Hello, I play pacific 1940 a lot. I have also played global a few times. Pacific 1940 second edition is a great game but I can almost easily win every time if I’m Japan and I attack on the third turn. A new rule was passed around late 2014 to allow the USA to receive a 30 IPC bonus if Japan attacks or declares war on them before turn 4. This seems to balance the game a little but I can still always win with Japan. The strategy for Japan is pretty much the same. Take the money islands, build a minor in French Indo China and Kwangtung and knock out China and India. Post in the Philippines with your huge navy and three fighters that can scramble and those six deadly kamikizes. Let Anzac and USA come to you so you can use the fighters to defend at 4 when the big navy battle happens. Eventually you will be making more than the allies with the money islands NO and the India NO. You should be around the 70-75 mark. Then when the time is right strike at Sydney or Hawaii and hold it and you should win as it will be six victory cities. For the allies, man this can be tuff lol. You better hope Japan attacks you on turn 1 or turn 4 because turn 2 and especially 3 it’s going to be difficult.
1: China: buy men and hit and run and fall back to the north west of China. You will be lucky if the Burma road is open more than two turns. Pull back and make Japan come to you.
2: UK: pull everyone back to India and just buy men!!! Try to bring your navy down to Australia and unite them with Anzac and hopefully later USA. If it looks like India is going to fall then pull your airforce out and send them to Australia to hopefully land on a Anzac or American carrier. If Japan hasn’t declared war early then take as many islands in the south as possible .
3: Anzac: small ships and transports are good. if it looks like Japan is going to invade then pull your forces to south Australia because from there you can hit any territory. Use your small ships to convoy raid or unite with the main USA fleet. Queensland is a great staging area for the allied navy early in the game. Also since there’s a airbase there fighters don’t hurt also since they can scramble.
4:USA: the big boy lol. The problem is when USA is neutral she only makes a freaking 17 ipcs a turn. While Japan is around the 40 mark and Japan has soooooooo many aircraft at its disposal. USA I say aircraft carrier early then mainly subs, destroyers, and a transport every turn with land units. A few rounds into the game get a navy base on the Johnson islands and start combining your fleet with the Anzac fleet and hopefully a small UK fleet. try to take the money islands by sacrificing transports because Japan will have a bigger navy early in the game. When the time is right move to Dutch New Guinea with your fleet and prepare for the big battle. Sometimes it’s better if Japan attacks you and sometimes it’s better if you attsck them. Hopefully you will have a lot of subs at your disposal. If you win the navy battle then Japan is pretty much toast even if they have India and China. Good luck and let me know how the war goes lol. I am playing anniversary edition on Saturday 😜
P40 Strategy Outline(s)
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I was wondering what some new and useful solid strategies for Japan and the UK would be, including buys.
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Howdy!
Japan: Japan has a lot of potential in this game. They start off with a massive air force and solid navy. I usually like to attack turn 3 which allows me to have the transports to hit all my objectives. Turn two is not bad also and turn one can work but I feel three is the best. Turn four is to long of a wait and by then India has lots of men defending Calcutta. Two minor IC on the Asian mainland will put China and India out of business. I like them on Hong Kong and French Indo China. Until China and India fall, I get two tanks and a mech for both factories. I also like to add a aircraft carrier a turn for my remaining fighters and I usually post in the Philippines so I get the six kamikiezes and three fighters can also scramble. Don’t forget to also have a destroyer next to Hawaii! That way USA doesn’t sneak in and surpise you in Japan! I caught my opponent sleeping one time and took Korea with the USA. Subs and destroyers are also good for cannon fotter when you eventually have the big navy clash with the allies. You will needs transports also because the allies will try to take some of those money islands back to stop your objectives. When you have only one more VC to go hit Australia. Establish a beach head and keep the supply line coming and then strike at Sydney! If you played your cards right your navy should still be stronger than the allies and it should be game over for them.UK: UK is limited in this game. I like to buy men and if I’m lucky a mech or artillery. If Japan hasnt attacked you early then take the money islands. If Japan hasn’t attacked by round 3, then declare war and get the NO. A AA is also not a bad buy. Maybe you will get lucky and shoot a few fighters down during the Calcutta battle. That itself will benefit the other allies, especially the navy. Anyways, have fun! This is a great game and I still enjoy playing it by itself