Classic 2nd edition, CrazyIvan (Allies) vs AcesWild (Axis), RR no bid regular dice, Game 1

  • '19

    I’m normally up all night, but the last two days I’ve been up all DAY, so have to get some zzz’s soon.


  • TripleA Turn Summary: Japanese round 2

    TripleA Turn Summary for game: World War II Classic, version: 2.0

    Game History

    Round: 2
    
        Purchase Units - Japanese
            Japanese buy 8 infantry; Remaining resources: 3 PUs; 
    
        Combat Move - Japanese
            1 infantry moved from Manchuria to Yakut S.S.R.
            1 infantry moved from Kwangtung to French Indo China
            1 transport moved from Kwangtung Sea Zone to Japan Sea Zone
            2 infantry moved from Japan to Japan Sea Zone
            2 infantry and 1 transport moved from Japan Sea Zone to Soviet Far East Sea Zone
            2 infantry moved from Soviet Far East Sea Zone to Soviet Far East
            2 battleships moved from Kwangtung Sea Zone to Soviet Far East Sea Zone
            1 fighter moved from Japan Sea Zone to Philippines Sea Zone
            1 fighter moved from Japan Sea Zone to Philippines
            1 carrier moved from Japan Sea Zone to Philippines Sea Zone
            1 submarine moved from Japan Sea Zone to Philippines Sea Zone
            1 infantry moved from Japan to Japan Sea Zone
            1 infantry and 1 transport moved from Japan Sea Zone to Okinawa Sea Zone
            1 infantry moved from Okinawa to Okinawa Sea Zone
            2 infantry and 1 transport moved from Okinawa Sea Zone to Philippines Sea Zone
            2 infantry moved from Philippines Sea Zone to Philippines
            1 bomber moved from Japan to French Indo China
            2 fighters moved from Kwangtung to Yakut S.S.R.
            1 fighter moved from Kwangtung to French Indo China
    
        Combat - Japanese
            Battle in Philippines Sea Zone
                Japanese attack with 1 carrier, 1 fighter, 1 submarine and 1 transport
                British defend with 1 transport
                    Japanese roll dice for 1 submarine in Philippines Sea Zone, round 2 : 0/1 hits, 0.33 expected hits
                    Japanese roll dice for 1 carrier, 1 fighter and 1 transport in Philippines Sea Zone, round 2 : 1/2 hits, 0.67 expected hits
                    British roll dice for 1 transport in Philippines Sea Zone, round 2 : 0/1 hits, 0.17 expected hits
                    1 transport owned by the British lost in Philippines Sea Zone
                Japanese win with 1 carrier, 1 fighter, 1 submarine and 1 transport remaining. Battle score for attacker is 8
                Casualties for British: 1 transport
            Battle in Soviet Far East
                Japanese attack with 2 infantry
                Russians defend with 1 infantry
                    Japanese roll dice for 2 battleships in Soviet Far East, round 2 : 2/2 hits, 1.33 expected hits
                    Russians roll dice for 1 infantry in Soviet Far East, round 2 : 1/1 hits, 0.33 expected hits
                    1 infantry owned by the Japanese and 1 infantry owned by the Russians lost in Soviet Far East
                Japanese win, taking Soviet Far East from Russians with 1 infantry remaining. Battle score for attacker is 0
                Casualties for Japanese: 1 infantry
                Casualties for Russians: 1 infantry
            Battle in Yakut S.S.R.
                Japanese attack with 2 fighters and 1 infantry
                Russians defend with 1 infantry
                    Japanese roll dice for 2 fighters and 1 infantry in Yakut S.S.R., round 2 : 1/3 hits, 1.17 expected hits
                    Russians roll dice for 1 infantry in Yakut S.S.R., round 2 : 0/1 hits, 0.33 expected hits
                    1 infantry owned by the Russians lost in Yakut S.S.R.
                Japanese win, taking Yakut S.S.R. from Russians with 2 fighters and 1 infantry remaining. Battle score for attacker is 3
                Casualties for Russians: 1 infantry
            Battle in Philippines
                Japanese attack with 1 fighter and 2 infantry
                British defend with 1 infantry
                    Japanese roll dice for 1 fighter and 2 infantry in Philippines, round 2 : 1/3 hits, 0.83 expected hits
                    British roll dice for 1 infantry in Philippines, round 2 : 1/1 hits, 0.33 expected hits
                    1 infantry owned by the Japanese and 1 infantry owned by the British lost in Philippines
                Japanese win, taking Philippines from British with 1 fighter and 1 infantry remaining. Battle score for attacker is 0
                Casualties for Japanese: 1 infantry
                Casualties for British: 1 infantry
            Battle in French Indo China
                Japanese attack with 1 bomber, 1 fighter and 1 infantry
                Americans defend with 1 infantry
                    Japanese roll dice for 1 bomber, 1 fighter and 1 infantry in French Indo China, round 2 : 1/3 hits, 1.33 expected hits
                    Americans roll dice for 1 infantry in French Indo China, round 2 : 0/1 hits, 0.33 expected hits
                    1 infantry owned by the Americans lost in French Indo China
                Japanese win, taking French Indo China from Americans with 1 bomber, 1 fighter and 1 infantry remaining. Battle score for attacker is 3
                Casualties for Americans: 1 infantry
    
