@trulpen yeah, BM is much tougher for the Japanese in China. I waste way too many men trying to suppress the rebellions. I hate it when an American bomber knocks off the lone defender and a Chinese soldier pops up in Tibet.

I had an unusual game where the Axis captured Egypt early. The Americans focused heavily on the European operations and the Allies were steadily making progress on that side of the map. I built up the Japanese air force and sent it on a suicide attack into Moscow around turn 8. Stripping off 15 infantry Allied units in Moscow can change a battle from a 95% chance of losing into a 95% chance of winning when the Germans get their turn. It also means that Germany will keep their air force intact, allowing them to reclaim any European victory cities if necessary.

The best part of this strategy is that the extra Japanese planes can hold the Allies at bay for several turns, forcing India to cower and Anzac + USA to be more conservative with their fleets. All of the planes can raid Moscow from a base in Sichuan, meaning that only one turn is required to setup the pivot from Pacific to Europe.

Of course the Russian AA’s shot down half of my Japanese raiders and the German tanks had their turrets pointed backwards, leading to an abrupt and unhappy end to a genius strategy.

If you are new to the game, whoever is better will win with either side. Usually one person has a very defensive personality, focusing more on not losing than pushing towards a goal. That will inevitably lead to defeat as the other person finds weaknesses and builds an income advantage.

It takes a large number of matches to have the natural Axis advantage manifest itself in face-to-face games. Don’t worry about the imbalance until you are able to predict what happens during the first six rounds of gameplay based just on the first round of dice rolls and spending. Fun game for both beginners and masters.

@crockett36 Normandy should be left completely unoccupied by the time the Allies have a sizable landing force. As you mentioned, there can be considerable devastation to any Axis force situated in that territory and it cannot be reasonably defended without diverting from the main goal of crushing Moscow or heading into the Middle East/Egypt. Normandy or Norway will fall, it just is a matter of on which round and whether the Axis will be able to retake it with a counterattack of ground units supported by planes. France is the best place to have the Axis counterstrike infantry/artillery. Mechanized units can help counterstrike from W Germany. Usually, though, a wave of UK fighters add enough defensive might to Normandy or Norway to ensure that the Axis are unable to strike back.

Aircraft carriers and subs are the best investment for the US as they have dual purposes of defending the fleet and attacking/convoy raiding. Build enough destroyers to prevent German wolfpacks from roaming the Atlantic

@Omega1759 I do think that the Axis will be forced to leave Gibraltar soon because defending it starts distracting Germany from the even more attack into Russia or Egypt. I think that he will be gone in another two rounds. Still, that is a huge amount of extra income for Italy during this time.

I have no idea why the UK Med fleet ran towards India. I don’t see what it will do before it inevitably goes back to the Med. The 5 PU bonus for no Allied ships in the Med is a killer bonus for Italy.

You don’t have to fully stop Japan. India and China will inevitably fall no matter what you plan. If you have ANZAC ground troops supported by American planes, you can prevent Australia from falling easily into Japanese hands. Have a couple tanks or mechs that can prevent a beachhead forming in Western Australia. Those planes can shuttle back to Hawaii if he tries to have an amphibious assault to capture that victory territory.

Uncontested in the Pacific, Japan will eventually be able to win in that theater. Still, it takes a surprisingly long time to get to that point so hopefully you can start shifting spending to that side of the board once you got the European Axis powers weakened. You just need to hinder their income by capturing Normandy/Norway and convoy raiding Italy with a big stack of Mediterranean subs. At that point Russia+UK can do most of the maintenance work to hold back Germany.

A single dice roll during the first round can easily be a 20 point swing, such as a German plane hitting or missing the Allied ship. Bad choices such as being overly conservative in the attack plans can have even more long-term consequences. Despite this being a tutor game, so many decisions still fall on the shoulders of Avner. Differences in skill levels will soon be apparent from the game play.

We saw this in the last tutor game where the initial 50 PU bid quickly vanished in value as the units were not used for productive attacks during the first round when such a large amount of units should have had a drastic course change for the initial orders.

@andrewaagamer The TUV benefit of the BB becomes even larger when the odds of winning is greater. If you know that eventually you will be able to force a fleet battle in the Pacific, and will be on the winning side because USA is doing either a KGF or KJF strategy, purchasing an additional BB or two could be wise.

If you aren’t absolutely convinced you will have an epic Naval battle with victory firmly on your side, stick with subs and destroyers.

@crockett36 in face-to-face games without a battle calculator, the game is relatively even and historically accurate to a surprising degree. It takes a long time for players to be experienced enough to find the meta that allows the Axis to consistently win in a game without a bid.

