What if the Russian player lends a fighter to the UK fleet on Rus1?

That makes the odds a lot stronger for UK.

It just doesn’t seem logical. You can see it coming so well, and thus prepare for it.

So this is what you’re bringing to the fight, optimally. This is assuming nothing is killed, and all the transports manage to come.

7 inf
7 tanks
6 fighters
1 bomber.

Let’s do more assuming. Assume that you managed to get 6 IPCs from England. And kill the SZ1 Transport. This is all best possible outcomes, right?

So England buys 8 men. Russian fighters are out of range.

12 Infantry
2 Artillery
2 Artillery
3 Fighters
2 Bombers

Frood says your chances are at about 65 to have anything left. That isn’t that bad. But if anything goes wrong, the odds could quickly worsen.

If Russia manages to have its fighters in range, and you don’t manage to strategically bomb UK, or your mediteranean sub gets shot down (all things that are very possible…), or any airplanes get shot down…

6 Infantry
6 Tanks
5 Fighters
1 Bomber

9 Infantry
2 Artillery
5 Tanks
5 Fighters
2 Bombers

You have statistically a 0.1% chance of making it.

And that seems like the outcome that would most likely hapen. And if you fail to capture the UK, you have absolutely no point in playing the game. It seems dumb to risk the whole game in the first 10 minutes. You might as well roll dice to just decide who wins.

An example of this is Germany 1 in Egypt.

Aren’t you allowed to move, for example, the transport, the battleship, and let’s say 3 fighters into the seazone above Egypt (with a UK defender) and then allocate the transport and battleship for amphibious assault, and the three fighters for the destroyer?

I’m pretty sure that if the three fighters fail to kill the destroyer, in that situation the transport and battleship would be forced to retreat.

Correct? That’s the way I’ve been playing it.

It depends a lot on the point in the game, and which country.

I guess if I had to pik one place that I’d rather have a stack in than an enemy having a stack in, it might be West Russia.

A stack of Infantry in West Russia just gives a whole lot of opportunity. I’m pretty certain that it borders the most territories (7!). Tanks can possibly move into a whopping 14 terrorities.

Most hate to lose

USA - Western US
UK - India
Germany - Western Europe
Russia - Caucus
Japan - Kwangtung (If only because if I lose it I feel like I’m really in trouble) or East Indies (4 points is a lot, and it’s a two turn job, rather than Borneo being just one)

Most want to gain (realistically/relatively short term)

USA - Western Europe
UK - Norway
Germany - Caucus
Russia - West Russia
Japan - India

These territories are ones that make me feel like I’m in business. West Russia less than the other ones, because that’s a first turn given.

Seazones 5, 7, 12, and 60 are major.

So I was just thinking about this side of the map on turn one.

My somewhat predictable best friend and nemesis is likely to load 6 men on Buryatia on Russia 1. He loves ICs in India and Sianking.

Would it be worth it to forego attacking Pearl Harbour to load send a heavy attack into Buryatia (with 6 inf stationed there) and China?

I can’t remember my exact figures but it was something like this.

Into Buryatia

1 Infantry 1 Tank (on the transport)
2 Infantry from Manchuria
1 Fighter from Japan
1 Fighter from Manchuria
1 Fighter from Carolina Islands AC
Bomber from Japan

Into China

3 Inf from Kwangtung
1 Inf from FIC (I think leaving one behind is the best solution in case there’s a tank blitz or anything. I’d be okay trading FIC for one turn to make sure that I’m in a good position for J2 and J3)
Fighter from FIC
2 Fighter from AC in East Indies

I’m assuming that my transport outside of Kwangtung is dead. If it isn’t, then all the happier for me.

Running this into Frood (wow how fun was it when I found out about this!) it looks like what should happen (…never what seems to actually happen though with real dice haha) is that I’d end up like this.

In the seas (after I buy 2 transports, 3 inf and a tank)

SZ 60
1 BB
3 Transports
1 Destroyer
1 Sub
1 AC

SZ59 (if destoyer there where my transport should be… otherwise, either in 36 or 60… honestly not sure which is better. what do you think? double bombardments sound pretty sweet. And consolidation is always the way, isn’t it?)
1 BB
1 AC

Land

FIC
1 Inf

Kwangtung
A whole mess of fighters… hopefully 6 Fighters

China
2 Inf

Buryatia
0-1 Infantry, 1 Tank depending on dice.

