• What are your guy’s opinions on the best purchases for all the nations?


  • That is a big question.  I have played a number of games now and I know that there are far more skilled players out there than me but I have looked through the forum and there are several schools of thought.  Initial buys are going to be different than buys midway or later in the game.  You need to think of the objectives and strategy you are going to take for each faction.  US buys are going to be different than Soviet buys.  The Italians and Germans will have different objectives yet work closely together.  US is navy heavy.  The US has to cover the globe by water but you need ground troops to defeat the enemy.  Don’t forget the power of the bomber in helping the UK and Soviets.  The Germans don’t need a huge navy.  U-bouts are great for them until you are ready to invade London.  The ground units (tanks and mechs) and air power are Germany’s strength.  The Soviets need infantry and artillery with the occassional tank and fighter in order to defend and then counter-attack.  The UK PAC needs infantry and artillery with aircraft and occassional destroyer and transport.  The ANZACs need navy and air with a few infantry and artillery.  The conditions and ebb and flow of the game will determine what you buy and when.  Determine what you want to accomplish and buy what it takes to get it done.

  • '15

    Great question.  Since no two games are the same, here’s an outline I like to go by (as opposed to exact buys)

    Germany - ground troops to march into Russia are a must, but def add a couple of planes and subs now and then

    USSR - a lot of people like to go 7 inf 4 art early but I think having a lot of art is helpful, so I prefer 7 art 3 inf.  It’s really nice to have a strong counter punch later in the game in case the opportunity presents itself

    Japan - no later than J3 I like to add at least one bomber per turn

    US - I’ve said this a bunch on this board, but I believe you must go heavy in the east early one.  I like a US1 buy of 1 CV, 1 DD and 4 transports

    China - tech rolls

    London - depends on so many factors, but I like to buy extra air force early on.  Sometimes I’ll go two fighters round one and save 8

    India - ground troops

    Italy - I prefer to buy a lot of infantry to build up a sea wall.  This helps Germany not get distracted

    Anzac - I always try and have a transport ready to go to screw with Japan’s money (but it’s fun to build a lot of fighters with them too)

    France - CV  (seriously, why does the game include French carriers?)

  • '17 '16 '15

    @Nippon-koku:

    France - CV  (seriously, why does the game include French carriers?)

    For nationalistic pride. :)


  • Here is my list for round 1:

    Germany:  It depends, I like to try 3 subs and 3 art, but a lot of people either choose all navy or all ground.

    Russia:  If Germany bought heavy ground, then 11 inf 1 art, if Germany bought boats, 7 inf, 3 mechs, 1 art (maybe more art and less mechs)

    Japan: 90% of the time, I do 1 minor IC and 2 transports.

    US:  I nearly always do 2 carriers, 1 destroyer, 2 subs

    China: art whenever i get the chance, all inf any other time of course

    UK:  6 inf 1 fig is fairly standard

    Italy: depends too much on how much UK kicks your butt

    ANZAC:  Either transport inf or 1 fighter

  • '22 '20 '19 '18 '17 '16 '15 '14 '12

    The only major power buy I do consistently is USA: 2CVs and 2 dds R1 placed evenly between east and west. Otherwise, it’s all over the map depending.

    Germany can be either 1ss, 1dd, 1cv or 3ftrs (my current favorite) or 2ss, ftr, 1 dd or 10 inf

    All those work out pretty well.

    USSR, I like to build a couple ftrs the first few rounds.

    Japan is transports, maybe a harbor

    UK: mostly infantry or a transport for south africa – maybe a ftr for England.


  • @Nippon-koku:

    China - tech rolls

    That’s a new one. Now I’m starting to seriously consider this… would the Artillery tech be worth it? What about War Bonds? So many possibilities…

    @Nippon-koku:

    France - CV  (seriously, why does the game include French carriers?)

    Better question: Why did I buy extra French units from HBG? I’ve never even used them…

  • 2023 '22 '21 '20 '19 '18 '17 '16 '15

    @Karl7:

    The only major power buy I do consistently is USA: 2CVs and 2 dds R1 placed evenly between east and west. Otherwise, it’s all over the map depending.

    Germany can be either 1ss, 1dd, 1cv or 3ftrs (my current favorite) or 2ss, ftr, 1 dd or 10 inf

    All those work out pretty well.

    USSR, I like to build a couple ftrs the first few rounds.

