Posts made by saburo sakai

The AAPacific rules do not permit the US to place an IC in Australia.

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Saburo Sakai
AAMC Commander of Tournaments and AAMC League

@Krieghund:

• The presence of an enemy destroyer prevents submerging in both games.

Kreighund,

This is the only statement that I think is incorrect.

The FAQ for AAPacific reads, in part, as follows:

Attacking subs, however, can move into a sea zone and immediately submerge (this is called sub-stalling – for an in-depth analysis of this essential tactic, see James Redford’s Explanation of Sub-Stalling essay).

Further, the rule book does not have any statement that a DD prevents a sub from submerging, only that it negates its first strike attack and that it permits planes to attack subs.

SS

Four 4 VP rounds for Japan is usually death for the Allies in either a 24 or 25 VP game.  If you allow Japan to get 4-4’s, Allies will usually lose.

The idea of securing Bonin islands is a good plan but you should also consider taking Marianas so that you can SBR 1 turn early.  However, Allies cannot neglect sending some forces to try to get Japan below the 4 VPs by J5.  This may take the form of subs to take away convoy routes, sufficient units to pry Japan out of Siam or FIC or some ground units to take Sumatra while blocking a Japanese counterattack.

SS

@a44bigdog:

Japan does a 4 VP opening which may or may not result in 4 VPs rd 1. On round 2 grab Northern Australia and Queensland. Using the Naval bases shuttle transports and fresh troops from Japan to French Indo-China to Northern Australia /Queensland. While this is going on try to take out as many UK convoy zones as possible and SBR India every turn. By the time the Allies have enough of a presence to start pushing Japan out of Australia Japan is ready to start slowly retreating. If possible redeploy the troops from Queensland to FIC. This ntes Japan 4 VPs a turn for around 4 turns or so and forces the Allies to Australia to respond to the heavy Japanese presence. It is similar to an invasion of Australia but without the actual capture of a planned invasion.

While all of your units are in Australia, what is preventing the Allied units in Asia from rolling up FIC, Siam, Malaya, Hongkong and the other IPC territories?

Moving units back to FIC will almost certainly be impossible, because by Round 3 or 4, the Allies will be in a position to substall any transports located in sz32.  Meanwhile, UK has almost certainly retaken Sumatra and the Americans will, as Kreighund has stated push submarines forward to cut convoy routes.  While a VP target of 22 might be attainable for Japan, I don’t think that 24 or 25 would work with this strategy.

In my experience, a large commitment of troops to Australia means that Japan must win by capturing and holding New South Wales or it will not win at all.

SS

I still come around once in a while.  I claim some expertise for AAPacific but none at all for the other A&A games.  I have played most of them, but there are many players more able than me who you should look to for strategy tips on AAR, 2nd Edition or the other versions of the game.

SS

I think I prefer to play Allies and if I have to choose among the Allies, I would prefer to play the US.

SS

With the corrected setup, the stall America strategy is more difficult because you aren’t able to move a sub to block the US move to sz14.

Generally, my Japanese tactic to delay the Allied advance into the Central Pacific is to commit a large force to sz28 and then to have large numbers of subs to slow down the advance later in the game.  Finally, committing the entire IJN to sz38 with CAP fighters from the Philippines late in the game usually allows Japan to hold on for the VP victory.

SS

@LT04:

As Japan what nation should you go after first?

LT

India is the easiest target.

Well, I won’t give away all my secrets and I will say that my opening depends a little on what I think I want to do in the game and sometimes depends on who I am playing.  But, a standard opening will see the following:

Capture Anhwe, Kiangsi, Hongkong, Malaya, sz46, sz44, sz43, Java, sz38, Philippines, New Britain, New Guinea, Midway, Solomon Islands, sz15.  I would also attack sz9.

I would attack sz38 with at least 7 attacking units to ensure the sub there is killed in the first round to prevent it from diving.  In sz27, my attack includes 2 DD and 1 BB to ensure the sub there is killed.  I hold the sub and transport from sz26 out of combat to be used in NCM.  My attack on Midway includes 2 infantry and 1 fighter and the attack on sz9 includes 2 subs and 5 fighters.

On NCM, I move the sub from sz26 to sz28 and the transport from sz26 picks up the infantry from Marshall Islands and drops them in New Guinea.  The ACs from sz20 and the fighters from sz9 move to sz27.  I land a couple of fighters in FIC along with fighters on Formosa.  Bombers are sometimes in Formosa and sometimes in FIC.  The BB and AC from sz45 end up in sz43 and I use a DD to capture sz46 convoy route.

That’s a basic opening.  Like I said, sometimes I change that up.

SS

Just a couple of things before I comment on the strategy.

First, you said that you used the standard AAP rules/setups.  Is that the corrected setup in accordance with the FAQ?

Second, you said you captured Sumatra, Malaya, Borneo, Java (among others).  You did not say that you captured New Britain and you said that you moved the AC from FIC to New Britain.  There’s a few things wrong with that statement.  You couldn’t move the FIC AC to New Britain without capturing New Britain.  Did you do that?  Next, you used the BB off Java.  Did you capture the convoy routes in sz46 and sz47?  You don’t have enough naval units to capture sz43, sz46 and sz47 if you move the AC to sz27.  This may not be key to your strategy, but it does mean you can’t get 4 VPs for J1.

I think my likely response to your move of the fleet to sz20 would be to completely ignore it.  I would vigorously counterattack all of your other units around the board - transports or DD in sz47, sz33, sz39 and sz15.  I would move the US fleet to sz14 along with all ground units and I would build 5 bombers for the US placed in US, not Hawaii.

