Posts made by knp7765

Oh yeah, I tried the Spanish Beachhead this weekend.  It didn’t work quite like I expected.  One problem was that Japan went on an attack spree Round 2 and dragged the US into the war early.  It kind of threw me off a bit even though I don’t think it should have.  It didn’t help that Japan actually occupied Hawaii and Alaska because all my stuff was in the Atlantic.  I had bombers, subs and destroyers in the Pacific, but no transports or land units to take back my territories.
We ended up getting through round 4 before deciding to call it quits.  I think one problem was I didn’t get the chance to really use my destroyers, subs and bombers in the Pacific.  Japan got pretty monstrous and took advantage of an unusual opportunity to take out Sydney early.  They didn’t even have the DEI yet and were already making in the mid 50s.
Another possible mistake is Russia decided to try going offensive.  Germany sank the Royal Navy then left Britain almost alone except for sub activity. They went after Russia hard. So Russia tried a couple of counter attacks that failed miserably and they attacked Turkey right before the US landed in Spain.  This was to keep the Turks out of Axis hands because Russia knew what the US was planning.
As a result, Germany was marching hard into Russia and Russia lost a lot of units in their attacks. Everything else was heading for Moscow, including the guys from the East and the Mongolians.  In fact, there was a Japanese force that was just following the Russians across Russia, gobbling up all those eastern Soviet territories without a real threat.

So, I’m not sure that I did it right or maybe we called it quits a little too early to tell.  Not sure if I can do it again very soon.  It was sure a big surprise to my Axis friends.  Most games neither side touches the strict neutrals and the Allies have NEVER done it.  I’d like to try it again but it will probably be a while.

Hey YG, I have a question about that neat house rule.  It says a victory token can never be taken away.  So if Germany does a successful Sealion and captures London, they get a victory token.  But if the US comes and liberates London, Germany still gets to keep the victory token?
Or with the “No Japanese Capital Ships”, the US gets a victory token and they get to keep it even if Japan buys a new carrier or battleship?
I really like the R&D part of it because we all like to play with tech but nobody wants to buy research rolls.
As for winning by victory tokens, it seems like in some cases one side could actually be losing but win by accumulating enough tokens throughout the game.  I mean, say Germany comes on strong and captures London and Moscow at different times, gaining two tokens, but both cities get liberated and Germany is getting beaten down.  They could possibly win even though the war is not really going their way.
I may be wrong.  Maybe I’m just not seeing the possibilities.  Still, it would be a good way to finish a game without it lasting several days (like many of ours end up doing).

I like this for America.  The subs/destroyers/bombers in the Pacific I think will be much more effective than it first seems.  At first it may seem a minor nuisance, but eventually Japan will lose cruisers, battleships and possibly even carriers and will be hard pressed to replace them along with continuing to buy destroyers, maintaining an offensive on the mainland and dealing with what convoy raiding US subs are accomplishing.  This will be a significant drain on Japan’s economy.
Also, ANZAC could sneak in there and take 1 or more of the DEI.  Japan may take them right back, but it will still be a nuisance and divert resources. Like I think you said in your video, Calcutta will probably eventually fall but you may be able to drag it out a couple of rounds or so.
As for Europe, I don’t think there is any way Germany can repel such a large American force, either on Spain or SZ 91. I got to agree with Tirano and say leave Paris for a while and let the US use those French ICs. Perhaps liberate Paris once Italy is captured. This way US still has 2-3 factories in Europe to use along with the 20 unit drop every other round.
Germany will fall because there is no way they can sustain a proper defense or counter-attack possibility in the West AND continue to fund their push towards Moscow.
One thing I don’t get is how the UK will be able to take out Turkey, or even protect against the large army the Axis will have there. I get having the UK buy an IC in Persia and probably attacking the Pro-Axis Iraq, but once the US hits Spain, the Axis will have a large army there for the taking and UK is spread pretty thin down there, especially after having to beat down the Italians in N. Africa and Ethiopia. Is it possible for the UK to keep the Turks contained?
Russia could help some but any defense they put in the Caucasus is less they have against the Germans farther north.

I pretty much always leave the Med to Italy. Even if Germany takes S. France, it usually only uses the IC there for making infantry to protect the Atlantic coast, or maybe a couple of subs to help Italy clear out the Med right at first.
Maybe one of those German infantry will go down, catch a ride on an Italian transport and land in Egypt for that German NO there, but this only happens if Italy is doing very well down there and that usually only happens if the Germans are successful at Sealion so UK is pretty much out of the European theater. Also, the US is usually busy in the Pacific and not doing much in the Atlantic.
So, the Germans getting the “Land Unit in Egypt” NO is fairly rare.
So in our games, Germany has little to no involvement in the Med.  They are either busy attacking England or going after Russia. Either of those takes too much financial commitment.

