Standard bid

Yup.  I usually get together once a month with a group of guys here in the San Francisco area.  Tonight Im solo though.  Trying out new strategies.  Game report update.  Germans already have 11 tanks close to Ukraine. Yikes! Though the Americans already have a nice fleet and are poised to land in Morroco. Next few turns are going to be interesting

Exactly! It was one those games where after round one that you knew you had a big uphill battle ahead of you lol.

It seems pretty clear that you can’t just move the fighter onto the sea zone, since the bid has nothing to do with changing the initial setup.  The fighter could fly out and land during the US turn, if the carrier survives.

If you permitted it in this case, why wouldn’t you allow the UK to bid a carrier (with the BB and tran off Scotland) then just randomly move any two fighters onto it at the beginning of the game and change the entire setup thereby?

Just because you are only moving the fighter one square (from EUS to SZ) it still alters the setup dramatically.

and as other people pointed out, even if you protect this critical DD+2TT with the bid, they can still attack the UK one just north of it leaving UK with nothing at sea.

How do i start a game?

Here’s another fun set up for the Russians: The Vologda expansion!

Russian AI gets 1 extra factory, 2 tanks and 1 infantry behind the Urals. (A set bid of 30 ipcs)
+5 flat rate recurring income bonus to each of the Allies.

The extra tanks give Zhukov more to work with, whether to guard the rear in Asia, or to launch forward against G. The +5 to base income helps the Soviets to maintain, and perhaps to make use of their new production center eventually, which is here mainly as a draw for Axis and an achille’s heel. It’s like an interior Karelia, but one that Axis can’t immediately steal ;)

The income bonus to the Western Allies, allows them to overcome some of their naval goofs, to present a stronger threat over time.

Production expansion games like these might be fun in other areas of the gameboard (like for AI USA), but just thought I’d offer one for the Russians to kick it off. Vologda always struck me as a wasted space on this board, totally empty of units. I always thought it might have been more entertaining and significant if it housed a starting factory, which also gives Russia just a bit more each into the East. Using the AI Bid concept, you could try some fun AI redesigns, using the same essential 1942.2 framework but with just a twist here and there.

Russian Vologda expansion Bid +5 flat rate income bonuse to Allies.tsvg

Or how about this as another possibility. Instead of the Bid, Allies can move 1 factory to a new location.

For example, Russia could move the Karelia factory to Vologda. UK could move the factory from India to Eastern Canada, or Egypt, or South Africa.

Might work as well, for producing new strategies without breaking the first round battles.

My bad, its just 1 sub + 1 fig you can bring to attack the Aussie fleet. (sub + cruiser + trans + 2 inf)

Seems like a good trade (average 24 defender IPC losses in excess of attacker losses)

And, if you survive with the fighter and land it on a carrier next to New Zealand, the US will have to make a choice.
Either bring some of the Pacific fleet (Hawaii) down to New Zealand to kill the fig and carrier, and thus delay atlantic fleet build up. Or just ignore the carrier+fig.

Am setting it up now and we should get 4 hours play tomorrow morning before my parents bring Maddy back to us. She will probably want it packed away soon after!
Will give her a DD, not Sub, as I will refrain from attacking US fleet that way, 2 Inf for Russia and one in India and Egypt. That ought to do it.
Have fun on AAA, eating Japan dry of Twinkies. I have never had one.