Posts made by KillOFzee

1. J3. Gives you time to prepare your transports to attack any territory you want them to. It also is the turn that America enters the war, so you’re really only allowing them to move out of their own territories, which is outweighed by the initiative you gain as Japan

2. I buy 2 on the first round, so I have 5, and then maybe 1 later on. I am always willing to sacrifice a transport for control of a DEI, as long as the allies lack any transports to get it back. So once I have the DEIs, I only have 2-3 transports in circulation.

3. Minor IC in Shanghai territory, build 3 mechs a turn for use in China and India. Naval Base In Hainan, because I can drop any troops from Japan off there, and then have the option to move them toward India, or load them back on the transports that brought them there and attack any number of important Islands.

4. In order of importance: Borneo, Philippines, Java, Solomon Islands, and Malay. Borneo, Java, and Malay because they earn you lots of money and reduce the Allied income. Solomon Islands, because it gets rid of both ANZAC NOs with one move, and its hard for them to get it back. Philippines, because it reduces American Income and contains an important naval and air base.

5. 36, if you have a naval base in Hainan, you can hit all the important mainland territories (Calcutta), all the DEIs, the Caroline Islands, Japan, and part of Australia. 35, if you control the Philippines, although you can’t India from there.

@Vance:

Since you are waiting until G4 anyway, have you given any thought to putting transports in z100 and an airbase in Greece?  Landings in the Black Sea region can really throw USSR off balance, especially with the new Soviet NO that makes Iraq so valuable.

It’s good in theory, but when I’ve tried it, I realized that the air base plus 3 transports costs more than the value of the territories it takes. The air base in Romania had the sole purpose of protecting those transports, so its really 15 IPCs down the tube in my opinion, plus the 21 IPC cost for transports.

@Stalingradski:

G4 is a great time for an attck on Russia. You pretty much have Leningrad guaranteed on G5 if you build and move wisely. Also, you get to collect the 5 from Russia right til the end.

Agreed.

I see your guy’s point, but I think that you are overvaluing artillery.

Me theory is that, Germany can afford to lose 1 less infantry on the Atlantic front in order to upgrade that 8 inf, 2 art purchase into a 5 inf 5 art purchase, regardless of what my losses will be in Russia. Once I have some Russian factories, I am going to pump out infantry directly in the motherland, so any loses I experienced in previous battles will be reinforced when it finally counts.

My preferred strategy involves moving artillery from Poland to Finland prior to Barbarossa, so I have little to no artillery if I do not buy a lot of it early on. So, yes, as the rounds progress, I would not buy so much artillery and buy mainly infantry, but for the rounds G2-G5 it’s, 6 inf, 4 art. Germany can afford this, and more.

If I may add to this conversation…

@Stalingradski:

I’d like to reemphasize that I commit to land units - meat and potatoes - as much as humanly possible. In my games, a German purchase of 54 IPCs will be eight infantry, an artillery, a mech, an armor, a fighter, and a sub, for example. A heavy dose of infantry, a small sprinkling of mechanized units, an air unit, and a naval unit. G1 gives the foundation with a Carrier… G2 gives an opportunity to add a couple destroyers and a fighter with help from French cash… then after that it becomes a regular commitment… the point being that you try for as long as possible to stay just ahead of the US/Britain, and keep the initiative. Dictate terms to them instead of being dictated to.

Yes to what you said about buying time by raiding Africa. I like the thinking behind it, and I want to figure out how to take and hold Egypt with Italy and still take Moscow with Germany alone.

My personal opinion is that you aren’t putting enough strength into your ground purchases. I probably don’t have the experience you do, but from my games I believe that 8 inf, 1 mech, and 1 art is not enough of a ground presence to really hurt the Russians. I think it is better to have 6 inf and 4 art as your primary reinforcement supply, mainly because you are getting a lot more attacking strength without the need for an a significant air presence. I think that if you bought a fighter maybe every other round, you could really bulk up your ground forces in Russia. The fighter may not be necessary after all, especially if you have Italy focus 100% in the med, forcing the UK to divert its attention from Germany to the Italians. This way, you might have a better chance of taking Russia with Germany alone.

Yup, it was probably not the best idea to put superglue on your board, but what’s don is done. Unfortunately, the alpha 3 rules are the most updated and probably most balanced rule set out there as of now. There are quite a few changes to the placement of factories and air/naval bases and such. I don’t participate in tournaments myself, but is is most likely you will play with alpha 3 rules. It is probably best to play with these rules even when just playing for fun, as the original set of rules are pretty unbalanced. You should, IMO, get updated on the new rules, and start playing with them.

