Posts made by OutsideLime

Two dice:

1 and 1
1 and 2
2 and 1

Right?  That’s 3 in 12, not 1 in 12.  That’s a 25% chance to shoot down a superfortress.  Not 8% chance.

There are 36 possible outcomes with 2 dice.

1~1 1~2 1~3 1~4 1~5 1~6
2~1 2~2 2~3 2~4 2~5 2~6
3~1 3~2 3~3 3~4 3~5 3~6
4~1 4~2 4~3 4~4 4~5 4~6
5~1 5~2 5~3 5~4 5~5 5~6
6~1 6~2 6~3 6~4 6~5 6~6

And you can roll 3 or less only 3 different ways, as you described.

3 out of 36 = 1 in 12.

Therefore, you have a 1-in-12 (roughly 8%) chance of shooting down a Superfortress, compared to a 1-in-6 (roughly 17%) chance of shooting down a normal bomber.

~Josh

Ah, the weird twists that National Advantages create.  Here’s the scenario:

1.  Russia declares Russian Winter.
2.  Germany, predictably, holds off the general assault for a round.
3.  Later on in the round, Japan attacks India, which has a mixed-force defending that includes two Russian Infantry.  Russia checks the rules, then demands that his Infantry defend at 3, since there is no geographical limitation on the effects of Russian Winter noted!  The British infantry in the same territory, experiencing the same bizarre weather conditions, defend at 2 like normal.

and

4.  A house-rule is developed that specifies Russian Winter only applies to Russian Inf defending in RED territories.

~Josh

It’s all about context.

I never like to leave a frontline territory completely unmanned.  When you do that, it just takes a single enemy infantryman to walk in and capture it, usually a no-brainer for the conqueror.    Leaving just a single Inf in a territory means that your opponent has to do more calculations and spend more units to take it.  A single infantryman will usually command the attention of at least 3 enemy Inf, or some enemy Inf + heavier support of some kind.  Those are units that thusly are not being used elsewhere to harrass you. Â

The added value of stopping tank blitzes is an important consideration.

But of course, it all depends on the situation.  If you need to leave frontier territories open in order to maximize the defense of another key territory, then do it.  We’ve all seen massive battles ending with a single defensive unit remaining alive and holding the fort.  Sometimes every man counts.

~Josh

No worries  :-D

When I first started playing, I got taught some horribly wrong rules, and it took me forever to bend my thinking into proper shape.  Try to get it right soon, even if it feels wrong compared to what you already know.  Playing it correctly will provide the best-balanced experience in the long run, and will allow you to easily start games with people separate from your group.

Good luck!

~Josh

The rule as written in LHTR:

If your attacking forces destroy all defending units in a territory
in one cycle of combat, any of your surviving tanks in the attacking
forces may move 1 territory during the noncombat move phase.

This means that tanks must have been involved in an actual Combat (one that had a “first cycle”) in which enemy units were destroyed, in order for the Panzerblitz to become an option afterward.  Otherwise, no cigar.

Tanks can panzerblitz even after they’ve already blitzed, since there is no restriction against it.

Newpaintbrush:  I like several of Germany’s NA’s.  Panzerblitz, Luftwaffe Dive-Bomber, and Fortress Europe have all been very effective in games I’ve played.  I’m planning to take the sub-based ones for a test run in an upcoming game, too.

Hi!  Glad to see new players enjoying the game, even without someone there to help them understand the complexities.  One suggestion for you:  Definitely try to play the game a few times WITHOUT using the National Advantages.  (NAs)  The NAs add a lot of exceptions to the normal rules that can make things very confusing.  Try a few games without them first so that everyone can really understand the rules and the units.

Question 1. Germany has a tank in Algeria and it want to attack Egypt, nothing is in Libya but it is controlled by German can they move 1 into Libya then attack the anglo-egypt? Because it is now a adjacent or can you only attack if it is adjacent to you at the beginning of the turn it says both on in the manual.

Armour (tanks) can move through 1 friendly territory to attack the territory beyond.  So, yes.  They can also “blitz” through an enemy-controlled territory (capturing it enroute) that has NO enemy units in it, and attack the territory beyond.

