The World at War ELO Tournament

[firsteds]

ELO results so far this year:

Axis 46.66% Allies 53.33%

[petedalby]

Thanks for doing these for us!

[kjgokc2007]

Two Matches to Report

New ELO Game started 06-24-2026

Taifun (Axis) Winner Vs kjgokc2007 (Allies) Loser

(the Rematch of the Matrix Tournament #1 vs #2. Looks like I'm not #1 any longer =P)

Aquavita (Axis) Lost to VS kjgokc2007 (Allies)

[firsteds]

New ELO game starting:

Lonerunner (Axis) v Firsteds (Allies)

[kjgokc2007]

6-2-2026

Started new ELO game

Firsteds (Axis) vs kjgokc2007 (Allies)

Good Luck and Have FUN!

Kenny

[Taifun]

Two Matches to Report
New ELO Game started 06-24-2026
Taifun (Axis) Winner Vs kjgokc2007 (Allies) Loser

This has been one of the fastest games I can remember. Thanks to the rare combination of having some free time and being spared the usual work-related interruptions to my gaming, we managed to maintain a steady pace of 3–4 turns per day on average.

The game ended prematurely in November 1941 with an unquestionable defeat for China and a Soviet Union that had been battered to the brink of collapse. China lost Langchow and was on the verge of losing its capital, Chengchow, with only nine units remaining. Meanwhile, the USSR was down to just 34 land units. German forces had captured Tula on the approaches to Moscow and Rostov, while advancing toward Stalingrad and Voronezh.

This game reinforced my belief that if Germany commits no forces to North Africa, the Soviets should adopt a deep-defense strategy, in the style of Umeu. Kenny chose to defend the USSR much closer to the front lines and suffered extremely heavy losses as a result.

[kjgokc2007]

Reporting Results for petedalby (Axis) Winner vs kjgokc2007 (Allies)

Japan crushed China then India, while the Axis blew though the Med and on to India.

Russia was holding but America could not hold India and lost the counter attack battle.

Great Game Brother.

Kenny

[petedalby]

Great Game Brother.

Thanks Kenny - terrific pace to the game. Game ended September 1942 with Allied resignation. It was a bit one-sided!! 192 kills vs 20.

[kjgokc2007]

Game Results

Firsteds (Axis) Winner vs kjgokc2007 (Allies)

Firsteds used 3 German Airborne units and early research for German Amph. Assault to invade England early next to impossible to stop. This game needs to be updated to stop this type of attack.

I don't believe its possible to build 3 German Airborne to begin with. This was a normal builds game.

I also didn't get to see the replay of the attack where all this happened... I was just given the end results where 3 German Airborne and 1 It Airborne took London with a tank and inf to boot.

This game needs the Home Guard to at least be equal to Partisan units (8) this is a major bug with the game.

This makes me not want to even play this game anymore. Well done Firsteds but that In my opinion is an Exploit that needs to be fixed.

You can take me off the ELO List. I quit this game till this type of stuff is fixed.

Kenny

[petedalby]

New ELO game begins:

Firsteds (Axis) vs petedalby Alliies)

Usual ELO rules apply.

[petedalby]

You can take me off the ELO List. I quit this game till this type of stuff is fixed.

That's a shame Kenny.

It will be no consolation but I lost my first 7 ELO games in a row. You only fail when you stop trying.

Your record is won 1 lost 4 - much better than my initial start. And you asked to play the top players. 4 of whom beat you.

I'm playing Firsteds because I want to see how effective his early Sealion is. I don't mind losing - he's on 100% wins so far - but I do like to learn.

[HarrySmith]

Game Results

Firsteds (Axis) Winner vs kjgokc2007 (Allies)

Firsteds used 3 German Airborne units and early research for German Amph. Assault to invade England early next to impossible to stop. This game needs to be updated to stop this type of attack.

I don't believe its possible to build 3 German Airborne to begin with. This was a normal builds game.

I also didn't get to see the replay of the attack where all this happened... I was just given the end results where 3 German Airborne and 1 It Airborne took London with a tank and inf to boot.

This game needs the Home Guard to at least be equal to Partisan units (8) this is a major bug with the game.

This makes me not want to even play this game anymore. Well done Firsteds but that In my opinion is an Exploit that needs to be fixed.

You can take me off the ELO List. I quit this game till this type of stuff is fixed.

