About to start first global game with axis (2nd edition). basic strategy?


  • As stated above, I’m about to embark on my first global game with my uncle and brother.

    We’ve been playing 1942 second edition for a while now but this is our first time for Global second edition.

    Looking at Germany, Italy and Japan I’m trying to think of same basic strategies to victory and i’m sure some of the same rudimentary strategy from 1942 applies, but with the new country bonus income and it being my first time, I’m not too sure.

    Could someone give me a couple pointers moving forward into my first game.


  • hmmm, well, japan can win independently from germany, you dont need to rush russia before they rush germany.  An important thing is trying to be threatening on both sides to make it difficult for the US to focus on one side or the other.


  • Germany should have 100% focus on russia, and not put too much into navy (besides 1 or 2 destroyers) in most games, while japan needs to get the dutch islands and to prevent india from becomming a fortress too soon.  This usually involves a J1 or J2 DoW on the western allies.

  • '21 '19 '18 '17 '16

    1.  Does your uncle or brother read the forums?
    2.  Are you playing as Axis or Allies?
    3.  Read Cow’s thread on playing Japan.  Even if you aren’t as aggressive a player as he is, the thread is very valuable for discussing the advantages of Japan going on J1, J2, or J3.  Waiting till J4 is possible but gives the US and UK way too much time to fix their position on the Pacific map.
    4.  Pick matching strategies between Germany and Japan.  No point trying Sea Lion as Germany if Japan is doing a J1 DOW.
    5.  At least pretend to be trying Sea Lion as Germany to make the UK react.  Buying a few transports as Germany lets you threaten Sea Lion and then amphibiously assault Novgorod.
    6.  Germany can crush London and Japan can crush India, proper UK defense is to make either conquest too painful to carry out, not impossible.
    7.  Italy is tough but fun to play.  You don’t have enough of anything so be careful to choose national objectives to carry that you can accomplish.  Grovel to Germany to give you Bulgaria and the free infantry.
    8.  Russia, buy lots of infantry and be willing to retreat
    9.  US, spend money on both fronts.  It’s frustrating to be winning in Europe only to realize that Japan is going win.
    10. China, learn to enjoy life as a punching bag for the Japanese
    11. UK, buy lots of infantry to guard London and Calcutta, then save either Cairo or Gibraltar.  Keep your fleet out of the Med till the US arrives.
    12. ANZAC, I usually tried to build a mini fleet but in the last few games have noticed that buying land units the first few turns to make Australia very invasion resistant is very effective.  Grab Java, DNG if Japan gives you time, then hunker down in Australia for a while.
    13.  France, you get to be Germany’s punching bag.


  • I do not believe they do…My brother might

    I will be the Axis…

    and forgive me for not understanding all the jargon yet, but what does J1, J2, etc mean?


  • J1 means Japan’s first turn. The turn labeling system used here has the power’s first letter and the round number.

  • '22 '20 '19 '18 '17 '16 '15 '14 '12

    In invading russia, use Italy to take territory that Germany can then move into and land planes.  Makes it really hard for the USSR to counterattack.


  • This is more a micro suggestion than a macro suggestion, but a method of playing the Axis that I’ve picked up from Stalingradski on this site, is to purchase a naval unit and an air unit every turn as Germany, even as you advance on the USSR. The longer your Atlantic Wall holds through Naval and Aerial Supremacy, the longer you have to overwhelm the Soviets with superior numbers. The idea being that if you’re making a mad dash to Moscow with Mechs and Tanks, and the Soviets are able to trade Infantry for your pricier pieces, you’re much more at the mercy of a couple of bad dice. Whereas if you can delay an Allied landing in western Europe or north Africa for a few turns, you not only ensure much much better odds of capturing Moscow because of the extra cheap Infantry you can get to the front in time, but you increase the chances that you’ll be able to claim Cairo soon thereafter.

    Allowing the Allies to get a foothold in Europe or north Africa while the game is still undecided makes your life a lot harder. The ounce of prevention keeps Italy (Germany’s soft underbelly) alive and allows you to fight a one-front war against an enemy that you should be able to economically overwhelm. Granted, it’s not an easy task in the game (mirroring history - that’s a LOT of coastline to defend), but it’s easier to defend with navy supported by air than it is to keep enough forces to defend multiple locations on land.

    You use G1 to wipe out as much UK navy as possible. Take a look at some sample forum games for some standard opening sequences - you don’t have enough resources for all your objectives, but you should be able to get him down to just one seazone of ships. With your due attention on G1, and if you can keep the Americans out of the war until after you’ve had 4 German turns, you should get the upper hand in the Atlantic and be able to prevent the UK from putting a navy together until at least then. If you don’t take care of business with the UK navy early, he’s able to add to his forces or hide them until they can merge with the Americans, and you’ve lost the Battle of the Atlantic – at that point it 's only a matter of time until the Allies are landing and making a two or three front war for you. It severely limits your options, makes taking Moscow extremely time-dependent (and a one-shot deal), and makes you need to commit resources reactively instead of proactively.

    You don’t want to have to buy what the Allied player wants you to buy, you want to make him buy what you want him to buy. That’s the reason that G1 is so scripted. It all works together: The 1 Carrier and 2 Transport buy, keeping the Soviets and the Americans out of the war, attacking UK navy, the land grabs in Europe to boost IPCs so that you can threaten to purchase 9-10 transports on G2 – it all makes the Allies reactive. He wants to neuter Italy with a UK1 Taranto raid, make a Mech purchase for South Africa, and drop a Cairo IC – you put him in a position that if he does it, then he loses (because if you don’t do that, and he does do it, and you don’t make him pay, then you have no chance to win on the Europe map).


  • It’s just a small point, but I moderately disagree that Italy should get Bulgaria. Germany needs those 4INF for the battle for Moscow. If you are playing Italy as a can-opener on the Russian front (as you should), you are likely to encounter zero resistance from the Soviets. If the Soviets trade an infantry for a 33% chance to kill an Italian infantry, that’s a win for the Axis. If they throw a stack up that could halt or damage an Italian advance (lets say 6INF), the Germans will obliterate that stack at the cost of 2INF (in this example). As long as the German stack can kill the Soviet stack and survive a Soviet counter, there’s no reason for the Soviets to expose any pieces to the Axis advance – the Soviets know that the ultimate goal is to have the best odds on a battle for Moscow and they don’t get those odds by trading pieces at a 3-for-1 deficit in Eastern Poland (or wherever).


  • I love Italy, but only give them Greece and what they can get in Africa.
    Bulgaria is German when I play.


  • Aim for Japan to get an AB built in Suiyuyan and fly the Japanese Air Force to Leningrad after the Germans occupy it.  Will definitely throw the Allies for a loop with all those Japanese aircraft hunting down any allied ships in the Atlantic or a for a suicide run to soften Moscow for Germany to finish it off.

    I’d expect most players new to global to concede after Moscow falls and only Egypt is left for the European VC win.

  • TripleA

    Just have fun. These games can be very long… Which is why I like to go wild in live games.

    prepare to invade london with germany, remember to buy a carrier and 2 transports for the first round or carrier destroyer sub. Second round if you have not purchased a destroyer on the first, buy one and the rest transports. prepare to invade!

    Have italy kill the french naval or ram into the stuff by gibraltar, because you don’t want that defending london.

    Sea lion is real fast, you get london on germany round 3 or you don’t. Russia pushes in europe and you kick him out or you don’t. Simple as that.

    As far as Japan goes, that is up to you.  The simplest strategy is to draw an imaginary line from Japan to calcutta… and take everything along the way and the dutch islands.

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