The move towards Hawaii is indeed the worst option between the possible openings for Japan. The United States has enough income to overwhelm the IJN after a few turns, forcing them into a long retreat back to more valuable targets. American air units built to expel the Japanese from the Eastern Pacific can be rapidly pivoted to support an invasion of Western Europe.

Basic tempo of a Moscow G6 attack plan with a G3 declaration of war, Northern option:
G1: buy inf and art
G2: buy tanks and mech
I2: capture E Poland and lead the invasion forces on subsequent rounds to allow German planes to have a landing spot as necessary
G3: declare war on Russia, move main stack to E Poland, buy more tanks/mechs
G4: move main stack to Belarus, primarily buy planes
R4: forced to retreat main stack to Moscow because it is impossible to defend both Bryansk and Smolensk
G5: move to Bryansk; reinforce with planes as necessary
G6: attack Moscow if the odds are favorable; otherwise head down to the Middle East with the fast movers.

It should be possible to capture Moscow on G6 if you have been primarily buying units that can support the attack. Skip purchases of additional naval units. Bombers are your friend as Germany as they can support operations in multiple theaters of operation.

Mt Fairweather video

@crockett36 5.23.22r4 mod.tsvg

The counterattacks are generally good, but can be made a bit more economical. See attached version where I swapped a mech and an art for cheaper infantry. In general, I look at the total unit value swing with the following calculations:

1. TUV swing from battle
2. additional income from winning the territory
3. additional damage I do from the required Axis counterattack
4. benefit from requiring Axis to use air power to support counterattack
5. chance of defensive miracle during counterattack that a lone Russian soldier obliterates a big Axis offensive.
   5a) Surfer stalled the entire Axis force for a turn by destroying all of my Italian can openers in Rostov on critical Turn 4.

@surfer that sounds like an awful day. No worries, do your turns when life calms down and you can focus again.

@surfer

I didn’t expect to be back so early. I got lucky with incredible weather and good glacier conditions.

@crockett36

Use less valuable units in those battles that will be subjected to counterattacks such as Rostov and W Ukraine. Infantry are cheaper than arts and mechs. You will need to save those precious stuff for later in this game, and they likely won’t be difference-makers in those battles. I haven’t run the numbers yet, but try to be as thrifty as possible in these skirmishes as you are trying to win the battle of attrition.

@surfer Ready to finish the turns?

5_22_2022_Gr.tsvg

Russia is up.

@crockett36

Back from Mt Fairweather that is on the border of Alaska and British Columbia. I lucked out with the weather and summited on a beautiful day without high winds or snow.

Russian tanks are great if Germany decides to swing down towards the Middle East instead of a straight march to Moscow. They are not going prevent the stackwalk any better than artillery except perhaps if the calculations show that the extra firepower will slow down a critical step like Rostov or Belarus. Hence it could be good to build the tanks on turns 3 or 4, depending on the German DoW. No need for them on Round 1.

Had to take out half of the Chinese army before they were totally out of control and linked up with Russia.

j7-abh-v-surfer.tsvg

Game History

Round: 7

    Purchase Units - Japanese
        Japanese buy 1 armour, 1 artillery, 1 destroyer, 4 infantry, 2 mech_infantrys, 3 submarines and 2 transports; Remaining resources: 0 PUs; 6 SuicideAttackTokens; 

