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Axis places two Japanese 1-1-1 infantry in Nagasaki and a Japanese Troop Convoy in the Yellow Sea. Map and DS Axis Force Pool updated. Operational Movement Phase Axis, please post your movements, or if you have no movements.
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# ? Dec 24, 2014 15:06 |
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# ? Apr 24, 2024 07:29 |
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Operational Movement Use the Troop Convoy to move one 1-1-1 from Nagasaki to Formosa. Combat No Combat Reserve Movement Use the Troop Convoy to move one 1-1-1 from Nagasaki to Formosa.
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# ? Dec 24, 2014 15:15 |
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Axis moves a Japanese 1-1-1 in Nagasaki to Taihoku, Formosa. Combat Phase Axis moves a Japanese Troop Convoy in the Yellow Sea from Used to Convoys. Reserve Movement Phase Axis moves a Japanese 1-1-1 in Nagasaki to Taihoku, Formosa. Final Administrative Phase Axis receives one German infantry step. Axis applies Economic Program, placing the IGHQ Logistics Marker in the Delay Box. Map, DS Turn Track and Delay Box, and DS Axis Organization and Conditionals updated. Axis, please post how you would like to take these replacements.
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# ? Dec 26, 2014 15:28 |
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German replacement in Berlin
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# ? Dec 26, 2014 18:02 |
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Axis places a German 1-1-1 infantry in Berlin. Western Seasonal Phase Western reveals Negotiations with Belgium on the TK Map. Western reveals Sian Agreement on the DS Map. Per PM, Western selects pending Option cards. Western receives replacements: 1 French infantry step Map and Current and Pending Options updated. Western, please post how you would like to receive replacements.
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# ? Dec 26, 2014 19:50 |
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Put it in Metz.
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# ? Dec 27, 2014 13:07 |
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Western places a French 1-2-3 infantry in Metz. Initial Administrative Phase Western rolls on the Negotiations with Belgium table: 1 - 1 = 1 Western receives the Influence event. Western places an influence marker in Belgium-Holland. Western rolls on the Sian Agreement table: 6 - 1 = 5 Western rolls on the Colonialism table: 3 - 1 = 2 Western receives the Chinese Incident event. Per PM, Western changes Nationalist China's Posture to Resistance. Map and TK Western Force Pool updated. Western, please post any Orginization and/or Movement actions you have for the turn.
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# ? Dec 27, 2014 16:36 |
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Flip the 1-2-3 in Metz to a 2-step army.
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# ? Dec 27, 2014 16:57 |
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Western combines two one-step infantry in Metz into a two-step 4-4-3 infantry. Soviet Seasonal Phase Soviet reveals Stalin Line Constructed on the TK Map. Military Purges, Tukhachevsky Reforms, Russian Mobilization, Red Army Mobilization, Demand Eastern Poland, Great Patriotic War, and Red Army Conspiracy are removed from the deck. Pacific Commitment is applied. Soviet has no support units to transfer to the DS Map. Eight 0-3-0 fortresses are added to TK Soviet Force Pool. Soviet reveals Mongol Purges on the DS Map. Eastern Line is removed from the deck. European Commitment is applied. Soviet has no support units to transfer to the TK Map. Soviet Minors Posture is changed to Border Disputes. A Soviet influence marker is placed in Mongolia. Soviet receives DS Replacements: two Russian infantry steps Map, Current and Pending Options, TK Western Force Pool, and TK Soviet Force Pool updated. Soviet, please PM your pending Option Card selection. Please post how you would like to take your replacements, and any other actions you may have for this turn.
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# ? Dec 29, 2014 18:53 |
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Veeeeeery interesting, russkies.
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# ? Dec 29, 2014 18:58 |
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Pending cards PM'd. Replacements (2 inf. steps): 1-1-2 cav. unit in Vladivostok (e5301) 0-1-1 inf. unit in Blagoveshchensk (w5727) Organization: flip the 3-3-1 in Blagoveshchensk (w5727), return the 0-1-1 to the force pool --- That's all. Just a quick rules check, since I haven't played the combined game before - if my DS card gives me replacements, I can only take those on the DS map, correct? Also, just as a suggestion to throw out - one thing I've done in PBEM games to keep things from getting too stale, is have each faction play en entire season instead of just a single turn during the pre-war. I haven't run into a situation where we've had to back up and fix things or interrupt things halfway through the season. There's not enough movement and combat (or, any at all actually) to warrant 2-3 turns per season in my opinion. Just throwing it out there.
