• Hey guys, at the moment I am really into A&A 1942 2nd Ed.! But there is one thing that bothers me in every game I start: China is doomed and will fall in the second round, no matter what you do.

    I don’t like the idea that china falls that quickly since in the real world war II it was nearly impossible for japan to control a country that is that large and has that many inhabitants. As is the case for russia vs. germany, japan should have a real fight against china and not only move a stack of infantry into the country and lose maybe 1 or 2 units. China should be able to compete with Japan… at least for a while. Of course japan will smash them if they invest all in land units, but I want to make japan choose if they invest in land units or defend their navy.

    But how can I do that without changing the dynamics of the game too much? I don’t want japan to go down quickly against an all-japan US player just because they have to spend money on much more ground units.

    One idea is of course to have a bid in china. but that will in my opinion just delay their defeat by one round if they get 3-4 extra units.

    The second alternative is the idea that I came up with:
    The US are allowed to build one unit/territory in china which has to be either an infantry unit or an artillery unit. These units can ONLY fight in china or former chinese territory that have been occupied by Japan during the war since 1937 (that is to say they can occupy Manchuria and Kwangtung).

    With that rule, they have to invest more IPC’s into china but at the same moment do not loose to much ground to the US player since he has to invest IPC’s in china too. At the same time you do not necessarily have to use that option and play a KGF or build only navy and let japan win in china. That is now up to you.

    I was in love with axis and allies anniversary edition. One thing that has changed is the factory in india. i think the game designers found out that it is very hard for the allies to hold against axis on the eurasian continent. So this unit placement in china could be a rule that really makes sense.

    What do you think of it? Could you integrate a rule like this? does china still needs a bid despite this new rule since japan is going to capture 2 territories in the first round?

    I am glad for every reply :)


  • OK, after having tested it against hard-AI on triple a, i would still say that a bid is necessary since the extra 2 units the US is able to build there won’t stop japan. Maybe a bid that strengthens the countries that Japan is not able to attack on the first round. that would leed to a counter-attack if Japan does not invest enough units into china.

  • '19 '18 '17 '16 '15

    IMHO, yes, China will be doomed at the first couple rounds, but they could come back later after the initial retreat.  The tiger fighter is symbolically important to preserve, so it can help defending and attacking at early rounds.

    If allies have enough bids, I think by interrupting Japan’s starting force there is better opportunity to add a factory in China to create the classic Asia wall.  Without bid, however, it is not easy to make this happen.


  • Hey innohub, don’t get me wrong but I followed your recent 1942 2nd ed. game (in which you had a bid of 1 Inf/2Art for Russia to attack manchuria R1). A great game from which i learned a lot! I tried the US Chinese factory start several times against Hard AI on triple A and it has worked out very well! It makes the game much more interesting since you do not abandon the whole pacific theater to go KGF!

  • '19 '18 '17 '16 '15

    Hey…I’m glad you like the move!  I think in 42 2E KJF is definitely feasible even though it is not necessarily the best route to victory.  Another way i think is feasible is building up a fighter supply line from Pacific.  It could be faster to arrive South east asia/India this way.

    Enjoy the game~~


  • Hi innohub,

    you mean US fighters coming over islands/carriers to support china?

  • '19 '18 '17 '16 '15

    The fighters might be used to support India (I think the fastest way to get a fighter there is 2 rounds if you position the carrier correctly) and once the fighters are there, you might use the fighter to defend Russia or China territories too.  it depends on your strategy but the principle is to find a way for U.S. to help Allies at the early phrase, whether it is via bomber, fighter, or navies.

  • 2024 '22 '21 '19 '15 '14

    I’ve seen the Japanese stalled up in China before, the strategy deployed was not an IC or British tanks, but a massive Allied fighter wall. I was actually surprised to see it, because most players will concentrate on India/Moscow. In my first game against Magic Q, (a player from China, which may have been part of his motivation in defending the region) my Japanese focused naval at the outset at expense of the mainland, which gave him some breathing room in the area. As I recall I went with a Japanese IC in East Indies, to back the Americans off the Pacific, and then tried to rush India a bit too early by sea. His basic move in response was to fly all his British and American fighters in range to China and just park em there for as long as possible with a few Russian and British infantry to back up the play. It can be more difficult than one might expect for Japan to overcome even a relatively small Chinese ground stack with like 10 fighters on defense, because of the Airblitz potential and the threat to coastal Japanese transports. If you allow the Brits or Americans to push you back and get in range of sz 61 it really hamstrings your shucks and draws the IJN off the South Pacific since you need more capital ships to secure the shuck out of Tokyo. I’m not sure I’d suggest it as a standard play, but it certainly caught me off guard, after countless games where Japan just steamrolls the Chinese. You can see the play (and my mistakes that allowed it to occur) in the 1942.2 tournament first matches.


  • Hi black_elk, I will have a look at it today :) Sounds like the strategy I use: Build a huge fighter squadron to protect west-russia, india and china, wherever help is necessary.

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