What side you you prefere to play, and why?

[Przemcio231]

Allies as playing them till middle 44 is a challange contrary to the japs as its easy to play as them...

[JeffroK]

I find it hard to play in any wargame, a nation for which I have zero respect for their aggression and treatment of its enemies.  Its also easier for an agressor who chooses its time to make war against generally unprepared nations
 
In WITP, I see the Japanese having as big a battle for its economy/production as against the Allies, maybe this makes taking their side a more complete experience.  As many post, win the production battle and you have a better than even chance to win the game. I also believe that there are insufficient constraints against the japanese enabling them to occupy far gretaer areas than they IRL could.
 

[bobogoboom]

i play most of my games as japan cause it is hard to find allie players,

[ny59giants]

Allies - I have just started my first PBEM as Japan, but I have another game that did a re-start as the Allies (both are Empire's Ablaze). However, I seem to spend more time between turns thinking about strategy for my game as the Allies than the game as Japan which really needs more of my attention. I do like the economic management part of Japan. John 3rd has benefited from my enjoyment of learning that side pretty quickly. [;)]
 
I was always a better player of chess when I was Black. Thus, my like of the Allies is much of it is defensive early in the game and making the Japanese pay for errors in judgement.

[Canoerebel]

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish

The guy I started playing WitP with is a long-time computer wargaming buddy. I played Japan in my first game because we fell into the pattern a long time ago of me playing the "bad guys". That is, I always play the Confederacy in our Civil War games and the Axis powers in our WWII games.

Ahem....the Confederacy the bad guys? You must've grown up on the wrong side of the Mason-Dixon Line and don't enjoy a tall glass of ice tea!

(Seriously, I recognize the taint slavery imparts to the Confederacy, but down this way we all separate slavery and the Confederate army and nobody in his right mind wants to play the guys in blue).

[Q-Ball]

I have only played Japan, and like the challenge.

That being said, When AE comes out, I want to play one of EACH. I think playing JAPAN will make me a better Allied player.

Does everyone think switching sides makes you a better opponent? I do.

[DD696]

For what it's worth, I only play as the allies against the AI. Reason, in real life the Japanese did their utmost to sink DD696 (USS English) and end the naval elistment and life of my father. Therefore, it is a family tradition to fight against the Japanese.

To counter this, however, I have found that the AI is quite incompetent at running the Japanese industry, therefore I have to go in and nudge the enemy in the right direction on a regular basis while playing a heavily modified CHS 2.08. This is a lesson sadly learned after numerous restarts. Hopefully, AE will be considerably more competent at managing the industry and running the war. The proof remains to be seen, though, as the competance and improvement of the AI is almost invaribly a taboo or ignored subject whenever information and knowledge is sought.

On a side note, referencing my thread of almost 2 years ago, it really was CHS: The End of the Line....except that nobody in the know was willing to admit it.

[ny59giants]

Ahem....the Confederacy the bad guys? You must've grown up on the wrong side of the Mason-Dixon Line and don't enjoy a tall glass of ice tea!

I've been a transplant since '92 and still consider myself a "Damn Yankee." [:D] Don't like ice tea, grits, and a few other "Southern" dishes. I still have trouble pronouncing certain words with a "southernese" style and locals continue to correct me. I may end up living down here for the rest of my life, but I'm still a New Englander at heart.

[Gem35]

The good guys, Always.
Partly because I don't like playing the Japanese and part because I am too dumb to try the production portion of the game.[:)]
hikotai detais hicuppais....hard enough to master the game let alone pronounce those air group names.[;)]

[Cuttlefish]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish

The guy I started playing WitP with is a long-time computer wargaming buddy. I played Japan in my first game because we fell into the pattern a long time ago of me playing the "bad guys". That is, I always play the Confederacy in our Civil War games and the Axis powers in our WWII games.

Ahem....the Confederacy the bad guys? You must've grown up on the wrong side of the Mason-Dixon Line and don't enjoy a tall glass of ice tea!

(Seriously, I recognize the taint slavery imparts to the Confederacy, but down this way we all separate slavery and the Confederate army and nobody in his right mind wants to play the guys in blue).

I grew up in Michigan and was raised on tales of the Iron Brigade, so I am most definately a Yankee. But I understand what you mean and that is why I put "bad guys" in quotes. We Michiganders bear no ill will to our brothers from the South. The ill will is reserved for those thieving Ohioans, aggressors of the Toledo War.

Just kidding about Ohio. The joke in Michigan is that "Michigan and Ohio fought a war over Toledo and Ohio lost."

[JeffroK]

"Saturday night in Toledo, Ohio
Is like being nowhere at all
All through the day
How the hours pass by
We sit, in the park
And we watch the grass die!!"

[n01487477]

The Japanese almost singularly ... because of all the reasons above & for these similar reasons I don't support Man Utd. or Chelsea ... (for you Americans think NY Yankees) ...

The Americans can only lose the war, winning is "almost" a certainty (snatching defeat from the jaws of victory).. the Japanese must snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, through economic, strategic and tactical savvy.

