What's the cheesiest thing about Global 1940?


  • @variance:

    Of the 5 objectives I gave, which ones were most seriously on the table for Japan in the war?Â

    I’d rank them in two groups and in the following order, from most to least likely (which is only a very rough estimate, given that many variables would have affected Japan’s chances of success if it had tried for these objectives).

    Group 1: Achievable

    a) More islands in the Pacific.  I don’t have an opinion on the stated number of 20, but Japan could certainly have captured more islands (especially small ones in the Central Pacific) than it actually did.  I’ve already mentioned the Ellice Islands, and Johnston would be another possibility.  Note, by the way, that Johnston Atoll was astride the direct air route between the continental US and Australia, so its position had potential strategic implications if Japan had managed to capture it, given that the US basically used Australia as a staging area for its campaign in the Southwest Pacific.  The capture of Midway would also have been quite within Japan’s capabilities if Spruance and Fletcher hadn’t ruined things for them.  Midway was regarded as a strategic “keyhole” giving the US access to the Central Pacific, and after the Doolittle Raid the Japanese were eager to plug it.  Midway might also have been handy in supporting an invasion of Hawaii…but maybe not in a major way, since I don’t think it had an anchorage.

    b) Parts of India – specifically Ceylon, which Japan raided in 1942, and about whose security the Royal Navy had serious doubts.  The RN established a secret naval base in Addu Atoll for precisely that reason.  But India as a whole was simply too big and too populous for Japan to conquer; it contributed about 2 million troops to the Allied war effort.

    By the way, as a variant on a) and b), one intriguing hypothetical Japanese objective about which Britain was worried was Vichy-occupied Madagascar, in the Indian Ocean.  Britain (and the Free French, I think) invaded Madagascar in 1942 to preclude such a possibility.

    Group 2: Not achievable

    c) Australia.  I think that, at best, the Japanese might have captured Darwin, which was the nearest part of Australia to New Guinea and which had an isolated position on the other side of the country from the most populated part of Australia.  Japan actually air-raided Darwin at one point.  But capturing Darwin would have been of dubious practical value.  And capturing NSW would have been, I  think, quite out of the question: too far away, too big, and too well defended.

    d) China.  Capturing a few more parts of it is credible, but capturing all of it isn’t.  James Dunnigan addresses this topic in the section called “The War (A Big One) In China” in his book Victory at Sea.  China was a disunited, non-industrial country, yet Japan only managed to capture parts of it during the four years (1937-1941) when China had its undivided attention.  It didn’t get much further during the 1942-1944 period.  And when Japan, out of desperation, eventually started committing elements of its powerful Manchuria-based Kwantung Army to the war in the Pacific, Japan’s position in China was seriously weakened.  The Russians and the Mongolians, as I recall, made rapid progress there when they eventually attacked in August 1945.

    e) The US West Coast.  Even if a hypothetical Japanese invasion and occupation of this region had been completely unopposed by the Americans on their own home turf (which is utterly unimaginable), the logistical requirements to support a Japanese occupation army across 6,000 miles of ocean – a trip of about one month by fast ocean liner – would have been impossible to meet.  The Anglo-Americans had a tough enough time supporting their own forces in Normany and (later) in western Europe in the weeks and months after D-Day, even though all that separated Britain from Normandy was the English Channel.  And the Japanese themselves found it very difficult (and ultimately impossible in the long term) to supply their relatively close troops on Guadalcanal, despite the best efforts of the Tokyo Express.

  • '17 '16 '15 '14 '12

    I wonder what percentage of games end when one side gives up, essentially because of economic reasons.  How many games actually run all the way until the victory conditions are met?  Maybe it would make sense to have some income level be a victory condition and harden up the “play til someone quits” thing.  So have an economic victory condition for the axis, combined with a certain number of victory cities (or other objectives like islands or whatever), so that they don’t just blow up and “win” before the allies get rolling.  Like maybe if Germany has 7 cities and japan has 5, AND their combined income is at some high level?

    Would it also make sense to have a “stalemate” outcome?  I’ve had some games where I gave up because it seemed like the both sides were just going to stack Egypt or z6 or whatever forever.  Those games might eventually be resolved in 30+ rounds but who wants to do that, especially in a face to face game?

  • '22 '20 '19 '18 '17 '16

    Minor thing, but shouldn’t the French have a token presence in FIC? The game doesn’t simulate Vichy France, so having an infantry sitting there would at least prevent Japan from walking in unopposed from Siam (they should put up some effort). Or the French player can slowly march it to India or Yunnan if he pleases.


