• @tasos Japan doesn’t have a transport in range of West USA on the first turn in the 41 scenario. If they start moving transports + their entire navy towards you, just buy 10 INF and move all of your starting fighters into West USA. They shouldn’t be able to break that, meaning they’ll need to either withdraw or amass more transports (in which case you can just buy 10 more INF). Japan should never be able to actually take West USA. If your opponent is trying to do that, they’re not expanding in Asia like they need to, and it should be an easy win for the Allies.


  • @domanmacgee said in Allies strategy:

    @tasos Japan doesn’t have a transport in range of West USA on the first turn in the 41 scenario. If they start moving transports + their entire navy towards you, just buy 10 INF and move all of your starting fighters into West USA. They shouldn’t be able to break that, meaning they’ll need to either withdraw or amass more transports (in which case you can just buy 10 more INF). Japan should never be able to actually take West USA. If your opponent is trying to do that, they’re not expanding in Asia like they need to, and it should be an easy win for the Allies.


  • @tasos this is the setup when the game start.
    Screenshot_20220209-001801.png

    Japan has two transports with three infantry on the carolines islands and the obstacle to cross is the battleship in Hawaii but it easily overcomes it with the fighters that exist in formosa



  • @tasos What you said is true, but I think you may be misunderstanding how the Combat Move Phase works.

    The transports in SZ51 (Caroline Islands Sea Zone) can’t move through SZ53 (Hawaii) because the US Battleship is a hostile enemy “Surface Vessel” (i.e. anything that isn’t a Submarine/Transport). Even if you send the Carrier Group and its Fighters to attack the Battleship, your transports can’t ignore the presence of the Battleship. They have to stop in SZ53 for the turn, and can’t move again until the following round, which gives USA a turn to buy 10 INF as I stated above.

    I mention this because going from SZ51 -> 53 -> 56 is the only way to get from the Caroline Islands to West USA in one turn.

    The fact remains that it is not possible for Japan to invade West USA on its first turn. America will always have a turn to buy 10 INF and ward off any attack.


  • @domanmacgee Even if I attack the battleship first with the fighters and after clearing the sea to pass the transports; Thank you for your interest and for your answers.


  • @tasos .o.k i understund what you mean.I played wrong.
    Thanks a lot.


  • @tasos

    You would not be the first person to misunderstand that particular rule. I’ve come across many players that interpret the rules as I think you have. However the correct way to play is

    1)Make all of your moves that result in combat before conducting any battles.
    2)Resolve battles one at a time
    3) Pieces that didn’t move or fight in steps 1 or 2 can now move, but they are limited to moves that will not result in combat.

    As soon as the first die is rolled on a battle you are no longer allowed to make any moves that would result in combat of any kind, so while you can kill that US battleship and then move those transports through that sea zone after the battle, the transports can’t unload into hostile territory since that would require a battle and you’ve passed the point in your turn that you can have battles.

    The best way to think about it is that your non-combat move is for units you’ve held in reserve to reinforce areas as needed based on how your battles turn out.


  • @tasos

    An allied strategy… I’ll give the best advice from my experience from playing both versions of 41’ and 42’.

    (as a quick side note, feel free to play with National Objectives, what many don’t realize is that the Allied national objectives are absolutely broken, Research and Tech is meh you can do whatever)

    Let’s begin with Mother Russia.
    30 IPC’s to work with. Typically a baseline for building each turn as the Soviets for me goes would be 3 infantry, 2 tanks, and 1 fighter each turn. That accounts to a total of exactly 29 IPC’s, leaving you with one leftover. HOWEVER, for the first round, you only have 1 tank at your disposal. already leaving you down by 5 tanks against the Germans. So for me, a first-round purchase as the Soviets would be to buy 3 tanks, 1 fighter, and 1 artillery. From then forward, you’re going to want to follow a very basic principle: However many tanks the Germans build on their turn, you outmatch that. If they build 1, you build 2. If they build 2 you build 3. etc. Obviously, there are going to be some units that take priority over tanks in certain instances but make those instances rare. All in all, if I gotta be honest, your only way of beating Germany back to Berlin is with tanks. Treat your tanks like you would a child and protect and preserve them until the time is right to use them.

    Next, the United Kingdom.
    43 IPC’s to start. Again, this will be on of the only times in the game that you have this much money so spend it wisely. The first thing first is to look at India, if Japan isn’t set up to take it then absolutely build a complex on India, as it will be crucial in the later parts of the game. (I typically play with a house rule that Japan isn’t permitted to wipe India T2 as I believe this to be a crucial error on the Devs’ part in making this game). Should Japan not be setup to take India… place a complex there. With 28 IPCs left over I would HIGHLY recommend placing an Aircraft Carrier in the Atlantic, and finish off with either 2 transports or a transport and infantry + Artillery. An aircraft carrier with 2 fighters on it in the Atlantic with atleast 1 destroyer will dissuade the Germans from making any pot shots at your navy.

    In the Atlantic, your job as the UK is to first and foremost, destroy the German navy by any means necessary. After you’ve done this, you’re going to liberate Norway and Finland from the Germans. I cannot stress to you how crucial this step is as you’re taking away an entire 5 IPCs from the Germans which adds up to one whole tank. That’s one more tank that they could have used on the Eastern Front, so liberating these 2 territories is providing more help than any sizeable army you could dream of. Next, you will also presumably liberate Leningrad which has been taken by the Germans. This will be crucial in halting the German N.O as well as providing some breathing room for the Soviets to counterattack the Germans in Ukraine.

    In the Pacific, assuming you successfully placed a complex on India, your initial task will be to build up a task force in the Indian Ocean, if you can get it to 1 - 2 aircraft carriers and a battleship. This will dissuade the Japanese from fully committing their navy to go and fight you. (I have tried this and yes, it does work.) After you’ve built up a taskforce, you’re going to want to be placing atleast 1 tank down every turn on India, you’re next job will be to take Siam and Indochina and seize that national objective from Japan as well as give yourself one as well. And most importantly, support China. I already hate that China starts with only 4 infantry on the board so it’s up to you to keep them a float as the British.

    And finally we have Uncle Sam.
    Now, fortunately for you you’re not going to lose that money like the UK will. To start your turn, you’re going to want to build a cruiser and 2 transports to place in the Atlantic ocean. On top of that, you’re going to want to build 3 infantry and a tank to place on Eastern United States. The rest of your spendings you should balance it Pacific 35% and Atlantic 65%. However, once Japan starts building up the High Seas fleet and threatening command in Hawaii as well as India thats when you want to swap it around after you’ve built a chain of transports into the Mediterranean and destroyed the Italian fleet.

    In the Atlantic, your goal is to build and obliterate the Italian fleet and Axis troops in Africa and make continuous ongoing naval invasions with the intent to capture and take Rome as well as bomb the hell out of Berlin and Rome and even Paris if there is an IC there. That’s pretty much it. The British can take care of the rest up North.

    In the Pacific, since it’s 1941 you’re going to have a long wait before Japan really starts to rumble in the Pacific and prove a challenge to you. It’s highly likely that you’re going to lose your Battleship so spend accordingly to slowly build your fleet back up in the Pacific. One absolutely crucial thing that lot’s of players miss though, is you need to prioritize Aircraft carriers over Battleships. One fully outfitted aircraft carrier with 2 fighters on it is only matched by 2 battleships. Don’t get sucked into this race to get more battleships then Japan as aircraft carriers are where the money is at. Now you’re not just going to sit there with a big navy either. I would recommend having atleast 2 transports in the Pacific to carry 3 infantry and 1 tank or artillery because what you’re going to be doing is good ol’ fashioned island hopping starting in the Solomon Islands, a strategic island that Japan needs for their N.O as well as an island you need for your N.O. From the Solomon Islands you’re going to want to then liberate New Guinea and the Caroline Islands, linking back up with the British fleet in the Indian Ocean and liberating the East Indies and Borneo. After this is done, you’re then going to move North and liberate the Philippines and take Formosa and Okinawa from the Japanese where you will engage their navy with the combined fleet of the American and British ships.

    This right here is ultimately how you need to play the Allies. To talk about each individual purchase and move would be an absolute headache and nightmare to discuss but it’s less about the individual moves you make and moreover the consistent tactics that you utilize and the principles that you stick with that will ultimately enable you to beat the Axis powers.


  • @domanmacgee

    Also if you don’t mind me touching on a point you made that caught my eye, it was the first round purchase you spoke of for the USSR. Seeing as you said to buy upwards of 2 fighters for the purposes of counter attacking wouldn’t it be more cost-efficient to buy 4 tanks for the same price that can do the same thing?