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# ? Dec 29, 2014 19:59 |
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Yeah, that would be ok with me, especially in Europe. At least until 1939, there's not going to be a lot of movement or sudden surprises.
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# ? Dec 29, 2014 20:56 |
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I'm okay with it until we get to limited war in DS, can't estimate when it will happen though
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# ? Dec 29, 2014 20:58 |
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Tekopo posted:I'm okay with it until we get to limited war in DS, can't estimate when it will happen though That's what I meant, just during pre-war.
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# ? Dec 29, 2014 21:05 |
For those of us watching that don't entirely know why things are interesting, why was that so interesting, Tekopo?
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 04:23 |
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silvergoose posted:For those of us watching that don't entirely know why things are interesting, why was that so interesting, Tekopo? I was about to make a long post, but realized I'd totally be giving away my strategy! Heh, whoops. I'll let Tekopo give his thoughts instead Suffice it to say, it's very ahistorical compared to actual events... Which is something I always find fun and intriguing
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 04:40 |
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silvergoose posted:For those of us watching that don't entirely know why things are interesting, why was that so interesting, Tekopo? So, the Soviets have three major military options, and they choose them in 1937. One is Military Purges which is largely the historical option. The main advantage of it is that you have Stalin Challenges Hitler if you need to make Germany think, and that the Total War crisis event is the gentlest. You also have Russia Challenges Germany, which will get you out of any policy, whereas card 17a will only get you out of Rapallo, your starting policy. The biggest difference is card 27 which is the one that gives the Soviets their most powerful units. The military purges give you the five historical tank armies, which are two-step 4-3-3 units, a bit more powerful than the 3-3-2 infantry armies that are the staple of the Red Army in this game. Tukhachevsky's reform gives you three Western-style 3-step mech armies(7-6-3) and two tank armies, but the event also has the worst table, which can give Axis political options(a rarity in Total War), a debilitating military coup, and supply failures. The Stalin Line option is a compromise and you get one mech army and four tank armies, with an extra HQ thrown in for good measure(soviet HQs are pretty valuable). The table on the Stalin Line card 27 is still worse than the one with purges, but it's not as bad as the tukhachevsky option. There's also a political decision, but it's not nearly as interesting. Collective Security gives slightly better chances of influencing minors while also giving you multinational HQs, but diplomacy in this game is hella random and the rewards for CS aren't that great compared to Political Purges. While you don't lose the ability to demand territory with CS, it kind of works against you trying to influence countries and you don't get the useful goodies you get from making demands(the multinational HQs are supposed to be compensation but you have to have activated minor countries and somehow get on the same policy as Soviet minors to use them).
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 11:51 |
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Yeah basically the starting game in TK can be interesting for various countries, although some countries are more open to choices than others. Here's a brief rundown: Soviets: As panzeh mentioned, they have an interesting option in terms of how they deal with the military and all three are viable to choose from, although some as mentioned can potentially backfire. The political decision is a bit crappy though: it can turn out well or turn out badly, as mentioned and certainly the safer option is to go for the political purges. There is also the option to help the republicans in Spain or not, but you usually want to because winning can help boost the soviet sphere. French: Usually the choice here is to either modernize or build the maginot line. Modernization is usually seen as not doing enough and doesn't really help in the long run: the maginot line is a much better option overall, especially in conjunction with the Gamelin line (basically a line of slightly weaker forts on the france -> belgium frontier. The latter can sometimes stop the germans dead if they have an east first option. Apart from that, the diplomatic aspects for the Westerns is VERY important and it is therefore necessary to understand very well how the different treaties interact. It is possible for germany to scoop up minor countries if you don't go to guarantees early enough. One thing that is important to keep track of is the potential for a Franco-Russian Entente. The entente basically allows Russia/France to fight Germany at the same time, although at the expense of Britain remaining out of the war. The Entente can happen if Russia goes for collective security or if the Western Allies does not