My gaming circle has found no need for a bid system or any other revisions for '42, yet our games tend to favor neither side consistently. Using air in R1  to take out the Baltic fleet (too risky IMO) typically results in GER buying boats anyway, so RUS tends to focus on beating back GER on the front lines while it builds in preparation for pressure from JAP.

GER can clearly outproduce UK early, and thus amass a pretty healthy fleet before UK can get enough boats in the water to challenge it. In our experiences, the success of the G1 attacks on UK boats is critical. If the UK battleship survives, it is a nice centerpiece to build a fleet around. If, as usually happens in our games, UK is left only with the transport and cruiser in sz1, the GER fleet has the chance to exert great pressure on any UK fleet builds, protect Fra, and keep troops moving to Kar. Bad news for the allies, especially if an IC goes into Fra and the GER fleet can sail out to sz7.

A possible counter to this is to build 2 bombers in UK1 while waiting for the US bombers to arrive. That would mean in y2 the US and UK could have a combined 3 ftr and 6 bombers, plus any remaining boats, to harass the GER fleet. Additionally, UK and US can SBR GER relentlessly and annihilate the ITA fleet if the attack on the GER fleet doesn’t bode well.

Not sure how we missed that. Thanks yoshi.

ITA can be a real burden for the Allies if left unchecked for too long. The fleet is key. The longer it can stay in the game, the more troops you get to move and shore bombardments you get to conduct. The problem is that UK can strike the fleet before it even has a chance to survive. If you see 2 bombers purchased on UK1, you can bet the ITA fleet won’t be around after UK2.

After that, ITA is purely in a supplemental defensive stance for GER.

Hm. I hadn’t seen the rule that specifies ownership always reverts to the symbol on the map. Another ambiguity that I shall have to bring up with our gaming circle. It isn’t listed in the OOB rules or FAQ, so how did this rule clarification come about?

Either way, I still think SOL is a solid early target for the US.

I have to agree with gamerman that most of the '42 games we have played have extensive action in the pacific. It basically comes down to how much the US feels like distracting IJN from getting land units to India.

SOL is obviously huge for the US. UK and US get a 5 IPC bonus from NO, and Japan has a hard time taking it back if purely focused on Asia. Since JAP usually has at least one warship in sz53 after Pearl attacks, the earliest the US can get down there is y2. To achieve this, the US must build warships y1 to fend off a JAP counter. From Solomons it is possible to get to PHI or DEI unless JAP commits to protecting all of them, which means fewer JAP land units in Asia/India.

We usually see at least one US carrier y1 in sz56, with a tr or 2 for the Atlantic to keep units moving to Eur. It seems to work pretty well in slowing JAP down and keeping GER honest.

There are times, especially late in the game against JAP or early against GER, where RUS art are extremely valuable. When an axis army gets close enough to attack with the main RUS force, RUS has to neutralize the disparity of attacking with 1s against defending 2s as much as possible. As a general rule, I try to have a 2-1 Inf to Art ratio as RUS throughout the game, and buy tanks and air to supplement as often as possible.

Buying a carrier and some other boats (usaually dd + tr) in G1 seems to be the default move in our gaming group. It is an effective way to shuttle men to Kar, protect Fr and Scan, and threaten any UK1 boat builds. This does ease pressure on Rus quite a bit knowing that Ger ground units won’t be marching on them, so Rus needs to be aggressive in capturing and holding tt Ger needs for its NO.

Meanwhile, an effective counter to the G1 fleet build may be to focus on ITA with UK air. By taking out the Med fleet, ITA and GER are denied Africa and NO income. Without its fleet, ITA can not assail Cau, either, which allows Rus to concentrate on GER while the Anglos get ramped up.

These forums offer so many good ideas and strategies. I hope I have time to try them all!

While I don’t think ITA can ultimately defend its fleet if the Allies commit to destroying it, ITA may be forced to build a destroyer and hope for the best.
The standard I1 play in our group seems to focus on ITA clearing the Med and usually landing in either Egy or T-J. Now, if UK fortifies either of these in UK1, at least one will remain in UK hands and keep the Suez closed. The wrinkle is the purchase of 2 bombers on UK1, so that once the ITA fleet is stuck in sz15, UK can attack with 2 Ftr and 3 bombers. UK should win that battle most times. Once the ITA fleet is gone, protecting Africa is much more feasible for UK, as is protecting Caucasus for Rus.

How does ITA protect against this? Again, hope for the best. In I1 the addition of a dd to the existing fleet in sz14 is a good option, even better if the Ger dd wants to help protect. That would give the ITA fleet a chance at survival. In the games we have played, ITA is pretty limited early without its NO or fleet to move men. The UK has to sacrifice pretty dearly to get the fleet, but it can be done before ITA has a good chance to stop it.

@gamerman01:

@naturesprank:

Yeah, gamerman, I am aware of that most recent update. We don’t use it, since it negates much of the fun of getting HBs in the first place and we have been playing with the published rules for over a year. My playing group doesn’t always like to implement the updated rules errata that we come across. You shouldn’t need to access forums like these to play the game, so we usually use the OOB rules unless there is a conflict or complete misunderstanding.

Yeah, right on.

Unfortunately, there are quite a few ambiguities in the rulebook.  I have had to ask several different rules questions.  If you guys can’t agree on a rule, just post your question in the FAQ and errata thread under AA50, and you’ll have an answer in no time.  Probably not a bad idea to scan through that thread and see the answers to lots of questions…

True on all counts, and we have used that resource numerous times. Especially as pertains to subs, the OOB rules are very vague.

Even using the updated best-of 2 dice rule for HBs, the Americans can send a lot of heat toward the Rome, Berlin and Karelia ICs when not doing huge dmg to ITA or GER fleets. It’s nice to know that you will probably (89% on 2 HB) roll a minimum of 3 per HB during SBRs after risking them to AA. It might not seem like enough, but we seem to agree that the best early pressure US can exert on Ger is via SBR.  And getting HBs definitely helps with that. It, along with LR air, seem to have the biggest impact on our games.

@gamerman01:

Nature, are you aware of the Spring 2010 errata that states the heavy bombers only get the better of two dice?  Each bomber can still only hit once, and can only do max damage of 6 to a complex.

Yeah, gamerman, I am aware of that most recent update. We don’t use it, since it negates much of the fun of getting HBs in the first place and we have been playing with the published rules for over a year. My playing group doesn’t always like to implement the updated rules errata that we come across. You shouldn’t need to access forums like these to play the game, so we usually use the OOB rules unless there is a conflict or complete misunderstanding.