  • @thedesertfox From a purely mathematical standpoint, you’re correct. 4 TANK (or even 4 INF+2 ART) is a better combination than 2 FTR. However, the purpose of buying the air units is because they don’t have to stay in the territory they attack. This is an important point because most of the action on the Eastern Front is going to involve you sending 1-2 INF + 1-2 FTR against Germany territories containing 1-2 INF. In the 41 scenario specifically, the USSR starts with zero air units, so buying them on turn 1 (while you still can reasonably afford to) is a good idea. After Turn 1, you should stick to purely INF/ART (with maybe the occasional TANK if things are going extremely well for you).


  • @domanmacgee

    Alright, that makes sense. Also, just as a side note, a tank that used one space of its movement to engage in combat (assuming it survives the battle) can use this unused piece of movement to move elsewhere to another friendly territory or am I wrong about this assessment?

  • 2024 2023 '22 '21 '20

    @thedesertfox said in Allies strategy:

    Alright, that makes sense. Also, just as a side note, a tank that used one space of its movement to engage in combat (assuming it survives the battle) can use this unused piece of movement to move elsewhere to another friendly territory or am I wrong about this assessment?

    You are incorrect. Once a unit moves in the combat phase it may not move again in the non-combat phase with two exceptions: 1) planes heading for a landing zone after a battle and 2) cargo on a transport that did not load during the combat phase (they were already on the transport when the Turn began). Technically it is the transport that moved during combat and the cargo may debark in the non-combat phase however since the cargo moved from its original spot it appears that it moved in both phases so really only planes may “move” in both phases.

  • 2024 2023 '22 '21 '20

    Interesting points by @DoManMacgee and @TheDesertFox. I agree with some of them and disagree with others. Just to confuse things more I will throw in my two cents.

    National Objectives: I think, while the game plays differently, with or without NOs both versions are balanced the same. I would want a minimum $6 bid as the Allies with or without NOs. $9 is perfect.

    USSR: I disagree with buying fighters ever and armor early on. Infantry, and lots of it, is what saves Moscow. Later, once Germany has exhausted themselves, is time to start buying armor to threaten Japan. While armor is only a bit worse than infantry in this version infantry is still the better defensive buy and early on Russia is on the defense.

    India Factory: NEVER build an Indian factory. It cannot be held by a competent and determined Japanese Player. Since there is no factory in the Pacific there would be no ships built in the Pacific.

    UK Europe: Clear the German Navy. Take Norway and, if Russia did not take it, Finland. Get a safe fleet with 4 transports into the Baltic and assist Russia in holding Karelia and make limited landings in NW Europe and Poland unless you can hit France than do that.

    USA: Ignore the Pacific. Go 100% in the Atlantic. Mission 1, take back Africa. Mission 2, sink the Italian fleet. Mission 3, threaten France and Rome forcing the Axis to defend both heavily.

    Easy Peasy


  • @andrewaagamer

    The barebones format of winning the war as the Allies as you stated is pretty much how I go about winning as the Allies in either 41’ or 42’ just with a few noticeable differences.

    Since I haven’t touched on the bid yet, just to put it shortly, yes, I think a bid is fine for the Allies, especially in 1941 but this bid can and should be used on the Pacific side for either the UK or China.

    As for the USSR, this ultimately comes down to playstyle, but for me, I’ve experienced that tanks are what win you the game, not infantry, and not fighters or bombers. ultimately, while a stack of infantry was a suitable form of defense at first glance, any group of 5 or more German tanks including some fighters and bombers could slice and dice through any number of infantry you have.

    You’re pretty much right with both India and Europe for the UK in how you should go about playing that.

    As for the United States, I would highly disagree with ignoring the Pacific. When it comes to the 3 objectives you stated that America should strive to achieve, they at most want a suitable navy in the Atlantic, made up of an aircraft carrier, battleship, and 3 transports with some destroyers and a cruiser or two. They won’t have anything special, just enough to kill the Italian fleet. And along with that, some land units, enough to fill up 3 transports, to take into Africa. That right there is not a lot of money spent within the time length of 3 turns especially considering you already start off with some of those pieces I mentioned. Now granted, you will be prioritizing the Atlantic more than you will the Pacific but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t continue to strive to beat Japan in the carrier race either.