There is a strategy for attacking the US with Germany and Japan. Everything has to go right and you could probably only get away with it one time because it relies on a surprise. Once you do it, it’s something the US player will probably be watching for.
Turn 1 = Germany = Attacks Paris and Royal Navy in sea zones 109, 110 and 111. Purchase a carrier and either 1 destroyer and 1 sub OR 2 transports. Also take Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Finland and Normandy. With the new territories, national objectives and plunder of France’s treasury, you should clear 70 IPCs to spend round 2.
Turn 1 = Japan = Build 3 transports + 1 artillery. Make attacks in China but don’t provoke Russia or the Western Allies. Gather fleet in SZ 6.
Turn 1 = Italy = Try to destroy Allied ships while trying to protect as much fleet as possible. Take Greece and if Germany doesn’t take S. France, take that too.

Turn 2 = Germany = Purchase 10 transports and move enough infantry, tanks, artillery and/or mechs to fill them to Western Germany. Any troops not earmarked for the transports should start moving to the Russian border. If any Royal Navy still exists, kill it. Use some Luftwaffe to help Italy clear Allied ships out of the Med.
Turn 2 = Japan = Buy more transports and equipment and troops to fill them. Continue attacks in China.
Turn 2 = Italy = If Med is cleared and opportunity arises, send your troops to take Egypt. Otherwise perhaps take Syria. Whatever you do with your army, end your turn with whatever warships you have left in Sea Zone 92.

Turn 3 = Germany = Purchase infantry and other units to defend Eastern front. UK should be thinking you are trying Sealion so they have probably been buying all defensive units on London. That means no Royal Navy in your way. So, you take your navy and transports and shoot down to Sea Zone 91 and take Gibraltar with that Naval Base.
Turn 3 = Japan = You could purchase more transports + units to fill them.  It’s up to you.  Main thing is taking your fleet and all your current transports from Sea Zone 6 to Sea Zone 1. Land a few units in Alaska and the bulk in Western Canada. If the US player put a blocker in any sea zone between Japan and Western Canada/Alaska, you will have to send your warships to kill it first and invade next round.
Turn 3 = Italy = Important thing here is any warships you managed to have in SZ 92 go out to either SZ 102 or SZ 89 to clear any US blockers.

Turn 4 = Germany = Now spring the surprise.  Everything in SZ 91 goes to SZ 101 and invades the Eastern US. Even though Japan’s attack on Turn 3 put the US on a war standing, they will still only have their pre-war income to spend on defenses.  You will be attacking with 11-13 transports full of land units to attack them with. That’s 22 - 26 land units! Most likely the US will not have enough to withstand your assault. Meanwhile, keep trying to pile up defense on the Russian border because Stalin will come calling.
Turn 4 = Japan = Invade Western United States from Western Canada. Also take that mighty Imperial Navy and attack whatever fleet the US managed to build and stage in SZ 10 or around Hawaii. Assuming the Germans take the US capital, this attack will give Japan a nice 10 IPC territory and eliminate the main threat to your expansionism. UK and ANZAC will have a little fun at your expense for a round or two, but once you get back into position you will be making plenty to overwhelm the smaller allies.
Turn 4 = Italy = Try to expand in the Middle East or Africa. With no US threat, Italy should be able to expand.

If all this works right, the US will be taken out of the picture and the other Allies should be much easier to deal with.  Russia will go after Germany and may have some success at first.  However Germany will have a huge amount of money to spend on lots of units to throw at the Red Army. Eastern US is worth 20 plus there is the plunder of the US treasury, which should be around 75-80 IPCs since Japan brought them into war the round before.
I imagine your allied players probably won’t want to continue this game.

@variance:

I lke the first edition UK/ANZAC mechanzed infantry too

They simply shared the US mechanized infantry.  I believe it was the M3 Halftrack.

Geez, what a douche!  I just watched the disappointment video and got my fill.
One main thing I noticed is he seems to contradict himself.  He says to have big expectations but if/when those plans don’t work out quite according to plan, you shouldn’t be disappointed.  Yet he also says that you shouldn’t lower your expectations in order to not be disappointed.  He says you should expect getting to your ultimate goal it will be sloppy and imperfect.  But that is not lowering your expectations?
This is making me dizzy.

This is why I was glad that I kept my 1940 1st edition ANZAC sculpts.  They are UK Infantry in ANZAC grey.  Much better than the GIANTS of 2nd edition.
It’s a shame though.  Aside from the physical size, I liked the new ANZAC infantry.

@taamvan:

There was a scandal when several new Italian Cruisers were manufactured with Mild Steel instead of cemented Krupp armor, which reduced the price by two thirds but decreased survivability to zero…

Italian Cruisers defend at 1?

Interesting idea.  Then you would make them cost like 8 IPCs?
So Italian cruisers stats would be:
Attack = 3, Defense = 1, Move = 2, Cost = 8

I think that would be a good advantage to give to Italy.  Not too much of an advantage but gives them a little something.

I like to play Germany.
They start off militarily strong and in pretty good position, but you still have to be careful not to overextend yourself.  If you get too bold, you could end up leaving yourself too thin in too many places and good Allied players can take advantage and leave you in a bad position.
On the other hand, you don’t want to be too timid.  In that case you end up with all this nice military power but not making enough money to support it.  Then the Allies build up around you and end up overpowering you while you don’t have enough to bounce back from it.

My favorite OOB sculpt would probably be the German AA guns.  I just think they look really cool.