  • I think the Axis victory conditions need to be more like the Allies’. So maybe simply “axis must control 5 allied capitols as well as at least 1 axis capitol for a complete round of play”. That may sound like it would take too long, but remember, the allies have to completely wipe out their enemy to win. Killing everyone but U.S. or everyone but U.S.S.R. wouldn’t be that hard. And conceding is always an option.

    Another way to do it would be make it 3 of these 4: washington, london, calcutta, moscow.

    Yet another, “axis must control washington, london, and moscow as well as at least 1 axis capitol for a complete round of play”. That might seem weird at first because none are on the pacific map, but to me this seems like the best option. First of all, if japan is strong enough, it is reasonable to take moscow and/or washington with them. Secondly, even if germany/italy end up taking all the capitols, this will only be possible if japan is played well enough to stay rich, destroy india, and sap resources from U.S.

    Oh yeah, by the way I think the 6VC win for Japan is the cheesiest thing in G40.


  • I have always thought the game should be slanted toward the Allies a bit more, and include an Axis victory condition that changes as the game drags on.
    Basically, you would have to weather the storm for longer than the Axis really did to win.

    This is just spitballing but lets say it looks something like this:

    Axis wins on turn 5 if they control at least 12 victory cities at the end of a turn
    Axis wins on turn 10 if they control at least 10 victory cities at the end of their turn
    Axis wins on turn 15 if they control at least 7 victory cities at the end of their turn
    Axis wins on turn 20 if they control at least 4 victory cities at the end of their turn

    Remember, this is with a US probably making like 25 IPCs more, really putting the pressure on the axis to preform
    The Allies may have a similar chart, or perhaps a chart that deals in IPCs

    Allies win on turn 5 if the axis collects less than 50 IPCs collectively
    Allies win on turn 10 if the axis collects less than 70 IPCs collectively
    Allies win on turn 15 if the axis collects less than 90 IPCs collectively
    Allies win on turn 20 if the axis collects less than 110 IPCs collectively


  • Someone has probably said this, but the idea that If china takes over all of their territories, and are make a boatload of money, there is an invisible force-field that stops them from ever attacking Korea, any Japanese held Russian territories, or most British territories is ludicrous… Like really?! Come on, I know there as a civil war but that doesnt mean that invisible force-fields just stop them… Whatever, rant over…

    Thanks,


  • @Freddy:

    Someone has probably said this, but the idea that If china takes over all of their territories, and are make a boatload of money, there is an invisible force-field that stops them from ever attacking Korea, any Japanese held Russian territories, or most British territories is ludicrous… Like really?! Come on, I know there as a civil war but that doesnt mean that invisible force-fields just stop them… Whatever, rant over…

    Thanks,

    Good point Freddy -
    Something to consider though -
    Isn’t it just as cheesy that China would be building that many infantry and be able to coordinate the entire fighting force in unity, and also be able to place about 9 infantry in any territory in China that they want each turn?
    When Russia can’t place one single infantry on the board anywhere east of Moscow and does not even have the capability of building an IC east of Moscow  :-)


  • Variance

    No way were they ever going to take over India, Australia or the Western third of the United States, but yeah it is a game.

    I beg to differ. And there is no way to know for sure, but from what historical reference I have, I do understand the massive resources the Japanese spent in an offensive war against the US Navy. As I understand it, once the US conducted the Doolittle raid, which was inconsequential at best, and almost impossible to pull off again, the Japanese over reacted and attempted to create a defensive perimeter in the Pacific. If they fought more defensively in the Pacific and focused on India, it very well could have fallen. The question of course is how much damage would have been caused in the Pacific. Not much in my humble opinion.

    We know that attempting to build there defensive perimeter to far out, cost them ever taking India or anything else. That is the beauty of the game. Starting at a point of historical accuracy, then be allowed to do something different.

  • '17 '16 '15 '14 '12

    Seems more like Japan’s goals more modest.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MESwOYclcYY


  • The 2 cheesiest things about Global 1940 is the same thing that has been the cheesiest thing about A&A since Classic. 1) China falls every time and is overly easy to knock them out of the game. 2) Tech breakthroughs. WWWWOOOOOHHHHHOOOOOO I got jet power now every fight I own is a Me-262. Even the ones on the other side of the world!!!

  • '19 '18

    variance, your link doesn’t really work :D

  • '17 '16 '15 '14 '12

    sorry 'bout that.  try it now. I fixed it

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