Is it possible for Russia to build a navy and still win?

SilverGeneral,
Any time you buy a BB you will spend 24 IPCs. That is all the IPCs with which you start the game. Your best chance to try it is R1(USSR Turn 1), R2 or maybe, if you are playing other newbies or idiots R3. In most games you will not have 24 IPCs to spend after R2, if the Axis Player(s) are a 3 0n a 1-10 scale, ever again.
If you buy the BB you cannot add to your defenses(the MOST IMPORTANT thing you do as USSR.)
Most likely your tran will be sunk by Germany on G1 so to have a BB and trans will take two turns to build or you must save some IPCs from one turn to have enough to build the BB and tran. This is an excellent way to defeat yourself.

Defend your capital to give UK and US time to come to your rescue…by turn 4 they should have some forces moving to hit W Eur, take Nor/Fin, and/or reinforce Karelia… they might have even landed in Africa to stop the Afrika Korp :) .

There seems to be some discussion that pearl harbor is NOT an automatic play on J1.

Soooooooooo, lets say no pearl harbor occurs. That gives the allies another carrier and bs to protect the shuck. How about, the us carrier and bs go to the atlantic, and uk buys a carrier too, but sends it to the kareilia northern sz. This could take a few turns(3?), cuz you would’nt want to do it before the us carrier is in the uk sz to protect the uk transports. With the uk carrier in the karelia sz, there would be no danger for the russian transports.

Also, if germany has no navy, OR airforce, then no direct threat to russian transports would be there.

Again, i think its a serious gamble, but I could envision a couple of scenarios where it might be plausible. But as someone said, you’d hvae to be playing some real newbs or there must be some really funky die rolls (like the germans lose all their planes and navy on g1and uk1 - in which case, its prolly over anyway).

I really can not imagine a scenario where this would work. I always figured that if i were ever Russia, i would love the position to arise where i could just buy a battleship as kind of a “you’re soooooo screwed” manuever. The fact is that you need those extra 8 infantry on the first turn, otherwise guarenteed i WILL hit Karelia and there is nothing your battleship can do about it. You want to try your little 4/6 support shot against me? Fine, but it won’t hurt too much compared to the joy of having 8 fewer infantry facing my enexorably continuing march on Moscow.
Let’s look at the first round. Let’s say you leave 1 inf on CAU, move all available other units to KAR and buy your BB. You will have 11 inf, 3 arm, and 2 ftrs defending vs. 7 armour, 11 inf (2 from Germany proper) and 5 ftrs, 1 bmb. First round i kill 8 units, you kill 6. Next round I kill 7 units, you kill around 3-4. I’ve just taken KAR and will prolly hold it with 7 armour left and maybe an inf or 2. In the meantime i’ve also taken CAU with my 2 inf and bb support shot. Now true, i’ve left the UK navy as well as the russion one alone, but really what are you going to do as Russia? Moscow is mine in the next 2 turns give or take, and i’m not really wetting myself in the face of the mighty Russian navy.

wvfoos,
Thanks for agreeing with me.
signed,
@wyfoos:

“someone”

cystic_crypt agrees, too, in more detail!

i did it against the computer (got a bb first turn) and was able to invade germany by sea as russia on turn 3!

I have seen a Russian navy once. I was playing Russia and the AI played the rest, In order to end the game I had to build a navy to take Japan.

In a more normal game, russia can always buy a battleship in the last round before victory, but it doesn’t really count.

remember anything is possible! the russian navy that you do start out with can be useful! transport can be used to give russia western cash it can’t otherwise get. and sub can get in the pacific and block lone tranny to new zealand, this only happened once, but…

@lnxduk:

remember anything is possible! the russian navy that you do start out with can be useful! transport can be used to give russia western cash it can’t otherwise get. and sub can get in the pacific and block lone tranny to new zealand, this only happened once, but…

I like it!!!
i’m going to do this!!!

i forgot to mention, the ussr transport if it survives can be used by the uk as a “half” transport for 1 inf per turn, or 2 every other which allows the uk to move a little more in without disrupting infantry buys to get a full transport (which they may not even be able to fill)

i tried playing the abandon-pacific-and-head-for-the-atlantic strategy once with USA. didn’t work out so well on that occasion. the problem was that it left the pacific wide open for the japanese to stroll into hawaii and midway. then it was strategic bombings and consistent badgering by the japanese in mexico and alaska. needless to say, the US game plan went haywire.

first of all, it is pretty hard to get a Russian Navy in time to actually do anything, but that doesn’t stop us from having a good joke at its expense. the only time i had a Russian Navy was when i took out Germany and took out a japanese IC in Manchuria, then built a BB or two to take out Japan.

as far as “badgering” by Japan in Mex/Alaska? that’s what? 3 IPCs? as long as they don’t get too much of a force there, it’s no big deal, and it keeps Japan from focusing entirely on Russia, which is always a good thing. :D

to answer your topic…. no

If Russia builds a battleship at the start of the game, Germany will most likely overrun Karellia with few losses and from the start threaten Moscow!!

So NO dont build a battleship at the start of the game!!

Now if Germany falls and the Japan player won’t give up then go ahead and build a few battleships.

But only after Germany is DEAD!!!

@waraxis:

If Russia builds a battleship at the start of the game, Germany will most likely overrun Karellia with few losses and from the start threaten Moscow!!

So NO dont build a battleship at the start of the game!!

Now if Germany falls and the Japan player won’t give up then go ahead and build a few battleships.

But only after Germany is DEAD!!!

of course this would require you holding Manchuria, Burma, etc. in order to build the IC’s to build the ships. This would mean that Japan is on its way out in which case Russia building a BB is Russia’s way of saying “the game is over already and this is tedious”.

Once Germany has fallen it should be no problem for Russia to take any of it’s areas back that Japan has. And after that go after any other Asian mainland area that Japan has. Once done then go ahead and build BBs.

Some Japanese Players wont quit till they have lost Japan itself.

If BBs are not to your liking then the Russian player can build Bombers.

My whole point was that Russia can’t build BBs till Germany is Dead!!!

@waraxis:

Some Japanese Players wont quit till they have lost Japan itself.
quote]

Those people need to get in touch with reality. :D

My point still stands with me.

If the Japanese player wont give up after Germany falls then Russia can build a navy to help beat her!!

There are some players who have no problem going down with the ship.

Besides if during the game the Japanese player built a huge Asian Empire then I can see him or her not going down with out a fight!!!

@waraxis:

If the Japanese player wont give up after Germany falls then Russia can build a navy to help beat her!! There are some players who have no problem going down with the ship. Besides if during the game the Japanese player built a huge Asian Empire then I can see him or her not going down with out a fight!!!

I can see why Russia could have a navy, but what I’m saying is that if it actually gets so far they need one, then Japan ain’t gonna win anyway. :wink: