Newbie Here, Got A Couple Questions

@KingCrimson250:

Hey guys, just got this game today. Fantastic, really loving it so far, but I have a couple questions. I read through the FAQ thread and didn’t see anything so I thought I’d start a new thread.

First, I’m not sure I understand the rules properly with regards to IPCs. Is the production limit the most that can be produced in one turn, or is it the most that can be in the territory at one point? So, for example, since Germany has an IPC of 10, and I’ve got two fighters and an infantry there, would I be able to build a maximum of ten units, or seven? The rules seem to indicate the latter, but frankly I’m not entirely sure how England is supposed to amass a force of any size with that.

The production value of a territory indicates the number of new units that can be built there if there’s an IC.

Second, how often is Artillery seen? In my game today, my land forces consisted mostly of Infantry and Tanks.

Depends on your preference. Artillery is usually good when you have that remaining 1 IPC and want to spend it. Others prefer art to tanks but the mobility and extra defense of tanks more than pays off for their higher price.

Third, do named islands count as landing sites for planes (I’m thinking specifically of Midway, here)?

Yes. Any island whose name is printed on the map board (Midway, Formosa, Iceland, etc.) is a game territory and you can move units there.

Fourth and finally, I see talk on these forums about KGF or sometimes KJF. Is it ever advisable to focus mostly on acquiring VCs over trying to eliminate the other side? I won today by having USSR take as many IPCs from the Germans and hold them as long as possible while US took Paris and combination US and UK took Shanghai and Phillipines, winning the game. Is this sort of thing viable? Or should I mostly just bend my efforts to crushing one side?

Sorry for all the questions. Thanks in advance for your patience and responses!

Depends on how you see the end goal. The rules state that you need at least 9 VCs to win the game but for many players the goal is to hit the opponent until it concedes defeat. Usually for the Allies that means the conquest of Germany or defeating Japan on the Pacific, thus you have the KGF and KJF scenarios.

1.  If you have 2 fighters and an infantry on Germany, you can still build 10 units there.  It doesn’t matter how many units you have on a territory; the number of units you build in a territory depends only on the production value of the territory and how much damage (if any) has been inflicted by industrial bombing.

2.  Different players have different preferences.  I would say that Russia should maintain a stock of 2-3 artillery at any given time, because it often trades multiple territories with Germany.  (Russia can use fighters to trade some territories, but it may want a bit of extra attack power, and it won’t want to use tanks, because tanks are more expensive.)

In general, though, I would not build lots of artillery except under exceptional circumstances.  Tanks are more useful because of their mobility.

3.  You can land air on territories that you or your allies controlled since the start of your turn.  For example, you could land fighters on Greenland if you wanted.  Midway’s fine to land air on.

4.  You always want to keep an eye on VCs because if you capture enough, you win.  That said, it’s usually better to concentrate on winning the game as a whole.  If you’re pushing your opponent back, you will get VCs anyways.  On the other hand, if you’re concentrating on just grabbing VCs, you might lose so much position that you lose your VCs.

Axis have Berlin, Rome, Paris, Tokyo, Kwangtung, and Phillipines.  Allies have Karelia, Moscow, Calcutta, London, Los Angeles, and Washington.  You need nine to win, so that means grabbing three of your opponent’s VCs without losing your own, or grabbing more than three to compensate for what your opponent has grabbed.

The Allies can easily lose Karelia and Calcutta, but Moscow can be well protected for a long time, and London, Los Angeles, and Washington are practically invulnerable.  So realistically, if the Axis want to win, they have to concentrate on breaking Moscow; there’s no other way to get up to 9 VCs.  Since breaking Moscow takes a while if the Allies play well, the Axis usually need to think about a mid to long term strategy that will let them maintain control of their own VCs while they try to break Moscow - rather than trying to concentrate only on VCs.

Of course, if the Allies get careless, Germany could POSSIBLY grab London, Los Angeles, or Washington.  But that’s not “normal”, especially against experienced players.

The Axis are in no danger of losing any VCs early, so the Allies can’t even think about trying to win by VCs early on.  Mid to late game, Paris is hard to hold against a KGF, and Kwangtung and Phillipines are hard to hold against a KJF.  Taking Paris, Kwangtung, and Phillipines while ALSO maintaining control of Karelia and Calcutta is not at all easy. In practical terms, the Allies can win by VCs in a KJF if they control the Asian coast (Calcutta, Kwangtung, Phillipines) and manage to secure both Karelia and Paris (or perhaps Rome).  This VC victory is a lot easier than trying to break into Tokyo or Berlin, especially since Moscow will likely be under a lot of pressure.  That is, the Allies can win by VCs instead of trying to focus on protecting Moscow and breaking either Berlin or Tokyo.  On the other hand, if the Allies are going KGF, they will probably not be able to win by concentrating on VCs.  Japan should control Calcutta, so even if the Allies take Berlin, Paris, and Rome, the Allies will still be at only 8 VCs.  The Allies will have to earn their victory by beating Japan off the Asian coast.