Will we even need the A-Bomb to win?

[Auchinleck]

June 24, 1943

A heavy force of U.S. Marines backed by several equally heavy U.S. Naval Task Forces have secured New Britain, by the fall of Rabaul and Gasmata, all on the same day. After a quick invasion of Kavieng, my plan will be to build up a huge staging area on Rabaul, for MacArthur to invade the Marianas (Saipan) probably before the beginning of 1944. The Gilbert and Marshall Islands are secure, as well as the Solomons. U.S. forces still hold Manila, and Bataan, on the Phillipines, and a long battle for Clark Field has been a stalemate as the Japs control it. Singapore is still under British control, and much of China, has been retaken. Bankok has been retaken by the British, along with much of Thailand. Burma is no longer threatened by the Japanese, and Java is clear of all Japanese troops. It's still been a grind. But the main reason for my success is the AI Imperial Japanese Navy never really combined their carriers into a large force, so I've been able to sink them piecemeal. Also U.S. subs are really starting to take a large toll of Jap shipping, with less dud torpedos, though many are still duds.[8D]

[morejeffs]

A little bit of background might help.....But Singapore still under the Brits? Either you are a genius or you are playing the AI.....

[JocMeister]

vs. the AI?

[jonreb31]

Hirohito must be one unhappy emperor [:D]

[Auchinleck]

So is your point that the game is not worth playing if it is against the AI? That's what I bought it for. I had hoped for $80, they could come up with a game that would be challenging enough to play against the AI.

[Amoral]

The game is lots of fun vs the AI, but the AI can also be stymied in ways a player never could be. In general it is viewed as impossible to hold Singapore or Java against a determined real player, where as with skillful play you can hold them against the AI.

If you do find the AI a bit easy (and you may, with some practice), there are more advanced AI files (called the Ironman AI) that can be downloaded and installed to give additional challenge. (The AI gets new behaviors, and also new units to play with.

[JocMeister]

I was just curious. There are very few AARs vs the AI. Your results seemed to indicate it was against the AI but you never know. So I asked. The AI puts a a decent fight if you help it a bit from time to time. But I never gotten past mid 43 as the AI seems to really start crumbling by then.

[Lokasenna]

I strongly suggest playing against Scenario 10 "Andy AI", also known as Ironman Japan, for your next game.

Or playing against the Allied AI.

I've heard it can be quite the challenge even to the late war, but my own Ironman game to kill time when I don't have a PBEM turn is only in late '42.

[Mike McCreery]

The AI is easy to defeat as it does not have any cognitive ability.

You can cause it to trap itself and send hapless convoys to their death.

I won the game in February of 1943 with a quadruple score by invading through the Kuriles. Almost conquered the entire HI.

A live player is an entirely different challenge.