go for guarantees. It can only ever happen in 1939, and only if Germany has no started fighting either side yet AND if Russia does not go for Nazi-Soviet Pact. There are a variety of reasons why you would want the Nazi-Soviet Pact though. The Entente can be Russia fired (in which case it can only happen when you go for Collective Security) or Western-fired (in which case it only matters that the Soviets aren't in Pact). Germany: Germany has a lot of demands but largely their diplomacy is decided by what the Western/Soviets do. The big choice is to either go east first or west first. East first can be done with stuff like Iron Pact, that can align Poland to your side. Otherwise, it is just possible to send out demands and see what side you get to pick a fight with. You usually want to avoid facing the Entente and if you see that one side is going for the Entante it is sometimes useful to start a war early to prevent it. You usually have until 1939 to do it though, and if the Wallies don't fire off Guarantees you can scoop up a lot of territories without actually having to fight anyone. For DS: Japanese: There are quite a lot of choices for the Japanese: which programs to go for, what demands to make, if to go for China first (you almost always want to do this) or attempt to strike at Britain (without getting the US involved). It is a difficult puzzle, which is acerbated by the way that the game limits your card play according to what government you have at the time. Diplomacy is limited for the Japanese, although going for the Political Program can help. Most of the programs are pretty good (and you get them all at Total War), so there isn't a right or wrong answer here. You can decide to fight the Soviets as well but it is kind of broken in terms of how many VP hexes you can get that are much easier to get than other hexes. Soviets: Soviets are kind of boring. Usually you just build up and then get set to Neutral by the Japanese. There isn't much there in terms of options. Someone else will need to do the Wallies for DS since I have 0 experience with them.
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 12:32 |
Exactly what I wanted, super cool writeup and helps me learn a bit about how the game actually works.
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 12:55 |
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I've been considering writing this up for a little while now, and this seems like a good opportunity. I was going to start with Germany, but since Tekopo's excellent post didn't include the DS Western faction, I'll start with them: blackmongoose's Guide to Axis Empires Grand Strategy: The West in Dai Senso, Part I: As the Western Allies, you'll probably be doing almost all of the fighting against Japan in the Pacific. For the purposes of this write-up, I'm assuming the Japanese choose to Neutrality Pact the Soviets, since I have very little experience with the alternative, and around 70-80% of games will probably unfold that way. Your goals for the first half of the game are to prevent the Japanese from obtaining 9 strategic hexes so that the Japanese Mandate marker doesn't get placed in the 3VP box. Beijing, Hong Kong, Nanjing, and Davao are almost impossible to hold. Rabaul, Balikpapan, Saigon and Rangoon are difficult. Thus, you should be looking to make your ultimate stands at Midway, Chungking/Kunming, Calcutta, and Townsville. This consideration should inform your Pre War and Limited War play, despite the fact that the Japanese will find it difficult to threaten those hexes until Total War. The first decisions you have to make are choosing which of your four rearmament cards will be played in the first four years and deciding what to do about the Nationalist Chinese policy of acceptance (which is a terrible policy to be under). Getting the Nationalists to resistance as soon as possible is a fairly urgent priority - it means the war with one of the Chinese factions means war with both, and makes Japanese demands more difficult. For this reason, I like the historical Spring '37 Sian Agreement play, since it has a high chance of generating Chinese Incidents. Waiting until summer to play it for the extra die roll is also a valid strategy, though if the Japanese aim to start war with China in the Summer, they may preempt it. On the rearmament front, choosing card 1 for Chinese rearmament is generally a safe play, since setting up war with Britain or the US will often take until 1938 for the Japanese. In addition, there are several political results that cause the Japanese to have to start a war (Gekokujo is the most prominent), and they will often choose China as the "safe" option. For your 1938 rearmament, you have to think carefully about what the Japanese strategy in 1937 indicates. If they are at war with China and seem focused on that, League of Nations is a good choice for the Nationalist steps. If they haven't gone to war yet, they are probably planning on targeting Britain, so British rearmament may be called for (It's often a good idea to save this choice until the Japanese have started the war, since Spring 1938 is often the target kick-off date, which lets you play the appropriate choice of British/US rearmament or League of Nations in the Summer). Targeting the US is unlikely, but if it does happen, League of Nations + American Mobilization is also a strong consideration - you lose 1 or 2 US steps, but gain a second US convoy and accelerate