SZ blockers

@RogerCooper
Yeah. I’m playing rated games.

I’m going to try to narrow down and clarify my question a bit. I’m having problems figuring out how to deal with an opponent who, as Germany, is only concerned with establishing unassailable strongpoints in France and Karelia. Without concerning himself with putting much pressure on Russia or getting at Caucasus for the first 5-10 rounds.
Their MO is to use their planes in France and W.E. to disrupt my Atlantic Fleet logistics, stockpile ground units in France, Germ, and Karelia. To avoid land battles altogether with Germany, and wait for Japan to expand, however long it takes. With a 9 city technical victory being one goal. Although the better players can ignore India and win by getting Kazakh/Caucasus etc.
I don’t lose every single game like this, but whenever I hit the Gold Tier, it seems that I run into this strat a lot and I can’t figure out the best way to proceed.
I’m leary of strategies that require me to focus on attacking enemy strongpoints in any strategy game. But I can’t figure out if there is a better way to break this without just piling on Finland. And the clock is always ticking for the VC decision.
Is stacking Finland a necessity? Or do I just need to get better at everything else, and learn to incorporate a Med shuck and/or a blend of other strategies?

@Krieghund Thanks

Okay so I love Axis and Allies, and 1942 Second Edition is my absolute favorite! There are a couple problems though. One, the game is long. That goes without saying. Usually the Axis must win during turns 6-8 otherwise it becomes hopeless against the allies, yet the game can continue to stretch to 12 or more turns until the Allies achieve victory even though it is hopeless for the Axis. Second, many veteran players will tell you, the OPTIMAL way for the Allies to win is to commit to a KGF or KJF strategy (Kill Germany First or Kill Japan First respectively) to win the game for the allies. For the Axis, it is the Moscow pincer. The math and mechanics of the game essentially dictate the strategy. My personal problem with this is that takes away the spirit of the game as a World War 2 simulation. I mean, in World War 2 the US could not simply ignore Japan and commit 100% of its economy to fighting Germany. So I started exploring a few new ways to shorten the game length as well as keep gameplay and strategy more organic. I would love to hear the communities thoughts on these!

Time Limit: The game is capped at 7 turns. The game ends regardless of board state at the end of the USA’s turn 7.

Immediate Victory

Axis: Control 9 Victory Cities, INCLUDING one of the following (Moscow, London, Washington, or Calcutta) at the end of USA’s turn.

Allies: Control 10 Victory Cities (including Berlin or Tokyo) this wins ONLY if the Axis has not achieved the below economic victory conditions in which case the game continues until the end of Turn 7.

OR if the Allies hold 11 total Victory Cities at the end of USA’s turn, this triggers a win no matter what.

Once the Time Limit Expires:

Economic Victory For the Axis If no one has achieved the above victory conditions by the end of the US turn on Round 7, the Axis win if:

Germany has an income of 50+ IPCs

OR Japan has income of 42+ IPCs

OR their Combined Total is 92+ IPCs.

Containment Victory For the Allies
If none of the above economic conditions are met at the end of USA’s Turn 7, the Allies win. They have successfully contained the Axis powers and liberated/protected major portions of the World, and would no doubt go on to win the war.

My justifications. These new objectives force the Axis to not only play for objectives, but to also commit to other campaigns. Germany will have to work hard to protect Europe, Win the Africa Campaign, and fight to take Russia’s territory. Japan will have a vested interest in protecting it’s Pacific islands while also consolidating the mainland.

For the Allies, USA cannot afford to ignore Japan, it will have to work hard in the South Pacific and main land Asia. The UK also cannot afford to lose Africa. So if the Allies attempt a KGF strategy and it is successful by turn 6, but Japan has ran away to 45+ IPC’s (super easy to do when Japan is ignored) then the Allies have until the end of Turn 7 to contain Japan and take away enough territory to get its income below 42.

Again, my desire is to make the game feel more like World War 2 and keep strategy organic and interesting. Avoid the KGF and KJF strategies, and keep the game timed. I would love to hear some thoughts and possible suggestions for these new victory conditions!

@Glamorboy A big load of subs can definitely be useful, and if you aren’t trying to protect transports at all, it is a good option. True, one carrier and 2 fighters loses to 5 subs. Typically though, your navy will be much more expensive than $34 and the fighters are also relevant on land. Also, subs are not good at defense while fighters defense kings.

When I play against friends who are new, I just give them a bid. If they win, their bid goes down and if they lose, their bid goes up. I never spend money on both coasts as US because I feel like I can never get anything going at all and it seems like all the money is wasted. Also, I think it is more helpful to use viable, typical strategies against new players so that they know what to expect. I have learned a lot more about the game through losing than I ever have by winning.

I can’t quite make out the board. Would you take 2 pictures, each one half of the board, so I can get a better view?

Did your group okay getting outside advice for an active game? If not, then I cannot help you as that would be unethical.

@tmartin Thorpe Thump won the tournament at GenCon in 2023 for the Allies.

https://youtu.be/uBMCB0AUciI?feature=shared&t=448

Keep in mind the gameplay is largely focused on the tournament format, so you’d want to adjust the strategy some for non-tournament play.

All right, thanks!