Minty

I wish he'd take the same decisions with me! Most DE are about 50/50 either in consequences or cost. Not setting up Vichy France and ignoring Molotov have no upside at all. Pure music to Winston's ears.

All I get in my match is Rambo moaning about the Weather and here he is doing the same to poor Xwood. What I am really enjoying about these 2 games AAR is the wildly different directions they are already going in. Partly that is the DE that Rambo is taking in each (Molotov , Vichy etc ) but it just as much Allied strategy. It's hopefully a good showcase for the game and the myriad of gameplay and possible strategies.

Back at you John. Chinese troops dying in the south, he's right I've reached the point where I can't afford to reinforce them all. Chungking and Sian in line of fire now and the pain will begin shortly. Nothing elsewhere, Spanish Navy try and find some Italians to fire shells at but just ping a few junkers that are bombing Malta. British Troops begin siege of Tobruk

In China Rambo has broken through in the South, To the north we start the retreat back, dangerous stuff as it creates holes in our front lines but China can't afford to lose all her troops to the Japanese hordes this spring. Emperor Rambo has made a real commitment to China, 3 Japanese Tanks and large numbers of new Armies and Special forces. he's being a little gamey , letting Foochow get taken by Partisan just to build up carrier exp. can't say I approve but I take it as a compliment that he's having to get a little dirty in the ring. Swedes alone not going to be up to the job of pushing the Brits out of Norway, I can see Jerry has arrived with a Corp in Sweden but nothing heavier yet. Franco may be a fascist but that won;t stop him throwing himself under the wheels of the nazi panzers that will surely conquer Madrid before Spring Mussolini being very careless with her navy. Italian BB shells LRDG to east of Tobruk but that brings her in range of Ark Royal in port in Alex. Swordfish send her to the bottom

Nazi meatballs and flatpack Panzers ahead as the Swedes prepare for war. . dunno how much Rambo spent but it only took two diplo hits after Winston's norwegian adventures A 3rd Jap tank arrives, he means business. china soaking up the pressure so far and damaging his lead tank again , moral is low in his Emperor's Tank corp. Still with this much mobility he can bring focus his attacks a lot more, should see a breakthrough soon I fear. Her Majesty's Silent Service appear off Jutland for some scouting, Copenhagen indeed shows his Tac Bomber no doubt lining up Oslo in his sights. Bismarck in Port. in the Med the Italian navy follow up the British BB ( it was Malaya not Valiant) that escaped to Suez from Malta. Their attempt to pound it in Alex harbour fails this time as Ark Royal, safe in the Suez Canal sinks an Italian BB. RAF Hurricanes strafe tobruk.

So Rambo is up to something. It is all far too quiet even if it is winter. German Navy knows when it is beat and the north sea goes quiet apart from a single sub that is pinged without much damage. Legend is showing a lot of interest in Norway sending bombers and fighters to hit oslo in addition to the golden meatballs he is paying the swedes. Paratroopers were last reported in Denmark. Valiant blasts her way out of Malta in a 1 on 1 with an Italian BB, both take big damage as the Valiant sprints for Suez and makes it guided in under cover of the RAF. Other than that the Med is quiet and he's not even sent TAC to pound Malta. where are they? China, he's pulled back from the south which can only mean he is upgrading or preparing something even nastier. Japanese tanks are rubbish though and despite HT lv1 his lead tank edging along the mongolian border is reduced to a 4 by Chinese forces. Still he is sending more up North. Winter may bring some respite for China but we're expecting to fall back and a fortress appears outside lanchow. Rambo has been a little careless with the German navy especially the subs which I'm trying to figure out. Either he knows they will be pointless and is expending them now just trying to get me to spend money on ASW or he knows there a lot more coming and is spending a lot on extra subs and wants to grind the RN down. Since he paid for the strasbourg and Plan Z I fear the latter. expect more sea battles ahead. Russia - who knows. End of 1940 now so Stalin has probably stopped shooting his generals and will start belatedly rearming. But with the new exp rules, short distances to Moscow and shocking Red army in GC, barborossa is horrible against even basic german opposition. I'm not looking forward to 1941 against Rambo at all.

We do have a sea battle. Rambo said he wanted me to come and fight so fight we shall. Royal Navy never lets me down in this game. Germans get caught between 2 carriers and lose the strasbourg and the Prinz Eugen who go down with all hands in the cold north sea. I ping some subs and then my gifthorse destroyers finish off a U boat. Still the Bismarck must be about somewhere and the norwegian coast still swarming with enough U boats to keep my battleships at home .Brittania rules the waves for now at least. China is a grind. Flying tigers ping his army to the north, despite his tank moving up there it is the south that worries me the most , he has ALL his big exp armies down there and the attrition is a rate that the chinese treasury cannot keep up with. will crack very soon. shanghai is flattened, corps will last one more turn at most.

