Yes, the Axis can win.
:wink:
I think two players is the best for the following reason. The Allies must have complete coordination to win. The Germans and Japanese can act individually and still be quite competitive, but if the Allies are not in agreement on a single strategy, they are lost.
To emphasize the matter further, try not having any table talk to plan strategies. The Allies would most likely lose.
Five players is fun for a friendly game to get people involved, but once it becomes serious, 1 on 1 is best for game play.
Yes,
it seems the AA rule is in effect according to the errata. I don’t very much like that rule where the bombers are attacked separately, but ok.
The AA guns can be a brutal deciding factor in combat for the simple reason any aircraft hit is removed from combat prior to attacking. This can be huge.
And yes, I have rolled 4-1’s (out of 4 dice). If you play enough you see things like this happen and it makes you think before attacking zones with AA. Firing your AA guns is an opportunity for the defender to change the course of the game.
Separately?
I thought you rolled 1 die for each aircraft, in this case 6 dice. If 2 hits are delivered, the defender gets to choose what gets shot down.
Text from Revised rule book page 25…
“Antiaircraft guns can shoot down attacking air units. Whenever an air unit enters a territory containing an enemy antiaircraft gun, the antiaircraft gun fires during the opening fire step of th combat. Roll one die for each attacking air unit (but ony one antiaircraft gun in a territory can fire, even if they are controlled by different powers). For every roll of a 1, one attacking air unit is destroyed.”
This tells me there is no distinction between fighters and bombers since they are all attacking air units. Roll six dice, defender chooses casualties.
let me know if you find a way to stop the Axis in general…let alone Japan.
You are definately correct. It is possible that Japan would be so slow to recover that the Allies would have beat up Germany pretty bad. Well, I have learned my lesson and next time I shall do something different. Now I must bore Switch to sleep with my dizzying maneuvers. I feel Japan is a full turn behind normal production.
I require a windfall.
Japan itself is not the problem, it is the current General (me).
Germany seems to be holding its own, for the moment.
I feel pretty good about the Axis in the 2nd Edition as well. Switch and I are in the middle of Turn 6, I feel the tide is in his favor, but I am hoping the increased income for both Germany and Japan will kick in. I don’t have enough fingers to count how many times Switch has rebuilt the US fleet. Oh, and the largest stockpile of US troops are stuck on Wake. I still haven’t figured out how Switch is going to use those against me.
They look….stuck. :-D
I wonder how you would assess the game at the moment between Switch and myself as we are in the middle of turn 5.
I suppose I was surprised to see just how much I missed that Kwangtung transport. Sending in a considerable amount of unit value to destroy 1 transport is a bit counter intuitive, but so is the rest of my strategy. By sheer mathematics (and I have been relying upon them a lot), I still believe the Axis should win barring wild tragedy.
Perhaps we should simplify the question further.
What would do with the German fleet in the med? Â Attack the British Destroyer (thereby allowing the invasion of Egypt)? or Attack the British Battleship (thereby denying the British 2 Battleships in the Atlantic)?
I have nightmares about the British having 2 Battleships, and I can deal with Africa in my own wierd way.
Or have you another method for dealing with the Battleship at Gibraltar?
Uh yes. I call France “the mouse trap” and I don’t see it as a problem at all.
Germany looks quite healthy to me. I would like more income, but UK and Russia aren’t going quietly. I believe they are inviting the USA to the party so Japan needs to get into the game quick. If any country needs scolding, it is Japan.
The question is, do I bait the trap again, or do I shut it down?
my newbie experiences are going on in my game versus Switch.
actually my first axis experience I was given the command of Japan. I was overwhelmed by the units and map that I did not bother to concentrate on what was going on it Europe. The German player had to leave so I took over. My first order of business was to purchase a battleship to restore the navy. Needless to say, that did not go over to well. The ship was sunk, Germany was invaded by England that turn and the game was over.
My opponent was a good sport (after he was a bragging bad sport) and showed me where to buy it. I learned and away we went.
