Ok….so I DL'ed the game and got it running.....

what are AA Active & Axis Advantage?

oh and so far as strategy goes, I’ll argue that russia is the most important figure. if they stack up a defense against you, and you are looking at a battle of attrition in karelia- I’d pull back your forces and and go all out for africa. but if they leave you an opening - hit them. but don’t jepordize your tanks. and if they attack in T1 just drive around them. that’s less of them you’ll have to kill later.

Recruiting new players, even with 2nd edition is/was always hard, because of the skill level. Even if the opening moves for every country are optimized it is far from clear for new players. It takes a while to comprehend the mechanics of pushing, retreating, feints, death zones etc. If a new player is willing to pretty much lose the first 20 games he/she will become a worthy opponent, but most people are not that persistent to learn a game that takes a pretty long time to understand. When they finally are decent enough to understand why bids are a necessity it will have taken a long time. Times have changed as well… When I grew up I didn’t have internet or a computer, so when it rained we had to play board games, nowaday it is almost an exception if teens play a board game.

Well, bless your heart :roll: and don’t you want to be thorough –----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I want bright colors, loud noises, good food, and sex with any woman, man, or animal that won’t inflict grave bodily harm upon my person! In the absence of these I would take pain, or in the absence of pain I would even accept death. - Xi

I have to concur with the others who have posted.  A combined transport and infantry build for Japan on turn 1 is the way to go.  If Russia took Manchuria on round 1, and if the UK executed the “Kwangtung Maneuver”, the only place left for Japan to build is Southeast Asia.  While initially it MIGHT be safe (the US can take that factory using China and Sinkiang forces one time in 3, and later will threaten it with a southern island hoping fleet), it is too far from Russia to do any good, and forward progress against Russia proper is easilly blocked by Novosibirsk infantry units.  Japan HAS to focus on gaining IPC’s in round 1 in order to sustain a transport invasion of Russia through the back door (Manchuria to Yakut to Novosibirsk to Russia).  Also, as Japan builds a transport navy (protect by heavy naval forces that were NOT sacrificed against the US at Hawaii) the US has to garrison Alaska heavilly (that japanease transport fleet ferrying troops to Manchuria is a single move away from an all out invasion of Alaska too).  That reduces the number of US dollars that can be spent on the European war, allowing Germany to maintain the frontal assault on Russia that eventually leads to Japan taking Russia.  So for an opening move, Japan re-takes Manchuria, takes Australia, blasts the results of the Kwantung Maneuver (if executed) or takes China using air force and Kwantung infantry. If Japan still holds Manchuria, they assault Yakut and take it.  If the UK builds in India, that simply takes more pressure off Germany and allows THEM to take Russia, aided by the threat floating through the Siberian lands… too far from India for UK to do a darn thing about.  YAKUT is the key for Japan.  Take it and hold it, you have one territory with all of your west-marching forces to defend it from the Russians, and you force Russia to try to defend TWO territories against your massing forces.  The drain on Russia:  defending Evenk AND Novosibirsk plus holding Karelia and the Caucuses with an income of only 20 or so IPC’s is FATAL, REGARDLESS of UK and US support.  And with Russia gone, the Alllies WILL lose (economic victory is immediate on taking Russia, world domination only a few moves away)

They would still be sunk in the first round. The best efect this would have I think is to possibly delay the attack on the german med. fleet and delay the Americans one turn from hitting africa or europe.

But I’ll tell you what, it’s nice to see some alternative views about how to take a new angle on the game.~kyrial Thanks .

Well you better start getting yourself a piece of the action!