        Non Combat Move - Japanese
            1 fighter moved from French Indo China to Kwangtung
            1 bomber moved from French Indo China to Kwangtung
            1 fighter moved from Philippines to Philippines Sea Zone
            1 fighter moved from Philippines Sea Zone to Manchuria
            1 transport moved from Japan Sea Zone to Wake Island Sea Zone
            1 infantry moved from Wake Island to Wake Island Sea Zone
            1 infantry and 1 transport moved from Wake Island Sea Zone to Japan Sea Zone
            1 infantry moved from Japan to Japan Sea Zone
            2 infantry moved from Japan Sea Zone to Manchuria
            1 fighter moved from Yakut S.S.R. to Manchuria
            1 fighter moved from Yakut S.S.R. to Kwangtung
            1 bomber moved from Kwangtung to Manchuria
            4 infantry moved from China to Kwangtung
            1 transport moved from Kwangtung Sea Zone to Japan Sea Zone
            2 infantry moved from Japan to Japan Sea Zone
            2 infantry moved from Japan Sea Zone to Manchuria
    
        Place Units - Japanese
            8 infantry placed in Japan
    
        Turn Complete - Japanese
            Japanese collect 31 PUs; end with 34 PUs
    

    Combat Hit Differential Summary :

    British : 0.50
    Americans : -0.33
    Russians : 0.33
    Japanese : 0.33
    

    Savegame


  • just realized i forgot your edit in Africa


  • @CrazyIvan I have moved this topic to the “Play Boardgames” category. Please don’t start your games in the dedicated discussion categories.

  • '19

    @Panther Whoops! Sorry, and thank you. I can now see this game in my view all watched games tab.

  • '19

    TripleA Manual Gamesave Post: Americans round 2

    TripleA Manual Gamesave Post for game: World War II Classic, version: 2.0

    Game History

    Round: 2
    
        Purchase Units - Americans
            Americans buy 1 armour, 1 bomber, 1 fighter and 2 infantry; Remaining resources: 1 PUs; 
    
        Combat Move - Americans
            1 infantry moved from Sinkiang to China
            1 bomber moved from Russia to China
            2 infantry moved from Finland Norway to Karelia S.S.R.
    
        Combat - Americans
            Battle in China
                Americans attack with 1 bomber and 1 infantry
                Japanese defend with 1 infantry
                    Americans roll dice for 1 bomber and 1 infantry in China, round 2 : 0/2 hits, 0.83 expected hits
                    Japanese roll dice for 1 infantry in China, round 2 : 0/1 hits, 0.33 expected hits
                    Americans roll dice for 1 bomber and 1 infantry in China, round 3 : 0/2 hits, 0.83 expected hits
                    Japanese roll dice for 1 infantry in China, round 3 : 1/1 hits, 0.33 expected hits
                    1 infantry owned by the Americans lost in China
                    Americans roll dice for 1 bomber in China, round 4 : 1/1 hits, 0.67 expected hits
                    Japanese roll dice for 1 infantry in China, round 4 : 1/1 hits, 0.33 expected hits
                    1 infantry owned by the Japanese and 1 bomber owned by the Americans lost in China
                Japanese win with no units remaining. Battle score for attacker is -15
                Casualties for Americans: 1 bomber and 1 infantry
                Casualties for Japanese: 1 infantry
    
        Non Combat Move - Americans
            1 battleship, 1 carrier, 1 fighter, 1 submarine and 1 transport moved from West Panama Sea Zone to East US Sea Zone
            1 fighter moved from East Canada to Karelia S.S.R.
            1 bomber moved from East US to Russia
    
        Place Units - Americans
            1 armour and 1 fighter placed in Sinkiang
            1 bomber and 2 infantry placed in West US
    
        Turn Complete - Americans
            Americans collect 36 PUs; end with 37 PUs
    

    Combat Hit Differential Summary :

    Americans : -1.33
    Japanese : 1.00
    

    Savegame


  • If you’ve done R3, I can’t see it.

  • '19

    And here I tip my hat, and admit the defeat I have suffered, lol.

    So, here is where I want feedback on my analysis of what went wrong, when, and what to do about it.