Question 2. If a plane on the island, of midway we did not know what its maximum range was or what the Island bases nation ability did but this was our guess
Without Island bases the plane would move 1 into its own sea square (56) 1 into 57 then because Japan is not an island 1 into 60 to attack the island thus it could not attack Japan from midway because the movement back would be 3 6 all together.  If you had island bases you could do it because you would not have to move into 56 just move into 57. Or in other way you don’t have to count the square the plane is in when attacking.

Without Island Bases, it takes 8 moves to get an airplane from Midway to Japan and back again.  
1.  Midway > Seazone (SZ) 56
2.  SZ 56 > SZ 57
3.  SZ 57 > SZ 60
4.  SZ 60 > Japan (Where the combat takes place)
5.  Japan > SZ 60
6.  SZ 60 > SZ 57
7.  SZ 57 > SZ 56
8.  SZ 56 > Midway.

With Island Bases, it takes 6 moves.  Basically, planes “skip” the seazone that surrounds the island they are taking off from or landing on.  (and ONLY if the island is friendly.)

Question 3. Also with planes. If a plan in Germany wanted to attack Britain, does it have to move into 5 then 6 then Britain or can it or once it hits the coast square it is attacking the land and doesn’t move into it

A plane must move INTO a land territory in order to attack it.  The only unit that can attack a land-territory from a seazone is a Battleship (or destroyer if you have successfully researched Combined Bombardment technology) conducting Shore Bombardment during the first cycle of combat in an amphibious assault.

Question 4: Do AA guns fire into costal squares for instance if a bomber attack Germany and ends up in square if Norway Western Europe and Germany all had an AA gun they could fire at the plane?

Nope.  AA Guns only fire at enemy planes in their territory.

Question 5. We’re can ships be deployed? For instance United Kingdom stars with ships in sea zone 2 but can ships be deployed in and adjacent sea tile? Even tiles which share coast with Western Europe and Norway?

Ships can be deployed into any SZ that is adjacent to the territory that contains the Industrial Complex.  So, for example, Ships built by the UK could be deployed into any of the 5 SZs that surround Britain.

Question 5: if you buy a man a tank and a transport in the same turn can they come into play on the transport? Or, do you need to move them on?

You need to load them in a later turn.

Question 6: what is the point of taking Gibraltar? I can understand midway and wake Islands but not Gibraltar

Taking Gibraltar could be useful in some rare situations…  More play will allow you to discover the WHYs of various tactics!

Question 7: A silly question really but can a plane just attack a man. For example, a plane wants to attack anglo-egypt from Algeria can it do this even if it can’t move in?
In addition, can the man fire back?

Yes, to both.  You can attack a territory without the intention of conquering it.  The Infantry (Inf) can fire back.  It is a normal land combat, just that the territory will not change hands even if the Inf is destroyed.

Question 8
Japan wants to attack China from Kwangtang and French Indochina with three men from each. He has two bombers in Japan the Chinese has only 3 me. Can the bombers attack the Units withdraw then the men attack so they get there banzi or do all attacks need to be declared at the same time ?

All of your Combat Movement is done at the same time, THEN all Combats are resolved.  During Combat Movement, you move all units you intend to attack any enemy territories with into those territories, all across the globe.  Once you are done that, then you enter the Conduct Combat phase and resolve each combat in the order you choose until they are all complete.

Question 8 if you have long-range aircraft can a bomber from Western United states attack Japan? Moreover, land back there. Seems like a silly question I know but it seems history very in accurate. You would not need to island hope to even get close to Japan.

It takes 5 moves to get from the Western US to Japan, then at least 2 more to get to any landing-space.  See my breakdown to Question 2 above to understand how to count seazones when moving.  With Long-Rang Aircraft (bomber flight-range 8 ) you could pull off a bombing-run from Western US to Japan and still have 3 moves remaining to get to a safe landing-spot in your Noncombat Move phase.  Wesern US to Japan and back again is impossible in a single turn.  It would take 10 moves, and no combination of Tech and NAs in the game allow that.

Question 9. Final question whats the difference between The Larry Harris Tournament Rules (LHTR) and the Manual i tried to click on links but none work anymore. I found the manual and it is written the same i don’t want to read 29 pages again! ( we all ready all read the manual 3 times!) The only differences I can see is Japan loose lighting attack and get better battleships.

