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This game is so different against a human opponent compared to playing against the AI.
I've always played the AI but in my first phem game I'm getting destroyed as the Axis.
It's winter 1941 and I've already lost control of the Mediterranean, of course my die rolls haven't been very good, I do have a sizable force in North Africa but now my shipping has been cutt off leaving those forces unsupplied. I'm gonna hate to see what happens once the US gets involved.

What I love about this game is the almost unlimited strategy options. As a veteran Axis and Allies player I remember that game used to get boring after a while because the strategy was so limited and I almost always won as the Axis.

much more patience, manouver and deception involved isn't there?

I agree on the strategic depth, especially compared to Axis & Allies.  I think that is why this could be one of my favorite games of all times.  It is a nice elegant design.  You have to think ahead with your production and research strategy, but

yeah im loving this game been playing all the time since i got it. i just used a brillant strategy i invaded the western usa and england in the fall of 41, the allies player is in a world of hurt.

Awesome game. Gary Grigbsy is really something. Btw, playing the AI is nothing but learning the rules and having fun. Playing a human is real competetion. I played some games as Allies where, exactly as you experience, I destroyed the newbie Axis player . The game really requires attention to detail, and lots of quick calculation, add to that, as above, the deception and patience. Some people criticize the game for being a 'transport supplies' game, but really it's a side detail. Manually supplying units and region is definitely burdonsome at times, but its necessary for a mediocum of realism, and it imo it adds to the flavour of the game. Also, people complain about technical inaccuracies and differences between history and how its portrayed in the game, well, to them I say, this game is trying to represent the war (ww2) as best as possible, spanning 6 years, and thats not easy, but I feel this game does it well The game is within reason to learn, turns are relatively quick, games finish in (many) hours, not days, and there are still tons of possibilties, for both sides. Both sides are also well represented by their industrial bases. 
 

I really thought I was alot better until I started my first phem game as Germany and Japan.
 
So far its winter 1942 I've lost Italy, I'm in the process of taking it back which I've done half way but now I have to prepare for war with the Soviet Union and the US too.  On top of that I have anti-partisons everywere due to a lack of supplies.
 
As Japan I'm not doing to bad against China, I've almost taken the whole country but again once the US gets involved I'm screwed.  Its all about learning I guess, hopefully in my next game I'll be a bit smarter defending Italy.

Some hints, cause what you're saying also happened to me. Try garrisoning Sardinia with an Artillery, a Flak, and if you can spare a fighter even better, this way you op fire all allied units. Problem doing so is not to forget supplying them, cause otherwise they become isolated and useless.
Also never leave undefended the italian peninsula, leave artillery and flak plus some militia, both in nothern and southern Italy; depending on the situation maybe it's not necessary to have so many units in southern Italy, but that depends if you have naval superiority in the central Med.
What happens if you don't properly garrison Italy is that you have to spend a huge amount of supplies rebuilding everything, and thats not only supply points but lost production, it also probably halts any offensive in the USSR.
So always take a look on what's going on in Gibraltar and the UK, too many transports and start worrying.
I find investing in sub technology very grateful and it can be a great problem for the Allies, also for the Axis specially Japan.
Finally, Have you invaded the UK cause if not when the USSR and the USA enters the war you'll be in for it.
I agree that playing against a human opponent is just what this game is for.
Good luck.