meeting requirements for later card play. 1939 and 1940 are usually easy rearmament choices - Americans should almost always go last if they aren't at war, since those support units won't do any good as long as the US is a PAC. Between the rearmaments, there aren't a lot of critical choices - in pre war, you're pretty much limited to throwing around various diplomacy cards. In limited war your priorities are 1) Play Riviera Conference as soon as European Total War starts because it unlocks a lot of good cards, 2) Play Oil Embargo as soon as Rising Sun 1 occurs, 3) Send help to whoever the Japanese are fighting with Lend Lease/Aid to China, Relocate Chinese Industries/Commonwealth Support, and possibly a War Production card if things are looking bad, 4) Align as many Chinese countries as you can, 5) Proceed down the Cash and Carry to Selective Service chain for the US force pool adds, and 6) Play some additional bases or fortification cards - additional bases are usually better, but if you see a strong Japanese attack coming at a key location, it can be worth grabbing the fortification unit. As far as the map goes, if Britain is attacked, you'll want to defend Singapore, Rangoon, and Australia tenaciously - if you can keep the Japanese out of those locations until Total War, that's great! Singapore is the one you can most afford to lose, but it does give the Japanese a lot more flexibility in placing support units and locking down the South China Sea. Rabaul is hard to keep the Japanese out of, so contest their units if you have a chance, but it's not worth losing the other locations listed above. Support units are very limited in Limited War, so make sure you're using yours where they can make a big difference! Hong Kong is a write-off. Port Moresby is probably possible to hold, but it's not a disaster if you do lose it. Also keep an eye on Christmas Island - losing your line of communication to Australia can make your Total War comeback more difficult. If China is attacked, Nanjing is doomed with the first Japan Supports Nationalists, and Beijing is in range of the Kwantung HQ. Hopeh will probably want to try to hold out in Taiyuan to hopefully kill a few Japanese steps. The initial Kiangsu defense should probably be in the cities along the rail line from Wuhan to Canton, but don't be afraid to fall back to the mountains and ridges in Szechwan and Yunnan. Also, once France is defeated, keep an eye on your backdoor because the Japanese will be ceded Indochina when they play Tripartite Pact. Use the rivers and rough terrain to your advantage - the Japanese should ideally have 1:1 or worse odds without air or HQs on most of your hexes. If you start to run out of units in the force pool, feel free to make some 1:2 attacks - any attrition is good! Part II on Total War will follow whenever I again have a nice block of free time.
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# ? Dec 30, 2014 19:41 |
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Sorry about the delays lately, folks. Now that the holidays are over, things should be back on track.COOL CORN posted:Also, just as a suggestion to throw out - one thing I've done in PBEM games to keep things from getting too stale, is have each faction play en entire season instead of just a single turn during the pre-war. I haven't run into a situation where we've had to back up and fix things or interrupt things halfway through the season. There's not enough movement and combat (or, any at all actually) to warrant 2-3 turns per season in my opinion. Just throwing it out there. This sounds like a good idea. I'll put up the rest of the stuff that needs to be done for Spring, and then we'll do this until Pre-War ends. Thanks for all the strategic talk, too! In addition, if anyone wants to make "alt-history" write-ups, feel free! Soviet places a 1-1-2 cavalry unit in Vladivostok and a 0-1-1 infantry unit in Blagoveshchensk. The other side of the 3-3-1 in Blagoveshchensk is a one-step infantry! Let me know if you want to take your replacements differently. End of Game Turn Phase Japanese Government Delay roll: 6 Japanese Government marker is placed on the Nov-Dec 1937 Turn. Axis Scratch Convoy Delay roll: 5 Axis Scratch Convoy is placed on the Sept-Oct 1937 Turn. IGHQ Logistics Delay roll: 1 IGHQ Logistics is placed on the Apr-May 1937 Turn. Turn Marker is advanced to Apr-May 1937. IGHQ Logistics is placed in DS Axis Force Pool. Apr-May 1937 Turn Axis receives one German infantry Step. Western rolls on the Negotiations with Belgium Table: 3 - 2 = 1 B-H 0-1-2 Res infantry is placed in TK Western Force Pool. B-H 1-1-3 Exp cavalry is placed in TK Delay Box. B-H 0-1-0 Rott fortress is placed in Amsterdam. B-H 1-1-2 infantry is placed in Brussels (this may be placed elsewhere in B-H as Western desires) A Western Mobilizing Marker is placed in Brussels. B-H Mobilization roll: 6 Western may flip either, or both of B-H's one step units. Western receives the Influence event on Belgium-Holland. Western rolls on the Sian Agreement Table: 4 - 1 = 3 Chinese Inertia: No Result Map, TK Western Force Pool, Turn Tracks, Current and Pending Options, DS Axis Force Pool, and DS Soviet Force Pool updated. Players, please post your actions for the Turn. Taran_Wanderer fucked around with this message at 20:43 on Dec 31, 2014 |
# ? Dec 31, 2014 19:06 |
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Soviets are all set for the rest of Spring.
