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 😜
Let Japan destroy US Fleet at Pearl, good strategy?
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Let’s say that US move all or at least most of the US fleet to Pearl first turn. This would indeed provide a temtping target for the Japanese fleet. They will have the capacity to destroy it but will have to commit most of their fleet to achieve a comfortable victory (US-player will of course station all fighters and tac-bombers at Hawai so they can scramble and support the fleet).
What will the allies achieve by this?
Of course it will be a tactical victory for Japan, but the allies will also have some strategic benefits.
A large part of the Japanese fleet will be drawn away from the important DEI-area and take away a lot of pressure on the british forces.
It will draw US into the war, maybe earlier then the Japanese player originally did plan
Although the US fleet is beaten the Japanese would take a dent too.
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I think it’s a bad idea. The US fleet is not a more important target than the DEI, PI, and Kwangtung. Also, you have to be able to survive the counter-attack which will likely consist of bombers and naval units from San Fran. In all likelihood you will not be able to actually take the island so you wont have the naval base, meaning leaving will be quite slow as well.
I dont see that it is a good decision against a competent opponent.
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i agree…Japan must take the DEI and needs to threaten the UK and ANZACs at Calcutta and Sydney…i think they have a better chance at securing those cities than honolulu…unless the US player has problems…
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Sorry, I was a bit unclear. I meant you as the US-player should try to lure your opponent into making a big attack against Pearl in J2. Tempt him with most of the US fleet.
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Ahh, I understand.
Well in that case, if you can pull it off as the US it’s probably a good idea for the reasons listed as to why it would be a bad idea for Japan. :)
If you are looking at it as a ploy, then the US should probably try and minimize losses. I wouldnt send any planes stationed at Pearl out to play - save them for the counter attack. Also, make sure the Brits are in position to capitalize on the Japanese fleet being away. They might be able to stage a nice raid on the DEI or farther up the coast of China.
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I would want to experiment to see how much US stuff the Japanese player will go after. Do you have to use all the US starting ships, or could you do it with a transport, BB and DD? Then, hopefully you could counter-attack with bombers and two DDs or something. I don’t know. I will have to look it over sometime.
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If you are looking at it as a ploy, then the US should probably try and minimize losses. I wouldnt send any planes stationed at Pearl out to play - save them for the counter attack. Also, make sure the Brits are in position to capitalize on the Japanese fleet being away. They might be able to stage a nice raid on the DEI or farther up the coast of China.
Unless you block with the US, how are you preventing Japan from taking Pearl at all? Transports from Japan make it. If the carriers are 1 space away from Hawaii at teh end of J2, which they can be, the Japan can hit with 10 ground units (assuming an initial Japanese buy of a minor factory and 2 TTs) and fighters/TAC.
I get ignored every time I mention anything about this, but I am really confused why the japanese couldn’ go all out for Hawaii.
What are you all doing to stop this? If the entire Japanese fleet is there, it just isn’t feasible to hit it on US3. I am not beating my chest, but really would like to know what others are doing to eat through 3 carriers 6 planes 2 BB 4 DD 2 sb etc. I find that I can’t retake it for a number of turns (I’m still trying to figure out the best buys to do this) and I’m in serious danger of losing Sydney right after. Everything else seems irrelevent.
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Well, I guess if Japan devotes her whole opening towards taking and holding Hawaii you probably arent going to stop it. But as the Allies I dont think I’m really that worried about that opening. I think not taking PI and the DEI and hitting the Brits HARD is a terrible mistake. 90% of the Ami money is untouchable due to the massive NO bonus so you really arent taking away Allied money by being over there. And you really dont have a serious chance of taking out the US West Coast so that means you have to standoff the ever increasing US presence in their own front yard (to which I see little to no appeal).
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Well, I guess if Japan devotes her whole opening towards taking and holding Hawaii you probably arent going to stop it. But as the Allies I dont think I’m really that worried about that opening. I think not taking PI and the DEI and hitting the Brits HARD is a terrible mistake. 90% of the Ami money is untouchable due to the massive NO bonus so you really arent taking away Allied money by being over there. And you really dont have a serious chance of taking out the US West Coast so that means you have to standoff the ever increasing US presence in their own front yard (to which I see little to no appeal).
Actually, a Japan feint with carriers at Pearl is a great idea IMHO. Just park 2 carriers next door, like SZ 31 and have enough planes/subs/DDs in range. If the US fortifies, smash there fleet using mostly planes. This knocks the US back for a few turns. If they don’t, take it and fortify it with carriers and planes if you can.
Using 2 carriers, your subs, a pair of DDs, and some planes for this purpose still leaves you with 2 BBs, another carrier, pair of cruisers, etc, to lock down the DEI area with. You’ll loose a few transports but thats gonna happen no matter what.
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let japan take los Angelos, that’s a brilliant plan. it never fails :)
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The fllet goes to Pearl, but not the planes. The rest of teh planes & bombers on Kwangtung on an airbase gives the dual adjantage of hitting yunnan with all airpower and hitting an allied fleet if it ventures in range.
It seems no one else is playing this way. I am curious to see how this would play out against the strategies being used out there right now (with no bid). Someone play against me PBEM?
PS - I find it amusing that someone is giving me -1 karma every time I post. It is good to see that even without trying I can deeply affect someone’s psyche. I really can make a difference :-D!
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