It would be interesting, but I think Japan’s fleet would be out of position to defend a vigorous US/UK attack into the Pacific Islands.  By the time the Japanese repositioned themselves, the Allied forces would already be taking back islands.

Just my thoughts.

SS

@Haacon:

Hi, I am a fan of the “normal” Axis and Allies and play int since several years. Now a friend of mine has bought the pacific version, we played it a couple of time and I must say, I’m quite dissapointed. Maybe we play it in the wrong way, because we`re used to the other version, but in non of our games the allies had even a chance to win the game.
During the first turn the Japaneese player kills much of the allied fleet and in round two he owns all of the Islands in the south western pacific. The british have enought to do with protecting their capitols, and even if they manage to do so, Japan has 10 to 15 Victory-Points, at the moment the US-Player has a new fleet, that is big enough to be dagerous for the Japaneese ships. From that point on the allied can start to conquer back their territories, but its quite impossible to do so fast enough, to prevent the Japaneese player from winning by victory points.

What goes wrong with us?

The Out of Box rules for AAPacific are heavily slanted in favour of Japan.  Equally capable players will see that Japan will almost always win.  To even our the game, give the Allied players 12 extra IPCs to spend (one time only) at the start of Allies 1.  The Allied player allocates these extra IPCs among India, Australia and US before J1.  This is in addition to the convoy money that is split between Australia and UK.  Finally, have Japan play to 24 IPCs.  Leave everything else the same and you will see that the game is well balanced.

SS

Those rules make yours a completely different game.  So, I don’t really have much to add from a strategy perspective.  It’s not really AAPacific at all.  It is simply an A&A-type game played on the AAPacific map.  Sounds like fun, though.

SS

@Lisi7266:

Playing with the new rules advises the Japanese to eliminate all potential allied air bases (Guam, Wake) behind the front. If not accomplished, the Americans can terrorize Japanese transports, or even bomb Japan if the Chinese capture Shangtung or Manchuria.

The US can bomb Japan if it captures Shantung or Manchuria whether or not it holds Guam and Wake.  Both Shantung and Manchuria are in range to move bombers from Hawaii in one turn.  They do not need staging areas in Wake or Guam.  If the Allies move bombers alone to Wake or Guam (certainly Guam, not so much Wake), Japan can counterattack with massive force and wipe out the bomber fleet before it can SBR the next turn.  The Allies can only make use of airbases in range of Japan if they can prevent a Japanese counterattack.  Therefore, SBR bases are really only viable around Allies 4 or 5, by which time the Allies can move forward sufficient fleet and ground units to either block or discourage such a counterattack.

I say again, you do not need to capture Wake or Guam and certainly not Gilbert Islands.  The last is not in range of anything that is not already in range of Hawaii, Australia or carrier based aircraft.

Under your rules, do the Chinese and US move separately?  Perhaps that’s the crucial difference.

SS

I can’t imagine why you would ever want Gilbert Islands, Wake or Guam.  Solomon Islands is certainly much better than Gilbert Islands and Midway is a better take than Wake.  You really don’t need Guam when you already have an airbase in Marianas.

I’ve previously posted a 4 VP J1 opening strategy.  It’s probably not far off of what you are proposing, with the exception that I would never intentionally leave the sz20 CVs in Marianas.  They are much better off moving to sz27 when you capture Midway and New Britain.

The strategy you are proposing may, of course, be viable considering you’re using altered rules and setup (cruisers from AARe, amended prices defense/attack values).  Do people actually play Pacific that way?

SS

The answer to your questions is Yes.  In fact, the primary strategic use of Kamikazes is to kill US/UK transports and prevent the Allies from setting up an SBR base for use against Japan.  Kamikazes can be used either during the Allies Combat Movement phase or during the Japanese Combat phase whether or not there are other Japanese units participating in the attack or defence.

SS

@EEB:

Yeah, I guess that’s true. But what if I keep a large fleet parked at midway to kill any ships he builds? would that be diverting to much from the central and southern pacific or is that an okay strategy?

A large fleet parked at Midway can’t reach sz5.  Any units in sz5 can move to sz14 on NCM, so the naval units you were going to kill will simply sail away or live to be reinforced and then kill the IJN next turn.

SS

For one thing, I don’t know how large your fleet could possibly be after J1 considering you are doing an air only attack against sz5 and presumably attacking sz9 as well.

If you do an air only attack on sz5, any suriving fighters have to land on the ACs moving to sea zone 4, 6 or 7.  They cannot be supported by other naval units in those sea zones and the US likely takes a big chunk out of them on US1 with surviving air force, naval units and subs.

On J2, the only naval units that will be able to reach sz5 are 3 ACs (if they survive).  Sea Zone 20 is 3 moves away.  The US can reinforce sz5 with the units from sz11 and sz3 and the sub in sz5 will survive.  Any builds the US adds would be in addition to that.  If I was the US, I would build 9 subs on US 1 and put them in sz5.  Japan can’t touch them with anything except the 3 ACs.  On US 2, I attack your fleet with 9 subs and all remaining air and likely wipe it out.  Meanwhile, I’ve built another 9 subs or 5 bombers as well.

You can try your strategy, but I don’t think it would work.

Any Industrial Complex captured by Japan can be used as an SBR target by the US.  If you do as you suggest, the US can bomb Japan back to the stone age.  It may result in a longer game but Japan will almost certainly lose.

Don’t capture Hawaii.

SS

I did 12 essays for AAPacific.  I just noticed that the last 2 did not get posted to the strategies section of A&A.org.  They are available in the AAPacific forum.

SS