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# ? Dec 31, 2014 19:42 |
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Hey I'm a rules nazi: Belgium-Holland can't activate while Locarno is in effect.15.19 Influence posted: Activate the selected Neutral Minor Country as a friendly
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# ? Dec 31, 2014 20:13 |
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Obfuscation posted:Hey I'm a rules nazi: Belgium-Holland can't activate while Locarno is in effect. Yeah this is correct. Anyway its useless because french units can't enter b-h until germany conquers it.
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# ? Dec 31, 2014 20:25 |
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Well drat. That's what I get while going over those rules while half-asleep. What would Western like to do with its Influence event on Belgium-Holland?
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# ? Dec 31, 2014 20:42 |
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All the options are invalid for B-H right now, so the Influence just fizzles. Hopefully the dice continue to be kind though!
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# ? Jan 1, 2015 00:17 |
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Japanese Actions Place Logistics marker in Shangai Combine Kwantung step in 5224. That's all.
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# ? Jan 1, 2015 03:33 |
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Panzeh posted:Yeah this is correct. Anyway its useless because french units can't enter b-h until germany conquers it. That's not quite true - only Axis minors can't enter other Axis minor countries. Allied units can enter other Allied minors if it's Limited War and they share a policy. Saving Neg. w/ Belgium until after Guarantees so that you can activate them can be worth it, but there's not a lot else to play in that slot if you want to save Change of Governments for Summer. If the Republicans are Western, I'll often play a Support Repubs and hold off on negotiations, but if not I'll play it to hopefully at least prevent Demand: Gau Moselland.
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# ? Jan 1, 2015 06:01 |
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As to keep things moving, I've placed Germany's infantry step in Berlin. Axis places the IGHQ Logistics marker in Shanghai and combines two one-step Kwatung infantry units into a two step 3-3-1 infantry unit in w5224. Axis Summer 1937 Turns Axis reveals Support Nationalists on the TK map. Axis reveals Army Program on the DS map. Axis may remove an Influence or Neutrality marker on the TK map, or roll on an area table to apply Influence to a Neutral Country. 2-1-1 HQ [Nor] is placed in DS Delay box. Axis receives Replacements: one German infantry step two Japanese infantry steps Axis rolls on the Support Nationalists table three times: 4-1=3, 1-1=1, 1-1=1 Axis receives a No Parasan! and two Civil War Victory events. Axis applies Army Program and places the Air Force unit in the DS Delay Box. Map, Axis Force Pools, DS Axis Organization and Conditionals, Turn Tracks, and Current and Pending Options updated. Axis please PM me your Pending Option card selections. Please post your option card removals, Replacements, event resolutions, and any other actions you may have.
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# ? Jan 2, 2015 16:40 |
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Remember all, we're doing 1 event card phase, and then 3 sets of support/org/ops/etc per person (because it's Summer... other seasons get 2). Not that there's a lot to do right now, but if you want to build-up and break down your guys multiple times, or just march them in circles around your country, whatever.
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# ? Jan 2, 2015 17:19 |
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German stuff, I think this is everything Flip Barcelona and Valencia for Support Nationalists rolls New replacement in Frankfurt Lose step in Berlin from political event Combine Berlin to 2 Step Combine Frankfurt to 2 Step
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# ? Jan 2, 2015 17:41 |
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There are no two step German infantry units in the Axis Force Pool! Everything else looks good, though.
