Matrix Games Forums

Hi all -

For the first time I am playing as the Japanese. It's December of 43 and I think I've done pretty well. I hold all of Australia, all of Burma and the all coast and am ready to attack Trincomalee and Columbo. I've sunk 7 American CV's and 12 battleships and have 3 Marine Divs. bottled up in Fiji while I hold American Samoa. They're not very good shape.

I have a CV TF and a Surface Combat TF based on Ellice Island and my LBA is taking a heavy toll on any TF's that try to reach Fiji.

My TF's are set to a Reaction move of 8 which should cover any TF that tries to reach Fiji. BUT..they will not react!!. They have plenty of supply and fuel.

What's wrong?!

My two cents worth - I have found Air Combat TF reaction tough to pull off - you need an allied TF to enter an area in range that has a) Japanese air zones established (some sort of Mavis, Betty, Zero combo), b) NO allied air zones at all (even a handful of Brewsters and Vindicators can scare off KB). Basically, as long as the allies are careful to stay in their air zone reach, the chances of KB reaction are remote.

I can only think of 1 time I actually managed it.

I hold all of Australia, all of Burma and the all coast and am ready to attack Trincomalee and Columbo. I've sunk 7 American CV's and 12 battleships and have 3 Marine Divs. bottled up in Fiji while I hold American Samoa. They're not very good shape. I have a CV TF and a Surface Combat TF based on Ellice Island and my LBA is taking a heavy toll on any TF's that try to reach Fiji. My TF's are set to a Reaction move of 8 which should cover any TF that tries to reach Fiji. BUT..they will not react!!. They have plenty of supply and fuel.

The game does not do a very reliable job of reacting. One possible but unlikely problem is that you don't have enough Preparation Points to react. But I think that you should send your CV's to Fiji with a standoff of 1 and set the priority target to "TF's". Setting one of the bomber groups to Naval Interdiction should also help.

BTW, you might get more Victory Points if you capture Trincomalee only and sink anything that shows up in Columbo as reinforcements.