Rocky Mountain Axis & Allies Meetup game groups table # 1

True, threatening Sealion is strong German play, but as Young Grasshopper himself has said, many British players do not fear it much these days, so you might as well hit Russia hard, right from the start, and get the killing blow(in my strategic opinion).
Thanks and God Bless You All from AxisandAlliesGeneral

Ignore this topic the link has been updated, if you want to view the rules to the variant go to Axis and Allies Cold War Variant 2

AxisandAlliesColdWarVersion.pdf

Use the same colors as Diplomacy. Problem solved!

SZ 6 is a terrible spot for the Japanese navy if you’re being focused by the WAllies (it’s fine if you’re left relatively alone and are threatening Hawaii for victory). The DEIs are worth 20 to Japan, Japan+Korea money being convoyed is only 11. The Philippines are the best spot to station the IJN after conquering the DEIs. Add an airbase to FIC and you’re basically unapproachable. Not only does it extend that air’s reach, it also provides a scramble to protect newly built transports/destroyers to reclaim DEIs from the WAllies/reinforce IJN

The US is going to need a massive fleet to be able to survive in SZ 6/Carolines SZ or use several destroyers as blockers. Every plane you have in FIC w/ an airbase can hit SZ 6, same with the whole fleet at Philippines if it’s not blocked. Carolines SZ isn’t much safer because if you still control one of the islands in the adjacent sea zones (not uncommon as they are valueless, defended, and no facilities), you can “double up” your aircraft carrier capacity when attacking it: Planes on the carriers at Philippines attack the sea zone planning to land on said island and planes from FIC can attack the sea zone planning to land on the carriers. If they do block you with destroyers, then you can kill those with subs and/or planes and take the favorable casualty ratio. Since the US needs a heavily defensive fleet to be able to withstand your counterattack, your fleet at the Philippines is likely unattackable by the US fleet, putting planes on the island for scramble if need be.

If Russia stacks Bury Rd1, just don’t do a J1 DoW. Crush the Russian stack J1 instead, advance on China and set up a moderately successful J3 DoW (not gonna be ideal because of the Russian diversion. But hey, you get Russian money as a trade-off). Be content that Germany can get a comfortable take of Moscow without worrying about balancing haste and profitability.
If Russia pulls back for one round and then re-advances to Bury Rd2, this is probably the toughest Japan will have it. Very unlikely that they will take the Pacific victory (unless the US ignores them), but Germany will still get the easy take on Moscow and should be able to turn that into a Europe victory.

@knp7765:

As Russia, you should definitely grab Norway. With the large US fleet there and London getting liberated, it’s very doubtful Germany will be putting any more boats in the water (…)

I agree completely. I want Norway out of the way first round after London is liberated, just to rid Germany of another 8 IPCs. If the Germans position themselves in Finland however, USA will take Norway instead. Otherwise Germany can enjoy those 8IPCs one more turn.

@knp7765:

(…)Do you plan to liberate Paris if US troops successfully land in Normandy or Holland? (…)

I usually wait to liberate Paris for the exact same reasons as you mentioned. It is a matter of being able to hold it or not. Trading it back and forth with Germany is often unacceptable (but not always), especially if the USA has to spend a lot in the Pacific (sometimes I am forced to invest near 100% in the Pacific with the USA from US7 and onwards because the Japs have taken Calcutta and are investing near 100% on also getting Hawai). For that reason I keep my men and TRS next to each other in Gibraltar, London, Normandy or wherever they are safe while being the most aggressive.

In this particular situation however, it remains to be seen. If taking Paris means the fall of Berlin in a series of falling dominoes then taking Paris it is!

So Japan has to be ready.

@RedHunter:

Wow that was too many pieces left on the board. Like holy crap. How much % does the Axis win without VC to aid them?

I do not know the answer to that. We may be the only ones on this forum who play without VCs.