Your Favorite Nation to Play and Why

[Mad Russian]

I like to play Japan. For me personally, they offer the most challenge of any nation in the game.

Good Hunting.

MR

[bredsjomagnus]

I´ve only played a few facist tide scenarios, we are only two that plays so the big scenarios are to big. But I think that Japan would be very fun MP to play. With MWiF I get the chance to try it out. [:)]

[christo]

I tend to play only the Fascist Tide senario due to time and foom constraints. That having been said, the CW is a lot of fun. Generally unlikely to be seriously attacked on land. The naval battles are predictable "I'm going to lose convoys but I know to build them and then build some more and more". They are in constant play from the start and the never ending bomber stream heading to Germany can really frustrate him and distract him from his main quarry.
The USA for similar reasons could be fun but it is just too long before they are in the game and in Fascist Tide their production is much less.

Christo

[Froonp]

ORIGINAL: Mad Russian

I like to play Japan. For me personally, they offer the most challenge of any nation in the game.

Good Hunting.

MR

1) The CW, because it is the locomotive who drives the wallies come back. Said differently, the CW plants the seeds that will later allow for USA sheer power to be applied efficiently. The CW is active from day 1, and is pivotal in any allied success. The CW alone is nothing, it can barely conquer Italy, but the USA alone is nothing too, it lacks the widespread aspect of the CW. The CW is everywhere and its basis allow for the USA power to push the Germans back.

2) Japan, because of the challenge to beat the USN in the Pacific, or at least to resist the steamroller once it is started. Nearly 100% planning. Also have good opportunities for surprising campaigns in Middle East.

[composer99]

(1) The Commonwealth, because I have a sentimental attachment.
 
(2) The USA, because I enjoy controlling the Big Green Machine. ("Please don't make me angry. You won't like me when I'm angry.")

[chacal83000]

Italians !!!

Smallest, easy conquered, hideous ARMs, poor INFs , bad economy, need German player to help a lot, but lot of fun !

You can do so much nasty tricks, you can even force your big brother in grey to help you out from one or two 'easy' points, or called so : North africa, Yugo.... You have a decent Navy to play with. You can construct funny things : (frogmen, para etc...) and use them !
You can visit pyramids, paris, russian front, iraq, spain, maybe even elsewhere !

Engage the italian Army, join the Fun !

And if you loose you can always say that it's the German player fault because he hasn't commited enough for you, he should have listen you when urging for a bigger Afrika Korps....

[willycube]

ORIGINAL: Mad Russian

I like to play Japan. For me personally, they offer the most challenge of any nation in the game.

Good Hunting.

MR

MR can you win as Japan or is it a kind of hang in there to the bell rings? And what constitutes victory in WIF for Japan. In other computer games I play as Japan it is imperative for Japan to move fast which can lead to some bad mistakes, Is it advisable to take the Pacific Islands as Japan, Guam, Wake, etc? Do you feel there is a time line to adhere to like the capture of Manila as close to the date that it fell in reality in the Pacific war. Did you ever try to take Oahu or any of the other Hawaiian islands? Is it feasible to do so, I would think the rewards would be to take it at any cost. I am just starting to work on you sharpen up your stratigies PLEASE.

Willy

[gridley]

As an all around nation I would have to agree, Japan is Great Fun and probably my favorite. This goes for most grand strategy games not just WiF.

Other Countries though have thier moments.

I love playing the Russians on those impulses where you find yourself saying "I just need one more friggin' unit"...and of course their isn't one.[&:]

CW is fun because as mentioned earlier, the US may have the the Punch but the CW paves the way. I love having a bunch of TRS and AMPH's and just being an all around pest.[:'(]

Germans will probably be fun again. Near the end of our stretch of playing, the Germans were pretty much predictable. Now I have to figure out what exactly we did all over again. As well, when MWiF is released we'll probably see other strategies we hadn't either thought of or if we did we may see them played out better...I doubt that last one though.[;)]

Gridley

[brian brian]

I can't pick from Japan, Italy, and Russia. I like playing Russia and baiting the Germans into a 41 Barb....suddenly focuses every player on the main struggle.

[Sewerlobster]

1) Germany.
It starts with the strategic initiative, and the Axis can not win if Germany does poorly.
 
2) CW
Ok doesn't start with the initiative but is almost immediately in contention. So easy to get disjointed, challenging.

[OzHawkeye2]

Well, I can't talk about WiF specifically, but from other games it is:

1. Germany - obviously having the strategic initiative from the get-go makes for a more interesting game.

2. Russia - repelling Germany is a huge task.

3. Japan - in a horrible position really, a tough play.

[Mad Russian]

ORIGINAL: willycube

ORIGINAL: Mad Russian

I like to play Japan. For me personally, they offer the most challenge of any nation in the game.

