Daaras
Italy getting big in the Med and pushing into the Middle East, and Japan also pushing into the Middle East after taking Calcutta. Might be enough to pressure Russia on another front, or they could hit Africa? More based on guesswork than expereinced as I’ve only played a couple of games.