J1 What do you buy and do?

@Wilson2:

What would be an interesting game would be if Japan took US but ignored the other nations. Then Japan fighting UK, ANZAC, and China.

It is possible, but if the USA player knows what he’s doing, is maybe a 20-30% chance, tops.

My thinking is as a separate game this setup is flawed, but I’m betting anything that the Global game (the one we are all going to play from here on out for the most part) is pretty balanced with the addition of all those Russian infantry to the North of Manchuria. Something tells me that India crush strategy will take a beating.

@Whackamatt:

Well, I suppose the US economy could go up if they took some DEI, but really, if that’s happening, that it’s pretty much over for the Japanese anyway.

Not in my game  :-)  Func really likes to snipe at those DEI islands.

Sure, I hear what you’re saying, but it really didn’t take me long to get the fleet back to a position.  And I don’t recall the ANZAC transport being an easy kill in J2 - my opponent doesn’t throw it away so easily.

And what else is there for the Japanese navy to do?  It’s not like the USA navy is going to move in right away because of this move.  There’s till plenty of navy at the Phillipines.

I have no need to persuade you.  I think it’s a good move, and will likely do it again in the future.  Yes, it invites ANZAC to attack you with fighters (depending on how much J brings down) and perhaps invites the USA to venture farther west, but that’s fine with me.  It’s like a trap.

Its worth getting cause when AAE40 comes out you will want both to play the combined game.  Also the introduction of new rules and units (convoys, declaration of war, air base, naval base, tactical bomber, mechanized infantry) make the game far more enjoyable and adds more depth and breadth to the series, further setting it apart from other board games.

@Vareel:

Oh i’m not saying you have to attack hawawi, nor that you should try to take it.  But it is a good idea I feel to send the US fleet at pearl to the bottom of the ocean.  The way I do that is with 2 carriers parked in SZ 31 with some extra boats to add to the attack, like a BB, pair of DDs, pair of subs, and keep a bomber or two in range, along with a purchased sub or 2.  Just 2 carriers alone in SZ 31 bring 8 planes into the fight allowing for 24 punch and 8 or 12 hits if you bring the carriers.  Add to that a pair of bombers, 2 DDs and a BB and you got 40 punch with 6 more hits.  And thats not counting the purchased units or the pair of subs you can position there if you want.  That still leaves you with a carrier, a battleship, 2 DDs, 2 Cru, and 15 planes for the DEI area.  Now I do sacrifice my transports to take DEI islands in the end, but I feel it is worth it.  If the US cannot be at Pearl on US2, or is sunk there, the earliest turn they can get to the DEI area with a significant force would be on US 5.

I understood that the propose is to prevent the US from moving the fleet to Pearl, not taking Hawaii itself and I agree that it is a good move. Most likely I’d move the US fleet to Line Islands and buy a naval base, allowing them to reach Australia on the next turn by leaving a DD on Johnson to block any J attacks.

The worse though will be if the US moves its airforce to Australia after J has attacked. Any Jap fleet on the East Indies will be threatened.

If the Japanese do not take NSW in turn 1, the ANZAC folks can put their destroyer off New Guinea.  With a destroyer there, the Japanese can not reach NSW from the Carolines in a single turn.  The Japanese would have to attack the destroyer in turn 1 or do some other move to open up the sea lanes to NSW.  For these reasons, an early attack on NSW does not look very good.

Hawaii on round 1 is a pretty dicey proposition.

With no shore shot hits, the odds are about 20% of taking the Island.
If one shore shot hits, you are at 41%. 
If two shore shots hit, you are at 76%. 
Yes, you can get a third shot, but I would count on three hits. 
This assumes that you attach the Islands with all three transports including 3 infantry, 1 artillery and 1 tank (max 5 units since you only have 1 at Caroline)
Bottom line is that you need to be fairly lucky to take Hawaii round 1. 
I think the payoff is huge, but I can’t reccomend building your strategy around something that has such a high chance of failure.

If you fail badly (brick) then the counter attack could be pretty ugly.  The US has 8 planes that can reach along with 5 ships.  That is 13 total units.  You have (If I recall correctly) 15 total units that can reach, including 6 carrier aircraft.  You will likely win.  However, since they will be getting a check for $62, they can afford the losses, but you probably cannot.  You gained nothing on round 1 except a few territories in China.

Too much of a crap shoot for my tastes.