It's Bordeaux and the UK corp get so drunk on Chataeu Margeaux they decide to attack the oncoming Panzers. They scratch some paint and will die next turn. Phoney naval war in North sea, just a few useless pings from RAF coastal command. China, Rambo has sent his big boys south and they are on approach to Chungking. I doubt it will last the summer. however Chinese start to deploy thier new toys and are upgarding to inf weapons lv 1. Japanese tanks spotted to the north. Rambo has left his lines unguarded and Partisan pop up. that combined with occupation of shanghai and foochow leaves his supply a little tight. Admiralty sees urgent telegram from Alex requesting reinforcements for Warspite or orders to retreat but too much Rum ration means they forget to reply. oops

Now July. Kriegsmarine has flooded into the north sea and off the west coast of Norway. RN takes a few pot shots but retreats to Scapa Flow for now. Reports come in that Strasbourg is back in action under a Germna flag. It's one of the few times int he game where germany has rough parity with the home fleet especially as I have not evcuated the Med. China is suffering in summer.The thin blue line holds (we lost changsha) but Rambo is really focusing his attacks , using motorisation to cycle armies and corps against the same spots. Costing China a lot in reinforcements which she cannot afford. even though as a result of his footwork he is not entrenched there are limited places I can even pinng him for damage. Shanghai being flattened by IJN shells but the corps dug in behind the rivers and will hold for a while. Still china will crack soon and we'll have to reorg again. Will he sealion? Only other action is in east africa. Liveaid 1940 trying to raise money for the refugess attracts Vera Lynn and George Fornby. Ghurka vs Blackshirts. round one to the blackshirts but they have more friends on the way.

May, France is gone and U boats come out into the North sea, rough seas prevent my destroyers from doing much damage. Narvik hots up as Swordfish raid the cruiser and reduce it to a 5. Me109s sting the RN on way back to the carrier though. in china shanghai falls to Chinese. The thin blue line is stretched but holding for now. HQs make poor frontline troops but China desperate to not to let Japs cross the river to the north / mountains in centre / jungle in south. South now looking the most dangerous as Rambo's monster exp Armies are bulletproof. He's posturing for a sealion and can the UK hold with troops / Navy committed to Norway? 1st legend panzers last spotted by RAF being somewhat less than legendary on str 1 on the retreat out of Belgium.

This is great stuff, good to see how even early the allies can make strategic decisions. China in this game very fluid , in Monty vs Rambo it's much more cautious Trench warfare. nice footwork from Xwood but will the chinese collapse sooner if overstretched? What % does Soviet union go up if you ignore Molotov? I have a feeling Rambo may regret that decision if it is a significant amount.

just my 7.5 pence but I was slightly annoyed that there are Swastikas in the default GC (at bottom of eagle on main screen and in options bar). if that floats your boat then feel free to do what you like and tattoo it on your head if you want to. But I always rather liked the - no face of hitler, no Swastika side of the SC series. . There are others games out there that sometimes seem ghoulish in their glorification of it all. I'm just playing a game here and I'd rather minimalise the glorifying of racial hatred where possible. And yes I know that the hammer and sickle offend many , my wife's jewish russian family lost her grandfather to the communists bullets and aunts to the nazi gas chambers. nonetheless if the swastikas were dropped in 1.04 it would be nice . on other notes - more AAR please. Rambo can't promote this single handed. get in the octagon.

French tanks don't wait to be destroyed in the ground by Stukas but come out fighting knocking 1st Legend Panzers down to a 2. Tout pour le Glorie de France etc. They are renamed 1st cheese eaters and dig in at Str6 awaiting the inevitable destruction of the 3rd republic Nazis must have flown into Narvik before Oslo fell, RN keep an eye on them and throw a few 8 inch shells into the port China is bleeding MPP but not cracking yet , it's a thin blue line, trying to use geography wherever possible to gain any defensive advantage. first time playing anything but 1.00. gives me the option to reinforce Singapore. not sure what my money will buy me but historically this would have been a great idea so Winston signs the cheque. what will I get for my British Gold?

feels like winter 1914 in China and the race to the sea, only this time the race to the mongolian border. Chinese pull back from the centre to avoid being outflanked as Rambo pushes on in the north and south. France is standard stuff, will fall by May at the latest. Axis keeping away from shore so as not to get pinged by 14 inch shells. Italian early entry catches UK malta corp practising in amphibs... where were they going? back to Malta .....for now. Britain liberates Norway from the er.... Norwegians. nothing the Krauts could do about it with the full frog navy blocking the baltic. Swedes and Fins don't like it but Winston cares not for their sensibilities. No time for niceties when you're defending democracy. Anzacs turn up in the Middle east.

Well either way the Chinese will stand firm aginst the japanese. supervet gamey carriers or not. nothing for winter, chinese just redeploying to hold the line from north to south. French try a spot of surface raiding whilst they still have a fleet but can't even seem to get that right and just upset the norwegians. other than that I await spring 40 and the unleashing of the legend panzers on the poor belgians.

Rambo really trying to outflank me to the north and south, but proves a bit of a stretch for even his emperor's finest as the Chinese slam a sucker punch into the centre of the Japanese killing an Army outright. Resist the temptation to follow up right away and hold my ground. Nice to get an early Axis kill in though and bloody his nose a little, I'll get little pleasure out of China for the rest of 1940 I'm sure. Winter approaches nothing elsewhere.

