1945

[Major Victory]

From reading most posts, it appears that most strategys revolve around either the Axis taking out Russia by 42 or the Allies stopping the Axis early in France etc.

Has anyone out there played till the end? 1945, or is the game structured around the quick victory by either side by 1942-43?

[YohanTM2]

Not with the current structure. I had great hopes for the game but the latest changes, especially the random entry instead of variable entry based on player actions move the game more towards Axis and Allies than a strategy wargame.
 
All or nothing by early 1942 or quit and start again.
 
I have not played in weeks and it will probably go in the back of the closet. Heres hoping for a release of CWiEII prior to Christmas.

[Vypuero]

If the game is going fairly evenly or even pro-Axis, and say the Axis have Paris (of course) and Moscow, there is still a good chance that by 1944 the Russians and Allies can take those back, and even win the game by 1945.  Because the game is long, and many players are short sighted, there have not been many games played all the way through human vs. human.  I intend to try to do that whenever possible. 

I also think that the historic dates are the best ones to use if there is no active diplomacy, and actually make the game more historic than an active diplomacy system (like 3rd Reich or Hearts of Iron) because there are always some strange, unlikely combinations that happen in those systems.  Not that they are not fun, though.

In any case, if you say to me a couple of things:

1 - Germany takes London.  Well, this could either bring the US in early, or maybe never.  Who could know for sure?  It depends on politics, such a loss could easily have given the isolationists ammo to stay out.  We never did enter the war until the Germans declared war on the US.
2 - Spain - I think the penalty in time, effort, and manpower to take over Spain already provides enough reason to have it, most likely, stay out of the war.  But - you do have the option to make that declaration.  Seems entirely reasonable to me.

[YohanTM2]

No worries, it is their game system. I had hoped for something different and beleive some of the core ideas like convoys are excellent and unique.

I hope the target audience enjoys it and gets lots of play out if it.

[Bossy573]

ORIGINAL: Major Victory

From reading most posts, it appears that most strategys revolve around either the Axis taking out Russia by 42 or the Allies stopping the Axis early in France etc.

Has anyone out there played till the end? 1945, or is the game structured around the quick victory by either side by 1942-43?

I've played it through from both sides several times.

(Playing on advanced difficulty) You MUST conquer Russia or take London out asap or you are doomed. The sheer number of units will overwhelm you.
Playing the Axis, if I have not taken Perm by early 1943, I go on the defensive and try to hold both capitals and "win" that way. That means making the Russians pay for every mile coming back and holding the Allies on the beaches for as long as possible.

The best strategy (as discussed in another thread) against Russia is to go for broke and charge at Moscow and Perm. This usually means big problems in the south and an oil shortage if it fails.