Hearts of Iron IV
Players historically manipulated military access, puppets, or diplomacy so troops were pre-positioned for instant capitulation when war began. It is one of HOI4's most famous exploits.
By threatening coastlines or weakly defended ports, players can pull AI divisions into poor redeployments and then strike where resistance vanished.
Licenses, lend-lease, and template management can be manipulated to accelerate force quality or equipment access beyond what many countries should realistically reach.
Frequent air-wing reassignment and mission toggling can squeeze more favorable efficiency or coverage out of the air system than passive management allows.
Players use perpetual pinning attacks and narrow movement windows to freeze divisions while the pocket closes, turning pathing and combat-lock rules into a devastating exploit.