This is a brief (ha!) review of my first game followed with a few questions for Krieghund.
The Japan player was more experienced than the Allied player. We played until game completion which took 11 rounds. Japan eventually won after waiting 2 turns before attacking the Allies. The Japanese strategy was to crush China, crush India and then take Australia (counter-clockwise domination starting at about 12 o’clock). The Japanese reality was that China was crushed fairly easily (2+ rounds), India was much more difficult to get to than anticipated (6 rounds) and the 6th and final victory city ended up being Honolulu after America made a mistake. Without the mistake Japan was probably 2-3 turns away from taking Sydney.
First let me say that I liked the game very much. I think there’s a lot of different options out there for Japan and for the Allies. I think this will lead to interesting and different games each time. For me this is the hallmark of a good game. I really like the naval and air bases; they add movement complexity not found in previous versions. For instance, if you move 3 from a naval base to a Sea Zone that does not have a naval base (or one that does but you fail to capture the territory), your ships can’t get back in one turn. Great! I really like the new convoy rules, they are a game-manageable and proportional manifestation of convoy disruptions. I also really like not having game-ending technologies. The capital ships being repaired at a naval base is an interesting twist that I like very much. I especially like that if you attack with Aircraft Carriers in a Sea Zone with a friendly Naval Base and they receive damage, they aren’t immediately repaired. If on the next turn your opponent attacks the fleet, they are vulnerable.
As with others I am disappointed in not having a battle board but I will be requesting one soon. I too think we should have more tactical bombers. I ended up just using German fighters for mine, the different color made distinguishing them easier. I always take notes and record the IPCs on a spreadsheet so I have no qualms about the lack of paper money. The National Production Chart doesn’t go to 50? Sigh. Personally I would prefer plastic anti-aircraft pieces because these are moveable units and not structures. I forgot to move one twice in one game.
Despite the fact that in my first game Japan won, I think when I play it again it will be difficult for the Allies to lose. I base this on the fact that it is very difficult to get to 6 cities. If you get all of Asia, you still have to get either Sydney, Honolulu or San Francisco. This is a tall order. Japan is well positioned with a TON of planes, but it is still pretty difficult. I think a good Allied strategy would be to fall back, bide your time, build up and then wear them down. But still, I’ve only played it once, I think there’s a lot of options, and I’m reserving judgment.
I do have a few questions I was hoping Krieghund could answer. I apologize if these have been answered someplace else.
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The set-up says Palau for Japan, is this the same as Paulau Island? I assumed it was one and the same.
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Kamikazes: Do you place the 6 little cardboard pieces in Japan to keep track of how many are left, or are they intended to be placed in the 6 Kamikaze-able sea zones? Do you send a plane in for the Kamikaze attack, like any plane, be it fighter, tactical bomber, or bomber or are the pieces of cardboard “free Kamikaze planes”? If you have to use a plane, I assume that this plane is toast, and can’t be used again (duh, though I couldn’t find where this is explicitly written.) The Kamikaze is taken during the Allied players turn, either during combat phase or non-combat phase, correct? There is only a single round of combat, correct?
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If the UK attacks Japan before the USA and Japan are at war, can Japan retaliate against the UK without provoking a war with USA?
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Can China move units into UK-controlled Burma before the UK is at war with Japan? That is to say, if UK moves into China pre-war, this is considered an act of war and would trigger USA war-time economy, but is the reverse true?
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Does Sea Zone 5 connect to Korea?
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Scrambling: When you scramble fighters and tactical bombers, they are essentially flying over the Sea Zone. Just so you know I really like this concept, but it significantly changes the game; in previous versions if you wanted fighters defending a Sea Zone you were required to purchase an Aircraft Carrier. That being said, I remember some ambiguous language in the rule book (p. 14, first sentence of “Scramble”) that mentioned scrambling planes “on islands that have operative airbases,” but can they not be scrambled off the coast of Asia or Austrailia? What about New Guinea? Can an allied air base in Korea scramble into Sea Zone 6? Can scrambled planes in the Shan State be sent to one Sea Zone or can they be simultaneously scrambled to both? I expect not both. When you build an airbase, can planes immediately be scrambled or do you have to wait a turn to scramble them (similar to not dropping units in a newly purchased industrial complex)?
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Convoys: Is there no convoy route in Sea Zone 38, west coat of Australia, or Alaska’s Sea Zone 2? I expect great thought was put into placing the convoy symbols, but I thought it wouldn’t hurt to check.
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Let’s say that I have control of an island with an Air Field and I have empty carriers around it. Next let’s say that I have some fighters returning from battle, that are just able to make it to the Sea Zone but not the island itself, so they land on the carriers. Next, let’s say that my fleet is attacked and I absorb hits on my carriers. Next let’s suppose that the attacker retreats and my planes are able to land on the island. Do I have the option of scrambling these planes? Or do they have to land on the island and defend as a land unit?
Thanks and happy gaming!
TCPJ
