Airfield damage carry-over?

There are only enough (double sided) control markers for the islands included in the game. However, your solution would work if you have another A&A game that you could get control markers from.

It would be easy to mark them, you could simply tip them on their sides like in revised / classic 2 hit battleships.

I think I’ll try this, but I will still require that payment be made to repair them.

LT

Thank you sir! I can always count on you  :-D

A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is that if someone comes up with a successful “extreme” strategy, there’s usually an extreme counter-strategy for it.

I copy that.
And believe me, I felt quite uncomfortable to write one of my first posts at this group with some sort of “unbeatable strategy”. I’ve seen so many group newbies here doing that, and routinely got their posts pick to pieces … ;)

Of these, bombing an airfield on Choiseul or New Georgia sounds pretty attractive.  It seems the Japanese will be hard pressed to defend both.  Have all these strategies survived your playtesting?

Yes and no. Japan new units and repairing supply tokens are store temporarily at Choiseul. Japan can have one ore two aa gun at Choiseul and always can move fighters after the bombers, so that any bombing raids are hard, because with the ootb rules any hits from air combat are removed before naval/ground combat (the new rule variant with the airplane only air combat I haven’t try so far, maybe it helps).

If the Japanese are buying this many supply tokens, the US should have some benefit elsewhere.

Challenging, as the US player has to run with the Japanese airfield builds to hold step with victory points. Later the Japanese have many units at New Georgia which means the US pays a high price before amphibic assault while the artilley are firing at incoming ships.
Maybe the US can build only two airfields at Guadalcanal and bring more ground units. Maybe not. Maybe it will rain … :)

Understand me right: I’m not want to say that the US player has no chance. I’m not want to say that I have seen all possible moves and counters in the game. I’m not want to say that I have found an “unbeatable strategy”. But at my games it was a very, very difficult task to counter that japanese tactic.

No.  Airfields can’t be destroyed.  Four hits will damage two enemy airfields, if there are two on the island.  Excess hits are just wasted.

@Shakespeare:

Timerover

You seem to have so much knowledge about the Guadacanal campaign, having visited there and all that:

Did any carriers go up and down the slot or manuever thru the islands or did they only stand off from afar and send their planes from the periphery/safe positions?

Were any carriers lost in the actual Guadacanal campaign?

How would you house rule that?

Increase the fighters range?

Carriers did not operate in the slot, there were two carrier battles in the guadalcanal campaign,

Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz Islands

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Eastern_Solomons

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EasternSolomonsChart.jpg

At Eastern Solomons the IJN Carrier Ryūjō was sunk and the USN Enterprise damaged.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Santa_Cruz_Islands

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SantaCruzChart2.jpg

At Santa Cruz the USN Hornet was sunk and the USN Enterprise was damaged. The IJN Shōkaku was damaged.

Also the USS Wasp was torpedoed and sunk by the IJN Sub I-19

From Wikipedia;

**On Tuesday, 15 September, those two carriers and North Carolina—with 10 other warships—were escorting the transports carrying the 7th Marine Regiment to Guadalcanal as reinforcements. Wasp had drawn the job of ready-duty carrier and was operating some 150 miles (240 km) southeast of San Cristobal Island. Her gasoline system was in use, as planes were being refueled and rearmed for antisubmarine patrol missions; and Wasp had been at general quarters from an hour before sunrise until the time when the morning search returned to the ship at 10:00. Thereafter, the ship was in condition 2, with the air department at flight quarters. There was no contact with the Japanese during the day, with the exception of a Japanese four-engined flying boat downed by a Wasp Wildcat at 12:15.

About 14:20, the carrier turned into the wind to launch eight fighters and 18 SBD-3s and to recover eight F4F-3s and three SBDs that had been airborne since before noon. The ship rapidly completed the recovery of the 11 planes, she then turned easily to starboard, the ship heeling slightly as the course change was made. The air department at flight quarters, as they had done in earlier operations, worked coolly at refueling and respotting the ship’s planes for the afternoon mission. Suddenly, at 2:44, a lookout called out, “three torpedoes … three points forward of the starboard beam!”