Hence my dislike of Sir Robin and all related Allied supposed "strategies"...[>:]

I guess if the Allies had more production choices ... Nah ... I want to be like "sniffy" - my childhood kelpie-corgy (type of sheep/cattle dog) ... he could take on any dog bigger than him, lie on his back, & get under to the soft underbelly and make that bigger dog run for hell !!!

[jwilkerson]

ORIGINAL: bobogoboom

i play most of my games as japan cause it is hard to find allie players,

[:D]Hey I play Japanese, because it is hard to find Japanese Players![:D]

[Oldguard1970]

ORIGINAL: Canoerebel

ORIGINAL: Cuttlefish

The guy I started playing WitP with is a long-time computer wargaming buddy. I played Japan in my first game because we fell into the pattern a long time ago of me playing the "bad guys". That is, I always play the Confederacy in our Civil War games and the Axis powers in our WWII games.

Ahem....the Confederacy the bad guys? You must've grown up on the wrong side of the Mason-Dixon Line and don't enjoy a tall glass of ice tea!

(Seriously, I recognize the taint slavery imparts to the Confederacy, but down this way we all separate slavery and the Confederate army and nobody in his right mind wants to play the guys in blue).

It is interesting to note that two slave states stayed in the union. It is also interesting to note that the Emancipation Proclamation only applied to slaves in Confederate-controlled territory. Those two facts cause me to think that sectionlalism was the dominant cause of the war. Slavery was part of that, but only part. (Had ending slavery been the dominant motivation of the North, one would think that emancipation would have been applied to all slaves, not just those in Confederate hands.)

By the way, Great-Great-Grandfather was Quartermaster General of the Army of the Potomac during the Peninsular Campaign, so please don't think my post was motivated by elevated southern sympathies.

Back on topic, I am playing Allies now. It is great fun to try to cope with the early Japanese advance. However, I am eager to learn the Japanese side, and I plan to do so when AE comes out.

[Mike Scholl]

The Allies.., probably because of my Father.  He got out of the US Army December 1st, 1941; bought a new Chevy to drive home to a waiting job and waiting fiance, and getting back to his life.  By January 1st, he was "re-uped", on his way overseas, lost $800 selling the car, and the girlfriend told him she wouldn't wait again.  As far as he was concerned, Japan's attack was a personal one on his life.  He cursed Japan and everything Japanese for the rest of his life.
 
Grow up in that environment, and the thought of playing the Japanese is an anethma... [:'(] 

[tigercub]

The winners write history and the losers are lost in it.

So i play japan to rewrite it.

(Banzi for the Empire)

[bradfordkay]

"I've been a transplant since '92 and still consider myself a "Damn Yankee.""

You certainly qualify as one... For those who've never lived in the south let me explain the difference between a Yankee and a Damn Yankee... A yankee comes south for a vacation, a damn yankee comes south and stays... [:'(]

As far as the OP's question: so far I have played only the allies, partly because of the variety of nations, ships and aircraft. Another reason is that I enjoy playing out desperate defenses, and certainly in the first year of the war this is what describes the allied play. I have played the first six months of the war several times against the AI, mainly due to restarts for new versions.

When it came time to play PBEM, I advertised for a Japanese opponent mainly because I had never even opened the game on the Japanese side and so felt that this could give my opponent an extra advantage (my not knowing the exact capabilities of his units).

I also happen to have a love affair with some of the USN and RN ships so I figure that my first time or two through the game should be on that side...

In high school and college I often had to play as the Axis player in WW2 games, mainly because it was hard to get a casual player to take the other side. Now I have access to other diehard wargamers on this forum and so it is not necessary to do so just to find a game.

[Gem35]

ORIGINAL: bradfordkay

"I've been a transplant since '92 and still consider myself a "Damn Yankee.""

You certainly qualify as one... For those who've never lived in the south let me explain the difference between a Yankee and a Damn Yankee... A yankee comes south for a vacation, a damn yankee comes south and stays... [:'(]

As far as the OP's question: so far I have played only the allies, partly because of the variety of nations, ships and aircraft. Another reason is that I enjoy playing out desperate defenses, and certainly in the first year of the war this is what describes the allied play. I have played the first six months of the war several times against the AI, mainly due to restarts for new versions.

When it came time to play PBEM, I advertised for a Japanese opponent mainly because I had never even opened the game on the Japanese side and so felt that this could give my opponent an extra advantage (my not knowing the exact capabilities of his units).

I also happen to have a love affair with some of the USN and RN ships so I figure that my first time or two through the game should be on that side...

In high school and college I often had to play as the Axis player in WW2 games, mainly because it was hard to get a casual player to take the other side. Now I have access to other diehard wargamers on this forum and so it is not necessary to do so just to find a game.

I , acording to you Bradfordkay, qualify as a DAMN Yankee( I take it a s a compliment actually), and believe me, I have been referrerd to that phrase by quite a few here in Texas in my 4 years here so far.
Living in Chicago, unless you were from Milwaukee or St. Louis, I never looked down on anyone.[;)]

[bradfordkay]

Gem... I didn't make up that daffynition... It was repeated to me many times during my youth and young adulthood. I moved out the the south in my 30's, but the south has never left me... [;)]

[Gem35]

I just love the weather here alot more.[8D]