@ItIsILeClerc:
I really like what Ike said about this.
You should turn around and to the exact opposite of what you have been doing for years.
Go for either 8 or 6 VC for an axis win, because if the axis go for a slow buildup, ignoring any VC’s and just go fo an economic advantage during the first 14 turns or so, the game will indeed too easily drag on into the 25+ turn area before -hopefully- a winner can be determined and that’s not even certain. It may cost you 30 to 50 hours of playing, depending on your playspeed.
Seeing that games that last even only 15+ turns need a lot of careful and balanced (calculated) moving, my experience is that games lasting longer in turns also last disproportionally longer in time.
To make a long story short:
if you want a clear winner in a shorter amount of time, agree with each other that the allies will be declared winner if the game lasts beyond a certain point no matter what (say, turn 15 or so, but a ‘line in the sand’ must be drawn).
This forces the axis into going after a VC-win and will therefore make for a shorter game (still worth 10 to 15 turns of play). It may be arbitrary for this game but it is true to history. In reality, the USA alone could have defeated both Germany and Japan (Germany after Japan) in an indefinite amount of time. But the USA wasn’t alone. There also were the Commonwealth and Russia…
Given seasoned play on both sides, axis not going for a VC win and just building up their economy will indeed just result in a concession game (I’d call it a draw) unless you are willing to play like 50 turns or so ;-). I think this is THE weak spot of the current VC-rules.
I really appreciate everyone’s thoughts and insights. I’ll be bringing all of the points up and it looks like there is a general consensus that confirmed my initial fear/intuition (given enough time the allies will ultimately prevail/comeback no matter what the axis do). Either way, this is clearly the most fun we’ve ever had and we won’t be stopping either way (we probably all just enjoy the good fight and 50 rounds wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world! ). Thanks again!