    Japan is transports, maybe a harbor

    UK: mostly infantry or a transport for south africa – maybe a ftr for England.Â

    Karl: Do you care to elaborate on the 3 figthers buy? Germany can easily loose a fighter or two (or 3) the first two rounds depending on how the battles go (including sinking UK ships in the med). Is this the reason for the buy? Why buy them round 1 then? Or is it kind of a “safe” buy in the way it does not give a way too much of what you plan on doing with germany. Thanks!


  • Really depends on what your goal is and how the game unfolds. But here is what I like:

    Germany - Lots of ground units, a few planes and a 30-ish TUV of ships (CV, DD + TRS). My recent experiment with the DS strategy adds a bomber-heavy build to that as a strong alternative.

    USSR - Like Nippon, I like to go heavy on INF and ART/MECHs, depending on what I try to accomplish. With ART, I calculate how many of them will increase the number of Russian surviving units after a counterattack. If you build too many, you will see a faster decline in the number of surviving units than the decline in total number of attacking Russians. With MECHs, you can in some cases even hold Belarus, but against Sea Lion they are a must.

    Japan - J1 2TRS + 1IC or 3TRS. If you know JF is coming from the USA, I’d go for the IC, otherwise a 3rd TRS. After that it depends. If you can stay ‘in control’ of SZ6 as a set up piont, add Carriers for the aircraft to land on. FTR, DD, SUB and MECH are all very much needed, but depending on the situation, one may be needed more than the other. If the USA is not pressing Japan a lot, add another IC in Asia and build up to 6 INF/MECH per turn.

    US - CV, FTR (to give each CV 2 air at least), SUB, DD, TRS, load (for the TRS)

    China - tech rolls indeed seems a good one to me :lol:.

    London - FTR, MECH, INF, ART, ARM, IC, CV, DD, SUB, STR…

    India - mix of INF + MECH and if it looks like they will survive, an occasional FTR. Even 1TRS is an option if Japan has nothing in range to deal with it (not very likely).

    Italy - air and MECH. The odd ARM. Once Italy has >20IPCs per turn I like to squeeze in a ship or 2 (or 3) per turn as well.

    Anzac - defensive builds: FTR + INF + the occasional TRS. the FTR can land on US carriers once the allies start to take offensive actions (or sooner, if Sydney is safe). The strong part of air is that they are great defenders and are not as difficult to activate offensively later on.
    Offensive builds: FTR, TRS, INF, ART, SUB, CV.

    France - … Once Paris is liberated, INF to start with, ART later on.

  • '22 '20 '19 '18 '17 '16 '15 '14 '12

    @oysteilo:

    @Karl7:

    The only major power buy I do consistently is USA: 2CVs and 2 dds R1 placed evenly between east and west. Otherwise, it’s all over the map depending.

    Germany can be either 1ss, 1dd, 1cv or 3ftrs (my current favorite) or 2ss, ftr, 1 dd or 10 inf

    All those work out pretty well.

    USSR, I like to build a couple ftrs the first few rounds.

    Japan is transports, maybe a harbor

    UK: mostly infantry or a transport for south africa – maybe a ftr for England.�

    Karl: Do you care to elaborate on the 3 figthers buy? Germany can easily loose a fighter or two (or 3) the first two rounds depending on how the battles go (including sinking UK ships in the med). Is this the reason for the buy? Why buy them round 1 then? Or is it kind of a “safe” buy in the way it does not give a way too much of what you plan on doing with germany. Thanks!

    3 ftrs buy is multi-purpose. You can keep the Sea Lion threat open because you’ve added some air firepower, and you have more fodder to clear out allied naval units in the Med and go for Egypt.  Plus more ftrs is no drag in the Russia campaign etc.

    So, 3 ftrs is a nice versatile investment for all contingencies. A naval build limits you to just sea lion and/or supporting attacks against the USSR.  All inf is just a Barbarossa build.  Again, 3 ftrs keeps your options open and your strike power strong.

  • '15

    Better question: Why did I buy extra French units from HBG? I’ve never even used them…

    Haha!  Now that is dedication to the French


  • @Nippon-koku:

    Better question: Why did I buy extra French units from HBG? I’ve never even used them…

    Haha!  Now that is dedication to the French

    5 cent carriers were such a good deal! I bought 4 of them. I bought another $7.00 of French units too.

    Then I realized… dafuq did I need 6 Carriers for? France never even builds one, let alone 6!

Suggested Topics

  • 16
  • 9
  • 46
  • 14
  • 118
  • 18
  • 26
  • 16
Axis & Allies Boardgaming Custom Painted Miniatures

23

Online

17.0k

Users

39.3k

Topics

1.7m

Posts