Best posts made by Arthur Bomber Harris

J1 DoW doesn’t change Europe very much as the United States still needs to invest heavily in the Pacific on the first turn to have a fleet reach the action on USA3. A bit more American Pacific fleet has to be built to make up for the units sunk by the Japanese on that turn 1 attack. I always do a standard Cow opener for Japan in every out-of-the-box match, and have never regretted it except when getting diced in Yunnan. Bad luck happens.

For someone struggling to win as the Axis, I highly recommend standard Germany and Japan openings as you have the ability to follow a simple script for the first two rounds, giving a foundation for later turns. Getting income up is so crucial in the first six turns. Way too often, I see people playing scared as the Axis and focusing on defense instead of setting strategic targets to capture territories in the early game.

@djensen if someone asks for non-standard bid process, they should offer the opposition the choice of sides in the event of a tie.

I did this for my most recent league match.

@argothair OP is talking about his challenges winning an OOB game with no bid. Recommending lower-odds gambits is not helpful for people who are struggling with the standard playbook.

In regards to hiding the Axis’ plans, how many places can the Allies choose to attack in W Europe even when they do know the German strategy? There are only a few obvious landing spots that can be held, and it is only a matter of when the Allies have sufficient forces to grab those territories. Normandy… Norway… Greece? Maybe a few more logical choices if the Axis is played poorly.

AndrewAAGamer (Axis) defeats ArthurBomberHarris (Allies+60) OOB Close match that came down to a tough battle in Moscow on G8. Hats off to Andrew.

https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/topic/40447/l24-oob-andrewaagamer-x-vs-arthurbomberharris-l-60/71?_=1706326859321

Someone needs to program a decent AI. Probably needs some scripted opening libraries for turn 1 to give it a reasonable start.

G40>> Go >> Chess.

Good luck! Eager to see this high-level match unfold.

@kyle47 if you are spending most of your G3-G5 income on defending Western Europe, the Allies should be able to hold Moscow and the Middle East as you don’t have enough forces to overcome the final defense lines. Get a few bombers during G3 and G4 as they are so versatile. You can buy units at the front lines from G4 and onwards.

I like having a dozen or more German bombers by the mid-game. That makes it challenging to simultaneously protect Moscow, Middle East / Egypt, a Western European foothold, and the Atlantic fleet. Dark Skies is unfair!

Axis should be able to win 90% of the time for an OOB game with no bid when the players have experience. Join the League so you can go against stronger opponents and find flaws in your game plans for matches which are more balanced.

The evolving strategies have allowed the Allied bid to creep up to the 50-ish range. One key evolution I saw recently was leaving Normandy in French control. That prevents the Allies from using that territory as a pivotal foothold. Very annoying.

I have been diced in final battles. I had AA guns shoot down 12/17 bombers. Literally a 1 in a million outcome.

@SuperbattleshipYamato almost any strategy will work against the AI or yourself.

Against a skilled opponent, Japan needs to grab the money islands and Malaysia by turn 3, and then capture India not too long afterwards. That will force the United States to split spending on the two theaters or risk defeat when Hawaii or Australia fall.

@Karl7 have you ever considered to just roll better dice?

@Cornwallis without an Allied bid, I view Gibastion as too risky. Something goes wrong and Egypt will fall. Game over.

I also think a factory in Egypt on UK1 would trigger Sealion assuming average dice rolls on first turn. If the money isn’t being spent in London, the Axis needs to punish the bold/foolish decision.

@JDOW I have been following Adam’s matches and stealing his strategies. Between the two of you, I get 90% of my plans.

@questioneer keep in mind that online favors the Axis more than a face to face board game where you make more mistakes. I can calculate the exact value of troops needed to ensure victory in battle when I have the luxury to battle calc every possible move.

I think 20-30 bid is fair for live play, and 40-60 is needed for games where you can spend an hour to make a move.

@Adam514 what a truly epic match with so high level play by both sides. I have been taking strategy notes.

Assuming there isn’t an awful dice roll during UK1, Italy will be primarily defensive for the rest of the game. Egypt should not fall regardless of the main Allied openers. Gibraltar might be briefly captured but will be reclaimed when America enters the game. Africa will eventually be dominated by the Allies. The Med cannot be kept free of British ships.

Nevertheless, Italy has crucial roles:

• Canopening for the Germans

• Protect the coastline from Allied invasion

• Make it difficult for Russia to claim Axis territories in Africa.

• delay convoy raids in the Med

• Make sure Rome and Berlin don’t get captured.

I build a mech and a tank on I1, and then mostly infantry after that. Perhaps a fighter on I1 if there are opportunities to use it in a limited action on I2.

@gamerman01 if we want historical accuracy, we would have more battleships and cruisers still built in the game. Here are the splits for the US navy:

By the end of World War II the U.S. Navy was by far the largest and most powerful navy in the world with 7,601 ships, including 28 aircraft carriers, 23 battleships, 71 escort carriers, 72 cruisers, over 232 submarines, 377 destroyers, and thousands of amphibious, supply and auxiliary ships.

Translating into axis and allies, we would have roughly similar spend/turn on battleship, cruisers, subs, and destroyers, and a bit disproportionally high spending on carriers.

In terms of practical proposal, I would have cruisers cost 10 and battleships cost 17. Willing to get feedback if these numbers are attractive.

If you captured Egypt and held it for a few turns, the game has shifted so much in the Axis favor that it is impossible for the Allies to compete again assuming good game play. But it sounds like inexperienced Allied and Axis players if the Italians survived Taranto.

@farmboy thank you so much for the enjoyable match. It was so close and could have gone either way. You lost your American bomber on its first mission. If it had survived and went on to an illustrious service history, that likely would have changed the course of the game.

Amazing how everything can change from the roll of a single die.

@haddon-granillo

if they get control: America can build 3 units per turn there and also establish an air base to protect the Allied fleet. Additionally they get the PUs each turn.

These benefits far exceed the little bit of total income that the Axis will get for the turns they control the territory.

Always impressive to watch top-level matches such as Adam and Ghost. Best way to improve strategy and tactics.