    Combat Move - Japanese
        1 destroyer moved from 6 Sea Zone to 21 Sea Zone
        1 bomber moved from French Indo China to Guam
        1 fighter moved from French Indo China to 21 Sea Zone
        1 infantry moved from Japan to 6 Sea Zone
        1 artillery moved from Japan to 6 Sea Zone
        1 artillery, 1 infantry and 1 transport moved from 6 Sea Zone to 21 Sea Zone
        1 infantry moved from 21 Sea Zone to Guam
        1 artillery moved from 21 Sea Zone to Guam
        1 destroyer moved from 42 Sea Zone to 44 Sea Zone
        1 fighter moved from 42 Sea Zone to 44 Sea Zone
        1 tactical_bomber moved from 42 Sea Zone to 44 Sea Zone
        1 fighter moved from 42 Sea Zone to Burma
        1 fighter moved from 42 Sea Zone to Burma
        1 infantry moved from Yunnan to Burma
        1 infantry moved from Yunnan to Burma
        1 infantry moved from Sikang to Tsinghai
              Japanese take Tsinghai from Chinese
        1 mech_infantry moved from Szechwan to Sikang
        1 infantry moved from Yunnan to Szechwan
        1 mech_infantry moved from Yunnan to Shensi
        1 infantry moved from Anhwe to Hopei
        1 infantry moved from Hunan to Anhwe
        3 armour and 3 mech_infantrys moved from Kweichow to Chahar
        1 mech_infantry moved from Yunnan to Hopei
        1 armour moved from Yunnan to Shensi
        1 fighter moved from Manchuria to Chahar
        1 fighter moved from Manchuria to Chahar
        1 bomber moved from Japan to 21 Sea Zone
        1 bomber moved from French Indo China to Hopei
        1 tactical_bomber moved from French Indo China to Chahar
        2 fighters and 3 tactical_bombers moved from French Indo China to Chahar
        1 tactical_bomber moved from French Indo China to Shensi
        1 tactical_bomber moved from French Indo China to Chahar
        1 bomber moved from Japan to 8 Sea Zone
        1 fighter moved from 42 Sea Zone to 44 Sea Zone
        1 fighter moved from 42 Sea Zone to 44 Sea Zone
        1 fighter moved from Yunnan to Shensi
        1 tactical_bomber moved from French Indo China to Hopei
        1 infantry moved from Yunnan to Kweichow
        1 mech_infantry moved from Kwangtung to Hunan

    Combat - Japanese
        Battle in 8 Sea Zone
            Japanese attack with 1 bomber
            Americans defend with 1 transport
                1 transport owned by the Americans lost in 8 Sea Zone
            Japanese win with 1 bomber remaining. Battle score for attacker is 7
            Casualties for Americans: 1 transport
        Battle in Chahar
            Japanese attack with 3 armour, 4 fighters, 3 mech_infantrys and 5 tactical_bombers
            Chinese defend with 2 artilleries and 6 infantry
                Japanese roll dice for 3 armour, 4 fighters, 3 mech_infantrys and 5 tactical_bombers in Chahar, round 2 : 8/15 hits, 7.33 expected hits
                Chinese roll dice for 2 artilleries and 6 infantry in Chahar, round 2 : 1/8 hits, 2.67 expected hits
                1 mech_infantry owned by the Japanese, 6 infantry owned by the Chinese and 2 artilleries owned by the Chinese lost in Chahar
            Japanese win, taking Chahar from Chinese with 3 armour, 4 fighters, 2 mech_infantrys and 5 tactical_bombers remaining. Battle score for attacker is 22
            Casualties for Japanese: 1 mech_infantry
            Casualties for Chinese: 2 artilleries and 6 infantry
        Battle in Hopei
            Japanese attack with 1 bomber, 1 infantry, 1 mech_infantry and 1 tactical_bomber
            Chinese defend with 2 infantry
                Japanese roll dice for 1 bomber, 1 infantry, 1 mech_infantry and 1 tactical_bomber in Hopei, round 2 : 2/4 hits, 1.50 expected hits
                Chinese roll dice for 2 infantry in Hopei, round 2 : 0/2 hits, 0.67 expected hits
                2 infantry owned by the Chinese lost in Hopei
            Japanese win, taking Hopei from Chinese with 1 bomber, 1 infantry, 1 mech_infantry and 1 tactical_bomber remaining. Battle score for attacker is 6
            Casualties for Chinese: 2 infantry
        Battle in Shensi
            Japanese attack with 1 armour, 1 fighter, 1 mech_infantry and 1 tactical_bomber
            Chinese defend with 2 infantry
                Japanese roll dice for 1 armour, 1 fighter, 1 mech_infantry and 1 tactical_bomber in Shensi, round 2 : 1/4 hits, 1.83 expected hits
                Chinese roll dice for 2 infantry in Shensi, round 2 : 1/2 hits, 0.67 expected hits
                1 mech_infantry owned by the Japanese and 1 infantry owned by the Chinese lost in Shensi
                Japanese roll dice for 1 armour, 1 fighter and 1 tactical_bomber in Shensi, round 3 : 1/3 hits, 1.67 expected hits
                Chinese roll dice for 1 infantry in Shensi, round 3 : 0/1 hits, 0.33 expected hits
                1 infantry owned by the Chinese lost in Shensi
            Japanese win, taking Shensi from Chinese with 1 armour, 1 fighter and 1 tactical_bomber remaining. Battle score for attacker is 2
            Casualties for Japanese: 1 mech_infantry
            Casualties for Chinese: 2 infantry
        Battle in 44 Sea Zone
            Japanese attack with 1 destroyer, 3 fighters and 1 tactical_bomber
            Americans defend with 1 submarine
                Japanese roll dice for 1 destroyer, 3 fighters and 1 tactical_bomber in 44 Sea Zone, round 2 : 2/5 hits, 2.50 expected hits
                Americans roll dice for 1 submarine in 44 Sea Zone, round 2 : 0/1 hits, 0.17 expected hits
                1 submarine owned by the Americans lost in 44 Sea Zone
            Japanese win, taking 44 Sea Zone from Americans with 1 destroyer, 3 fighters and 1 tactical_bomber remaining. Battle score for attacker is 6
            Casualties for Americans: 1 submarine
        Battle in 21 Sea Zone
            Japanese attack with 1 bomber, 1 destroyer, 1 fighter and 1 transport
            Americans defend with 1 submarine
                Japanese roll dice for 1 bomber, 1 destroyer, 1 fighter and 1 transport in 21 Sea Zone, round 2 : 2/3 hits, 1.50 expected hits
                Americans roll dice for 1 submarine in 21 Sea Zone, round 2 : 0/1 hits, 0.17 expected hits
                1 submarine owned by the Americans lost in 21 Sea Zone
            Japanese win with 1 bomber, 1 destroyer, 1 fighter and 1 transport remaining. Battle score for attacker is 6
            Casualties for Americans: 1 submarine
        Battle in Guam
            Japanese attack with 1 artillery, 1 bomber and 1 infantry
            Americans defend with 1 airfield and 1 infantry
                Japanese roll dice for 1 artillery, 1 bomber and 1 infantry in Guam, round 2 : 2/3 hits, 1.33 expected hits
                Americans roll dice for 1 infantry in Guam, round 2 : 1/1 hits, 0.33 expected hits
                1 infantry owned by the Japanese and 1 infantry owned by the Americans lost in Guam
            Japanese win, taking Guam from Americans with 1 artillery and 1 bomber remaining. Battle score for attacker is 0
            Casualties for Japanese: 1 infantry
            Casualties for Americans: 1 infantry
        Battle in Burma
            Japanese attack with 2 fighters and 2 infantry
            British defend with 1 infantry
                Japanese roll dice for 2 fighters and 2 infantry in Burma, round 2 : 1/4 hits, 1.33 expected hits
                UK_Pacific roll dice for 1 infantry in Burma, round 2 : 0/1 hits, 0.33 expected hits
                1 infantry owned by the British lost in Burma
            Japanese win, taking Burma from UK_Pacific with 2 fighters and 2 infantry remaining. Battle score for attacker is 3
            Casualties for British: 1 infantry