Kenny

Personally I have known you could get 3 paratroopers if you buy one very early before the 2rd paratrooper deployment. This is with all units in this game. As in antitank units being a very common one before the cheap buy for 3 with Germany and Russia.
Perhaps you didn't defend properly. For example you could order an anti aircraft unit and if next to London would of most likely solved the problem. You don't say when this occurred so hard to summise properly. I do feel if you are the Allies and you don't cover the southern port cities of UK at the fall of France that you are inviting invasion. If a player I am playing hasn't done it and I see the opportunity to do so I will. Instead of getting upset about it you should see it as a learning experience and make sure going forward you are prepared for someone doing this. To say take you off the list is a shame and I personally was hoping to play you one day.

[Taifun]

The capture of London can be a double-edged sword, as it immediately brings both the United States and the Soviet Union much closer to the war. While this may seem catastrophic at first glance, it is far from the end of the world. In fact, an American entry into the conflict even a year earlier than expected can significantly alter the course—and ultimately the outcome—of the game.

It is also worth noting that competing in the ELO Championship is very different from playing casual matches on the website. Many of the players here have spent years honing their strategies and refining their offensive techniques through countless battles against experienced human opponents.

Kenny, I hope you remain part of this community. Skill and experience are not acquired overnight; they are forged through game after game, challenge after challenge. After all, it is through constant use that blades are sharpened.

[Taifun]

HarrySmith, I’m available to start a game whenever you are.

[LoneRunner]

Game Results

Firsteds (Axis) Winner vs kjgokc2007 (Allies)

Firsteds used 3 German Airborne units and early research for German Amph. Assault to invade England early next to impossible to stop. This game needs to be updated to stop this type of attack.

I don't believe its possible to build 3 German Airborne to begin with. This was a normal builds game.

I also didn't get to see the replay of the attack where all this happened... I was just given the end results where 3 German Airborne and 1 It Airborne took London with a tank and inf to boot.

This game needs the Home Guard to at least be equal to Partisan units (8) this is a major bug with the game.

This makes me not want to even play this game anymore. Well done Firsteds but that In my opinion is an Exploit that needs to be fixed.

You can take me off the ELO List. I quit this game till this type of stuff is fixed.

Kenny

Here's some excellent advice from Umeu in a April 29, 2026 post for countering an early airborne invasion of England:

Umeu:
"Several things you can do:

1) build 1-2 Anti Air units in 1939 and put them in London and Portsmouth, then bring the garrisons from Ireland and Belgian Congo to UK for Manchester and the city in Wales (Cardiff?). Suddenly, this attack will not seem so strong anymore.
2) keep submarines or naval units in ports so that even if they take a city in England, they can't bring in new units.
3) keep your navy in the English Channel to intercept the paratroopers and do a lot of damage to them. It will also neutralize the bombers a little.
4) make sure your units are entrenching (aka don't move them around). Without heavy bombers support, 2 paratroopers can't take London from a lvl6 entrenched garrison.

the attack also mobilizes USSR and US quite a lot, so it's not even always good if they don't do a lot of damage against the UK and basically take the whole island. I think most good players no longer do such an early Sealion attack because it's very easy to spot (just scout the coast for paratroopers) especially now that it takes longer for paratroopers to prepare to jump."

I hope you don't quit Kenny. My first online game was versus Hamburgermeat. December 1941, instead of attacking Pearl Harbor, he conducted a massive Japanese invasion of the eastern coast of the United States. I was stunned. The computer had never done that.

Consider Firsteds brilliant invasion of England to be a great learning experience. I look forward to being surprised by imaginative strategies, new ideas, that's what makes World at War such a wonderful game.
Bill

[Old_Shane]

New ELO game. Rematch from the very public defeat at the hands of Clive and the Allies.
wevilc (Allies) vs Old_Shane (Axis)
regular house rules.

[HarrySmith]

HarrySmith, I’m available to start a game whenever you are.

At the end of this game, I would look forward to play you . That may be fairly soon as I am losing big time at this stage

[petedalby]

New ELO game begins:

hasmat_slith (Axis) vs petedalby (Allies)

Game ends in July '46 with Allied resignation. A great game by hasmat_slith. An epic struggle! Loads of destruction on both sides but ultimately the German juggernaut was unstoppable.

[hasmat_slith]

Those are some wild stats but seem to nicely capture my 'losses be damned' mentality held through-out much of the game.

You played a great game Pete, dominating me in so many different facets of the game. But ultimately sheer brute force won out.

[Taifun]

The number of German losses is overwhelming. It is hard to see how Germany could have recovered from such extraordinarily high casualties.

It would be interesting if you could provide a summary of the game. Did the USSR surrender? What happened in China and India? Did Japan survive?

It sounds like the game was absolutely incredible...