Can you set-up without the charts?

@Luxor:

Can scrambled planes choose not to return to the territory they scrambled from? (Assuming there’s place for them on friendly carriers in the seazone they scrambled to)

No, as long as the territory they have scrambled from has not been taken by the enemy, the planes have to return there:

@rulebook:

After all combat is completed, each surviving scrambled air unit must return to the territory from which it was scrambled. If
the enemy has captured that territory, the unit can move 1 space to land in a friendly territory or on a friendly aircraft carrier.
If no such landing space is available, the unit is lost. Surviving scrambled air units land during that turn’s Noncombat Move
phase, before the attacker makes any movements.

Italian canopening is even more effective when combined with the Germany “Dark Skies” option with lots of bombers.  The tanks+mechs+bomber attack options means that the Allies cannot place moderate-sized stacks within two spaces of the German/Italian main stack.  Russia ends up cowering in Moscow with a few minor exchanges each round.  UK ends up with a strong stack near Iraq, never daring to move it too close to the Germans.

Meanwhile the huge range of the German bombers give that power flexibility to find opportunistic attacks:
*Allied ground forces in W. Europe
*Allied ships in the Atlantic
*Allied ships in the Med
*Push into Siberia
*Mid-game Sealion or Egypt attack

I am not saying that this plan guarantees victory, but it allows League players to aim towards eventual victory in G13-17.  Most face-to-face games end up with a Moscow attack on G5-8 when the Axis players just decide that the numbers look close enough.  With the battlecaculator and more time on PBEM/PBF games, Germany can comb through the options every turn and patiently wait for the right opening with a big TUV swing.

I know how to read, SH, I do it for a living.

I’ve played a lot of games, and since I’d played Axis and Allies before, I didn’t read the rules at all.  I was much more interested in playing a game, 90% of which was already familiar.  We consulted the rules when there was confusion, which was often.  Reading the rules in detail first might have been helpful, but it still didn’t answer most of the 10% of questions that come up as exceptions, nuances or rare situations, which is why I read these boards.    Sure there was plenty of slop and mistakes, but I admit when I’m wrong and try to do it correctly going forward.

Thanks for the recap on the stages of the Alpha’s. I do like the newer rules I think compared to the OOB rules. Just gatta break the group on the next new game.

BH

The pleasure was on my part, Black_Elk.
I like to find ideas and optimized them inside specific guidelines.
These last one was invented while writing on it, never know that something that I found also interesting could come out of it!

However, it needs someone like you to come with the big picture and completely outside the box ideas.

I will be watching for feedback from your game-plays.

See you around.
Baron

In the Pacific rulebook it states: “At the beginning of the game, Japan and China are at war. However, none of the other Allied powers…” thus implying that China is an Allied power, and Allied powers are unable to declare war on each other.

Well the U.S. didn’t exactly jump to war with Germany lol.

I was being a little off the cuff with the turn 20 crack.  I could live with turn 4 or 6 also.  Either would simulate a 1942 or 1943 U.S. declaration of war.

Just want to give the Japanese some reason to attack Hawaii like FDR did.  If the Japanese waited until January 42 to attack I be the Arizona would still have been sitting there.