    Non Combat Move - Japanese
        2 submarines moved from 36 Sea Zone to 39 Sea Zone
        2 fighters moved from Burma to Yunnan
        1 bomber moved from Hopei to French Indo China
        1 fighter moved from Shensi to Yunnan
        1 tactical_bomber moved from Shensi to Yunnan
        1 tactical_bomber moved from Hopei to Yunnan
        2 fighters moved from Chahar to Manchuria
        2 fighters and 5 tactical_bombers moved from Chahar to Anhwe
        1 armour and 1 mech_infantry moved from Kwangtung to Yunnan
        1 bomber moved from 21 Sea Zone to French Indo China
        1 bomber moved from Guam to Kwangtung
        1 fighter moved from 44 Sea Zone to French Indo China
        1 submarine moved from 6 Sea Zone to 36 Sea Zone
        2 battleships, 3 carriers and 2 destroyers moved from 42 Sea Zone to 36 Sea Zone
        2 fighters and 1 tactical_bomber moved from 44 Sea Zone to French Indo China
        1 fighter moved from 21 Sea Zone to 36 Sea Zone
        1 bomber moved from 8 Sea Zone to Japan
        1 infantry moved from French Indo China to Yunnan
        1 infantry moved from French Indo China to Yunnan

    Place Units - Japanese
        1 destroyer, 3 submarines and 2 transports placed in 6 Sea Zone
        1 armour and 2 mech_infantrys placed in Kwangtung
        3 infantry placed in French Indo China
        1 artillery and 1 infantry placed in Japan

    Turn Complete - Japanese
        Japanese collect 63 PUs; end with 63 PUs
        Objective Japanese 6 Home Islands: Japanese met a national objective for an additional 3 PUs; end with 66 PUs
        Objective Japanese 4 Control Dutch East Indies: Japanese met a national objective for an additional 5 PUs; end with 71 PUs

Combat Hit Differential Summary :

Chinese regular : -2.33
Americans regular : 0.33
Japanese regular : 0.00
UK_Pacific regular : -0.33