As for HBG units, there are so many great ones it’s hard to choose, but I would probably pick the Tiger I tank.

Can we get an update on the Germany 3 set?

Are the new German pieces close to being delivered?

theROCmonster,
Every one of those proposed changes makes it easier on the Allies and harder on the Axis.  All of them together makes it seem like you are trying to unbalance the game in the Allies favor.
I think that you have played Allies and gotten your butt kicked by Axis players too often and are just showing sour grapes.

Curious about this “search roll”. You mentioned the winner of the search roll determines whether or not there is combat. I understand that.
If player A has a large fleet and is attacking player B who has a couple of ships, but player B wins the search roll, of course he’s going to decline combat.
How about this however:
Player A is on the attack and goes after Player B’s fleet.  Both fleets are roughly equal in size.  So if Player B wins the search roll, does that make Player B the attacker?

@Juan_de_Marco:

I disagree with taranto on a different level: positioning and denial of objectives. It’s worth a lot more for the british to keep a larger fleet alive in the med than to kill the battleship of the Italians. And if you get all the good defensive units together at Malta seazone, the Italians have to split up their fleet if they wish to clear it. Now if you can make sure you keep some air units around, the transports will sink too.

That is interesting.  I’m the same way with Taranto, I don’t like seeing the UK Med fleet get wiped out which usually happens just about every time unless they get really lucky dice.
I don’t understand putting them by Malta. Doesn’t that make it easier for Italy to attack it with both naval and air?  I would think keeping them in SZ 98 and putting an air base in Egypt.  Even if Italy has their whole starting navy, they won’t have enough to kill the UK fleet without wiping themselves out in the process.

@Young:

@knp7765:

@Young:

I do either Taranto or Tobrok, but not both seeing as the Germans will and should put the Slovak fighter in Tobrok increasing that defence.

You don’t send the Slovak fighter to S. Italy?

I send the fighter to Tobrok and the Tac bomber from Poland to S.Italy… it gives me the defence on Tobrok and still brings the London fighter and bomber to Taranto.

Hadn’t thought of that before.  Next time I’m Germany, I might try that.  Might change things for Italy because in most of our games, the Tobruk force gets wiped out.

@simon33:

@SubmersedElk:

UK can hit all the Italian targets in this discussion in UK1 with very high probability EXCEPT when that fighter comes down to Tobruk.

Umm, no. Running the calculator:
M: 98% of killing the DD
E: 79% chance of killing everything with the Mec, or 61% without it
T(obruk): 69% chance of killing everything, while using the Egypt Mec
Taranto: 80-94% chance, well known.

Total: 98% x 61% x 69% x 94% = 39% chance of killing everything.

Perhaps you’re assuming a bid?

Okay, I think UK does have a very good chance on all fronts.  I’ve seen it happen for Tobruk, Taranto and the DD by Malta.  We usually use the Indian forces to take Sumatra.  Usually Ethiopia is left until round 2 or 3.

As for the battle dice calculator, I just want to say it SUCKS!
I’m not saying it’s wrong, just that it sucks.
Using a battle dice calculator I think is just like using Low Luck for battles.  Takes the risk and therefore the fun out of the game.  If you want to attack a territory or sea zone and you have good forces available, then just GO FOR IT!  Don’t sit around using a calculator to figure out the odds of every single battle or scenario.  That’s not any fun.  Besides, remember, it’s just a game.  If you figured wrong, you lose that battle and maybe the game.  So you set up and try again.

Okay, enough bitching.  That’s just my opinion.  If you want to use calculators and low luck, go for it.  I just don’t like them myself.

@Young:

I do either Taranto or Tobrok, but not both seeing as the Germans will and should put the Slovak fighter in Tobrok increasing that defence.

You don’t send the Slovak fighter to S. Italy?

So, unless the Allies just really “screw the pooch” in the Med/Africa, you pretty much just keep Italy building defense and forget about Africa for the time being?
I can understand this when you’re going for an overall Axis win.  Got to have Germany pound the Russians and get Moscow and those other VCs.  Still, not a lot of income fun for Italy.  So much for “Restoring the Glory of Rome”.

@theROCmonster:

Add a new transport unit.

Large transport:

Cost: 10 IPC’s
Stats: 0/1/2
Special ability: can transport 3 infantry or 1 infantry and 1 other land unit

No one starts off with one. This would help the allies out a lot more than the axis, but won’t be broken like an 8 IPC transport would be.

Also can we somehow change the bomber attack to 2 instead of 4? Would be a lot more realistic, and would change the amount of support ships needed to defend the transports, such as the sea zone outside Gibraltar. Also Germany’s attack on Russia would be slightly weaker.

I am an advocate of having strategic bombers using two attack factors:  one for land targets and one for naval targets.  The naval value would of course be smaller.
It could also be argued that their attack value against air should be different.  If you have 20 infantry and 2 bombers attacking 5 fighters, it seems silly to allow the bombers to hit fighters at a 4.  Still, with the way this game works, I know this isn’t really bomber/infantry vs fighter but rather a mix of supporting weapons that would make it seem more plausible.

Either way, a fleet of bombers attacking warships @ 4 just isn’t right.