War at Sea Miniatures in the Global Game

I tried out Sea Lion in a game, again, with a few changes.  I did do a J1 because its just sooo good for Japan.

*before Sea Lion invasion, the U.S. positioned itself for Gibraltor route, rather than Canada.  So Germany used its cruiser in SZ104 and bombed Gibraltor’s naval base I2 so the U.S. could not counter attack.  Alternatively, if the U.K. hadn’t had planes in place to reinforce, I might’ve let U.S. retake London, so UK could collect on UK3, and Germany could just take London again on G4 and pocket 30ipc instead of 8.
*on G3, Germany bought a carrier for SZ110 so transports wouldn’t be sunk.  Bombers couldn’t hit because I’d taken Scotland on G2
*on G3 I bought 3 inf for Normandy so that they could end up in London on G4 with the 3 inf I could buy and prevent the U.S. from taking it.
*used all the inf from Norway/Finland for Sea Lion, except one as a blocker in Finland.  This left quite a lot of German troops in the way on mainland Europe, 25+.  I parked them in Romania along with Italy’s 2inf, 2arton G3 once Russia committed its stack to the southern route.  He never did attack there.

*also on G3/G4, I bought slow movers.  I had 10 transports available to take back Norway, Finland, and also hit Baltic States and Novgorod all at once.  This was a serious hit to Russia who lost 10ish inf/art spread out over these areas.

With Japan whooping in the Pacific, the U.S. had an impossible choice and made the mistake of splitting his focus.  He never did liberate London.

Italy committed its land forces to Eastern Europe.  I used its planes to hit anything I could of the UK’s in the Med or Egypt.  By the end of turn 5, UK had 2 inf and an anti air gun, 2 transports left, total.

Russia was a PIA for quite a while, but by round 6 the front line was finally at Ukraine in the south and Germany solidly had Leningrad, and could start bombing Moscow and buying nothing but fast movers.

IPC’s were nice.  After G4, Germany was making 52 ipc base plus 15 ipc NO bonuses (London, Scandinavia, and Novgorod).  This plus the 30 ipcs from sacking London easily paid for the units to take and keep London.

Lots of good options for G1 builds, but here are my personal thoughts.  Two bombers can help Sea Lion in the following way:

Clean up residual ships on G2 to prevent ship blocks Bomb London on G2, doing ~9 points of additional damage to the factory which reduces the number of infantry built on UK2. Join in on the London raid on G3, contributing 8 more attack power (equivalent of 2 transports loaded with infantry + art) for approximately the same purchase cost Attack the Russian response on G4-G5; bomb Russian factories along the front. Attack the US Navy trying to liberate UK on G4-G10ish

Additionally the two bombers are quite useful to bomb Moscow and support a Barbarosa if Sea Lion is not an option.  It is not as optimal of a build of 6 art + 2 inf for marching into Russia, but still is very beneficial.

:-D

@WILD:

@knp7765:

This is why we modified the Russian NO with our own house rule……

I know this is out of place, but the Russian NO is very much part of an over all Med strat….(one that shouldn’t exist IMO).

Yea, the 3 IPC bonus the Russians get for Italian African territories, and Med islands is ridiculous (it has been a major gripe sense it was introduced). This theater was never a realistic or historic goal for the Russians, and it is exploited way to much as ppl get more familiar with it. This NO was changed partially to boost the Russians if there is a Sea Lion (kinda like a penalty), but now it is being manipulated even w/o Sea Lion.

IMO Finland, The Balkans, The Mid East, and Eastern Europe (Orig German territories) are a realistic goal. I’l even buy Original Italian possession in Europe like Albania, parts of N Italy and maybe even Rome could also be added to the list (but the Americans beat them to it for the most part).

What we are experimenting with (not an original house rule by any means) is that Russia gets a bonus for any Orig German, Orig Italian, Pro Axis Neutral , and Pro Allied Neutral territory that Russia is in control of equal to that territories IPC value (could also include True Neutrals activated by the Axis, or liberated by Russia from the Axis). This makes the Italian Med islands worthless, and Libya/Ethiopia hardly worth going after. It will tone down some territory bonuses for the Russians (like Bulgaria), but allows them some new territories to target as well that were more in tune with their goals IMO.

Obviously Finland was a major goal, but so was the Balkans (Bulgaria, Yugo, Romania, maybe Albania, and Greece) especially once they beat back the Germans (like in a Sea Lion attempt, or a failed assault on Moscow). In The Mid East it still allows the Russians to gain NO bonus for control of Iraq (reduced), and now Persia for added income once at war (could be as late as R4 before they could be in either because they have to pause in NW Persia). The NO bonus for Iraq, and Persia could also simulate the lend lease coming up through the Persian Gulf. I know that Persia being Russian isn’t very historical as it was British controlled (Russia did invade what is NW Persia though). My thinking here is that if the UK doesn’t take Persia early (leaving it for Russia), then the Allies are out some English Pounds and a couple of inf needed early on. If Germany does a G3 Barbarossa, then by time Russia gets to Persia it would be Rus4 (6 or more IPCs lost to England if they activated it UK1). It would be a viable target however for the Russians to Liberate Persia from the Axis after going for the Oil Bonus, to get a bonus of their own).

In the event of a Sea Lion (or failed assault on Moscow), the Russians would still get good bonuses for the orig German, orig Italian, Pro Axis Neutral, and now some Pro allied Neutral territories in the Balkans & Mid East (average of 2-3 IPCs each). If they crack into Northern Italy, or Greater German territories then their NO bonuses rise even more.

The med island thing is no big deal, since 1 axis plane in SITA stops any russian landing.  But, I do like the NO changes you proposed.  It should only affect Original axis in Europe, and all neutrals in Europe/Middle-East. (No islands).

You guys are awesome. Thank you very much.  :-D

Rob.

How a cheaper Navy helps the allies is this. The US comes in after turn 4. With a cheaper navy, namely transports, Japan could be a real threat to Australia, forcing the US to pay attention to it, making it historically accurate.

The US paying some attention to Japan helps the Germans.

Lastly, IMHO, the game is close enough that these changes don’t ruin the game. But seeing your point, to go along with this, you would also have to fix the sub problem which is horrible. The advantage Germany had in the beginning of the war with their subs just doesn’t exist in the game. They need to make the subs more stealthy, like rolling the dice to locate them before attacking them, (destroyers would have a better chance than other units) and greatly expanding the areas they can convoy. Also giving the Germans a wolf pack advantage that the US copies and made use of much later in the war against the Japanese.

This whole incredible aspect of WW2 was somehow left out of the game.  A real shame. That would bring some balance.

My turns usually take about 10 mins as axis, 2-3 mins as allies (not counting UK or late-game USA)(not counting die rolls. I find that making a few mistakes in a fast-paced game is more fun than making no mistakes in a game where you can take decent naps if it is not your turn.

Just jumping in, since the water seems warm enough.

Are people trying to win as the axis militarily(meaning conventional forces/economy shifting) or by victory cities?

Just curious, cause if you don’t have to worry about future turns(by ending the game early through cities), you may be able to afford to give up certain ground and take unusual risks or losses to secure the cities in question and then see if the allies are in position to liberate one in time.

I’ve drafted and posted early ideas on unconventional strategies. One designed for Europe with a goal of 5 cities in 5 turns seemed plausible. My first live try failed, based on one particular allied response and a close battle being not close after dice were rolled. Am I giving up? Nope. I’m refining the strategy. (In this example, it is clear I must take Normandy if I permit France to produce units, as 3 carriers for the allies proved to be “a bridge to far” for the German air and naval forces.)