    USSR turn:
    My First mistake here, in my opinion, was misstacking the russian sub with the UK transport, and the russian transport with the UK BB and TR. Given that you needed to hit the Gibraltar BB, and that you want a damage soak for that, it is predictable that you would not be sending your submarine after the lone UK transport, and that would have only left a fighter as the means to killing it, and the russian sub is of no use in that battle!

    So, with RR, I really only have the choices to do a conventional stacking of the USSR fleet with the UK fleet, or splitting them up, but the sub and transport should be switched, in order to make the German player have to think twice about sending a single fighter out against 2 transports, but even then, they still only defend on a ‘1’, so risking a fighter may or may not be a deterrent.

    On the ground, the whole idea was to defend the allied IC, and allow for some ground warfare with the Axis by the UK and US, without needing a naval force to bring them in, and then just fly in the fighters and bombers as needed.

    UK turn:
    First mistake, was deciding on a starting strategy before the game, just to be able to test it out, predicated upon my mistaken belief that you were not going to be hitting the UK home fleet on turn one, based upon your other game with Avin.

    Second, building two IC with the UK was a mistake.

    Third, not hitting your BB and TR the 1st turn was another (I panicked, what with the German sub being in my seazone!) In my not so sharp mind, I was mixing both sets of rules up from classic>>cannot place in enemy seazone, and Subs can submerge, so building a proper fleet was not something I could do on the first turn! (I know, I know). :)

    Instead, I wasted time trying (unsuccessfully) to sink a sub with my bomber, rather than using it and my Indian fighter to hit the ships that actually mattered. The problem with that very rare German sub in the UK sea zone, is I have to hit it before placing my buys, so while I could (an probably should) have used one fighter on both your transport and sub, I got fixated on placing two complexes on turn one, and landing both UK fighters in Karelia, and never mind that splitting them up wouldn’t have prevented this.

    Playing against a player with your level of experience and skill (which exceeds mine, let’s be honest), I’m thinking that the more conventional Carrier/Transport buy is probably the most solid move I should be making with the UK turn 1, but playing with RR and regular dice opens the way for, well, things like what happened in this game, actually.

    Turn one, the Germans sank 2BB + 2TR + 1SS, & killed the tank and infantry comprising the UK’s Egyptian defense forces, while suffering only the loss of a single submarine. :)

    For the USA:
    Getting fixated on “Must build Complex in Asia” is a bad idea, especially when playing an opponent as skilled as you. My ‘normal’ USA 1 would be to buy 1 carrier and 2 transports for the Eastern USA sea zone, and offer the german player a fleet capable of defending itself against a single bomber, while flying the two fighters to the newly built UK carrier. However, this requires the Luftwaffe not to have cleansed the RN, without loss, on turn one. This would then be followed on turn two by the arrival of the US Pacific Fleet on the east coast, and thus setting up the viable (and very boring) ground unit shuttle service.

    For defense against Japan, other than an all-in defense spending bill being rushed through congress as soon as an invasion is seen as possible, building ground forces in Western USA, and walking them up to Western Canada, and being able to shuttle them from there into Europe seems to be the thing to do.

    *On a side note, I have used bing maps to try to find the ports and railways that would make this viable, but unless we are talking some very limited infrastructure needs, I have been unable to find this in the SW most Hudson Bay region. If you knowledge of such, I would enjoy a heads up on where to
    look for this.

    Also, it might be a great thing to include in your video series, as I’m sure that I was/am not the only A&A classic player unfamiliar with being able to pick up units from western canada be ships in the eastern canada seazone.*

    So, I would like your thoughts on my turn one analysis, if you are willing to give it, as well as your own observations on my (mis)handling of the Allies?

    This has been an eye-opener for me, as my fond memories of classic A&A “Battles in the Barracks”, played against my fellow ‘drunken infantry’ comrades-in-arms, are now exposed as what they were (being honest, here), and that was folks that never really knew how to play the game!

    Like you, I would love to be able to find willing foes to play in Classic, and am interested in finding ways to make the game viable and fun for all skill levels of players. I don’t like RR, but agree that something needs to be done to balance the game, and think that one thing I would offer, that doesn’t involve depriving one player of their first turn attack, would be having a house rule/TripleA option, of removing the ability to share one’s allies ships, either carriers or transports, as this would enable the German players to attempt to contest the buildup of an unstoppable naval shuttle service.

    My final USA turn is a great example of how not to fight a battle. A US bomber and infantry attack a single Japanese infantry defending in China. It took the server several turns to decide that, given the disparate forces, the first hit to be scored would be by the defending infantry! Having see that, and everything else that had gone on in the very short time of this game, I decided to stick around, and see if I could lose the bomber as well, without hitting the defending infantry, and sure enough, I did! :)


  • @AcesWild5049 I’m conceding, licking my wounds, and reserving the right to humbly ask for a second game, sometime in the not to distant future. :)

    It turn out, not only did I create this game in the wrong place, and not only was the dice server mislabeling the emails for it, but it was also sending these emails out to another player from a different game altogether.

