@arthur-bomber-harris

I play against myself.

I agree with a post that Mashmallow posted earlier, there is no guarantee that you are going to get that NO for a clear med, you should not even rely on that one. The Italians have so many uses, on the ground, with actual IPC earning territory’s that those planes can be used for, you need to weigh out their impact in the med versus potentially taking Egypt, steam rolling Greece, building an actually strong can-opener force in Russia, and even Protecting Rome.

The last few games that I have played, when I am the Axis, I get my Italian partner to seriously evaluate the Taranto raid force. If it is the max force possible, and the UK is totally on point, I say scrap the scramble, focus on more attainable objectives. As a German player, I sure as hell don’t want to burn the Luftwaffe on an air vs naval clean up battle G2, where I can lose guaranteed safe hits against Russian ground troops once Barbarossa commences. On the other hand, If the UK doesn’t bring the max force down, or they don’t make a move to middle east with SA and India navies / units, and Italy looks like they might have some time to maneuver for a few rounds, then scramble all the way. I have seen games were Italy won the Taranto raid, and from then on became unstoppable in the Med, which in turn leads to Germany being able to achieve their full potential, and results in an Axis victory.

Italy unfortunately has to play the game, or at least start the game, being completely on board to support the Germans in whichever direction they plan to strike. A strong Afrika campaign with Italian air power can lead to Italy generating sufficient IPCs to gain a bit more control over their destiny. A successful Italian campaign in the middle East, or as a can-opener can have the same impact. Italy with zero navy, and zero air force, means they might as well stockpile Rome and prepare to defend Europe, there will be no expeditionary force.

@CWO:

@DizzKneeLand33:

Apparently none of you has a cat…

Yes, the cat issue is something that’s come up a few times on this board, as the picture below will illustrate.  I can’t recall if the suggestions were made seriously or not, but some board members have thought about protecting their games-in-progress from one weekend to the next by using a system of overhead pulleys to either raise the table to the ceiling or lower a protective hood over the map.  Feasible for a dedicated gaming room in the basement, but not likely to be approved for the living room by the lady of the house.

That is SO CUTE!!!

How well does the cat play?  Does he attack the US on turn one? :-D

However, my biggest problem is USA being forced to split it’s IPCs between Europe and the Pacific theaters.  What?  Since when did the United States do an even split?  You’re disabling the American ability to flexibly respond to crises as they arise?  I.e., “looks like UK is going down due to Sea Lion and Russia is in deep doo doo.  Too bad we can’t spend more in the European theater, even though the Japanese fleet is destroyed…  Got to build more Carriers in San Francisco”  That’s crazy.

I agree here, I’ve since changed my mind about this.

I find this exactly the strategic dilemma for Japan!
Japan strengthens its position when DOW J2 but that may weaken the German/Italian positions. Some US players are even ready to go for Gibraltar and start projecting a threat into Europe in US 2 .

If UK DOWs UK2 as general play, it may just end up strengthening both axis nations. But I can see it working in some cases, especially if the German threat levels are low in Europe and Japan is out of position with its fleet.

boy do u feel dumb :oops:

I think it was a great one-time move, and you happened to have an opponent who used blockers well at a critical time. Experienced players would see this happening, and the potential for it, as it unfolded, so it would best be used against inexperienced foes.

A nice idea! After all, it was your war. It’s good to try unconventional things and see how they go.

Many thanks, heading over now.