Good Hunting.

MR

MR can you win as Japan or is it a kind of hang in there to the bell rings? And what constitutes victory in WIF for Japan.

Japan by herself cannot win. But I think that's true of the Axis as a whole. You can't lose a major axis country and still win in my experience. MAYBE you could lose Italy, and still get an Axis win, but I'm not really sure that's possible either.

We play side victories and not countries. What that means is that Japan, Italy or Germany doesn't win, the Axis does.

In other computer games I play as Japan it is imperative for Japan to move fast which can lead to some bad mistakes, Is it advisable to take the Pacific Islands as Japan, Guam, Wake, etc?

Japan can do one of three things.

1) Take out China. Meaning at least cripple them, if not make them surrender.
2) Take on the US forces in the Pacific. Do massive damage to US held areas.
3) Add the rest of the Pacific in some form of military resource allocation. In other words, you invade the Dutch East Indies, Indo China...etc. while you do either 1 or 2.

You MUST choose either 1 or 2 from the very first turn of the game as Japan. You can't do both. If you go to China you start a militarization of the Imperial Japanese Army. If you go against the US you start a militarization of the Imperial Japanese Navy.

You can't do both. IMO, if you try doing both you won't accomplish either 1 or 2 and Japan will be out of the war early.

Do you feel there is a time line to adhere to like the capture of Manila as close to the date that it fell in reality in the Pacific war.

Or strategic group takes what they are given. Of course you would like for certain things to be done by a certain time but we don't push that. That can get you in deep trouble if you're not careful.
Having a player trying for all the objectives, in historical order, will find them ambushed at some point along the way in a battle they should be nowhere near and losing it badly.

Did you ever try to take Oahu or any of the other Hawaiian islands?

No. I've never tried to take Hawaii. There is very little reward for investment for taking Hawaii. Very high risk, not so much to gain.

Is it feasible to do so, I would think the rewards would be to take it at any cost. I am just starting to work on you sharpen up your stratigies PLEASE.

Willy

It's possible. Whether or not you want to take the risk is another story. You want a winner take all naval battle early? Winner take all is only a US result. If Japan wins the US will be back in another year to do it all over again. If Japan loses the war will be over in about another year or so. IMO, it's not worth it.

Good Hunting.

MR

[willycube]

Thank you MR for your observations of Japans play I stand corrected on sides as compared to individual countries victories, you used the word militarization of Japans Army or the Navy, could you please explain the difference why one service would be more militarizied than the other depending where you applied your strength either against China or the U.S. Navy, is that some kind of bonus in WIF. Also If you took Oahu and Pearl Harbor with it would this not give you a great seaport that connects to three sea areas. And also wouldn't it deprive the US from a staging base to do some island hopping from 1943 on. I am not saying it would be easy to take Oahu but I would think it would be a major blow to the US Pacific war. Just an observation not sure it would mean a hill of beans in the long run against the budding US power. Not sure how supply would be affected if the US decided not to take Hawaii back and just bypassed it and went on to take Guam Saipan etc. I assume fleets are always in supply so maybe its no big deal.

Willy

[SLAAKMAN]

I play Germany and Italy as one force and coordinate as much of their ops as closely as possible. Their priorities should be to link up with Japan, disrupt Russia, hamstring the Commonwealth on a broad scale and delay the US as much as they can. (other than this I wont give it away since I intend to roll over Mad Russian in the near future. Good thing he revealed his hand.) [:'(]  [:D]

[Mad Russian]

ORIGINAL: willycube

Thank you MR for your observations of Japans play I stand corrected on sides as compared to individual countries victories, you used the word militarization of Japans Army or the Navy, could you please explain the difference why one service would be more militarizied than the other depending where you applied your strength either against China or the U.S. Navy, is that some kind of bonus in WIF.

You either build up the army to go to China or you build up the navy to go after the US. Those are your two options.

Also If you took Oahu and Pearl Harbor with it would this not give you a great seaport that connects to three sea areas. And also wouldn't it deprive the US from a staging base to do some island hopping from 1943 on.

You get one year and then the US is coming to take it back. With the pipeline full where they can fight that battle over and over again until they win it. Japan can't afford to be tied down to a single defensive area if she plans on winning. All that is at Pearl is the naval base. It's good for a few turns but the US will get it back and break the back of whatever IJN forces are there when they do. To me personally I have other places to go that are not so easily attacked as Hawaii is from the US. I like to make the US at least have to guess where my forces are and make them fight battle I might have a chance at winning.

I am not saying it would be easy to take Oahu but I would think it would be a major blow to the US Pacific war.

