The English Gunboat Solo Win Plan
England’s plan is to take all the Northern centers (Iberia, France, England, Germany, the low countries, Scandinavia, and St. Petersburg) plus either Tunis, Warsaw, or Moscow.
Two Paths to Victory
- The majority of English victories will be won by taking over the entire North plus either Tunis or Moscow. Since these distant centers are in opposite directions, there are essentially 2 victory paths for England.
- Plan 1: conquer Tunis
- If France falls before Germany or Italy faces an invasion (from Turkey or Austria), then Tunis is usually the better target.
- An advantage to the Tunis plan is that Portugal, Spain and Marseilles can be fought over with fleets that then advance onward to take Tunis. By comparison, the fleets which are necessary to fight for Scandinavia and St. Petersburg are later useless in taking and holding Moscow.
- Plan 2: conquer Moscow
- If England expands into the North first (that is, ignores France in the early game), then Moscow is usually the better target.
- Taking and holding Moscow (which is landlocked) will also require armies — an entire battalion of armies in addition to the ones needed to hold Munich (which always requires several armies to take and keep). This means England needs something like 3-5 more armies than usual.
England needs armies because of Munich
- In order to take and hold the centers needed for a solo win, eventually England will need a fair number of armies on the continent. No matter what, Munich must be taken and held with several armies. Usually England needs at least 4 armies, but the more the better. England needs the minimal number of fleets necessary to get control of the seas in the North and no more.
- Because England starts so far away from Munich, and because Munich is defensible from the South, England needs to get these armies into Munich with follow-up armies to support-hold the Munich conquest relatively early on (before the other players can form a defensive line that includes Munich). Otherwise, a southern power like Austria can send in armies to take and hold Munich, likely shutting down any English hope of a solo win.
Extreme levels of overlap with France’s plan
- Note the extreme levels of overlap with French solo win game plan. This overlap makes England and France each others’ natural enemies by far.