Yes, the East Indies transport is on a no-return-mission. And if you choose not to attack the India Fleet, so is the Borneo transport. But I still think that’s the price I’ll choose to pay.
I don’t believe the UK player will try to recapture Borneo or I.E. on UK1. it will be an uncertain attack that will only leave the mainland even more open to the japanese player.

axis_roll
I take it, you are willing to take a little more risk in round 1 than I am comfortable with.
I just imagine one of those games where US doesn’t hit any fighters in Hawaii, and where the UK sub attacks your Carrier and Cruiser off Burma and hits on the first roll and you don’t hit back…… My nerves can’t handle that :-D

Thanks for the fast reply Argothair :)

At the moment I’m working on the “Don’t attack the UK fleet plan”
Accept the loss of the 2 transports at EI and Borneo (UK sub and DD)

Then use the western Carrier planes to support the Pearl Harbor attack instead. That is now 4 fgt vs 1 BB. And then get all 3 carriers to Carolines with maybe the DD if fgt losses were high. BB and CA still attack Philippine Sea as usual.
That will leave BB, CA + 2 transports at Philippines, 3 Carriers + 1DD at Carolines and 1 transport off Kwangtung safe.
And I still get all objectives and NOs (except the India fleet that may be dealt with later).
The good thing is - the Pearl Harbor attack will be much less risky ;)

Hi all
(luck + NOs)

As the japanese J1, I usually go for:

Buy either 2 transports or a French Indo China IC.

2 fgt to kill US navy in sz 56 West Coast
2 fgt + DD to kill US BB in sz 53 Hawaii
2 fgt to kill UK navy in 35 India
BB + CA to sz 50 Philippine sea with 2 transports to take land
1 transport to East Indies
1 transport to Borneo
1 transport to Kwangtung
and 3 areas in China.

But with a UK bid to place a sub in sz 35 India my Carrier in sz 37 is at about 50% risk to be sunk by the sub.
I really don’t wan’t to miss the DD in Hawaii as I see that battle as the weakest attack in my “conservative” J1.
If I choose not to attack the India fleet. my transports at Borneo and EI are sitting ducks.

How do you guys react to this bid as the japanese player?

I have thought much about that Australian IC too.

As UK you’ll love to have an IC in the colonies. And the only options that I can see is:

• Egypt
• India
• Australia
• South Africa
• Eastern Canada.

Ordered after my prefered location.

• Egypt is very well placed to hold Africa and send ships into the Med and Indian Ocean. Downside is that it will most likely fall very quickly and send a well placed IC in enemy hands.
• India is also strategically well placed. But it too will fall too easily, if Japan sets out to get it. And that’s a no-goer too.
• The australian IC is placed in the perimeter of the board but may be worth the money. I don’t doubt that Japan can get it, if they really want to. But he will have to commit a lot of his forces better spent elsewhere. And for what? It’s not an IC Japan will find very usefull. It will only be to prevent the UK player from threatening the big money islands.
  So this IC can slow down the japanese expansion. But I think it will be neccesary to have the assistance of USA i the pacific too, for this plan to be worth trying.
  The good old question is then: Can UK afford to spend money in two places on the board?
• South Africa? Not a favourite of mine. But I have tried it now and then to contest Africa. But it doesn’t seem to really pay off. All those tanks in south Africa takes forever to get to the other fronts.
• An IC in Canada is probably never worth the investment. Maybe if Germany has a heavy airsuperiority in the Atlantic? But why not just save the money one turn and then dump a bigger fleet next turn?

Thanks!
I thought those AA guns were far too lethal. But now I get it  :-D

I’m really uncertain about this too…
I read it like:
Each AA can fire once per attacking plane, but maximum at 3 planes!

So 3 AA vs 5 planes will be 9 AA shots!

Clarification would be very much apreciated  :|

I like to cripple Italy as fast as possible.
So I prefer to attack Ethiopia with the Indian transport instead of taken the DEI.
Apart from that, I agree with the above  8-)

@Corbeau:

Should we say Pacific or Indian Ocean? Pacific itself have some key points but what makes Japan a Godzilla is that Indian Ocean push. For the allies, I’d say the main region you want to defend is the whole Indian Ocean coast line, from SA to India to Australia.

While the need to defend UK’s Indian Ocean belt is obvious, people generally are not too fond of UK having an IC in either of theses 3 territories mentionned above.

Personally, I don’t see how the USA can be really able to threathen Japan seriously without Uk assistance, and for that you need an IC.

So the overall question should be how to split UK and USA between both theaters, and at some extent how can Russia be flexible enough to patch the holes.

While I don’t have the clear answer, the games I have won turned around allies successfully defending/retaking UK income.

P’S: Zhukov, I still hope you will give me a rematch :)

I absolutely agree to the above…. But how?
A UK IC is a heavy investment that can take the edge of that vital second front in Europe.
And still it is a wet dream for any UK player to be able to have a small fleet in, say, the Indian Ocean! It’s always that same question of having the money to pay for 2 fronts.

So if USA plays in both theatres and UK does the same… maybe if they coordinate really well, it will all work out?!
SOnds like the perfect option to me… if I can make it work :)

What I like about the Brazil IC is that you already have one transport down there by round 2 when it starts producing and it is out of harms way. So it’s a cheap, independent and simple way of getting troops to Africa, while you’re doing the real fighting in the Pacific.
I must admit that I haven’t tried it yet…… But it’s a tempting idea!

In my playgroup the G1 carrier buy is a very used strategy.
We play boardgame: NOs, no tech, no bid, dice (obviously;)

G1 buy:
1 carrier, 1 tank, 4 inf
or
1 carrier, 1 transport, 1 art, 2 inf

Attacks:
sz2 with 2subs, norway fighter, bomber
sz6 with sub, holland fgt
ukraine with a minimum of forces
Baltics hard
East Poland hard
transport troops to Libya

Often we don’t attack sz12, because we consider the UK attack on italian fleet too risky. And we need 2 fgts to land on the Carrier.
But this sets up to take Karelia hard on G2.

England is now forced to buy all fleet, witch is not necessarily bad. But it leaves Italy alone to expand. And UK’s builds may consist of destroyers and subs, that cannot be used after eliminating the Kriegsmarine. So those 14 spent on the carrier is evened out with UK’s builds.
I have to agree with Emperor Molari, that losing the german fleet is not a disaster - the difficult part is to recognize, when it has to be abandoned by the fighters…

We have had many succeses with the G1 carrier buy! I don’t think you should discard the idea untested :)