• '19

    We will be playing 1942 2nd edition next weekend and wanted a few thoughts. My teammate and I who are the allies have been given a 19 IPC bid from our axis partners.  I’m thinking a sub in the Indian Ocean to sink the Japanesse fleet there and one British inf in Egypt and the rest to Russia with two infantry and a artillery.  Any thoughts? 😜


  • UK Sub definetly.
    I would bolster the US Atlantic fleet too, though. Another DD would be great, but a Sub might make a difference and still leave you an Art for Russia and an Inf for India.
    I would rather forego the Indian Inf and put a DD in the Atlantic, saving one IPC for Russia.

    Enjoy your game.

  • '19

    Thank you for the advice!  I’ll check in with my mate and see what he thinks.  We can’t wait to play next weekend.

  • 2024 '22 '21 '19 '15 '14

    Sounds pretty solid.

    For the money British subs will probably net you the most in the TUV trade. Though it’s hard to argue with Wittman’s suggestion regarding the Atlantic fleet. If you can deter that U-boat attack and keep the transports, it gives the Americans a much stronger opening.

    Sz 37 can be kind of high risk, unless you are going to fully commit against Japan, take an island at the same time, and follow up with the Americans. A sub in the Med where it can be used to immediately destroy the German battleship can be potent as an alternative. It allows you to secure Africa with a quickness for a comparatively small investment. There’s not a whole lot the Germans can do, they can take Gibraltar and buy a destroyer to block but it’s still a losing proposition. A sub in the med costs 3 ipcs more than the inf in Egypt, but I think it does a bit more to shock the Germans out of any ambitions they might have to take the canal on G2. Basically you force them to decide between just sacrificing the Regia Marina or wasting money to support it. The latter is a particularly grim option for G, since they really want to be buying bombers to sink Anglo American ships, not reversing roles and buying pointless destroyers  only to see them get blown out of the water by Anglo-American bombers.

    Another alternative, which I haven’t seen all that often but which can be effective is to spend 9 ipcs for British infantry in Persia, India and Burma. 3 more infantry in India on UK1 non com is solid. That’s basically getting you a full purchase round ahead of the Japanese in the India stack contest and makes it a lot easier to hold that territory into the endgame. Then just nuke the Japanese transport in 61 as usual and camp out till all the fighters arrive. 6 extra defensive pips on India right out the gate is hard to overcome. They’re not doing you anything in the round 1 naval TUV trade, but the naval TUV trade doesn’t matter as much if you have 11 ground and 1 AA gun on India at the end of your first turn placement. Or hell, you could have 13 total ground and 1 AA gun, if you sacrifice a transport and pull the dudes out of Egypt. Not that you’d need that much, but it would almost certainly make the Japanese players’ head spin heheh.

    With a bid of 19, you’d still have 10 left over to do other things. Like bid a fighter for the Brits in Egypt to truly lock it down,  or a Sub to mess with Japan or G. Or the Atlantic DD. Or more dudes for the Russians.

    Most people use their bid for round 1 attacks exclusively, but the long term defense of India is so critical (not just for the factory and deadzoning Japan at sea, but also for holding Moscow.)  So it might be worth considering. The alternatives usually have you giving up India sooner than you’d like (ill advised), or else sending everything you can spare to India at breakneck speed, every round from the first round on. So an early leg up at the India factory for a cost of 9 starts too look less and less expensive.

    Or if none of that grabs you there is always 6 ground to Russia on the Eastern front, which is a pretty deep stack at the all important center.

    I think you can have a pretty entertaining game as the Allies at 19. Hope you guys have fun!


  • Good proposition and lots to think about and consider, Black Elk. I like it.

  • '19

    Thanks guys! Definitely a lot to think about! We are playing against two good axis players so we need all the luck lol.  🍻

  • '17 '16 '15 '14

    I’m not the best player however it seems that 2 arm, 1 art, 1 inf for Russia would really be a strong play.  Taking the Japanese navy isn’t really a big deal unless America decides to go all out.  I’ve never had much luck with 1/3 subs as they seem to miss 2/3 times.  ALL OF THE TIME.  And just because you take out the BB, Car, 2 Fig doesn’t mean that whatever is left isn’t an easy target.  This also seems to weaken the attack on Europe.

    Just ignore me…  I can’t even beat the computer.

    CK

  • '19

    All good my friend.  Anyways, we ended up getting creamed by the axis.  Moscow fell and we were pretty much doomed after that.  We had a good time though and hope to play soon again.


  • Good that you found it fun.
    Where did you place the bid, can I ask? Did the US Atlantic fleet get sunk on G1?

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

    I’ve not played much 1942, the game favors the Axis?  Enough for a bid?

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

    @Karl7:

    I’ve not played much 1942, the game favors the Axis?  Enough for a bid?

    Also it is standard to play with the fighter intercept rules?  Seems Russia can be bombed into total submission otherwise.

  • 2023 '22 '21 '20 '19 '18 '17 '16

    Yes, the OOB setup definitely favors the Axis. By exactly how much and whether the bias requires an Allied bid or merely permits one is an interesting topic of debate. My personal opinion is that given equally skilled teams, 10 IPCs for an expert Allied player or 14 IPCs for a new Allied player balances the game quite nicely.

    I’ve never bothered with the fighter intercept rules – strategic bombing doesn’t need to be any weaker, because your average profit on a bombing run is only (5/6) * (3.5 IPCs) - (1/6) * (12 IPCs) = 0.916 IPCs per bomber per turn, which is pretty lousy to begin with. Unlike 1940 Global, strat bombers don’t roll 1d6  + 2 damage; they only roll 1d6 damage. Often the factory you’re bombing will have an inconvenient number of build slots remaining, further reducing the payoff. For example, Moscow can sustain up to 16 damage…which means that if you only send 3 bombers, you’ll average about 9 damage; Moscow can pay $3 to clean up 3 damage, put 2 units in Moscow, and then put 4 units in the Caucasus and 2 units in Karelia. So you send 3 bombers and cost Russia $3, even if none of your bombers get hit by AAA. Yawn. If you send 4 bombers instead, then you have a 33% chance of rolling more than 16 damage, which means you’re wasting between 1 and 8 points of damage per turn. So in practice I’d say the profit on bombing is closer to 0.5 IPCs per bomber per turn.

    On maps where it’s harder to cross the ocean, strategic bombing can be a way of projecting pressure. America can get away with strategic bombing Germany in a Kill Germany First opening in 1942.2, because it saves on the cost of transports. But Japan can start hitting core Russian territories (Kazakh, Novosibirsk, etc.) with land units – and win – as early as turn 3, and Japanese bombers can’t reach Russian factories until turn 2, so you’re really not saving much time.

  • '19

    Wittman: yes the US Atlantic fleet was blown out of the water by two u boats.   we placed a British sub in the Indian Ocean.  A inf on Egypt and India.  A Russian artillery on Leningrad and a Russian inf on Stalingrad.  We never put a US destroyer in the Atlantic.  With Russia I took three territories on the first round.  Though I won all three battles, the Germans made me pay a price for all three victories.  The German and Japanese bombing campaign devastated my Moscow factory.  On two separate raids my factory was topped out at 16 ipc damage.  I couldnt hit them either with my Facorey AA!!!  From the opening round I just got the feeling it wasn’t going to be our day lol.  That’s A&A though! You win some and you loose some.  Next time :)


  • Sometimes it does feel like whatever you do, you are one step behind and too far away to change things. Better luck next time.

  • '19

    Exactly! It was one those games where after round one that you knew you had a big uphill battle ahead of you lol.

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