A&A Revised Edition - Game 1 Round 7-9 (Tipping Point)

Axis & Allies - Revised Edition

Game 1 Round 7-9 - The Tipping Point

Game: Axis & Allies (2004 – Revised 20^th anniversary edition)

Where Things Stand

The war marches on. For 6 rounds the Axis have had their way with the board. They have expanded into Asia, expanded into Africa and expanded into the Soviet Union. The Allies have been reeling backwards, trying to find a way to make a defensive stop and draw a line in the sand against Axis aggression.

Finally, UK and USA have found a way into the battle against Germany. The Allies control Norway and the North Atlantic. They can ship land units in to help reinforce USSR and hopefully to attack against the Axis. Finally, things seem to be in balance in Africa. UK has held on and it seems as if Germany won’t have the resources for total domination here.

Still, problems persist. The Allies have no answer for the Japanese navy in the Pacific. And while their bombing raids have slowed down Germany, German Rockets have done the same to UK. A nice equilibrium has been found in Europe and it looks as if the Allies have several battle lines established. But they need victories. They need a round of battles to go their way, for the dice to go against the odds and get things back in their favor.

I call this stretch of the game “The Tipping Point.” The game’s direction usually becomes clear around this time. The winner starts to pull ahead in territory, military might and more importantly on the money board. Things will either continue to slowly snowball for the Axis, until it is too late, or the Allies will find their answer and fight back.

National Production Chart Results

End of Round 6

Total IPCs (earned & saved)	Start of Round 1	End of Round 6	Change	NPC	Start of Round 1	End of Round 6	Change
USSR	24	13	-11	USSR	24	21	-3
Germany	40	36	-4	Germany	40	45	+5
UK	30	20	-10	UK	30	20	-10
Japan	30	45	+15	Japan	30	42	+12
USA	42	38	-4	USA	42	38	-4
Totals:	Allies	96 / 71		Totals:	Allies	96 / 79
	Axis	70 / 81			Axis	70 / 87
				Current Winner: Axis (+17 NPC in 6 rounds)

The money board doesn’t lie. The Axis have gained +17 in earning power. This trend has to be stopped.

Victory Conditions (Major Victory +4 Victory Cities):

Allies: -1

Axis: +1

1. Calcutta

While the Axis are earning more IPCs currently, they have lost one of their victory cities. This is a tremendous bonus for the Allies right now. While they have suffered many loses, they aren’t in any immediate danger of defeat. They just need to hold on to this advantage and find ways to chip away at the Axis advantage.

Round 7-9 The Fight to Crush USSR

Germany decides to wait to try and regain Karelia and its Victory City of Leningrad. What they want to do now is take away Caucasus from the USSR. There are several reasons for this – it will take away a major chunk of USSR resources, destroy the strength of USSR’s tank brigade and with it, their ability to counterattack against Germany.

This territory will serve as a connecting point to the Middle East and to Japanese territories.

Germany now controls multiple routes to Africa and Japan can transport men into Europe from India and assist in defeating USSR and taking back Leningrad.

Round 7-9 Conquest of the Pacific

Japan expands and solidifies its hold on the Pacific.

First Japan takes over all of Australia...

Then Japan engages in a series of minor naval confrontations with the USA.

Japan is able to surround, and invade Hawaii.

 

Their next goal will be to finally destroy the last of the USA west coast navy and assume total dominance over the Pacific Ocean. If they can do then, then Japan can take its navy and begin chipping away at Canada, Mexico, or America itself.

Round 7-9 Allies Strategy

The Allies have to look back at this point in the game and consider all they had done wrong and try to find ways to fix things and fix them fast.

It seems as if UK will hold onto parts of Africa and Norway. It seems as if their navy will be able to transport men and help defend USSR.

USA will have to build men in Western US to defend against Japan, but it seems as if they will be able to continue getting men and planes into USSR and possibly new units into Africa.

No matter what, the Allies have a long road ahead and have to look for something drastic that will help turn this game around.

Round 9 Weapons Development

The Axis have been making major gains throughout the game. While German IPC is taking a hit from Allied bombers, it still seems like they are at a safe enough advantage to spend 5 IPCs on a weapons development roll. If they break the odds, it will be a nice gift, if they fail, it is doubtful that at this point, those 5 IPCs would significantly change the game.

Germany tried for Super Submarines (subs now attack at a 3) and as luck would have it, they rolled a 3. Germany doesn’t have many subs on the board, but they might have just found their answer to the UK, USA navies.

Inspired by how easy German made it look and how well their war is going in the Pacific, Japan spent the IPCs and chased the same Super Subs.

And in ridiculous fashion, they too broke the odds and got it. With total control of the Pacific at hand and a new power to help them destroy USA’s Atlantic fleet, it seems as if Japan might be looking at a total victory on both sides of the board.

Round 7-9 Axis Dominance

During these rounds the Axis powers have effectively removed half the board from play. The Pacific is controlled by Japan. The game is now set solely in Europe. While Germany isn’t in a place to assume victory, things seem to have settled into an easy to predict back and forth in set territories.

They Axis are earning far more IPCs than the Allies. They have the advantage of Weapons Development. It seems as if it is just a matter of time...

National Production Chart Results

End of Round 9

Total IPCs (earned & saved)	Start of Round 7	End of Round 9	Change	NPC	Start of Round 7	End of Round 9	Change
USSR	13	11	-2	USSR	21	12	-9
Germany	36	33	-3	Germany	45	44	-1
UK	20	22	+2	UK	20	22	+2
Japan	45	52	+7	Japan	42	51	+9
USA	38	37	-1	USA	38	37	-1
Totals:	Allies	71 / 70		Totals:	Allies	79 / 71
	Axis	81 / 85			Axis	87 / 95
				Current Winner: Axis (+8 NPC in rounds 7-9)

Victory Conditions (Major Victory +4 Victory Cities):

Allies: -1

Axis: +1

1. Calcutta

When to End a Game?

This is always a good question to ask. When has the game gotten out of hand and the end is in sight? When does one team finally feel like they have no chance of winning? When is it better to concede and prepare for the next game?

The Allies have certainly fallen into a deep hole. Their strategies have failed, rolls have not gone their way, and the Axis keep getting stronger and stronger. The Axis have a clear path to take over all remaining, easy to grab territories, and the Allies have no way to get them back. All they can do is hold on to what they have and hope some major battle goes their way.

Looking at the events of the 9 rounds and at the money board it is evident that events have worked consistently in favor of the Axis. Even though they only control 1 additional Victory City, it certainly seems like everything has tipped in their favor.

So why haven’t the Axis won yet? In this game, a Major Victory comes with 4 additional Victory Cities. Even with things going their way, this goes to show just how hard it is to win certain Victory Cities and just how long and difficult a process it really is to get units into place to challenge strongholds and capitals like Moscow or London.

Normally, if this were a regular game amongst friends, the Allies would have to seriously consider ending this game. With no clear strategy other than holding on and hoping, it would simply be a waste of time to play things out. But, there are strategies to be learned, even in defeat. There are new ideas to test that might be implemented in a future game. Plus, it is very very rare that anyone actually plays the whole game through. Most people I have ever played with all agree when enough is enough. For documentation purposes, there is some extra value in finishing the game, simply to have actually done it.

So I will continue this game and document interesting battles and strategies that might be useful in later games. That said, I do believe that barring several rounds of breaking the odds and winning some amazing battles, this game really has been determined. The Allies are crumbling and the Axis are asserting their strength all over the game board. 9 rounds are usually enough to get to the tipping point.