The Allied “playbook” thread is here
https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/topic/32557/we-need-an-allied-playbook?_=1624678622014

I’m sure I’ll get some negative feedback for this…but that thread rambles. It’s long and much of it is counterproductive arguments since as there are often unstated assumptions in each person’s post that cause confusion.

Bottom line: it’s hard to definitively say what is best for allies other than defend initially until you can get your forces mobilized.

Best option is just to play several games and try out some of the strategies. It is just a game…win some …lose some.

Cheers,
Yeah its Friday, I’ll have a beer.

Completely agree with @trulpen. Sure it’s a little complicated, but it really is an effective barrier for both sides. A great compromise = both sides lose equally, and this is in that category.

@Franklin_Cain The problem with a 6+5 rule is that the Axis are almost always at or near 11 cities after 6 rounds. Germany with a simple crush Russia assault should have Novgorod (Leningrad), France, Germany, Poland + Italy has Rome = 5 with Volgograd as the relatively easy 6th VC. Japan has Japan, Kiangsu, Kwangtung, Philippines, and with some effort India = 5.

If the Axis don’t have to get those extra cities (8 Europe or 6 Pacific), then they don’t have to extend themselves to get the “last” VC. India is a stretch for Japan, but not terrible if that is all they need. They can afford to lose a few aircraft if they never have to go get Australia or Hawaii. Similarly, the Germans can easily take Volgograd and leave Moscow alone. The Russians don’t have the flexibility to defend both against the Germans so one of them will fall.

Bumping up the number to 7+5 is still putting a lot of pressure on the Allies. The Germans should be able to takedown Moscow by maintaining a good focus in the East. The Allies might be able to defend Egypt and have a sizeable force in the Middle East, but they may not (probably won’t) initially be in a position to takeback Volgograd immediately after the fall of Moscow. So again the Axis “win” without really having to exert themselves. The magic number of 8 was developed after lots of game testing and is a surprisingly good rule.

That all said, changing the VC count is another way (besides the bid) to level the playing field between players of dissimilar abilities. If you wanted to let the newer player take the Axis and lower the VC count, then you could have a competitive game.

@randomcat There are no limits to the number of units that can be produced in G40. If you want to buy only tac bombers, go ahead you can buy to your hearts content.

@hengst Well, normally the sb from London comes as well. The choice 1-2 ftrs depends upon your comfort level with attack. +1 ftr (assuming 3 ftr scramble) = 80/20, +2 = 95/5. Since a scramble +loss for the Italians means they will be non factors for quite awhile (if ever), most would not take a 4:1 dog as a gamble and thus the Taranto raid will work, and 1 ftr is all you need.

BTW the ftr from Gibraltar is usually sent to SZ 96 to help sink the DD + trans–don’t want to forget about that one, and lands in Malta. I assumed that in the above calculation.

I would suggest a further restriction on CV scramble. The sea zone to be protected must have a combat ship and not just a transport. Celebes used to be a black hole in the DEI to retake. To go there, you were isolated and gave up control of much of the surrounding space.
Now you can park there and send transports to take the other islands, and defend everybody on 3 of 4 money islands + Philippines. Eventually, the Allies can build forces to push on the Japanese, but early game there’s not even the opportunity to trade territory. But 3-4 rounds of the Japanese = 70+ IPC is a very tough hill to climb.

It gets destroyed. Same as if US attacked a lone Japanese transport with a single sub and the Japanese could “scramble” to defend. The basic battle of sub vs. fighter + transport is not a fight. The fighter will not hit, and the sub gets to torpedo the transport.

Hey this sounds like fun, so I’ll send in my $0.02–might be worth that much…
IMHO, the primary purpose of the bid is to protect Allied units that are initially placed precariously. – prototypical example British Fleet. And to reduce the German Luftwaffe so that the Battle of Moscow can’t happen G5-6 timeframe.

So ftr in scotland and something in SZ110 because we can’t usefully add another ftr. @oysteilo added a sub, but for 2 more IPCs I’d upgrade to a DD-especially since there was some debate what to do with them anyway. The Germans can still “win” both battles, but the vaunted Luftwaffe will lose more planes than the Brits. Planes that won’t help in the Battle of Moscow. So 18 IPCs spent.

I really like the @oysteilo 's choice of 2 subs in SZ 91 and 98 for all the reasons given (+12 IPCs = 30 so far)

The remaining bid points have more pro’s and cons. For me the debate is Middle East and Yunnan. I’m a real fan of the Middle Earth strategy and so additional units in and around Egypt prevents the Italians from growing and makes developing Iraq and Persia easier. That said I think the transport in SZ71 is excellent purchase. The shuttle of troops from S. Africa along with an artillery in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan allow a quick takedown of Ethiopia to further reduce the Italians. The transport will then support further shucks of troops from S. Africa, keeping Egypt secure. +11 IPC = 41

Now I have 9 IPCs left. In the OOB game, Yunnan is huge with +6 IPC bonus. However, it can’t be held against determined Japanese aggression. That doesn’t matter. By placing one more inf there as @oysteilo says, it reduces the likelihood of a J1 DOW. The bombers are used against Yunnan and not the Brit BB, Phillippines SZ, Pearl Harbor, or whatever on J1.

The J1 DD attack on SZ62 is probably my most hated move in the game–similar to the German attack with single sub on SZ106, but here seems more debilitating. Total coin flip–actually 40-60 against because the prize is the transport. If the Japanese pull it off, they delay ANZAC development. A draw is useless. For that reason I might agree with @oysteilo. Alternatively, the remaining 6 IPCs could be split between Egypt and India–or even Russia for that matter. But that would be just putting a pieces on the board without much purpose. I guess I would go with the sub placement, but not firm.

There is the problem that if you just kill the blocker and hang out on the shores–you don’t take Gibraltar, which means you can’t enter the Med with surface fleet. It delays you a whole turn.

I also don’t like losing 4 inf. But they are “saving” the tanks and mob inf in Karelia. He can’t occupy Belarus next round. You’ll gain 5+ fighters. So no immediate crisis for Russia. The units in Karelia can’t really get back, if he stacks Baltic States and moves up Italian tanks as expected. So play the game in front of you, take Finland and then Norway. Leave blockers when able to slow his advance, and collect the added IPCs. Should give you and extra turn or several depending upon how many fast movers he sends to take you down. That hopefully will give the Western front time to build.

@ksmckay No offense taken…

triplea_37924_8Rus.tsvg

@sovietishcat Yep, that is odd. But different than the problem others are having. You might consider filing a bug report on tripleA. Maybe it will help them figure out what is wrong with their network protocols.

@sovietishcat When you put in the password are you trying to “test post”?
You don’t need to.
The game should play as long as you don’t post anything. It will generate dice rolls if you use the play by forum option.

@sovietishcat How are you “downloading”? I use the weblink and save the file in my downloads then open the file from TripleA.

The error you mention about Java and bootstrapping is the common problem that is preventing anyone from using the network features of TripleA to post messages.

@sovietishcat There is problem with the server on uploading your turn. You’ll have to manually post. But downloading should work, not sure why that is happening for you.

@ksmckay triplea_37924_7French.tsvg

Re: Optimal play…I’m really behind in the Pacific and just trying to push units into the theatre.

@ksmckay Ok, try this one. triplea_37924_7uk.tsvg

Apparently until the server issue gets fixed we have to manually save file.

triplea_37664_16-Rus.tsvg

Here ya go. I hope they fix this bug soon.

@ksmckay I believe I’ve made a grave mistake in the Pacific. I would like to move my entire fleet to SZ30. I would use my US transport to take both Midway units and goto take Marshall islands…