L22 Global 1940 OOB surfer (X) vs AndrewAAGamer (L+60)

[surfer]

Game History

Round: 13

    Purchase Units - Italians
        Italians buy 2 infantry; Remaining resources: 0 PUs; 

    Combat Move - Italians
        1 infantry moved from France to Holland Belgium
        1 fighter moved from Western Germany to Holland Belgium
        1 armour moved from Rostov to Tambov
              Italians take Tambov from Russians
        1 armour moved from Tambov to Rostov
        1 armour moved from Rostov to Bryansk
              Italians take Bryansk from Russians
        1 armour moved from Bryansk to Rostov
        1 fighter moved from Southern Italy to Holland Belgium

    Combat - Italians
        Battle in Holland Belgium
            Italians attack with 2 fighters and 1 infantry
            British defend with 1 infantry
                Italians roll dice for 2 fighters and 1 infantry in Holland Belgium, round 2 : 0/3 hits, 1.17 expected hits
                British roll dice for 1 infantry in Holland Belgium, round 2 : 1/1 hits, 0.33 expected hits
                1 infantry owned by the Italians lost in Holland Belgium
            2 fighters owned by the Italians retreated
            British win with 1 infantry remaining. Battle score for attacker is -3
            Casualties for Italians: 1 infantry

    Non Combat Move - Italians
        1 fighter moved from Holland Belgium to Western Germany
        1 fighter moved from Holland Belgium to Western Germany

    Place Units - Italians
        2 infantry placed in Northern Italy

    Turn Complete - Italians
        Total Cost from Convoy Blockades: 10
            Rolling for Convoy Blockade Damage in 97 Sea Zone. Rolls: 3,1,6,4,6,5,6,6,5,3,3,5
        Italians collect 6 PUs (10 lost to blockades); end with 6 PUs

Combat Hit Differential Summary :

Italians regular : -1.17
British regular : 0.67

l22-global-1940-oob-surfer-x-vs-andrewaagamer-l-60-i13.tsvg

[AndrewAAGamer]

Round: 13

    Purchase Units - ANZAC
        ANZAC buy 6 infantry; Remaining resources: 3 PUs; 

    Combat Move - ANZAC

    Non Combat Move - ANZAC
        1 cruiser, 1 destroyer and 2 submarines moved from 42 Sea Zone to 35 Sea Zone
        1 artillery and 3 infantry moved from Queensland to 54 Sea Zone
        1 artillery, 1 destroyer, 3 infantry and 2 transports moved from 54 Sea Zone to 35 Sea Zone
        3 infantry moved from New South Wales to Queensland

    Place Units - ANZAC
        3 infantry placed in Queensland
        3 infantry placed in New South Wales

    Turn Complete - ANZAC
        ANZAC collect 14 PUs; end with 17 PUs
        Objective ANZAC 2 Control Strategic Islands: ANZAC met a national objective for an additional 5 PUs; end with 22 PUs

    Combat Move - French
        1 infantry moved from Caucasus to Kazakhstan
              Russians take Kazakhstan from Japanese

    Combat - French

    Non Combat Move - French
        1 infantry moved from Caucasus to Northwest Persia
        1 infantry moved from Iraq to Northwest Persia
        1 infantry moved from Trans-Jordan to Iraq

    Turn Complete - French

L22 Global 1940 OOB surfer (X) vs AndrewAAGamer (L+60) G14.tsvg

[surfer]

Game History

Round: 14

    Research Technology - Germans

    Purchase Units - Germans
        Germans buy 3 artilleries, 4 infantry and 7 mech_infantrys; Remaining resources: 0 PUs; 

    Combat Move - Germans
        1 armour moved from Rostov to Caucasus
              Germans take Caucasus from Russians
        1 armour moved from Caucasus to Rostov
        2 infantry moved from Rostov to Volgograd
        1 fighter and 1 tactical_bomber moved from Rostov to Volgograd
        2 infantry moved from France to Holland Belgium
        4 fighters moved from Western Germany to Holland Belgium