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# ? Jan 2, 2015 18:17 |
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Place both steps in Shangai, combine them, remove Navy Program and Chemical Weapons.
Tekopo fucked around with this message at 19:59 on Jan 2, 2015 |
# ? Jan 2, 2015 19:55 |
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Axis discards Navy Program and Imperial Directive: Chemical Weapons. Axis places a 1-2-3 German infantry in Frankfurt, a 1-1-1 Japanese infantry in Shanghai, and a 0-1-1 Japanese infantry in Shanghai. Axis flips a 1-1-1 Japanese infantry in Shanghai to a two-step 2-2-1 infantry and places a 0-1-1 back in the Force Pool. Axis flips Barcelona and Valencia to Nationalist Control, and eliminates a one-step infantry in Berlin. Western Summer 1937 Turn Western reveals Change of Governments on the TK map. Western reveals Kuling Declaration on the DS map. Chinese Mobilization is discarded. Two Kiangsu 0-1-1 infantry and a Kiangsu 1-1-1 infantry [Exp] are placed in the DS Delay Box. Western receives Replacements: three French infantry steps Map, DS Axis Force Pool, DS Axis Organization and Force Pool, DS Delay box and Current and Pending Options updated. Western, please PM your Pending Option cards. Please post your Replacements, Chinese Minor countries for rolling on the Kuling Declaration table, and any other actions you may have.
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# ? Jan 2, 2015 23:05 |
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Roll on Yunnan as long as it is neutral, if it activates then roll on Szechwan. Cards PM'd I think Kiangsu is still without a player, so move their 3rd Army into Nanjing.
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# ? Jan 2, 2015 23:43 |
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Put two 1-1-2s in Metz, one in Paris, flip to 2-step units in both cities when the flip step happens.
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# ? Jan 2, 2015 23:45 |
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Western selects Yunnan and rolls on the Kuling Declaration table three times: 3-1=2 Chinese Inertia: No Result Second roll: 3-1=2 Chinese Inertia: No Result Third roll: 5-1=4 Roll on the Colonialism table: 3-1=2 Chinese Incident A Western Influence marker is placed in Yunnan. Western places two French 1-1-2 infantry in Metz and one in Paris. A French 1-1-2 infantry in Metz is flipped and a 1-1-2 infantry is returned to the Force Pool. A French 1-1-2 infantry in Paris is flipped and a 0-1-2 infantry is returned to the Force Pool. The Kiangsu 3rd Army is moved to Nanking. Soviet Summer 1937 Turn Soviet reveals Support Republicans and Pact with China One Kansu 1-1-2 Cavalry [Exp], one Kansu 1-1-1 infantry [Exp], and one Kansu 0-1-1 infantry [N4] are placed in the DS Delay Box. Soviet receives Replacements: one Russian infantry Step First roll on the Support Republicans table: 5-1=4 Roll on the Civil War table: 6-1=5 The Bell Tolls for Thee Second roll: 6-1=5 The Bell Tolls for Thee Third roll: 6-1=5 The Bell Tolls for Thee First roll on the Pact with China table: 1-1=1 Conflicting Plans: No Result Second roll: 3-1=2 Conflicting Plans: No Result Third roll: 6-1=5 Roll on the Colonialism table: 1-1=1 Roll on the Strategy Board table: 6-1=5 Allies Support Resistance Map, TK Western Force Pool, Current and Pending Options, and DS Turn Track updated. Soviet, please PM your Pending Option cards. Please post your replacements, event resolutions, and any actions you may have.
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# ? Jan 3, 2015 05:12 |
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3 step losses for 3 SCW victories. Decisions, decisions.
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# ? Jan 3, 2015 17:48 |
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Replacement inf. step goes to Minsk. No moves or support or organization. PMing pending card right now.
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# ? Jan 4, 2015 21:54 |
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# ? Apr 24, 2024 07:29 |
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COOL CORN posted:Replacement inf. step goes to Minsk. How do you want to resolve your events?
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# ? Jan 5, 2015 15:55 |