So, do you ignore Japan completely?

[Jennifer]

Odds are with you that you’d have at least one ground unit + air power left over in either Norway and Ukraine which is similar to having 2 units left in Ukraine alone except that in the latter circumstance Germany has +1 fighter and has -1 territory to attack and that does not even include the impact of the extra 3 IPCs to Russia for Round 2.

(W. Russia is safe no matter which way you go.  6 Inf, Art, Arm has nearly 100% chance to win in ADS and 100% in LL.)

Let’s say, for arguments sake, Ukraine goes badly and you do not take it.  What is Germany going to invade Caucasus with?  You almost certainly wiped out all ground units in Ukraine and retreated your fighter so you can easily have +4 ground units +2 infantry from Kazakh + 2 fighters and an AA gun there at the end of your turn.  Not many Germans are going to rush into that after getting hit all across the eastern front.

And if you are worried about it, pull out the AA Gun and land in Russia.  Let him invade, then SBR him with England and liberate with England or Russia. (You DO have a Fighter and Infantry in range if he takes it gently.)

[eumaies]

In terms of the odds, it’s essential to take out one german fighter, so i go with that rather than risk killing 0.

a consideration for me is winning with disproportionately low losses on my turn, and along with that i enjoy the upside of potential overwhelming wins.  If i throw my units into multiple risky & costly battles on my turn and then allow germany to pick his fights where he causes reliably disproportionate losses, than I haven’t used my turn as well as he has.

if russia does not cause enough damage and emerge with enough spare forces to stomp on germany effectively on turn 2, then germany is freed up.  They can split their forces, or consolidate everything and prevent the battle from being fought over ukraine or archangel in each turn.  if russia is instead fighting to contest caucus back and forth (if it’s even in realistic danger of attack) than russia has become a handicapped power that can’t take part in more aggressive moves elsewhere on the map.

I play to make the fighting ground one step beyond caucausus, and i build enough tanks as russia so that i can always throw maximum numbers of troops into the fray (in spite of having to build any units beyond 4 way back in moscow).  Making caucus the battle ground is a significant concession, IMO, for which you better have done something significant (like rescue india).

In contrast, german massed troops that you don’t have the forces to take out and that eventually are allowed to land fighters due to no back and forth means germany makes more money the entire game.

[Jennifer]

It’s a valid strategy.  I just like being different and when the Russian attack goes off with average results (two fighters down, Russia with 32 IPC, no Russian fighters lost, 1 or 2 ground units left in Ukraine and Norway, 4-6 in W. Russia) it is quite devastating.

Still working on a British blitz.

[Nix]

My view on this is quite clear Jen.

*Recless

• Stupid

(and i do a lot of strange stuff)

Russia can go toe to toe with the wermach long enought for reinforcements to arive. Without such a dangeroous opening.

better hit Westrussia and Belorussia (and possiably strafe ukraine)

[Rhineland]

Jen why would you do battle on the first turn with the first team that could lose the whole game for the allies?

[JamesG]

@Cmdr:

When the Russian attack goes off with average results (two fighters down, Russia with 32 IPC, no Russian fighters lost, 1 or 2 ground units left in Ukraine and Norway, 4-6 in W. Russia) it is quite devastating.

I agree that those results are pretty devastating for the Axis.  But by your own admission, the odds of getting results that good are less than 1 in 3.  In fact, odds are one of those attacks outright fails more than half of the time.  So to say that’s what things look like with “average” dice is disingenuous.

If the game was weighted towards the Axis, for even a 50/50 shot, then a high risk, all out attack like this might be warranted.  But I feel that even with a one unit per territory bid of 9 to the Axis a well executed KGF will win the game for the Allies more often than not.  So to my mind it makes little sense to launch an attack like this, since with average to slightly below average dice the door is opened for an Axis win that otherwise would not be there.  Sure 1 time in 3 this will work out so well that the Allies win in a cake walk.  But a decent number of times the Allies will be shooting themselves in the foot instead.

[Bigtiti]

I trY allot of KJF’s, but then i again, i TRY.
What i always notice is: no IC in India, and perhaps none in Sinkiang
if you build one, it’ll die, makin KJF much harder than easier
i always see japan with KJF reach 40, i guess this is normal (They go india full power, china, SFE). but then you need to come up with US and pacific fleet and try to stop them
all troops on EUS should go to africa aswell
problem is, germany gets + 50, but perhapd with some SBR from US and UK, and UK landing north…

what’s everybodys opinion?

[Bigtiti]

I TRY allot of KJF’s, but then i again, i TRY.
What i always notice is: no IC in India, and perhaps none in Sinkiang
if you build one, it’ll die, makin KJF much harder than easier
i always see japan with KJF reach 40, i guess this is normal (They go india full power, china, SFE). but then you need to come up with US and pacific fleet and try to stop them
all troops on EUS should go to africa aswell
problem is, germany gets + 50, but perhapd with some SBR from US and UK, and UK landing north…

what’s everybodys opinion?

[Woodstock]

@Frontovik:

I TRY allot of KJF’s, but then i again, i TRY.
What i always notice is: no IC in India, and perhaps none in Sinkiang
if you build one, it’ll die, makin KJF much harder than easier
i always see japan with KJF reach 40, i guess this is normal (They go india full power, china, SFE). but then you need to come up with US and pacific fleet and try to stop them
all troops on EUS should go to africa aswell
problem is, germany gets + 50, but perhapd with some SBR from US and UK, and UK landing north…

what’s everybodys opinion?

I just on a very nifty game with the Axis (no bids btw).
And what you describes is what exactly happened.

On J1, I didn’t do Pearl Harbor, luring the Allied player into the pacific. Offcourse, the USA needs to invest a whole lot more in the Pacific if he wants to reign those seas opposed to Japan.
So, while Japan was going 50-50 on land and sea units, taking territories here and there, Germany was having a field day now that the USA was putting 100% of it’s IPC’s into the Pacific.

By turn 6, the initial USA fleet was vapourized, having taken only 1 Japanese island (and Japanese income at +40), Germany was at +50, Britain pretty much locked into London, and Russia stacking INF in their only territory, Moscow.
At that point USA was unable to stop me from invading Brazil with Germany in the next turn, the 2nd USA fleet would be at leats deminished to 50%, and UK was about to lose their last transporters against a strong German BB, stacked AC, some subs and a destroyer.
Japanese transports would have been ready to head for Alaska aswell, but the Allied resigned.

Agreed, there were some lucky rolls, but I think all in all….the USA needs to invest way too much in the Pacific to make much of a difference there, whilst leaving Germany with 1 opponent less.