Is this game balanced? Not as far as I can tell. The CPs have a huge hurdle to cover- namely Paris. After a few games that I’ve played Paris has never been seriously threatened- and the biggest obstacle has been supply lines from Berlin. But this has been my most successful strategy:
Austria (26 IPCs)
Purchase:
1 Fighter, 1 Submarine, 2 Inf, 2 Art
Movement:
Venice- Tyrolia and Trieste Armies (12 Inf, 4 Art) attack 6 Inf, 2 Art
Serbia- 4 Inf, 2 Art from Budapest attack 3 Inf, 1 Art - Minimal attack on Serbia- no reason to get too many units stuck down there.
Romania- 8 Inf from Budapest and 6 Inf, 2 Art from Galicia (14 Inf, 2 Art) attack 5 Inf, 1 Art -The Army in Romania will be the Austrian contingent in Russia- All other purchases will go to Trieste, then into Italy.
Tyrolia- 6 Inf, 2 Art from Bohemia
Trieste-10 Inf, 2 Art from Vienna
Galicia-2 Inf from Vienna
-The Austrian strategy is to move as much as possible to Rome as quickly as possible. The purchased fighter will most likely ensure air supremacy in Italy.
-If Russia presses hard into Galicia, which I suppose they could, the Romanian Army along with purchased units in Vienna could hit the Russian stack.
-If Russia hits Romania hard, the idea is the Ottomans would come to help through Bulgaria.
-If the Allies activate Albania early, just bypass it. It should not be enough to threaten Trieste. If it attacks Serbia, then use portions of Trieste/Romania/Budapest forces to counter. Use the minimum possible forces- it is better to contest a territory in the Balkans and have a few more Inf fighting in Russia and/or Italy.
-Why buy a submarine? Well, you are growing the Austrian navy and threatening the med at minimal cost. with 26 IPCs to spend, more than 6 on navy seems counterproductive; and if you don’t spend it your Navy may be toast quickly. ‘Fleet in being’ at its finest. Perhaps in a couple turns with more IPCs rolling in you could opt to buy Battleships instead of Subs.
Germany (35 IPCs)
Purchase: 1 Submarine, 1 Fighter, 2 Artillery, 5 Infantry
Movement:
If Russia stacked Poland with 18+ Infantry and 6+ Artillery, then move Berlin Army (13 Inf, 3 art, 1 ftr), Hanover Army (6 Inf), Prussia Army (5 Inf, 3 Art) - leave 1 Inf in Prussia) to Silesia- to have 30 Infantry, 8 Art, 1 Ftr.
If Russia did not stack Poland, should attack Poland with Silesia and Prussia Armies (And Berlin Fighter). The Hanover and Berlin Army move to Silesia for reinforcements.
In either case, the starting Berlin, Hanover, Prussia, and Silesia Armies are the German contingent in Russia.
Belgium- 7 Inf, 3 Art from Alsace, 7 Inf, 3 Art from Ruhr attack 3 Inf, 1 Art.
Alsace- 1 Inf from Munich
Ruhr- 10 Inf, 3 Art from Munich, 3 Inf, 4 Art from Kiel.
SZ 9- 1 BB, 2 Cruisers, 2 Submarines vs. 1 BB, 2 Cruisers, 1 Transport (Hopefully this goes well)
SZ 2- 2 Submarines vs. 1 Cruiser, 1 Transport
Africa- um, yeah- Run around a bit, try and survive, make the Allies attack at low odds if possible.
-German strategy is to hit Russia as hard as possible early to force them into Revolution, and play defensive on the western front for as long as possible.
-All new purchases are meant for Paris. If necessary, a temporary retreat from Belgium to Ruhr is OK as long as you are making headway into Russia.
-Buying a Submarine is an effort to slowly build up the Navy. The longer the Navy survives (bring back survivors from SZ 9 back to SZ 10 turn 2), the more ships the allies have to buy and the less help the British can send to Russia (through the Baltic). Cannot afford Battleships until you get a few territories in Russia, but recommend adding some in later rounds.
Ottoman Empire (16 IPCs)
Purchase: 2 Inf, 2 Art
Movement:
Bulgaria- 6 Inf, 2 Art from Constantinople (to activate the 5 Inf, 1 Art) - Ottoman Russian Contingent #1
The rest of Ottoman moves depend on what Britain did, but generally:
Play defensive against Britain; make them attack with low odds- you want them to spend money in India.
Mesopotamia- 6 Inf, 1 Art from Ankara (to add to the 2 Inf, 1 Art) - Ottoman Russian Contingent #2 -or- If Britain attacked Persia, then it fights on this front (depending on how many troops are needed).
Britain probably attacked Trans-Jordan, and there’s nothing you can do about it. With luck it is still contested. Doesn’t matter- you leave your Smyrna and Syrian Desert Armies in place.
-Ottoman strategy is thus- supply two Armies to Russia and the rest is spent fighting Britain in India and/or Trans-Jordan. The best outcome for the Ottoman Empire is to take a couple Russian territories and to threaten India and/or Africa so much that Britain is forced to spend a lot of IPCs down there- and not on the Western Front.
What do you guys think?