I feel like that puts mainland asia in a pretty strong position. The bad news…

Pearl Harbour is still sitting there, waiting to be united. This is just asking the US player to go heavy Pacific. But I have a potential fleet of ass kicking proportions, right? I just don’t think they’d win a naval battle any time soon. 2 AC, 2 BB, 1 Sub, 1 Destroyer, 3 Transports is a lot of dice and a lot of lives. And obviously if I saw them coming towards me I would send out 4 fighters onto the 2 AC. It’d be carnage.

The other big bad is that there’s still a UK fleet outside of India (or wherever they fled to) and I’m very far away from threatening Australia/Africa.

Is it worth it to speed up mainland asia and also to destroy the 6 russian infantry on the first turn? It just is pretty frustrating if he sends his russian fighters east. The six men with the two fighters can really cause some ruckus.

How do you feel? The numbers for the attacks seem to be pretty solid. I just don’t know how dangerous the pearl fleet can be. Honestly it isn’t that many boats.

The UK fleet off the coast of India just seems vulnerable and weak.

How do you feel about turn 1 uniting the transport, destroyer, AC and fighter with the transport and sub from Australia?

I was thinking of a pacific-oriented UK game that works with that….

The two obvious choices are a first turn IC in Aus or South Africa. I feel like an Indian IC would be too risky for this game because if you aren’t building 3 infantry or tanks a turn there you will lose it soon as all get out.

A fleet of a fully loaded AC, destroyer, sub, two transports looks pretty good. Buy a South Africa IC and then a battleship down there on UK 2. That is something that Japan will have to contend with. A medium sized US fleet combined with that will be able to remove Japan from the seas. The South Africa IC won’t go to waste either, as it’s a great way to keep Africa British in the early game.

Russia could be under pretty serious threat from Germany, but the pacific fleet in the UK wouldn’t need many more turns of reinforcing. Spend the first 2 or 3 turns buying for the Pacific and then after that play a relatively standard either reinforce russia with Inf or land D-Day UK.

What do you think?

Cheers. How important is it do you think to introduce LHTR? We are definitely playing out of the box rules right now, but I am honestly a bit sick of being reduced so quickly to 0 IPCs. It makes the game possibly get to a have to give up point by turn 6, and that’s just crap. And maybe I’m wrong, but I’m not big on risking the whole game on the fact that I’ll be able to reduce his IPCs. I want to buy lots of units and kill lots of stuff. That’s just my personality I guess =P.

Anyways, so this is my general strategy for the next game we play, me as Allies. Tell me if this checks out. (sorry if I’m asking so many dumb questions… the replies I’ve gotten have been awesome!)

Russia - Do everything I can to not lose any starting tanks/fighters/artillery. Pretty obvious, really. Build infantry and infantry and infantry each turn, and a tank with any bonus money I might have. Stack up and then hit and run to reduce Germany’s infantry to deter attacks, and if a tank stack is available to attack/destroy go for it. The thing I’m not sure how to do is reduce Germany’s airforce. They can just cause lots of problems.

Russia is pretty straightforward really. Stack up and try to not die.

UK - The thing I worry about is losing India. I don’t want to build a complex there because I just don’t want to give them it if I lose it and I don’t want to commit 15 a turn to it. Keep my fleet back in SZ2 for a while until it can be big enough to look ‘don’t mess with me’ and then bombard Western or Eastern Europe, or Norway with infantry until the cows come home. I figure the best thing to do with the Indian fleet is to use the destroyer to kill the Japan transport and send the rest around Africa and then use it as basically a free transport/AC build on turn 4 or so.

Let’s say I build 3 fighters first turn and then use them on UK2 to kill the german fleet in the baltic. Is it dangerous to send these fighters into Russia to help defend? I’m pretty sure that’s a good idea, but I just don’t want to accidentally lose them.

If India/Australia/Africa get taken over and UK gets reduced income, is it basically Russia (India) or USA (Africa/Pacific) 's job to take em back?