    So assuming the Japanese are going to haul hog for the Pacific islands all the way to the Solomons and Wake Island, it’s going to be up to you as the U.S play to take back each island one at a time to slowly start dissolving the Japanese economy. You’ll ultimately be leaving Japan with that choice of whether to focus on the land or focus on the sea. Granted, it’s easy at first glance to take over China and take over India and take over the Money islands and all that junk as Japan only if the Americans don’t get involved. So they need to get involved.


  • @andrewaagamer

    And yeah, I thought this was the case, I just wanted it to be confirmed that I was wrong or missing something about that. I can definitely understand that for ships since each ship gets a movement of two spaces but I feel like that rule maybe a little too stretched to apply to tanks. I feel like part of what makes tanks so important is their maneuverability and efficiency at getting from one place to another and if their movement stops even with one space left that just feels like a setup for which very few will look highly upon the unit as a whole.


  • @andrewaagamer said in [Allies strategy]

    National Objectives: I think, while the game plays differently, with or without NOs both versions are balanced the same. I would want a minimum $6 bid as the Allies with or without NOs. $9 is perfect.

    Please explain how NOs are balanced and not majorly in favor of the Axis. I’m legitimately interested in how you came to such a conclusion.

    USSR: I disagree with buying fighters ever and armor early on. Infantry, and lots of it, is what saves Moscow. Later, once Germany has exhausted themselves, is time to start buying armor to threaten Japan. While armor is only a bit worse than infantry in this version infantry is still the better defensive buy and early on Russia is on the defense.

    This is the 41 scenario. If you have no air units (you only need 1-2, nothing more than that), how are you supposed to effectively trade territories with Germany to slow their advance and limit their income? Doubly so since you advocate for playing with NOs turned on. If you just sit in Moscow all game, you’re never going to reach the point where Germany “exhausts itself” because they’ll have gotten rich off of Russian territory (specifically the 5 IPC bonuses from Karelia and Caucasus). Trading territories efficiently with Germany while the UK focuses on getting it’s navy going in the North is the only way to keep the game going long enough for the western allies to manage anything.

    UK Europe: Clear the German Navy. Take Norway and, if Russia did not take it, Finland. Get a safe fleet with 4 transports into the Baltic and assist Russia in holding Karelia and make limited landings in NW Europe and Poland unless you can hit France than do that.

    Landing in Karelia and Baltic states is also viable to deny Germany the factory and interrupt the flow of their reinforcements.

    USA: Ignore the Pacific. Go 100% in the Atlantic. Mission 1, take back Africa. Mission 2, sink the Italian fleet. Mission 3, threaten France and Rome forcing the Axis to defend both heavily.

    Easy Peasy

    The flow here is fine and good but with 9 pressure Japan is just going to run the table on you. That being said, I do concede that how you play USA largely comes down to personal preference and how Germany and Japan are playing. If Germany is just building loads of INF and playing defensively, USA has the leeway to focus some of their attention on slowing down Japan, but if Germany is going all in after Moscow you should probably go 100% Europe to kill the European Axis quickly.

    Overall agree with most of the points here, except for the USSR ftr build and the NO thing.


  • @domanmacgee said in Allies strategy:

    @andrewaagamer said in [Allies strategy]

    National Objectives: I think, while the game plays differently, with or without NOs both versions are balanced the same. I would want a minimum $6 bid as the Allies with or without NOs. $9 is perfect.

    Please explain how NOs are balanced and not majorly in favor of the Axis. I’m legitimately interested in how you came to such a conclusion.

    I know you didn’t ask me but it’s America so I’ll answer anyway.

    A baseline that I think should be established is the core difference between the Allied and Axis national objectives. As we know, the reason we deem the Axis as having such a huge advantage with NOs is because of how easily accessible their national objectives are. The Allies on the other hand are limited to very select few amount of national objectives that they’ll always have, with everything else lying at the top of the mountain, to put simply, not as easily accessible as the Axis National Objectives.

    The Axis, mainly Germany, can and will get their National Objectives quickly. They already get one for controlling core territories, they get one for controlling at least 3 of the 5 given states of the USSR, and one for controlling Stalin/Leningrad, one or the other. Part of what makes these NOs so easy to get is their quick and easy accessibility and close proximity to Germany. However, that still resides as a weakness to the Germans. Germany can and will lose these national objectives just as fast as they will get them. The same can be said for the Italians and Japanese. This right here is the prime weakness that the Allies are very much capable of exploiting.

