@Gamerman01:
I like the analysis, Garg,
I’ve been asking myself the same question for awhile, too.
Looking into the top 9 myself,
Me1945 and Wheatbeer
Me1945 hasn’t lost, and has taken the Axis 10 times but the Allies only 2
Wheatbeer loves the Axis, specializes in them, and plays them much better than the Allies.
Ghostglider and Boldfresh have actually both had more success with the Allies this year
Rasmustb, Hobo, Gamerman01, and Zhukov
Zhukov and myself are not really specialists (we don’t normally prefer one side much more than the other) and have both had more success with the Axis
Rasmustb and Hobo have had more success with the Axis. (I think this is your typical player’s experience - they win more with the Axis)
My conclusion:
When you look at the individual data, you see mixed results and circumstances. This is a rather small sample size (about 9 players), but it still seems to appear the Axis are easier to win with.
Only having to win on one board or the other is a big advantage.
Having played more games than anyone aside from Mr. Roboto this league, I will say the Axis play has really gotten good. I say this as one who usually (almost exclusively) plays the Allies.
But is this the player or the game? Hm, I’d say both to the extent that it takes great players to exploit the weaknesses of the game. Right now the weakness that is being exploited is that Japan is so powerful at the start that the US really has to do a tricky job of countering it while not allowing the Germans/Italians to run wild. If you get that wrong, then you’re looking at one side or the other falling to the Axis.
If there is a “problem” with the game, I think, and as I have said before many times, it is the real weakness of the UK. Its NO’s suck. It’s fleet gets wiped out every time, allowing the Axis to control the Atlantic/Med for a time. Egypt is seriously hard to defend against a concerted Axis attack. This is why most or all of any bid goes to them.
Before I jump in the 2015 league, maybe I will spend some time studying this and try to find a solution. Maybe it really is that the bid needs to be a minimum of 18. I’ve been doing 12 to 9 and getting killed!