Hello, I play pacific 1940 a lot. I have also played global a few times. Pacific 1940 second edition is a great game but I can almost easily win every time if I’m Japan and I attack on the third turn. A new rule was passed around late 2014 to allow the USA to receive a 30 IPC bonus if Japan attacks or declares war on them before turn 4. This seems to balance the game a little but I can still always win with Japan. The strategy for Japan is pretty much the same. Take the money islands, build a minor in French Indo China and Kwangtung and knock out China and India. Post in the Philippines with your huge navy and three fighters that can scramble and those six deadly kamikizes. Let Anzac and USA come to you so you can use the fighters to defend at 4 when the big navy battle happens. Eventually you will be making more than the allies with the money islands NO and the India NO. You should be around the 70-75 mark. Then when the time is right strike at Sydney or Hawaii and hold it and you should win as it will be six victory cities. For the allies, man this can be tuff lol. You better hope Japan attacks you on turn 1 or turn 4 because turn 2 and especially 3 it’s going to be difficult.
1: China: buy men and hit and run and fall back to the north west of China. You will be lucky if the Burma road is open more than two turns. Pull back and make Japan come to you.
2: UK: pull everyone back to India and just buy men!!! Try to bring your navy down to Australia and unite them with Anzac and hopefully later USA. If it looks like India is going to fall then pull your airforce out and send them to Australia to hopefully land on a Anzac or American carrier. If Japan hasn’t declared war early then take as many islands in the south as possible .
3: Anzac: small ships and transports are good. if it looks like Japan is going to invade then pull your forces to south Australia because from there you can hit any territory. Use your small ships to convoy raid or unite with the main USA fleet. Queensland is a great staging area for the allied navy early in the game. Also since there’s a airbase there fighters don’t hurt also since they can scramble.
4:USA: the big boy lol. The problem is when USA is neutral she only makes a freaking 17 ipcs a turn. While Japan is around the 40 mark and Japan has soooooooo many aircraft at its disposal. USA I say aircraft carrier early then mainly subs, destroyers, and a transport every turn with land units. A few rounds into the game get a navy base on the Johnson islands and start combining your fleet with the Anzac fleet and hopefully a small UK fleet. try to take the money islands by sacrificing transports because Japan will have a bigger navy early in the game. When the time is right move to Dutch New Guinea with your fleet and prepare for the big battle. Sometimes it’s better if Japan attacks you and sometimes it’s better if you attsck them. Hopefully you will have a lot of subs at your disposal. If you win the navy battle then Japan is pretty much toast even if they have India and China. Good luck and let me know how the war goes lol. I am playing anniversary edition on Saturday 😜
Strategy tips: Japan IC in Kwa T3 ?
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Methinx the optimal Japanese purchasing strategy will be like this:
T1 - 2 trannies and 2 subs ($26)
T2 - 2 trannies and 2 destroyers ($ 30, you just took FIC and two chinese in T1 remember)
T3 - Major factory in Kwangtung, who has a port, and you grabbed it in T2, killing two brits.so what you thinx ?
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My friend used a version of this strategy in our first game, buying a minor IC and pumping out tanks to help take Calcutta. It certainly seemed to help him achieve his objective; India folded like a lawn chair!
Don’t know if a major IC is warranted straight away though… Maybe if the Allies are really giving Japan hell on the mainland… If not, minor IC seems to work fine.
But yeah, this territory seems crucial for an IC, as Kwangtung has a VC on it, and also as a UK territory it isn’t subject to that insane rule that ICs captured by the Allies on former Chinese territories are immediately destroyed. (As if the Chinese are rampant Luddites or something!) :-P
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I’m wondering if a Malaya factory wouldn’t be a better build instead, as it is closer to India and Australia. The factory could probably go down on J3 or J4, as you should attack Malaya when Japan declares war or after Britain and ANZAC declare war on Japan. Malaya also has a naval base, if I remember correctly.
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I’m wondering if a Malaya factory wouldn’t be a better build instead, as it is closer to India and Australia.
Japan got only 2 viable options. Since a Major IC need a 3 IPC territory, we only got Kwangtung and Malaya. Both start with a Naval Base.
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Malaya cover all of East Indies, and can reach Yunnan, India and Australia.
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Kwangtung cover a very large area. South China and Yunnan, FIC/Siam and Pillipines are covered by its perimeter. New units can fast reach Japan, Caroline, New Guinea area, Northern Australia and East Indies. Basically units just purchased in Kwangtung can threaten Allied units in the above mentioned areas, and support their own units.
Going to India: A tank from Kwa goes to Yunnan in one move, then to India in the second move.
A tank from Malaya goes to Burma in one move, then to India in the second move. Both places take two turns to India. -
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Malaya is closer by water, though, so you can get ground units to India in 1 turn. With 6 IPC tanks, it will be a little harder to pull a tank dash, so getting infantry and artillery to the front seems more valuable.
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and also as a UK territory it isn’t subject to that insane rule that ICs captured by the Allies on former Chinese territories are immediately destroyed. (As if the Chinese are rampant Luddites or something!) :-P
Yep, jedi chinese lightsabres that destroy ICs using the force is the compensation for that nasty ACME wall, no ICs and limited production. I’d delete all of those stinky rules, give China a IC at Szchewan and make it a normal power instead creating all this mess. As much I’d let limited production but only until China recovers Nanking and if China is made unblitzable by tanks
But until Larry deletes the ACME wall, I’ll enjoy chinese jedi lightsabres :wink:
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I guess Manchuria will be also an option in global game if non-agression pact is not the game