Well, I as Germany, I maintain a sizable navy on G1, and after a few rounds of convoy disruption, I park it in SZ 112. This negates any possibility of an early Allied landing in W. Germany, as my naval defense would be 1 battleship, 1 cruiser, 1 destroyer, 1 aircraft carrier with 2 fighters, 1-3 subs, and I could scramble 3 fighters from W. Germany.

This really only leaves Normandy, Holland, and Norway open to invasion for the allies. Norway is a lost cost for Germany, it is far too hard to defend. I leave the 3 original infantry there mainly to prevent a lone transport from snatching 8 IPCs from me. But if the allies really want Norway, they are going to get it. However, Norway does not directly threaten Berlin, so it is not of huge strategic importance. That leaves only the Western Coastal territories for the Allies to invade, and my strategy is to keep a large German and Italian guard army in France, allowing easy counterattack opportunities for the axis, and preventing the allies from using their large airforce against my troops (Run-on sentence).

@WILD:

That’s a solid build for G4 Barbarossa. What do you buy G1 so you don’t tip off the allies. It’s been my experience that if you don’t threaten England G1 with some naval builds (or saving the bulk of your G1 income), Italy will feel the wrath. It normally ends up with mutual destruction of navy in the Med, but Italy has a much harder time recovering. It also makes it much easier for the US to finish them off turn 5 or so. If UK feels safe its Med navy could become expendable UK1.

Right, I forgot to mention G1 buys. On G1, I go all navy, buying 1 Aircraft Carrier, 1 destroyer, and 1 sub. The naval purchase means that London must shore up defenses, and I can hit the convoy in 109 with a sizable navy (approx 10 dice roles). So, with the naval purchase, I have more time to spend preparing for Barbarossa. I’m a fan of building a navy not just for the sea-lion feign, but for convoy disruption, and a powerful defense for my coasts, forcing the US and UK to spend money on naval vessels instead of just transports.

@Spendo02:

I’m a big fan of 10 Inf on G1.  It makes both Moscow and London have to play defensive - and if London doesn’t, you have 68-72 IPC to still be able to send 7 or so TT into London (and you WILL SBR London).

I don’t like waiting until G4 to attack Russia as if you strafe Yugo on G1 and retreat to Romania you’ll have somewhere on the level of 19 Inf, 3 Arm, 2 Art + Tac attacking E.Poland on G2.  With that 10 Inf purchase on G1 being put in Berlin, they will move into Poland on G2 and you’ll land your aircraft there stopping a Russian counter from Leningrad.

This sets up you to be able to send 19 Inf (minus losses in E.Poland) + 9 Arm + Tac + Bomber to hit Baltics on G3.  You don’t want to send your 10 Inf from Poland (that you bought on G1) into the Baltics, but into E.Poland to prevent the Russians from trying to flank you.  You’d then on G3 land all your aircraft in E.Poland and on G4 put an AB there so you can strike everywhere, including Moscow for SBR as early as G5 and you are about 2 turns out from hitting Moscow at that point with your ground units.

My problem with 10 infantry is that, although it does force UK to defend itself, you do not get to have a German naval presence. If you wait for G2 to build a navy, you miss a round of convoy disruption and you lose the early initiative in the Atlantic. I will admit however, that I am eager to try a 10 inf build, mainly for the possibility of a massive attack on G4, or like you suggested, G3.

@knp7765:

I’ve never really understood the idea of having Italy “can open” for Germany. I understand the idea, that Italy could take the front territories allowing Germany to blitz through with tanks and mechs to take better territories, especially if one of those is the Ukraine with it’s Minor IC.
The part I don’t understand is just how Italy is supposed to do this. Italy doesn’t have a lot of ground troops to start with. Even if Italy attacks I3, the most they could have in any one territory is 4 infantry, 2 artillery and 2 tanks. If they build a tank and mech I1, you could add that plus the 2 fighters and 1 bomber. Any builds after I1, unless it’s aircraft, could not reach Russian territories. Also, this would mean that Italy wouldn’t be attacking anything else in Europe unless it was by transported infantry from Southern Italy and that’s assuming the Brits didn’t kill off too much of the Italian navy.
What if the Russian player decides to defend heavy on the border? Then there is no way Italy can attack all three border territories with it’s small force, they would be doing good to hit just one of them and even that would eat up their force in the process. They might be able to help Germany that first round, but I think after that they wouldn’t have enough units unless you just kept sending mechs and tanks from Italy to Russia.
Which brings me to another point. If Italy is commiting so much to helping Germany in Russia, they will not be able to make much if any progress in the Med or Africa where most of Italy’s NOs are. So while Italy may end up being some small help to Germany, they will be doing almost nothing for their own economy and the Brits will trash them in the Med and Africa.

