So, whats the best options for Japan?

@Napoleon:

Played my first game as Japan last night and i get raped. New mechanics…. I did some mistakes ( not buying industries, unchecked bombers and transports, convoys disruption forgotten…)

got some rules misunderstood ( industrial complexes with 3 or ten, thought that the territories value was the limite to place on a territory…)

I attacked round 2 but i dont know is its the best way to begin the game, i tried to take as much territories as possible to boost my income but in the end, i didnt have enough land troops in Asia to overcome U.K wich was my goal.

I want to hear your strategies if ya want, to give me an idea. I know now that somes factorys must be build on mainland.

make peace with the US :)

put down your axis and allies game and step back away from it… :-D

seriously…it takes a long time to master…and even if you use THE perfect strategy…the dice still might not go your way

I agree…put your chin up, walk away and when you are ready for your next game, you will remember your mistakes, maybe read a good few of these topics too.

Bad dice is a pain fighing against you, expecialy if your enemy player is gloating at there luck in your dice roll…had it done to me and it is the worse to sink your head, and then game over cos you are not really into the game. It’s called Hard Luck!

You should build your minor IC on French Indo China (FIC) rd #2 (must invade rd #1) or Kwangtung. I like FIC better because you can do that w/o going to war w/UK yet, and it is only two moves from Burma instead of 3 (Kwang). Both will allow you to build 3 units. By the way both of those tt have an island in the adjacent sz that you can put an air base (AB) on latter. The IC on say FIC would allow you to build ships while the island AB would allow your air units to scramble protecting the Japanese navy if you get in trouble later.

Use your air power. You can take out an entire hoard of Chinese inf and flying tiger with only 4-5 ground units, as long as you have 8-10 air units. Those 4’s (tac bmr) come in handy when paired w/ftrs. Use the new IC on FIC to pump out more ground units for India. You don’t necessarily need tanks early to take out India, (because of air power) but should build a few the round before you assault say Burma so they can catch up or for a back up plan in case dice treat you bad.

The last game I was more patient playing Japan (waited till 3rd rd to attack). It seemed to allow me to take them on one on one, concentrating my attacks better. Of course its always nice if UK attacks you first or enters China (could happen if you wait). You also need to keep a large force (navy) in the Caroline Islands to keep the US and Anz guessing. Its kinda fun watching the US squirm (well until their bigger then you anyway). Make sure if you attack say Anz from the Caroline that your not out of position to fend off the US. The one thing that is key is your air power and timing. Try to take down China ,then UK. After that you will need your air to def/attack the USA. You better not loose your planes in Asia, and turn them towards the USA asap. You should also buy transports early on, and then build more war ships. You can never have enough of either. I also like to replace planes if I loose them along the way.

Little tidbit: If you can get your air/ground stationed in Burma for a final assault on India, you can land those surviving air units on FIC. If you build an AB on FIC that same round, it would allow you to fly those surviving air units to either Caroline or Japan on your next turn. That will send the US running the other way. I did this in one game (mostly by chance) and it was cool.

My opinions in summary:

–You need a factory on the mainland. It’s debatable where, but against a competent Allied player you’ll need the boots on the ground.

–You’ll need a lot more TRs. Time is your enemy and having more TRs means delivering more combat power where you need it faster

–I favor a J3 attack. Spend 2 turns pounding on the Chinese with all of your air and getting troops and TRs in position to take everything you need within 2 turns of the DoW on the Allies.

–Try and keep your fleet massed. None of the Allies has the slightest chance against the full weight of metal that Japan can throw around. Granted you’ll likely have to spread out a little to accomplish everything you need, but try and mass up agains ASAP.

–Keep Truk and Japan garrisoned with fighters/tac. As long as you do this and have minimal infantry on the ground they will be EXTREMELY hard to take due to the Scramble rules.

–The primary goal if this strategy is the complete destruction of China with minimal losses and then a heavy focus on India. You only need to fend off the US and Anzac - you dont not need to decisively engage them. PI must fall on J3 to remove the US presence and to get the naval base, but beyond that you dont need to fight them unless they expose themselves to a favorable trade.