There are a few differences, many of which are focussed on the National Advantages.  There are some changes to the Weapons Developments as well, and a few other subtle changes to other rules, notably Submarines and Strategic Bombing Runs.  I highly recommend that you learn to play with LHTR.

Thanks for your help everyone!

No problem!  Hope this helps!

~Josh

This is a well-known loophole that allows the first-round SeaLion to succeed.  In response, there has been a near-universal acceptance of the rules revision that alters researched tech so that it takes effect during the Mobilize Units phase of the turn it is obtained in, rather than during the Research Technology phase.

~Josh

Besides that, subs always get opening fire, attackers and defenders.  I do not believe that Kaitens are an exception.

Well, that’s the sticky point.  Jap subs are declared to be Kaitens at the start of the combat, _before opening fire happens._  And, in the exact wording of the LHTR rules: "Kaitens cannot be hit by enemy units!"  Therefore they don’t get fired upon, even when they are defending against attacking subs that should get their opening-fire attack.

IF you leave your navy in range of kaiten torpedoes, and you have a weak navy that’s easy to take down, you deserve what you get.

And that’s the other thing.  Your navy strength doesn’t matter at all against Kaitens.  If Japan attacks your navy - any size navy - with subs only, then he can declare them Kaitens and target specific ships, and you don’t get any casualty shots because the Kaitens are destroyed in the process.  That’s what they’re for.  Allied navies be warned.  Attacking Kaitens don’t present an issue though, since their special nature in that case doesn’t conflict with the combat phase order.  It’s only on defense that the issue emerges.Â

Taken literally from the rules, I do believe that Kaitens are invulnerable to attack once declared.  To solve the issue, the declaration of Kaitens could be moved from “at the start of a sea-combat” to “at the start of the Japanese player’s opening-fire step in the first cycle of a sea-combat.”
–

And NAs are unbalancing.  I usually leave room for personal interpretation and preference, but there is just no other way to view things like Lend-Lease.

Larry Harris Tournament Rules helped fix some of the NAs, but the ones out of the box are completely and ridiculously in favor of the Allies.

Well, yeah.  Lend-lease OOB is just insane.  American and UK can do nothing but ship units to Russia and still win the game.

@Jennifer:

And what’s up with Superfortresses!?!  A normal AA Gun has a 1 in 6 chance to hit.  An AA gun firing at a superfortress now has a 3 in 12 chance???  It’s 9% more likely to kill something flying out of range then it is something flying IN range?Â

There is only a 1 in 12 chance to roll 3 or less on 2 dice.  This means that Superfortresses are half as likely to be shot down as regular bombers.

~Josh

@ncscswitch:

And besides, when was the last time you say a SUB only fleet for Japan?

Why, in my last game, smart guy.  :-D  That’s why I asked the question.

I had a US landing-fleet ready to attack Tokyo from Alaska, and the Japanese player pulled all of his ships out of the way (into the SZ between Japan and Manchuria) except for a stack of subs.  My fleet would have been enough to wipe his out decisively, had it remained.  He unleashed the Kaitens on me when I moved in, sinking several loaded transports and allowing him to hold onto the capital, plus some valuable watercraft.

We argued about whether my US subs should get a shot at his Kaitens first, but decided (as you advise) that the Kaiten’s become non-targetable once they are declared.

You say that the US player would never allow a battle against Japanese subs-only to come about, and that is part of the additional value of the Kaiten NA.  If you force the US player to spend a round sending planes after sub-only fleets (which they may not even wipe out in a single round due to the submerge ability), that’s a round of breathing-room for the Japanese player to strengthen his defense.

I like the National Advantages.  They are fun and refreshing and force players to come up with new strategies, tactics, and spending-patterns.

Hi gang,

The Kaiten Torpedoes National Advantage for Japan in LHTR3 states these three facts:

1)  Kaiten Torpedoes are declared and indicated at the start of a sea combat and may be invoked by the Japanese player whether defending or attacking.
2)  Subs indicated to be Kaitens “fire” (suicide-attack) during the opening-fire step of combat.
3)  Kaitens may never be selected as casualties of an enemy hit.