    Combat - Germans
        Battle in Holland Belgium
            Germans attack with 4 fighters and 2 infantry
            British defend with 1 infantry
                Germans roll dice for 4 fighters and 2 infantry in Holland Belgium, round 2 : 0/6 hits, 2.33 expected hits
                British roll dice for 1 infantry in Holland Belgium, round 2 : 1/1 hits, 0.33 expected hits
                1 infantry owned by the Germans lost in Holland Belgium
                Germans roll dice for 4 fighters and 1 infantry in Holland Belgium, round 3 : 1/5 hits, 2.17 expected hits
                British roll dice for 1 infantry in Holland Belgium, round 3 : 0/1 hits, 0.33 expected hits
                1 infantry owned by the British lost in Holland Belgium
            Germans win, taking Holland Belgium from British with 4 fighters and 1 infantry remaining. Battle score for attacker is 0
            Casualties for Germans: 1 infantry
            Casualties for British: 1 infantry
        Battle in Volgograd
            Germans attack with 1 fighter, 2 infantry and 1 tactical_bomber
            Russians defend with 1 factory_minor and 1 mech_infantry
                Germans roll dice for 1 fighter, 2 infantry and 1 tactical_bomber in Volgograd, round 2 : 2/4 hits, 1.50 expected hits
                Russians roll dice for 1 mech_infantry in Volgograd, round 2 : 0/1 hits, 0.33 expected hits
                1 mech_infantry owned by the Russians lost in Volgograd
            Germans win, taking Volgograd from Russians with 1 fighter, 2 infantry and 1 tactical_bomber remaining. Battle score for attacker is 4
            Casualties for Russians: 1 mech_infantry

    Non Combat Move - Germans
        1 aaGun, 2 armour, 26 artilleries and 20 infantry moved from Rostov to Caucasus
        1 armour, 1 artillery and 1 infantry moved from Ukraine to Rostov
        1 fighter and 1 tactical_bomber moved from Volgograd to Rostov
        5 mech_infantrys moved from Poland to Novgorod
        5 mech_infantrys moved from Germany to Eastern Poland
        2 infantry moved from Western Germany to Denmark
        4 fighters moved from Holland Belgium to Western Germany
        3 mech_infantrys moved from Western Germany to Poland

    Place Units - Germans
        2 artilleries and 1 infantry placed in Ukraine
        1 artillery and 2 mech_infantrys placed in Novgorod
        3 infantry placed in Western Germany
        1 mech_infantry placed in Western Germany
        4 mech_infantrys placed in Germany

    Turn Complete - Germans
        Total Cost from Convoy Blockades: 5
            Rolling for Convoy Blockade Damage in 93 Sea Zone. Rolls: 5,3,1,3,4,5
            Rolling for Convoy Blockade Damage in 97 Sea Zone. Rolls: 6,4,4,5,4,1,3,5,2,2,5,3
        Germans collect 44 PUs (5 lost to blockades); end with 44 PUs
        Objective Germans 3 Control Caucasus: Germans met a national objective for an additional 5 PUs; end with 49 PUs
        Objective Germans 2 Control Novgorod Or Volgograd Or Russia: Germans met a national objective for an additional 10 PUs; end with 59 PUs

Combat Hit Differential Summary :

Russians regular : -0.33
Germans regular : -3.00
British regular : 0.33

l22-global-1940-oob-surfer-x-vs-andrewaagamer-l-60-g14.tsvg

[AndrewAAGamer]

Round: 14

    Purchase Units - Russians
        Russians buy 2 infantry and 3 mech_infantrys; Remaining resources: 1 PUs; 

    Combat Move - Russians
        1 armour moved from Russia to Bryansk
              Russians take Bryansk from Italians
        1 armour moved from Bryansk to Russia
        1 armour moved from Russia to Tambov
              Russians take Tambov from Italians
        1 armour moved from Tambov to Russia
        2 infantry moved from Samara to Volgograd
        2 fighters and 1 tactical_bomber moved from Russia to Volgograd
        1 infantry moved from Samara to Volgograd