"Clubber,what do you predict for the fight?" "PAIN" Early doors. very solid Poland take down, no overstretch,positioned nicely in turn 1 so he could pull his tanks out west on his second turn with minimal damage. Same in China. For a big guy he's light on his feet, keen eye for position. for those of you wondering if I have a deathwish, I choose Allies so at least if the game is as short as Legend claims it will be I will get to see his offensive charms in action and learn a few things.

Rambo I'll be the British Jason straham side kick to your Sly Stallone comeback I've paid my dues, been playing since SC1. never had the pleasure of losing to anyone like you have done but then I never played really played the very big boys like Terif who sadly seems to have moved on. Vanilla game, none of this custom malarkey. whatever the latest rev is , I only played 1.00 but how different can it be. no mirror, pick your side and believe in the purity of it . 1 turn a day (job, wife, baby,life). I'm west coast USA these days with evening turns. full AAR. win or lose we'll show the newbies how it is done. can start this weekend. Axis will probably win at this level but who knows if it drags out Detroit can win. Minty

Rockets can be awesome BUT you have to very very good at handling the rest of the german army so as to justify the investment. tanks and Tac air are better bang for the buck for all but the most skilled. Rambo , take it away.........

Overall defeating the USSR outright was very tough in SC2 and SC2 WAW. despite the extra retreat zone into Siberia that GC offers the Soviet Union is very vunerable to Germany in 41. if you keep supply up (even a single partisan hit is inexcusable sloppiness) and don't waste MPP on other adventures your panzers should be unstoppable. Frankly against the AI if you cant make USSR surrender by 42 don't even think about starting PBEM against a good player, you're wasting his time. on the other side whisly it is still easier to lose the USSR than in previous versions of the game BUT as the allied player you need to use the space more defend deep. IT is CRUCIAL in SC GC whereas previously heavy tank and AT and lots of small units could clog the all poweful nazis. now with a smaller map, Lv2 or Lv3 german tanks can drive to the urals without breaking a sweat unless the commies industrialise. all about the MPP tie the japs down in china (defend deep and to the north) and the then limited japanese forces can easily be held by the soviets around lake baikal. If you lose china that means too many banzai boys in the east and Uncle joe will collapse in 42 before the yanks can bring the party to europe.

This Pre Game build up idea of Wushuki could also have diplo effects per Kuni's point. Want to build lots of Destroyers and keep the RN in the Atlantic , fine but withou a minimum commitment to Singapore then Australia doesn't join immediately. If Japan wants a larger surface fleet and commits fewer starting troops to China then it can do but USN will be larger to reflect congress approving a large pre war naval budget etc. USSR doesn't want to station troops in on Border with Poland then fine but expect Eastern europe countries to swing to Axis faster. DE send troops Zhukov to Asis NO - you get a to keep the MPPS and units in Moscow but mongolia swings towards Japan. I'm not sure if this would work best as build up phase with a mega production round (say you start with 5000MPP and get to place the units ) or a series of each side having 6 ot 7 major DE events. eg built the BEF and sent it to Eygpt. If not then France doesn not declare war when Poland is invaded and only mobilises later. Us want to invest in Naval warfare to start the game on level 2 , fine but it will cost you 500MPP. This is not just to add complexity. I'm an SC addict and have pretty much played PBEM everyday for the last 4 or 5 years. What is very frustrating is the first few turns where it is all the same and it takes until mid 40 for any strategic directional changes to bear fruit. Now the risk is that is lots of DE are taken in one direction (Eg totally invest in kreigsmarine and expense of Army) then the game could get unbalanced really qickly. but then the same in any good game, make big bold dangerous moves early and you could win big but also get checkmated in 4 or land in Jail and not have the money to pay the fine because you bought too many Hotels (in this case the French take Munich because you have no army as you bought ten Red October supersubs sitting in Kiel next to the Bismarck and her 3 sisters ships.) It would lead to some fun I suspect the pros would still balance things out.

Honch and wushuki have the best ones.establishing Ukraine as minor at an MPP cost is very interesting. Also a decision on Axis dividing USSR upon surrender. The present situation penalises Axis units for success as it takes a year or two to limp them home. Icebergs as aircrafts. Genius. We must have this as a hugely expensive option for the UK in the next patch.

Hi Colin, hope you're well. I'm back on SC games after a year or two away. enjoying GC, looking forward to beating you at PBEM sometime Anyway I cant help but feel the main axis problem here was lack of progress in Russia. they took almost no cities right? But only started in September so had almost no commie bashing time in 41. Why the late start? If TAC is major investment then need to make the most of the summer months.

Good AAR guys. Exposes what I think is a major fault in the game which is the early activation of the USSR. there is no way on earth that USSR would have gone to war in the pacific with Germany still figthing on. Nor is there any way that the USA would have let them eat up huge amounts of Asia. From a game point of view it makes the japanese postion compleley unplayable against Human opposition. Has anyone "won" as Japanese verses a competent allied Human opponent?

Blockades in an SC game would be YAWN. the only good suggestion I have seen so far here is that ports and towns should not auto repair. I mean if Rambo and his buddies island on your tiny island and flamethrower all your rice before hoping off to the next island, then who is going to repair it?