This is exactly where I am at. Even if Italy brings the 4 inf from Bulgaria to the Russia Front, Italy needs to devote some high caliber units to get any hits. 1 Italian fighter not in the Med makes a huge difference, and I never really have an opportunity to divert any tanks or hard hitting units to Russia. What can you buy as Italy that will still allow you to maintain your presence in the med?

@Vance:

Just wondering what you would plan on bringing into Russia on your G4 attack?  How many artillery and infantry?  Would it go in as one big force or split it up into north and south parts?  Would you reinforce with mechs, tanks or both?  What do you do with the infantry in Finland?

Well, with the money from G2, I would buy 6 art, 4 inf, and a minor IC in Romania (The rest for subs and strat bombers to kill UK). I would also take my starting transport and ferry 1 art and 1 inf to Finland each turn for three turns, and keeping my 3 inf in Norway to protect it from allied invasion. On G3 i will have 15 inf, 6 art in Poland, 7 inf, 3 art in Finland, about 11 infantry and 3 art in Romania, and 9 tanks and any surviving mechs from the Invasion of France ready to hit any Russian territory from Slovakia-Hungary.  Each turn afterwards, I build another 5 infantry, 5 art to form a constant stream of supplies towards Russia, along with 3 inf in Romania.

G4 is, in my opinion, the best time to declare war on Russia. It allows you to move 10+ men built from G2 to the front line, giving the Russians less counter-attack opportunities. This will increase your ability to push deeper into Russia, as long as you keep a steady stream of reinforcements behind that main assault force. It doesn’t matter that the Russians get more men, it is better for Germany if both countries have lots of men, then if both countries have only a few men.

Also, if you are attacking G4, it gives you more time to grind the UK down and give Italy some aid. If you build a navy and bulk up your airforce, the UK will be forced to defend their Island from SBR and convoy raiding.

@shohoku201:

@KillOFzee:

@Spendo02:

SZ111:  1 Ftr, 1 Tac, 2 Bomber, 2 SS, 1 BB
SZ110:  2 SS, 3 Ftr, 3 Tac
SZ106: 1 SS

This is optimal. If the British scramble they will most likely lose their planes, and sea lion will be easy. If they don’t, the UK navy will be wiped out, giving you obvious advantage.

Im sorry, i didn’t see that the BB was moved to seazone 111. In my attack plan, i would leave my BB in sz 112 to be built with a carrier so it is protected. Even if i don’t bring the BB, i still have an 80% victory chance if UK scrambles.

By attacking SZ 111 with Germany’s BB and not taking out UK’s DD in SZ 109, doesn’t that mean Germany’s BB will most certainly be destroyed by the DD and RAF on UK1?  Is this optimal?

@Spendo02:

SZ111:  1 Ftr, 1 Tac, 2 Bomber, 2 SS, 1 BB
SZ110:  2 SS, 3 Ftr, 3 Tac
SZ106: 1 SS

This is optimal. If the British scramble they will most likely lose their planes, and sea lion will be easy. If they don’t, the UK navy will be wiped out, giving you obvious advantage.

@Spendo02:

I also prefer trading German Ftr for UK Ftr.  Granted you never want to give up your aircraft, but it is much harder for London to survive if it scrambles its Ftrs because they just can’t replace them nearly as easily as the Germans can before G3 Sea Lion.  Trading 20-30 IPC to keep the UK on London until probably G5 is worth the investment.  It is PARTICULARLY annoying to have UK Ftr en masse around once the US starts landing in Normandy because the UK can just land all its Ftr on top of the ground units that survived, plus land units of its own.  I’d rather the UK have 2-3 Ftr instead of 5-7.

I agree with this strategy, and it is why I hit all of the UK seazones at once. I would rather destroy their navy which is harder to replace than protect 2 of my own planes. Also, if the UK does scramble, it puts them at a severe disadvantage during sea-lion which will be that much easier.

