Of course different units have different functions, but I am going to contradict my earlier statemtn a little. I think I can say some units are better than others. The easiest way to decide which units are the best is what unit you would most like to remove of your opponents.

If you are Germany it is easy to come to the conclusion that Russia’s most valuable piece is infantry and vice versa (sorry MysticalRommel).

The other countries are a little more difficult but I think it is safe to say that if you were the axis it would be best for you if the GB and the US could not make transports. You might think infantry for them as well, but they could still transport tanks. Without transports it would force them into the strategic bombing strategy.

For Japan it has to be infantry, because they start the game with a couple of well protected transports. And without transports they could still do okay with IC’s.

So in an almost complete reversal of my earlier post I am going to say these are the best units.

Russia - Infantry
Germany - Infantry
UK - Transports
Japan - Infantry
USA - Tranports

Falk is right about the infantry. It is not Germanys job to destroy Russia it is their job to keep the allies occupied while Japan gets huge. Buy lots of infantry and keep Russia weak, but don’t try to march into Moscow until Japan has taken most of asia.

You may not like that interpretation, but I believe it is the correct one. I had never thought about it before, but I do kind of agree with you. If a tank has more than one friendly territory it can go to after it takes the empty enemy territory it should be able to do it in non-combat like planes. But those are the rules.

The best unit for what? The tank is great for land offense but it is not very good at sinking transports. This is an almost impossible question to answer, but I will say one thing.

When you are not sure what to buy, buy infantry.

I don’t mean to be rude or anything but what is the point of having a strategy that is based on luck? You could just as easily buy all tech and if Russia gets industrial technology they will win. Granted if you are playing someone who is a much better player it is not a bad idea.

Guest wrote:

I hate to rock the boat, but surely the more units participating in a battle the more likely it is that the overall results will match the odds, law of large numbers an’ all.

Now I hate to say this, but you are one of the people who is not allowed to use the charts. I know what you are thinking, “…arrogant SOB…”.

Your statement would be true if the outcome of the first roll did not affect the outcome of the second roll and the third and so on, but it does. Any role that is “unusual” can throw off the balance of the battle. So the more roles you have the greater the chance that one of them will be “unusual”. As the battle grows larger so does the standard deviation. Therefore if you are fighting in a huge, fairly even, battle on Germans eastern front and a big roll goes wrong in a big way then follow crystic crypts advice and RUN AWAY. You should treat every round of the battle like it is a seperate battle when deciding to retreat or not.

In a game like Risk this doesn’t happen because the number of dice you roll for a 5 on 5 battle is exactly the same as for a 20 on 20 battle. In Risk the larger the battle the more likely the odds charts will be accurate.

GG wrote

I like the “you-cheated-so-we-really-won” trick….works everytime…

Yeah, next time someone says that you can tell them that in war the winners decide who cheated, because the loser is dead and can’t speak up for himself.

…rules that is historically accurate and even makes sense…

Ummm……there is no way that Stalin would have put his forces under the command of the US or UK, or vice versa. Remember, after the Germans surrendered a large portion of the US military wanted to keep going to Moscow. Wisely they decided not to.

As far as the factories go, they are one of the most unrealistic parts of the game. The UK builds a factory in Persia and starts cranking out armor, not to mention aircraft carriers and battleships? Not an easy task.

Not playing by these rules is essential, as SUD said. I remember using them back in the dark ages and I could beat the axis without using the US at all. Russia holds off Germany while the UK pounds Japan and then turns back west and Russia and the UK run over Germany.

I’ve played the WWII scenario in Civ2, but it takes too much micro management. I love all the civs, but usually don’t play the scenarios.

You have about a 10% chance of winning this one and then you will only have one infantry left. From what I have heard the axis only win about 5% of the time if you are playing without bids. So if victory is all you care about then go ahead. However, even if you do take it, there is a good chance that the allies could take it back.

The German airforce and navy was used to clear out the battleship and sub, which means that the Gibraltar battleship might have made it. Combined with the E. Canada transport and armor it gives the UK a slim chance at liberation.

If the they can’t do it then the US can send the bomber and two infantry. The bomber to clear the navy and the two infantry to attack the one German defender.

Then Russia can send their transport with two infantry and the sub and fighters to clear any navy.

The allies will probably be able to retake it, but it should not matter. Germany should have bought 10 infantry on G1 and saved 2. On G2 they can buy about 25 infantry with the money kindly provided by the UK. On G3 purchase 6 or 7 armor. So on G4 they can smash Russia in Karelia.

I would say if you are going to do this, just get the money, leave, go smash Russia.

However, all of this is provided that Russia is dumb enough not to move the tranport and sub on R1 and Germany gets extremely lucky when it invades the UK.

My family and I use an odds chart in Risk and I have no problem with it because my brothers, father, and I are all capable of making the chart ourselves. However, I don’t like letting people use odds charts who don’t know the first thing about probability and statstics.

Also one reason not to use them in any game is because usually people use them to whine.

“I should have only lost five infantry and I lost ten, everybody feel sorry for me.”

They end up lamenting the one battle for the rest of the game and use it as an excuse for losing