    Combat - Russians
        Battle in Volgograd
            Russians attack with 2 fighters, 3 infantry and 1 tactical_bomber
            Germans defend with 1 factory_minor and 2 infantry
                Russians roll dice for 2 fighters, 3 infantry and 1 tactical_bomber in Volgograd, round 2 : 2/6 hits, 2.17 expected hits
                Germans roll dice for 2 infantry in Volgograd, round 2 : 1/2 hits, 0.67 expected hits
                1 infantry owned by the Russians and 2 infantry owned by the Germans lost in Volgograd
            Russians win, taking Volgograd from Germans with 2 fighters, 2 infantry and 1 tactical_bomber remaining. Battle score for attacker is 3
            Casualties for Russians: 1 infantry
            Casualties for Germans: 2 infantry

    Non Combat Move - Russians
        1 tactical_bomber moved from Volgograd to Russia
        2 fighters moved from Volgograd to Russia
        1 artillery moved from Russia to Samara
        1 infantry moved from Urals to Novosibirsk
        1 aaGun and 3 infantry moved from Evenkiyskiy to Urals
        1 armour moved from Russia to Novosibirsk
        5 infantry moved from Russia to Samara
        3 infantry moved from Russia to Samara
        5 infantry moved from Russia to Samara
        1 aaGun moved from Samara to Novosibirsk
        8 infantry moved from Samara to Novosibirsk
        3 infantry moved from Samara to Novosibirsk

    Place Units - Russians
        2 infantry and 3 mech_infantrys placed in Russia

    Turn Complete - Russians
        Russians collect 16 PUs; end with 17 PUs

L22 Global 1940 OOB surfer (X) vs AndrewAAGamer (L+60) J14.tsvg

[surfer]

@andrewaagamer I guess I should have attacked the US fleet with 3% chance of win…but I’d rather just resign. I’m not going to gain anything on any front. I thought I could press in India to change the tide in the Middle East, but you’ll just trounce Japan. 43 aircraft!! ouch. But built up over rounds of winning by at least 40 TUV. Good game.

[AndrewAAGamer]

Thank you for the game. I enjoyed it. I also agree that the attacker got hosed all game. Since the Axis attack more than the Allies I think that made life difficult for you.

[surfer]

@andrewaagamer Perhaps. But I really think I was outplayed, so congrats. That said, would you mind analyzing my play style. I seem to be missing some aspect to move up to a higher level of play. I beat anyone Tier 1 and lower and have even matches at E level, but never get off the ground with Masters.

[surfer]

For the fun of it, I ran the Fleet battle. Just chose default losses – max defense. Surprisingly, I was able to get a draw. Still negative TUV battle… So just had to resign to get the attackers to fight. :)

[AndrewAAGamer]

Interesting. I will say it is a lot easier to teach a poor player to be a good player than a good player to be a great player. However, let me see how I can be of help.

First off, I agree you are a good player. We have played two games and neither one was a walkover. You obviously have the grasp of the basics of the game both tactically and strategically. Both games were competitive for a while till small imbalances become larger imbalances over time. It is removing those small imbalances that make a good player a great player.

One thing that makes a good player a great player is being able to “see” the entire board. In both our games you had one attack where you were surprised by the actual battle. What I mean by that is, you missed how additional units could get into the battle, so the percentage battle chance was different than you had anticipated it to be. In our first game you missed Germany building aircraft carriers and, in this game, you missed UK fighters coming from Moscow. Playing a great game means never being surprised in a battle. Now I am not talking about dice. If I expect that it is a 20% battle, and you make the attack and win that is fine. What you don’t want to happen is think you are giving your opponent a 30% battle but you miss some units and instead it is a 70% battle.

One way to improve in “seeing” the board is to play out a full Round. Take your Turn on local then move forward through the other Powers Turns. Many times you will catch something that you would otherwise have missed. Of course, you can only do this electronically and not in a face to face game.