    The Allies, while their national objectives are more beyond arm’s reach, there is one core difference that should be noted. One specific NO that belongs to the UK is to seize any originally controlled Japanese territory. Granted while you may not do it right away, once you get 3-5 turns into the game it’s likely that the British will have pushed the Japanese out of French Indo China or the Americans landing at practically any one of the core Japanese islands territories such as the Caroline Islands or Iwo Jima. Once the Japanese have lost either of these territories or even both for that matter they aren’t going to have the means nor the strength to take it back because they’re going to have many other things to focus on. The Soviet Union as well can be used as an example. Granted while their 10 IPC national will remain out of reach for quite a while, once Norway and Finland fall to the British, that leaves only one territory left for you to take in order to get that national objective at least once, leaving the Germans on a much more precarious and difficult predicament. This right here is the overall theme of the Allies’ NOs and playstyle, once you start to gain some traction as the Allies your National Objectives will kick in, and trust me when the Allies get the majority of their national objectives they seriously start snowballing.

    So just because the Axis get theirs quicker doesn’t necessarily put them at an absolute advantage. The Germans will lose Leningrad just as fast as they took it and the Japanese will lose any one of the out-of-reach originally controlled territories from the impending British/American threat, because like I spoke of earlier, the Japanese have a vast and wide sphere of power for which they cannot protect all of it at once. Honestly, if anything the Allied National Objectives are better than the Axis National objectives.


  • @thedesertfox said in Allies strategy:

    As for the USSR, this ultimately comes down to playstyle, but for me, I’ve experienced that tanks are what win you the game, not infantry, and not fighters or bombers. ultimately, while a stack of infantry was a suitable form of defense at first glance, any group of 5 or more German tanks including some fighters and bombers could slice and dice through any number of infantry you have.

    Armor cost 5 and defend as a 3. Infantry costs 3 and defend as a 2. Thus, DFP per point = $1.5 for an infantry and $1.66 for an armor. In addition, I am getting more casualties per $ invested for infantry than I am for armor. 3 armor for $15 versus 5 infantry for $15. So, I am getting 65% more casualties buying infantry than I am buying armor. Statistically infantry are by far the better buy.

    This can be confirmed by using a battle calculator very easily.

    • 3 armor vs 3 armor = 45% win, 45% loss, 10% draw

    • 3 armor vs 5 infantry = 15% win, 82% loss, 3 % draw

    Therefore, early on, when Russia is on defense they should only buy infantry.

    The stack of armor and fighters you mention is going to slice through an armor defense more than an infantry defense.

    Again, I agree with you once the initial German attack has been blunted that the Russians should start building some armor. But, the initial defensive buys should be infantry.


  • @thedesertfox said in Allies strategy:

    As for the United States, I would highly disagree with ignoring the Pacific. When it comes to the 3 objectives you stated that America should strive to achieve, they at most want a suitable navy in the Atlantic, made up of an aircraft carrier, battleship, and 3 transports with some destroyers and a cruiser or two. They won’t have anything special, just enough to kill the Italian fleet. And along with that, some land units, enough to fill up 3 transports, to take into Africa. That right there is not a lot of money spent within the time length of 3 turns especially considering you already start off with some of those pieces I mentioned. Now granted, you will be prioritizing the Atlantic more than you will the Pacific but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t continue to strive to beat Japan in the carrier race either.
    So assuming the Japanese are going to haul hog for the Pacific islands all the way to the Solomons and Wake Island, it’s going to be up to you as the U.S play to take back each island one at a time to slowly start dissolving the Japanese economy. You’ll ultimately be leaving Japan with that choice of whether to focus on the land or focus on the sea. Granted, it’s easy at first glance to take over China and take over India and take over the Money islands and all that junk as Japan only if the Americans don’t get involved. So they need to get involved.

    After J1, at most, the US is going to have (1) AC, (2) DD and (4) Fighters or a $70 Navy. Japan is going to most likely have (3) AC, (1) CA, (1) BB, (8) Fighters or a $154 Navy. With NOs, no later than Turn 3 Japan will be collecting $52 while the US is collecting $49, maybe $50. With the US collecting less money than the Japanese and behind by over $80 in fleet units it is impossible for the US to try and match the Japanese in naval units and commit any reasonable purchases against Europe which is far more important.

    The key to winning as the Allies is to beat up Germany and Italy as quickly as possible as all three Allies can strike them whereas Japan, except for taking away British money, can not hurt anyone until they get near Moscow. It is who dies first, Rome and Berlin or Moscow that determines the game, not money in the Pacific.

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