What are some clever bids for the Pacific board?

@shadowhawk

Easier said than done though.

Right off the bat Germany will be consistently making more money than both Britain and the Soviet Union having taken out the rest of Europe and thats before they start attacking the Soviet Union.

Keeping the income advantage really only rests on America since the only change in their income will be losing the Philippines islands, as for everybody else, they can expect their IPC count to plummet with the combined strength of the Germans and Italians.

Also, like I said, taking Rome and Berlin is on the table to accomplish, taking Tokyo however not so much since A) it’s on an island B) It’s gonna have lot’s of dudes on it and C) the Pacific is too big to build any assortment of floating bridge and would be too expensive, hence why we would end the game if Japan is limited to their home island plus maybe Korea since they’re pretty much dead in the water so there is no point in playing any further.

I’d only just discovered these rules like a day before this thread popped up.  My buddy and I started a game on AAA a while ago to prep for our FtF this weekend:

https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=41587.0

This would seem to be a counterpoint to the UK/ANZAC 2 DoW.  I was doing some goofy stuff in Europe but basically a G4 Sealion is coming.  I’ve got a US Atlantic Navy ready for London Calling which would have moved to sz102 but now there’s an interesting conundrum.

If my buddy does a J3 DoW that lets my US forces retake Gibraltar and to stage my UK fighters and STB there.  If he doesn’t J3 that’s another whole turn where he isn’t taking Money Islands or India (he’s been content to take SFE and China but I suspect an ANZAC crush coming on – he likes to do them).

So not doing the DoW I think I’m in a slightly better position (although still horrible position overall).

from what I can see when running sims, I test with germany attacking with every landunit that can reach (7 I , 4 M, 3 A,  6 T ) V (1 AAA, 6 I, 2 A,  , 2T , 1 Ftr)  it gives germany 99.9% chance of winning about 24 IPC of loss

If you compare that too
(7 I , 4 M, 3 A,  6 T, 2 F, 2Tac ) V (1 AAA, 12 I, 2 A,  , 2T , 1 Ftr) , it gives about 99% chance of winning with 46 IPC loss

So, those 18 IPC used, gives immidiatly about 22 IPC lost for germany, and keeps 2 ftrs and 2 tacs away from the brit.

(if germany brings less planes to france, the chance of winning for the defender goes up fast, and the losses goes upp really fast)

@simon33:

I’m going to take that as meaning “You don’t have to, but it may be advised”. On that point, I’m happy to agree.

It’s 79% IIRC correctly of killing a 3ftr scramble and the BB with 3ftrs (2 from London) and no sub.

Yeah, that was my intended meaning. Your way of writing it conveys what I meant. I guess it all comes down to what you’re willing to risk percentage wise in that battle. Some people might be comfortable with something in the 80s, others might prefer a higher percentage.

The great thing about G40 is there’s never really a right or wrong answer. I’ve never looked back from the classic or even the revised editions once I tried G40.

Well some interesting facts.

All agree that in Europe 1940 the axis need a bid.
All agree that japan is hard to stop unless US invest heavy in the pacific.

In global nearly all players give the bid to the allies on the europe board and nobody gives the bid to the pac board.

Has anyone tried the “China first” proposal I made? I used this solution in AA50 as a bid alternative, and I think it works well in G40 too, but haven’t received much feedback from actual games other than my own group.  Maybe its because the HR forums are a wasteland of forgetfulness? haha.  
:-D

The basic idea is pretty simple, everything else stays the same, but China moves first in the turn order!
So in Global that’d be…

China, Germany, Russia, Japan, USA, UK/Pac, Italy, Anzac, France (then back to China)

I’m not saying that this change does away with the need for an Allied bid entirely, but it surely makes the bid range a bit narrower, and a lower. I mean if you can bring it down from 15, back into the single digits that’s a definite positive right? And China is a lot more fun to play this way. Its not like you’re getting “11 infantry in Yunnan”, but it does allow China to pull back and consolidate their starting forces, and build 1 round worth of additional units. It gives them their artillery in the first round, and bonus for control of the Burma road. What’s more it gives them a much better chance to secure their National Objective in subsequent rounds. This adjustment in turn order, also affords the Chinese an opening attack option in they want to get balsy!

The reason I really like this approach is because it doesn’t mess with the Europe side of the map (e.g it doesn’t break the med.) Doesn’t change the situation outside of the Chinese theater, since those units are restricted on where they can move. And most importantly, it gives Japan more to worry about. Sure, you’re probably going to kick a lot more ass as Allies if you give UK an extra carrier in the Med, but if that kind of bid strikes you as overly distorting you might try this instead. It’s pretty easy to implement and makes China a lot more effective as a player nation, which eases the pressure on the other Pacific nations. China has an advantage (over India) in that it can’t be strategically bombed or convoy raided into non-existence. Also, you can preserve the illusion that the OOB force distribution of units on the gameboard, actually corresponds to something in reality. As if the units OOB units where chosen for some reason by the designer, to be at least vaguely historical. This change in turn order of just one Nation, allows to avoid bringing too many extra units into the board outside of the normal purchasing/placement mechanisms. Its at least as easy to explain to your opponent as a standard bid, and if you still want to bid anyway, then go for it. But the change is so simple, and it really does give Japan more to chew on, and it seems like the Pacific side of the map is the one that is grabbing all the attention lately in terms of balance.

Also, for the history buffs…I feel like this tweak gives a slight nod to the fact that the War had been going on in China, even before all of Europe and the rest of the world was embroiled in the conflict.

“July 7, 1937 a day that lives in”… I don’t know, the first turn of G40 at least? hehe. There are crazy numbers of potential players in China. The materials are produced there more often than not. Why not roll the dice and see if a China first approach will work? Anathema to all Americans, like me! But in the game’s turn order I think it is kind of cool ;)

@Chia909:

In the rules, it states (paraphrasing) that Japan attacking or landing on Dutch Islands provokes war with UK and ANZAC.  In a different section it also states that unprovoked war with UK and ANZAC by Japan results in war with America. Is this a proper use of the transitive property?  I don’t know if its just me or what but it sounds like America shouldn’t be going to war over the Dutch Islands.  What is the official clarification please?

1)  Japan must first declare war on UK/Anzac before they can perform a combat move on a Dutch Territory.
2) If Japan declares war on UK/ANZAC before UK or ANZAC declare war on Japan, it is unprovoked.  However, it only permits America to declare war on her turn.  It does not immediately bring the US into the war.

Screw doing a bid.

Do a lottery,  shake up all the roundels in your hand, and hand them out randomly.

If people want to trade, let them.  If not, forget it, and play.

Adding up to 120 in IPC’s to the game board, is NOT how to play Axis and Allies.

Yes.