I can think of twice in my online gaming where I was caught unexpectedly this way. One cost me the game and the other luckily didn’t. Both times were due to missing something based on Turn order. I started playing out the Rounds as I just suggested and greatly improved my ability to “see” the board. Now I rarely must play it out as I am more used to it though occasionally, I still do if it seems complicated.

Another skill great players have is balancing their forces in theater. It is easy to have too many resources invested in one goal and not enough in another. In our most recent game, as Japan, you had a significant number of resources invested in the land war and probably not enough in the sea war. As you saw, after you accomplished both your land goals, take China and India, and had significant land forces left over. You probably could have still succeeded in your land goals and not invested quite so much.

At sea, you lost the battle which cost Japan any chance of winning the game on their side of the Board. Yes, you had India and China, but you could not take Sydney or Hawaii for the victory. Having more money invested in sea units would have helped you in that endeavor. Remember, the battle for the Pacific is the same in every game for both sides. If Japan can sink the combined Allied fleet the Pacific is up for grabs and the Allies are on defense. As soon as the Allied fleet is strong enough to withstand an all-out Japanese attack, the Allies can now go on offense. The allies do not have to be able to blow up the IJN, they just must be strong enough not to be blown up. Thus, every game is a race as the Allies try to beef up their fleet while the Japanese strive to maintain their superiority. By not investing enough at sea the Allies were able to win in the Pacific because a stale mate is as good as a win for the Allies.

One other skill great players have is balanced force composition. Having the right type of unit to get the job done for the least investment. In our game you had too many artilleries versus infantry. Artillery are good as long as they are paired with infantry. Once they have no infantry to be paired with their utility dramatically drops. So, the goal is to have enough infantry that the artillery fire multiple rounds before they have no infantry to be combined with. Having a greater artillery vs infantry ratio gives you a higher attack on round 1 but weaker attacks on subsequent rounds. Think of it this way. If the defender has 60 units defending at 2 that is a 120 defensive firepower or DFP. That means on average they are going to get 20 hits. So, if I have 20 artilleries than I need 40 infantries to make sure on round 2 I still have enough infantry paired with my artillery. If I want my artillery to be paired even longer, I need far more infantry than artillery. I like a 4 to 1 ratio. My gaming buddy likes a 5 to 1 ratio.

You can easily check this by taking a battle in TripleA and revising the units. For example, at one point in our game you threatened Moscow with 22 infantry, 30 mechanized infantry, 23 artillery, 12 armor, 3 fighter, 3 tactical and 3 bombers; a 2.26 ratio of infantry vs artillery. Russia had 60 infantry, 2 mechanized infantry, 17 artillery, 3 armor, 10 fighters, 1 tactical and 2 AA guns. AFP of 190 with 96 units vs DFP of 218 with 97 units. Average success = 13% TUV of -167. Let’s remove 6 artillery and add in 8 infantries making it a 3.5 ratio. Your AFP drops from 190 to 180 and your total units increase from 96 to 98. Results change to Average success = 14% TUV of -162. I realize that is a small change, yet it is still a change for the better, and it is only small differences that make a good player a great player.

I realize it seems counterintuitive, “Wait I am killing almost 2 fewer units on round 1” yes but you also have two more units to take hits on and those two units you did not kill are not going to kill two units, they most likely are only going to kill one of your units. Therefore, your future rounds are more powerful.

Anyway, I hope this helps. Enjoyed playing against you.

[surfer]

@andrewaagamer Thanks for the insight. I should have guessed that your recommendation would be based on incremental changes. It’s all about getting the most for your money.

You made good sense in the Pacific sea war. I was a bit off based on the fact that I usually play BM4 games where you have to have extra land forces for Japan to cover all the Chinese territory.

but regardless, I never felt like the Axis were making any early progress to threaten Russia. Even when they gang’ed up on them from both sides. The only possible outlier was when my mobile force evaded death and was able to run amok for 2-3 rounds in the north. I know there are other ways to win the game, but the Crushia gambit seems the most straightforward and game balancing strategy when facing a better opponent. I just was unable to shrink Russia, and that inability started earlier than I would have expected, i.e. Turn 6-7.
Any thoughts?