It would be a psychological blow but not much of a military one. Nothing much hurts the US.

Just an observation not sure it would mean a hill of beans in the long run against the budding US power. Not sure how supply would be affected if the US decided not to take Hawaii back and just bypassed it and went on to take Guam Saipan etc. I assume fleets are always in supply so maybe its no big deal.

Willy

It's a big deal but not something the US can't deal with. What makes it more of a big deal is that the IJN can't afford to lose that battle no matter how many times it's fought and the USN can.

Good Hunting.

MR

[willycube]

ORIGINAL: composer99

(1) The Commonwealth, because I have a sentimental attachment.

(2) The USA, because I enjoy controlling the Big Green Machine. ("Please don't make me angry. You won't like me when I'm angry.")

Composer get angry will you we need some anger in this country right now [wont go into that right now] I would rather play Germany then any other country because I believe it is Germany who sets the pace early in most war games not sure about WIF, I like what ifs like the Axis winning WW2, too bad they dont have one of the Little Big horn I would be Yellow Hair and the 7th Calvary then again maybe not. Come on composer do a what if when you get the game and let me know what happened say in the year 2012 when your finished.

Willy

[micheljq]

I always though that if Japan would take Honolulu, that would delay the U.S. very much, because it can be troublesome to take it back.

But I guess they can simply use Pago Pago as a base or use Australia/New Guinea and advance on Japan from there.

[composer99]

ORIGINAL: Mad Russian

ORIGINAL: willycube
Also If you took Oahu and Pearl Harbor with it would this not give you a great seaport that connects to three sea areas. And also wouldn't it deprive the US from a staging base to do some island hopping from 1943 on.

You get one year and then the US is coming to take it back. With the pipeline full where they can fight that battle over and over again until they win it. Japan can't afford to be tied down to a single defensive area if she plans on winning. All that is at Pearl is the naval base. It's good for a few turns but the US will get it back and break the back of whatever IJN forces are there when they do. To me personally I have other places to go that are not so easily attacked as Hawaii is from the US. I like to make the US at least have to guess where my forces are and make them fight battle I might have a chance at winning.

I would contend that taking Pearl Harbour is valuable for Japan. Quite simply it buys you time and space.

The longer the US is mucking around re-taking Honolulu, the less time they have to muck around in Japan's rear areas. Furthermore, the distance between the US and Hawaii is great enough that simply picking up units on the US west coast and invading Honolulu is a risky business. To do it properly requires time and effort, time and effort well-spent from Japan's point of view as it is not being spent somewhere more dangerous. To be sure, Japan must make the effort to prevent the US from using either Pago Pago or Australia as effective advance bases, however the former's ease of isolation and the latter's considerable distance from the US help rather than hinder Japan (and of course, it can attempt to conquer both).

[Froonp]

ORIGINAL: Mad Russian
Japan by herself cannot win. But I think that's true of the Axis as a whole. You can't lose a major axis country and still win in my experience. MAYBE you could lose Italy, and still get an Axis win, but I'm not really sure that's possible either.

What ??? [:D]
I won as Japan, by Japanself alone.
And I made the Axis side win by achieving that !

Sure Japan can win.

In 2001, our game XII, the scores were :
Japan + Italy +10
Germany +3
CW 0
USA + China + France -5
USSR + Comm China -9


In 1999, our game IX, the score were :

Italy + Japan +16 (21 objectives)
Germany +4
USSR + Comm. China -4
USA + China + France -6
CW -11

In 1945 I was holding Egypt, Aden, and I was conquering Persia. The Pacific was quiet, as the USA was in deep troubles in Europe with France only liberated during the last turn of the game, and suffered some sore setbacks having done wrong choices in his axis of penetration in my co-prosperity sphere [:D].

[coregames]

ORIGINAL: Mad Russian
Japan by herself cannot win. But I think that's true of the Axis as a whole. You can't lose a major axis country and still win in my experience. MAYBE you could lose Italy, and still get an Axis win, but I'm not really sure that's possible either.

In the game we just completed, on the last turn, the Russians completely conquered the Japanese. He was the one in Tokyo so the spoils of our group effort went to him, and he shared the individual victory with the Germans. The sad part was we had not even liberated Paris yet . The Axis won the game narrowly when the Russian drive on Warsaw sputtered out (an OC and he rolled a 1). It was the most dominant Russia we've seen overall, but we still lost, due in large part to the near conquest of the UK that kept the CW from having the amphibs necessary for a sufficient D-Day.

Oh, and the CW is my favorite power to play. They have to fight alone between the fall of France and the entry of the Russians or Americans, making them a great challenge. For the Axis I love Italy, because it was the only power with which I was able to win the individual victory (I had six objectives at the end).