@rjpeters70:
Without the special neutral powers rules or NOs, I’d go Axis. If I was the Axis, I’d spend the first three rounds attacking Spain, Portugal, and Sweden for the IPCs, and setting up a huge presence in the Middle East by jamming my way through Turkey. Build an IC in Iraq and possibly another in Turkey, then snatch up Persia, Arabia, Jordan, Syria, and be able to seriously threaten the Caucuses, Egypt (and therefore Africa), and India. I would just ignore Russia for as long as I could, and wail on UK’s holdings.
US could of course pick up South America, worth 8-10 IPCs, and UK could if they wanted to pick up Mozambique and Angola, but overall, I think it benefits the Axis because it opens up the Middle East.
There wont be much to gain in attacking all of the true neutrals without having a giant bear ready to poor in. I would just go G1/J1 since it will hurt the allies a lot more since the axis will easily be making as much money very quickly.