It was a mistake on my part to build two complexes on the first turn when Russia was doing a buildup on Manchuria. Another good move to slow Japan down was to destroy the Transport off the coast of Kwangtung.
My mistakes were annoying but not game ending.
I have made a note of the error and I believe I will do that any more.
Sorry Fiendish, it seems I cannot impress you. :-(
My apologies Patton, I wasn’t trying to insult anyone, but now that I look at my text, I can see how it might offend.
I believe you are correct in your assessment of Germany in seeing how powerful it is. Not only does Germany get an additional fighter to start, it is located in a place that cannot be taken on the first turn (as the Ukraine is in the old version of Axis). To me, it is really starting with 2 extra fighters. The additional monies for Germany (starting at 40) also means I don’t have to take Africa to be competitive with England and Russia. Their monies are the exact same as the old game. While you may see the road to Moscow as a long one, I see the road to Berlin for them as even longer.
Shift the thinking. Do not think of Germany as the aggressor as most would think it would be with all the armor units. Think of Germany as a Fortress that is under siege from the start. Play Germany as many would think they would play Russia (on the defensive from beginning). Absorb the impact, and when it is time to exhale, you take a step toward Russia. This works for this game and the original Axis and Allies.
Hmmm, perhaps next turn it will become more clear.
Hint: The Axis destroyed 152 IPCs worth of Allied equipment this turn, while the Allies destroyed only 56 IPC’s worth.
@Patton+:
the next two rounds for germany are text book, she bought 10 tanks and 6 men for a turn then 10 men and six tanks and barreled into russia… luckily i had been playing aggressive with russia and had turns to give… one thing leads to another… and germany is back in the horrid spot she always is… (trying to defend far too much coast line without any fodder so to speak) Anyway allies Russia and america creamed germany before japan could do much of anything so to speak …
it just sounds like people just don’t know how to play Germany….and Japan for that matter.
I take that back. Actually I am not pleased at all, because I believe the game is indeed broken and I wish it were better balanced.
I am most sorry it is this way. Armor defending at a 3? nutz.
The Germans lost WWII on every tactical front, for reasons that are blamed on der Furher to just dumb luck on the part of the Allies. They lost due to poor aircraft, they lost due to poor tanks, they lost due to poor shipbuilding, they lost due to poor logistical planning, they lost due to manufacturing bravado. Before anyone says “Hey the Tiger Tank kicks butt, or the Me262 was the best plane in the world” please note that mistakes related to those very items caused the failure that was in the works when the Invasion of France too place. Wrong conclusions were drawn from early victories and it cost them quite a bit.
Poor Aircraft - The Me109 was equal to the Spit I only at the beginning of the war. It was on its heels from that point on. German bombers were terrible. The Stuka was obsolete in 1939 (did you know it had a top speed of 187 MPH?).
Poor Armor - 37mm cannon on the PzKwIII couldnt not kill French Tanks. Only 40 tanks were upgraded to 50mm guns for the invasion of Russia. Tigers (PzKwVI), Panther PzKWV) were not tested properly and were trounced at operation Citadel (Kursk). Did you know Hitler demanded Tigers stick together with no infantry support? The Tigers also did not have MG’s on board at that time. The Panther had awful transmission issues early on. These problems were solved, but it was way too late.
Shipbuilding - Bismark, need I say more?
Logistics - Africa, Eastern Front (Stalingrad), Battle of the Bulge….common theme?
Manufacturing - War production was almost completely stopped in December 1941.
Many people take pride in what the Germans did, but the more I learn, the more embarassing it gets.
Actually, you might be surprised to know the French fighters did pretty well. The French CharB1 and S35 tanks were excellent tanks. The CharB1 was better than anything the Germans had at the battle of France(1940). The French just didn’t know how to use it properly. The French Airforce was taken by surprise and not used much at all.
Their stuff was ok, just in the wrong hands.
Grim,
I am most pleased to hear you view my assessment of the situation. I am currently playing a game at the moment to demonstrate this. This game is playing out like a math formula.
Octo