Cheese to win

@barnee thanks let me check that out

@rulebook_reviewer https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/topic/31377/axis-victories-what-s-the-magic-trick

It’s already been discussed.

Attacking the US first, and early, might not be an awful plan;  my buddy maphead did exactly as you describe in one of our recent games he first took out the US fleet, then the next turn took Hawaii, then fortified it.

However, the problem is that while Hono is a VC, focusing all your efforts there as Japan invites a mighty 100% defensive buy from the now at-war US.  Since Japan has not readied for Calcutta, Sydney, or Siberia, there isn’t a way to achieve the other important strategic goals.  Maphead decided to make a play for Sydney via Hawaii, but a stronger player will have fortified ANZAC too much by J4 to make it takeable without 100% japan commit.

As soon as you pivot, America then takes back Hawaii, since they are dedicating everything to it (and so is Japan in the form of defensive planes etc)

Strategies that try to win the game quickly often take gigantic risks.  Strategies that win the game slowly trade time for risk.

@rscerie Only way to convince me is to play against me as the Allies over the YouTube, Yes I have thrown down the Gauntlet!!!

i would also rather fight on his turf where i get income generating for as long as possible. once you have to back down that’s when you are basically saying, “I lose moscow sooner or later.”

after leningrad falls, you need to transports, so that whilst you are holding in ukraine, you are REINFORCING the eastern front from Leningrad everyturn.

And on a good day, if the allies aren’t paying attention, sometimes from within the baltic, you get to sack England, and they don’t even see it coming.

@ronrye:

Was I just playing against someone who wasn’t very good at playing Germany?

Perhaps, but not necessarily.  You might have been a little extra good at playing Russia.  Maybe the dice were a little lucky for you or unlucky for Germany.  I remember a game where Germany went into Russia with four huge thrusts – Finland into Karelia, Poland into Baltic States, Slovakia/Hungary into E. Poland and Romania into Bessarabia.  All four armies smashed the Russian early defenses with a lot of stuff left.  Then strong Russian counter-attacks end up decimating half the German force.  After that it was very slow going for the Germans.  The Russians managed to keep putting up strong defenses and whenever a particular German army was whittled down enough, a Russian counter-attack would wipe it out and the German drive was set back again.  I think the Minor IC in the Ukraine was exchanged between Russia and Germany about 4 or 5 times.
So your German player wasn’t necessarily bad, maybe just inexperienced.  Perhaps he learned his lesson and will take Moscow from you next time.  He seemed to do pretty good at taking London.

@real-life-rorschach
I played about 6 games, 1 Axis win, the others Allied. The main deciding factors were bad G1 dice in all of the games, the Soviets being almost impossible to defeat in time (the one time the Axis won, the U.S. and Britain were about to take Berlin/Warsaw on the next turn), and the Americans sending strategic bombers to Europe and crippling the German factory production while still being able to fight Japan.