USA

I’m a bit lost. I don’t want to just double-bomb him in Germany until I win. That seems lame. But I always lose the plot with America and don’t focus my resources well. Send all my men into Eastern Canada and then get enough transports to send like 6 inf and 2 tanks a turn into UK and then load them into Germany? And save Africa if it gets taken?

Looking up into this strategy, it looks like Japan will by turn 4 be destroying the world, and I’ll still be not quite there enough to really hurt Germany? Just stay the course and trust that by turn 5 or 6 I’ll be storming D-Day so hard the game will swing my way? I just don’t want to half-commit to stopping Japan. That just means that eventually Japan will be so so strong with the Sianking and India supply centre.

I guess what I’m asking is how do I slow Japan enough to not die? I’d love some responses, but I’ll also check out some SJF (that’s what it is, right?) strats.

Sorry for all the text. I’m a neurotic guy who hates losing. =P

THANKS!

So I play this game lots with my friend, but I’ve lost an embarrassing amount of games in a row now (something like 8). I’m just depressed about it.

We play just the two of us, so we trade off doing Axis or Allies… so I have no real life allies to worry about.

This is generally what he does.

As Allies

Russia

• As many inf as possible, and a tank or two if he has extra money. At least 4 and 4 inf in Moscow and Caucus if he can manage it. He sends the all men east of Moscow to congregate in Buryana (the one right above the northmost Chinese Japan provence) and sends the planes into Sianking, which has a few russian infantry in it. Presses the attack into Germany.

UK

Industrial Complex in South Africa and India. 3 Tanks a turn into India (from what I gather his strategy is basically a KJF strategy)

3 tanks every turn into India, and some into South Africa if it needs to be reclaimed. Then when he doesn’t need to worry about Japan any more he builds transports and men to nail me in Germany.

USA

Supply Center in Sianking and bombers, every turn researching double bombers until he gets it.

Last game we played I was axis and Japan was a monster. I completely countered his stuff by sending in some transported men from germany into India and Japan was up to like 48 IPCs a turn with a complex in Kwangtung, Sianking, and India. But all of that didn’t matter, because I couldn’t shoot down any of his double bombers. Over the 5 or so turns that America did nothing but buy double bombers, I shot down one. What do I do in this situation? He had a stack of 5 double bombers in the UK… so I sent in a last ditch effort to kill them with my airfleet. He had 3 men and 3 tanks there with 5 bombers, and I sent in 7 fighters and a bomber. What a waste. He had 2 tanks left and all the bombers.

I just couldn’t compete. What do you do in a situation where you have 20 or less IPCs a turn, and very very quickly end up with 0 IPCs a go? I just resigned at that point. I ended up playing Japan way too fast and risky when that happened and lost India and Sianking back to the good guys.

Argh.

Anyways… I don’t know what to do against double bombers. If I just can’t manage to roll any 1s (literally 1 out of 35 or so attempts) I feel like I just have to roll over and die.

And his strategy as the Axis…

He builds loads of men with germany and advances into Russia to take moscow ASAP. Builds some transports with Japan and goes into Russia from there.

Personally I think I just get distracted. I don’t want to spend all of my stuff in Japan, but it seems like when I try to kill Germany first and worry about Japan afterwards I can’t manage to do it.

I’ve had bad luck, but I’m clearly doing something wrong.

We’re playing again soon with me as the Allies. Help a poor loser out.

I know he’s going to invade Egypt with the transport and kill the ships in the Med. I always feel like I leave a vulnerable spot with Russia. What’s the best thing to do with Russia’s first turn to keep getting at least 24 IPCs a turn?

Japan will build transports and then a supply center in Kwangtung to just ferry loads of men into Russia.

What should I be doing best to stop this? Is a supply center in India a good investment? How do I stop/slow Japan without a centre in Sianking and India?

I’m just having trouble setting up a decent system of the correct buys and transport chains to correctly invade places. Especially as UK and America. Last time I was Allies I united the UK and USA fleet into the sea zone near Algeria… but they all got destroyed. What do I do about that? I had 4 transports, a destroyed and a battleship and his airforce destroyed them all without losing a single plane. That has to be bad luck. Honestly, what are the odds?

I’m just rambling now… just sick of losing.

Cheers for any helpful responses.