So far so good.  Elsewhere in the manual, we learn that the attacking player’s opening-fire attacks happen before the defending player’s opening-fire attacks, should both sides bring eligible units to the combat.  Crystal clear.

Now, let’s say we have a combat that consists of a mixed US navy including subs vs some Japanese subs, and the US player is the attacker.  The Japanese player declares that the Japanese subs are Kaitens.

The US player, as attacker, should get his subs’ opening-fire attack to kill some of those Kaitens before they are launched, but since they are Kaitens (and the declaration of such occurs at the start of the combat), they are not selectable as targets.  Therefore, the US player has nothing to fire at and must “pass”, while the Japanese player merrily steers his Kaitens towards the boats of his choice.

Is that right?  It seems to violate the “attacker’s opening-fire occurs first” rule.

What do you think?

~Josh

A horseshoe is not a closed shape. Therefore, the sea zone does not enclose Greenland.

Now that, my friend, is sound reasoning.  I’m convinced.  Greenland is not an island then, in Axis and Allies.

~Josh

Getting back to the actual question….

I understand why England and Madagascar (and Australia and Japan too) are not considered islands.  Clearly defined and ruled out.  Not a problem.

I don’t, however, think that you can subjectively decide where on the map (or against which enemy power) a NA applies, though.

Does Russian Winter not apply to Russian Inf being attacked by the Japanese just because the backstory (which, like all “flavour text” in the OM is printed in a different typeface specifically to separate it from the rules) describes the winter as being difficult for German troops?

Does Britain’s Radar not work against Japanese air units because the story refers to the Luftwaffe crossing the channel?

The actual mechanical rule part of the Island Bases NA reads: When moving your air units, you may treat island groups as part of the sea zones containing them.  For example, a fighter (move 4) could travel from Midway to the East Indies in one turn, assuming your side controlled both island groups.

The Pacific theater is referenced as an example only.  Not as a restriction on usage.

I wouldn’t hesitate for a second to allow a US player with Island Bases to count the West Indies (which is not in the Pacific) as an island.  It obviously IS one.  (Some people might point out that the West Indies’ sea-zone actually borders on a land territory, unlike every island in the Pacific, which therefore differentiates it and declassifies it as well.  That’s an interesting angle but not valid in my opinion.  The territory of West Indies is certainly contained in one sea-zone.  Nobody said anything about the sea-zone surrounding an island necessarily having to be surrounded by nothing but other sea-zones.)

If Greenland isn’t an island because it borders the map edge, well, then it can’t be used.  Of course.  But to not allow it just because it’s not in the Pacific theatre?  That’s a subjective (and yes, thematically appropriate, but still subjective) player decision that violates the written rules.

~Josh

@newpaintbrush:

By the way, I believe that Greenland is, actually, considered an island.

The previous post was for Axis and Allies game purposes only.

You mean, in real life, Greenland doesn’t butt up against the edge of the world?  :wink:

~Josh

Adam, I see where you’re coming from but I just don’t agree.  The backstory of the NA that places it in the Pacific is just backstory.  The application of the effects of the NA (or any NA) are separate from the chrome that gives it initial context.

A comparison:

If I take the German NA Atlantic Wall (which gives my German Inf a first-cycle bonus when defending against amphibious assaults in grey territories) and I get attacked in Southern Europe via Amphibious assault in the Mediterranean, would you say that I don’t get the Inf bonus because the intent was clearly to bolster German defense against attacks from the Atlantic sea-zones?

I wouldn’t.  The same reasoning should apply here, no?

I do appreciate the viewpoint though, and hope to get more.

~Josh

Hi folks,

Can’t get a straight answer for this anywhere.

I know that “islands” are territories that are entirely contained in one sea-zone.  Hawaii, Midway, etc.  Greenland kinda fits this definition, except that it touches the edge of the map.  Other than that, it satisfies the requirement.  What do you think?

It has been pointed out to me that Greenland’s sea-zone also borders on the UK (and Eire), but I don’t think that disqualifies it as an island… after all, West Indies’ sea-zone also borders on Panama and I don’t think anyone would dispute West Indies’ island status.

Not that the distinction is so terribly important, but the US NA Island Bases could possibly be taken advantage of in that area if Greenland indeed qualifies.

Opinions?

~Josh