Well, that's it. I have no more saved turns. The game continued for a couple more turns, but I was also playing the Japanese player. I was also in two other games, and in one of those I inherited a messed up Germany. I had to rationalise, so I reached a truce in this game to give me a chance to complete the others.

I hope my few readers enjoyed the journey and will give the game a go and try out their own ideas.

Here are my closing thoughts

It is just a game

While it is one of the best efforts at a PBEM WW2 game I have ever played, it does have limitations in the simulation. The obvious one is that while historically everyone (except Churchill) thought World War 2 would be over very quickly, the players know it will not be, hence they play ahistorically. For example, I focussed on factories early so I would have huge production in 1942, and in so doing sacrified some potential early successes. I also did not bother with a Battle of Britain because I knew the British would not be cowed. Also, I prioritised holding Gibraltar over a friendly Spain because I knew that was a vital flank.

On the flip side, because it is a game, you should play to be fun. You do not need to fight until the fall of Berlin or London - just until the mahority of players have had enough. Also, you do not need to stress about making the perfect play. For example, in earlier games, I followed other players in having lots of small units to give me more flexibility in attacks. However, I found that made turns too long and I became stressed towards the end when I found lots of units that had not moved in odd locations. My soluton was to create massive units that did not need to stack and I could see wheer everyone was and complete a turn in about 40 minutes, which suited my lifestyle.

If you are not having fun, change something.

Humans are far more fun that AI

Most of the games I play against Ai are fun while I learn the game, but by the time I have learned the rules, I have also learned the limitatios of the AI, so the games always pan out the same way and there is nothing more to learn. Human's surprise! Sometimes you do not know what they have done is a mistake or a stroke of genius. You have to question, plan, have fallback plans, test and evaluate. The British invasion of Cherbourg early in the last game was such an experience. Much of my coastal play is governed by bad experiences with Chuck earlier.

One of the treats for me is two of the game designers are often playing with me so I can pick their brains on their design decisions and work out how to turn them to my advantage.

it is all about the economy

Like most World War 2 games, you must have a solid economy. I spent more time planning that than planning offensives. It is a bit finicky turning production to make sure you have the units you want, but once the balance is there, the game is easy to play; good things just appear every turn.

You must do an economic improvement every turn, or you will lose this game. Every turn!

Do not research every technology

The game is ahistorical that way. Tune your forces to the problem at hand. Researching a technology later than it is due is also cheaper. For example, as Germany I did not research heavy fighters as I did ont face a strategic bombing campaign.I did not research winter training until I was at war with the Soviets and it was Autumn. Even as USA, you would not research everything. Plan the units you want and research accordingly.

I don't think this is cheating, but when new research is available, save the game, do the differnt researches,compare the impact of each new unit, then restore to the saved game and research just the stuff that gives you the biggst bang.

Experiment

As I wrote this blog, I kept thinking, "I am not doing it this way again"! Personally I love experimenting. In one game as Japan, I mounted AT guns on horses and captured Vladivostok off Soviet Chuck! That was a highpoint in my gaming. Mix, test, shake, try again. Your mix will be different against different players too.

Don't play too many games at once

When you start in this game, it is hard not to put your hand up for every game going. This really confuses me, particularly when I am playing the same power in different time periods. Less is more. Blog if you are pining for a turn.

Contribute

Ideas are always welcome. This is a community spun game and when you play, you are a part of the community.

If you have read this far, and never played, give it a go!