Now that I look at it, if the Germans are going to take Bulgaria, than they won’t need the factory on G2. So, it is probably better to give the Italians those infantry.

@Vance:

G4 is way too late.  The Soviet Red Army is too strong by then.

Like Alsch said, G4 is perfectly viable, especially if you build a minor IC in Romania. You can move more men along the eastern front with G4, most importantly the large army mobilized with the money from G2

Germany is the prime faction in axis and allies. It is more important than Japan (as in, it is better to have a better player as Germany rather than Japan), and sets the tone for every game.

Allies: Like munchie, i dislike the allies. To much waiting around for the US, who sometimes can’t even deliver. But if I had to choose, France, so I could die quickly and play as the axis again!

I have created a detailed format that I like to use as Germany, and it is primarily a G4 Barbarossa invasion based strategy.

G1: Purchase: 1 Aircraft carrier, 1 Destroyer, 1 sub
France: 7 inf, 3 art, 2 mech, 4 armor, 1 tac
S. France: 2 mech, 2 arm
Yugo: All German land units in range, plus 1 fight from Romania
SZ 110: 2 fights, 2 tacs, 2 strats, 2 subs
SZ 111: 2 fights, 2 tacs, 2 subs
SZ 106: 1 sub
Annex Norway: 1 inf, 1 art via transport
ANnex Bulgaria: 1 inf
Collect: 71

This first turn layout is my optimal choice for Euro axis strategy. By taking Southern France, you acquire a factory in the med, which offsets the Italians not taking S. France or Yugo. The two seazone attacks are 100% victory if UK does not scramble, and 80% plus if UK scrambles everything in both. At the end of your turn, you move a sizable force to the Eastern Front, whilst having 1 battle ship, 1 aircraft carrier (fully loaded), 1 cruiser, 1 destroyer, and 1 sub to protect your coast. This is also a perfect feign for sealion.

The Italian turn varies too much on UKs moves, but in general, I will attack Greece using my transports that survived, which allows them to remain under Italian air cover.

G2: Purchases: 5 inf, 5 art, 1 strat, 1 minor IC in Romania, 2 subs
Normandy/Bordeaux: Whatever Germans are left in France
Reinforce Finland: 1 inf, 1 art via transport
Move from Yugo to Romania
Collect: 54 IPCs

Granted, G2 all depends on what UK did. If they did not defend England properly, i will buy 6-7 transports and take it next turn. I like the 1:1 inf:art ratio here because I am transporting artillery from Poland to Finland, leaving me with little artillery in Poland. Again, this whole turn is variable, but generally, UK will shore up defenses in England and I will follow the moves listed above. If I don’t want to wait for G4 attack, I won’t build the factory.

As for Japan, a J2 or J3 attack is prime, preferably the latter, as my Germany strategies assumes a G4 attack on Russia.

Everything after this is to variable, other than a constant supply line of 6 infantry and 4 artillery being sent to Russia (plus 2 inf, 1 art in Romania).

@edfactor:

The last game I played I was the allies, and Germany didnt even pretend. He built 10 infantry on G1, and Japan attacked in the east. After that it was a simple march to Moscow. Right now I don’t see a way for the allies to stop it. Once Russia falls its pretty much over, the Germans can easily muster forces to hold Europe and send their stack of armor to Cairo.

If I saw that the axis were going for a 100% Moscow, the game would be a lot simpler for the allies. Italy would be wiped out with ease. So even if the axis got to Moscow, the allies have Rome in their back pocket and ready for more assaults in Northern Europe.

@Young:

Germany will always be the most fun to play in any version of A&A, IMO.

Da, General. I conkur with dat observation.

http://www.harrisgamedesign.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=6149

All setup changes, new rules, and new NOs are listed towards the bottom, in green.

@Spendo02:

Anyone have some new, different or unique strategy suggestions for the Axis?  I’ll be playing the Axis this weekend and am willing to try some new ideas.

I like the London/Ottawa take over. Just build the crap out of London once you take it and go for a Canadian invasion.

I would never try this myself, it just seems interesting. In my opinion, if your gonna devote a lot of time to play a global game, you should probably go for the standard win, otherwise you might just end up wasting an entire weekend for a few hours of “oh, this is interesting”. The most fun thing for me is a solid game of global, but if you wanna land Germans in Brazil, be my guest.

I have a question!

If I attack Mogolia the same turn I attack Amur, do all the strict neutrals on the Europe board become pro allies? Cuz that would SUCK.