    I thought just now percolated through my fuzzy brain: “When making a new game, do I have to manually clear out information from a PBEM game played previously?”

    That may be the problem if so, because I didn’t do that.

    My health has been on the decline for the last few years, and I’m not feeling well today, despite getting some decent sleep, so I’m going to be making some chicken noodle soup, wrapping up in a warm blanket, and spending the day in bed, hoping to shake off the current bug. :(


  • Preliminary: I would caution against being so hard on your strategy. This was one game and I got REALLY lucky with all the dice. And I am not as sure of playing the Allies as I am the axis but here goes:

    USSR: My only comment here is to recommend my R1 strategy with the tanks if you’re looking to protect your industrial investments. You surrendered a lot of their mobility. I didn’t feel worried about them in this game.

    UK: The strategy of two IC is, I feel, as of this writing, not a mistake. Once they are down, the Allies must be very very mindful of the permanent relationship they have with those industries for the rest of the game, esp in the next 3-4 turns. If done, right and the Allies don’t get diced, it can lead to some quick axis losses.

    Hitting the BB in the med on B1 is a tougher than it looks. If the German army is strong in Egypt, you are likely to lose whatever air forces were used in that assault.

    USA: I wouldn’t get too hung up on the geographic and to a certain extent, the historical accuracy of the game (regarding the Canada shuttle). When AnA players in any version make noises to that effect I always say the same thing: the game pieces and map are an expression of military clout or the ability of one power to project military influence on the world.

    I pretty much nodded my head while reading everything else you wrote.

    I am playing in a AnA tourney next weekend but am definitely down for another game after that. Take care!


  • @CrazyIvan

    *a comment on your USSR correction about pairing the transports together and sending the USSR sub to the British home fleet.

    With column rolling, if the British transport hits, I would assign the hit to my German sub and therefore, your Russian sub would be a soak only, unable to defend. Just an FYI.


  • > I am playing in a AnA tourney next weekend but am definitely down for another game after that. Take care!

    Hey mate,

    What tourny are you playing in/played in?

    Would be interested in your session report/summary of how it went for you.

    Thanks

  • '19

    So, how went the tourney?


  • @CrazyIvan

    It went well! There were something like 8-10 players/teams that showed up to play at Gamex for AnA. I won my first round playing Anniversary edition. This was only my second time playing through a game of this version. I was the Axis playing the 1942 setup and my opponent conceded about round three (he hadn’t played much AnA).

    Round 2 I was paired with another winner from earlier in the day which led to some difficult command decisions. We squared off against a pair of other experienced players. This game was Europe 1940. We were the Axis and managed to seize the Russian capital around turn 5 or 6 forcing the allies to concede. This was, however, due completely to amazing dice rolling on the part of my partner. I am not an expert at either Europe or Pacific and this was apparent to all concerned during this game as I struggled at times to stay up on the rules (if you have to choose between losing a cruiser or a destroyer, lose the cruiser, esp if there is a submarine…anywhere nearby). This put us in the final on Sunday.

    Day two, final round saw my partner and I square off against the last victorious pair from the previous day. We played global and had an 18 point bid in favor of the allies (our side). I pretty much torpedoed ANY chance of a win when I pulled the trigger on a “sneaky carl” with ANZAC turn 1 (dont ever do this on ANZAC 1). A DOW with ANZAC keeps USA out of the game until turn 4. This was disastrous and despite my partners ability to roll seemingly only "1"s and "2"s, it was not enough to stem the axis tide. Despite this and other sloppy, awful mistakes caused by not knowing the rules too well and difficulty settling on strategies with my partner, it was actually far far closer than anyone thought it would get and nearly went the other way. (the french fighter failed to clear the blocking Italian destroyer in the Med that would have allowed the USA invasion convoy to seize Italy on turn 5).

    Anyway, never made it to the final round like that before. I’m now using some of my AnA time to brush up on 1940 rules and situations. I will be much more competitive and prepared for Strategicon in September including having my own custom map and pieces done so I’ll definitely post pics after that tournament and may even upload a youtube video.

    Thanks for asking!

  • '19

    Heh heh, I was thinking that you had found a get together of classic players at a tourney, lol. I’m bad at classic, but much worse at AE, and have so far resisted the urge to so much as take a peek at G40.

  • '19

    Ok, so if I corrected all the mistakes I made in my first PBF game with you, we should see the second game created HERE!

    GL&HF
    :)

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