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In general how many factories and where should the USA build them in order not to run out of supplies to build forts and supply depots latter in the game?


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Sed quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Always build a new factory at Cairo, Ill for later use by your TC.

Rule of thumb appears to be about an extra dozen overall.

I generally build about 2 dozen in all. It provides a lot of flexibility later in the game.

ORIGINAL: Treefrog

Always build a new factory at Cairo, Ill for later use by your TC.

Rule of thumb appears to be about an extra dozen overall.

Thanks for the tip re: Cairo [&o]

Definitely Cairo, and then in all the places that only produce supply, ie Detroit, Milwaukee, Cedar Rapids etc.

Start building them first turn, the Union has a large buffer to begin with so you won't suffer and you won't be reducing your art or naval production.

As the South I'd build them in the uplands of the Carolinas and Virginia. If you start losing those it's over anyways.

The [&o] goes to the fellow that posted that suggestion summer of 2008, I just remembered it.

There is a serious point for building a factory in New York and/or New England.  Its risky not to just pump out as much as you can from these valuable areas asap, but you garner some nice flexibility if you can get one or both of these areas producing an extra naval vessel.
 
Of course if your getting your bottom kicked in the interum at sea from an aggressive confed ironclad/raider commitment.. well forget I said this!

ORIGINAL: Mike Parker

There is a serious point for building a factory in New York and/or New England.  Its risky not to just pump out as much as you can from these valuable areas asap, but you garner some nice flexibility if you can get one or both of these areas producing an extra naval vessel.

Of course if your getting your bottom kicked in the interum at sea from an aggressive confed ironclad/raider commitment.. well forget I said this!

Wouldn't you also get extra free trade from that port as well for adding the factory? Might have to try that next time. Though I'd pick NE over NY. Better to lose a cruiser slot than an ironclad early.

ORIGINAL: CMoore
Wouldn't you also get extra free trade from that port as well for adding the factory? Might have to try that next time. Though I'd pick NE over NY. Better to lose a cruiser slot than an ironclad early.

As for the Cruiser vis a vis Ironclad slot. if the CSA is going heavy iron clad builds (and gets lucky) not having the Ironclad slot will indeed hurt. But losing the Cruiser slot also hurts. You really need the cruisers for blockade and to hunt raiders. If the CSA goes heavy naval by building 3 ironclads and filling the pipeline with raiders you might wish you were building every cruiser you can and a factory in NY.

One of the things I really like about this game is that its still a guessing game in this area. I know I often tend to build a factory in both NE and NY to start off, but its risky. If I see the raider pipeline fill to 3 I will halt the factory and start a cruiser believing the CSA is going heavy Naval.

Also watch the population. If you build a factory there may not be enough population to man it, population shows as a negative number. It will sit and never be built! Got that with Cairo now in a PBEM game, as well as DC. No available population.

Yep I have had that happen to me too.  Never build factories in MaryLand as you won't have the population to make them go

THX for all the input.

[:D] I did the same thing. I thought I was being so clever, imagining all the supplies those otherwise disloyal regions would be giving me. Then Mar '62 rolls around, and oh yeah factories need pop too.