A spread of six Type 95 torpedoes were fired at the Wasp at about 14:44 from the tubes of the B1 Type Japanese submarine I-19. Wasp put over her rudder hard-a-starboard, but it was too late. Three torpedoes smashed home in quick succession about 14:45. In an odd occurrence, one torpedo actually broached, left the water, and struck the ship slightly above the waterline. All hit in the vicinity of gasoline tanks and magazines. Two of the spread of torpedoes passed ahead of Wasp and were observed passing astern of Helena before O’Brien was hit by one at 14:51 while maneuvering to avoid the other. The sixth torpedo passed either astern or under Wasp, narrowly missed Lansdowne in Wasp’s screen about 14:48, was seen by Mustin in North Carolina’s screen about 1450, and struck North Carolina about 14:52.[2]**

All the rest of the naval battles in the area were mostly surface ship engagements, some Battleships early on but mostly Cruisers and Destroyers and the Japanese won many of these fights.

Sorry to have been off the grid for a lot of days for me. Dinosaur you bring up a bunch of things that I will give some additional thought to.

Off the top of my head I suggest units have a value for ‘turns from enemy contact.’ This value could be for each phase and then add to some sort of base unit type value.

Also maybe the whole scale should be in some sort of relation to Victory points?

@Shr3dZ:

Im just throwing this out there, I havent played enough to know for sure, but if the Japs invest heavily into airfields and supplies, the equal and opposite maneuver would be for the Yanks to go all units. If NG has an airfield on the first turn, and they are spending even more on trannies and supply for more airfields, the Yanks should have a good shot at taking NG for themselves no (assuming you go with all unit purchases)?

[…]

Have tried these unit heavy approach. Bought only one token, fall behind VP from second turn on. Attack New Georgia heavy: Lost three land units, one cruiser, several air units before land attack, and attacked with 25 or 26 dices against 25 japanese.

Was lucky with my two subs, could get one CV. Was more lucky with the japanese counter attack via air to my carriers - lost only the defending DDs.

Regardless of some disastrous dices (not controlled Santa Isabel on first turn; four japanese ART hit three ships on amphibic assault to New Georgia; 24 japanese dices hit 12 times) I got so much land units to New Georgia that I failed the control of the island only about one point. With normal dices I could get control of New Georgia. But is that enough? No! You have to eliminate all japanese ground units before get control over the airfield, and I didn’t come close to that.

My clonclusion so far: If the japanese bunkered on New Georgia, no land victory is possible (normal dices).

Perhaps I will try an air based assault to the japanese airfields in next game, with an amphibious assault to New Georgia only for bind the air above this island and the japanese navy.

If the japanese act as I described above, I see these scenario:

Should be possible to get four fully loaded carriers with the US navy to sea zone I and four additional FIGs to the airfields on Santa Isabel and Guadalcanal to protect the fleet. Attack in the third round as second player and attack the two airfield on Bougainville with eight fighters. These airfields should not protected except with one AA gun, at these moment the japanese have to protect to many objectives: New Georgia themselve and two flotillas.

Protect the US fleet in zone I with the four FIGs from Guadalcanal and Santa Isabel, if needed. If not, save these FIGs four next turn, perhaps attack japanese navy in sea zone B (the japanese carrier group should be there) if not protected.

With some luck both airfields could be damaged. Will perhaps instantly repaired from the supply tokens that the japanese player might have in game right now, but with that tokens the fifth airfield on New Georgia will not build.

With some more luck the battleship and the cruiser in sea zone I can damaged one more airfield on New Georgia. Than the japanese should lose some air units because of missing landing slots.

Do not landing any ground units on that turn! They will be only cannon fodder. Fall back on turn four, bring four bombers to your airfields, replace any loss of FIG. Attack New Georgia again on turn five. Same procedure with the FIGs, additional attack with the bombers. Bomber from Malaita and Guadalcanal can reach Choiseul or sea zone B to attack airfield and/or carriers. Could be a good move to attack Choiseul (suicidal) with four bombers to bind japanese FIGs there.

Could be possible to hold position in the VP run or take the lead. Could buy some time for perhaps some US subs, that can be added to the plot for sinking of the japanese carriers.

Of course the japanese could decide to re-attack the amphibic force in zone I, but then I would return my own carriers to New Caledonia for better protection and put all naval and air unit in that attack. Should be all navy, 12 FIGs and five BMR. Sounds good … ;-)

Of course the japanese can try to protect the airfields with additional FIGs, but this will bring a gap on other places.

Of course the japanese can attack the CVs in zone I with their subs, but such thing happens: The american navy have to risk their carriers near Midway and lost one, if I remember right, but the reward …

We will see … :-)