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No. UK still controls Malaya. If Japan captured Malaya, then another Allied power recaptured it while Japan still held India, that power would then control Malaya and could build an IC there.
Lets talk UK builds…
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I think the Allies win or lose on how the UK does it’s builds. However, I dont think I have hit upon a good combo (Allies usually lose in my games). The way I see it, UK has to goals: 1) survive and 2) somehow mount a threat to Japan’s gains by UK 4 (especially if Japan leaves a vulnerable underbelly)
So, here is what I have been playing with:
UK turn 1) 3 ART or, possibly 2 Armor
turn 2) Tac Bomber (with money left over from turn 1)
turn 3) INF (2 or 3 if you are lucky)
turn 4) if things are going well - Transport. If things are nasty, INF.
The problem is that by turn 2 UK’s income usually looks no better than ANZAC and stopping a concerted push may be impossible and building a navy is straight out. That said, if things go reasonably well, by UK3 there should be one or two spots along the coast that may be vulnerable to counter-attack and Armor is the best way to exploit that opportunity.
I’m not sold though - anyone have any luck with a particular set of UK builds?
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Think of UK in this game as you would Russia in the original game.
On turn 1 you should start building your defensive infantry stack.
Continue to build infantry until the Americans come to the rescue.
Hopefully you can survive that long. After a J1 attack the future looks bleak for UK.
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I think Britain should be building infantry along with a few artillery and a couple mech infantry. This will give India strong defense while also allowing for a counter-attack if possible and some flexibility.
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Hopefully you can survive that long. After a J1 attack the future looks bleak for UK.
I think UK going all out defensive plays right into Japan’s hands - and am not sure its the best way to play. It doesn’t guarantee the UK’s survival and gives Japan free run on the Asian continent. Just building INF means the UK has no options except to watch Japan march into SE Asia and sit on the Indian border until they are comfortable to attack… an INF-only build plan leaves India with less than 5 IC and totally defensive by J3 or J4 and little prospect of trying to break out and forcing japan to stay honest (rather than deplete its costal areas since there is no threat to them).
Like you said, UK is a lot like Russia in the global game - just like Russia, the game (IMO) is won or lost depending on when Russia can go from a defensive stance to an offensive one. Once that shift occurs, Germany is doomed. I am looking for the same timing/feel for UK in AAP40.
An INF build initially is okay and reasonable… but for the rest of the game? No thanks. So, assuming a UK1 build of 4+ INF, then UK 2 and 3 should be something else. The reason I keep toying with a UK Armor build at the outset is that its hard to build anything but INF in UK2 and UK3 - build a TAC or Armor in the first round when the UK has the cash and then shift to a defensive stance in subsequent rounds - you still get 6+ INF to protect the UK plus, 2 more defensive shots at 3+ (via the Armor) and a potential for a viable counterattack (again, via the Armor).
The questions for me is if 2 or 3 INF are worth the trade off of nabbing a couple Armor early. Are those 2 or 3 INF going to be the units that stop the Japanese from taking India? Is just building INF and forfeiting counter-attack possibilities a good idea? (I dunno, just spitballing here)
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You start off with 4 fighters and 1 tactical bomber, so that will offer a fair amount of offensive hitting power. Now you need infantry and artillery to go in front of it. A couple of mechs to allow some units to get from India to Yunnan in 1 turn are nice.
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On my last game as UK I got 1 Arm and 1 Mech, 2 Inf. Japan declared war on J2 and I moved them ) along with everything else to Yunnan.
Next turn, Chinese retook the territory next to Hong Kong and the UK reconquered it, regaining the NO from having it and Malaya.It was a bit obvious, but a combination like this can Japan chasing around UK forces in China.
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Butcher is correct to point out that UK already has 5 air unit.
However, although the big of my purchases are Infantry, I do not hesitate to buy Mech inf for better movement speed.
Also, depending on what my opponent send to Asia (if Japan goes heavily into China, I will certainly consider more Mech + More tanks)
I try to build some more plane, ideally Bomber if you can save up for them. Their range cannot be neglected and can easily give more offensive power to your marching army.
Naval build can come in handy from time to time. If possible, transports to trade for the money islands is a great idea. Usually, Japan will be able to retake them. The idea is to force him to concede the money island, or to send in transports lightly escorted (That you can take down with your air force)
Its very hard to determine what are the optimal purchases, if there are no optimal Japanese movements.
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Well, in my group I am the Jap player. And so far I have found the best turn 1 move for me is 2 Minor Complexes in asia turn 1, this way starting turn 2 I can pump out mech and tanks and quickly overwhelming china, leaving UK and ANZAC no choice but to attack me, keeping the US out and poor as long as possible, and giving me turns 3 and 4 to spend all my cash on ships. Once I do this and take my combined pacific fleet to hawaii and now US is in big trouble.
Now for the point of this. I have played myself a couple of times and spent a while thinking what is good for UK in this case. IF japan doesnt grab those money islands from anzac and uk, and time is there, build a navy, same with anzac. have all fighters from the 2 of them go to defensive locations and hold the line. If the 2 of them can bring together a dozen or so ships that can move in tandem (remember that these 2 both go before japan goes again), it forces japan to split its navy so that they dont reach northern china or japan, and puts japan on the defensive giving US the time to maneuver a sizeable fleet into striking distance, go after islands, and in general put a hurt on japan. Again this relies on letting japan do its thing and not provoking them. If japan is agressive this wont work.
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Well, in my group I am the Jap player. And so far I have found the best turn 1 move for me is 2 Minor Complexes in asia turn 1, this way starting turn 2 I can pump out mech and tanks and quickly overwhelming china, leaving UK and ANZAC no choice but to attack me, keeping the US out and poor as long as possible, and giving me turns 3 and 4 to spend all my cash on ships. Once I do this and take my combined pacific fleet to hawaii and now US is in big trouble.
Y’know - this gets to my other post of not allowing IC to be built any longer. If I were the allied player I think I would be pulling out my hair. Its not a bad move on your part (not at all).
Your point about the navy is valid - but I have never seen a Japanese player play so passive as to allow for either ANZAC or the UK to build a reasonably sized fleet. Usually, any navy from the UK or ANZAC exists on borrowed time and has to retreat so far from the money islands that they are pretty much a non-factor.
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UK and Anzac can easily grab the money island IF Japan let them do so. In which, case the support ships can just stay behind and wait for the japanese Transports/fleet to come. I think UK really don’t need to keep its transport alive, especially if it can lead Japan to attack first and bringing usa into the war. If Japan REALLY ignore UK, I think some ship can be useful, but not too much. Ground troops are still the way to go
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not being allowed to build IC?
As for me playing passively, my strategy is to be done with asia when US enters. I have a bit more of an ANZAC issue this way than when I go all out for the allies, but by neutering the UK and gaining all those IPCs from asia andthe money islands lets me go toe to toe with the US, and I find by forcing him to wait so long to play, makes him antcy to get to it, and thus make mistakes. My record is a bit better than 50% wins, obviously meaning this isnt the be all to end all strat, but it comes down to bad rolls for me means slower push in asia, then I am dead. Only once did I do so poorly that I conceded.
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