Allies or Soviets?
We give the nod to the Allies for several reasons: superior naval power, Gap Generators, tanya-filled APC's, and medium tanks that are just as good as the Soviet heavy tanks(this i don't personally agree with, take it up with PCgamer).
It's our belief that it takes a superior player to play the Soviets and win consistently against the Allies. So unless you have a death wish or something to prove, play the Allies.

Keep Moving, Soldier!
This is key to Red Alert: keep moving, keep looking, keep thinking. Always be moving the mouse, always clicking, and keep your other hand on the keyboard. If you have money in the bank, build something. If you can't see an area, send a foot soldier in. When paratroopers are ready, drop them. When a building's ready, deploy it.  this ain't no love-in, so get proactive out there! And we don't have time here to explain the CTRL and ALT unit grouping commands: they're in the manual, so go memorize them now. You're handicapped if you don't.

Base-building
The first thing you do when the game connects is figure out if you are in a corner, and which one. Quickly lay your construction yard down in as tight a corner as you can, and surround it with structures- from the second the game begins, you must defend against Tanya and Engineer attacks.
After your Con Yard is laid down, build a Power plant. We're assuming you've already sent your fast-moving APC's to your perpendicular extremes, since you must find yuor nearest neighbors as soon as possible and keep an eye on what they are doing- are they building engineers or cranking out tanks?
But if you find you're on a map ringed with water, then you'll want to build inland, out of potential cruiser range. Nothing is worse than a cruiser sitting off your cast, out of range of everything you own, slowly reducing your base to scrap metal.
After the Con Yard and first Power Plant, your next building is a barracks. Now crank out rocket infantry while you wait for the next big buildint, the Ore Refinery. Lay the Ore Refinery down as close as possible to the ore fields, and give it some breathing room, as those imcompetent ore trucks need a lot of room to maneuver. After that, build a War Factory (so you can get a second harvester going), and start cranking out the tanks, then the Radar Dome. After the Radar Dome comes the Tech Center, which opens up a good deal of alternate paths, or a second Refinery and War Factory if you're going for the Tank Blitz. Along the way, you'll be building up more power Stations, both the advanced and simple kind. The advanced are cheaper and take up less space, but the simple plants, being more dispersed, are less vulnerable to nuclear strikes or tanya raids. And that second Ore Refinery is another must; if a Tanya or air raid takes out your first one and you don't have enough money to build another, you've already lost.

What to Build
If you're the ALlied player, the first thing you should build after a Tech Center is the Gap Generator. Blacking out your base before the other side scouts the layout is the best thing you can do, and gap generators are the number reason to play as the Allies. Some of us here at PCG also like to build at least a couple of mobile gap generators and scatter them around the base, so that even if the power goes down, the mobile units offer some blackout shielding. Mobile gaps are also good for those tank battles in the middle of the battle field where their presence will dissconcenrt inexperienced opponents.
Generally, the fast-Tanya buildup is the most devastating weapon to use against neophyte players, and for that you'll also need to get the Tech Center ASAP; although skilled opponents quickly learn to build up riflemen, guard dogs, camouflaged Pill boxes adn/or walls to fend off the inevitable.
Don't get distracted in an anti Tanya defense: a flight of six or eight helicopters will utterly destroy and opponent with inadequate anti-air defense. That's why rocked troops are among the best buys in the game; they're effective against both helicopters and tanks. Always build a rocket man when you don't need to build a Tanya or some other infantry unit - never let your barracks sit idle. But rockets are almost useless against Tanya, so make everyfourth rocket man a rifleman, or save those bucks for camouflaged pillboxes, and you'll have some firepower against Tanya/Engineer incursions. Artillery units are also excellent against Tanyas.

The Quick Kill
It's only a minute into the game, and you've laid down a Barracks and are working on the ore refinery. Your roving jeep has wandered into a neighbors base and has been shot up by this starting heavy units. Is there a quick kill option on this guy who's been crowding you? Yes, there is. You've saved one APC, right? Now build four or five engineers as your fist infantry units, make them a CTRL-key group, pakc them into the APC, and pay a visit to your newly discovered friend. Four engineers on a Con Yard are as deadly as a Tanya raid, but you'd better do it in the first two minutes of the game, before he's got Tesla Coils or pillboxes ringing his base. With no construction Yard, he can build no more, and if he hasn't finished his Ore refinery, War Factory, or Barracks, he's almost out of the game.
Almost? He is, unless he has an ally. If you find yourself in this position make friends real quick, sell all your remaining buildings and rush your remaining units towards your allies base. When you ahve no buildings, the odds of finding a new MCV ni a crate increase exponentially.  Under the guns of your ally's base, you can rebuild, and turn a cripplying blow into a minor setback, and swiftly build yourself back into the menace you should have been.

A Dozen Ways to Win
Once the Tech Center is built, the game really opens up into a number of paths to victory. Which path you choose will depend upon a number of variables, which is why it's hard to offer specific advice, since everything depends on the number of players, their skill level, your skill level, the proximity of your enemies, and how much water is on the map you're playing.
The different general attack plans you can develop include: the oh-so-common tank rush; the air offensive (immediately building helicopter and/or jet pads as soon as possible, to go for a quick, jugular slash at the enemy's construction yard, before he's built up AA defenses); the Admiral path: building a naval base and cranking out destroyers and cruisers as soon as possible to dominate the seas; or the Tanya route, a quick and stealthy build of Tanya's and APC's to devastate unsuspecting and unprepared neighbors.

The Tank Rush
The quickest and most reliable path to victory is the beloved tank rush, whenrein you do nothing but crank out tanks, harvesters, War Factories, and refineries, so you can build tanks that much faster, and each new refinery means that much more money is coming in. On most maps, this is the way to go, particularly the maps that come  with the game. For those who tire of this Easter Front kind of game, you'll need to edit your own Red Alert mpas with the editor, creating battlefields that are not so wide-open and have solid defensive positions and numerous ridges, oceans, and rivers, re-balancing the game. In fact, among veteran players, the Tank Rush is used almost to the point of exclusion, forcing us to play with new maps or modified Redalert.ini fles if we wish to keep the game fresh.

The Admiral
On maps with a ring of water around them, building up a navy can be the difference between life and death. And even on the maps taht feature nothing more than lakes, building cruisers and destroyers no a lake near your base gives you thatmuch more defensive fire-power. Plus, with a Chronosphere, you can teleport a cruiser on to a lake near an enemy's base and wreak long-range havoc where he leasts expects it.
Never send out cruisers without destroyers and gunboats, as the small ships are much better at picking out subs and choppers than the sluggish cruisers. And if no one else is building ships, one speedy destroyer can pick up all those water crates, giving you a huge advantage in cash.
The only true defense a powerful navy is a more powerful nave or flight after flight of aircraft.

Death from Above
An excelent strategy for the air warrior player with a lot of MiG's or helicopters is the nuke/airstrike tandem. You want to take out a critical enemy building, but he's got dozens of rocket men around it. Hit that area with a nuke which will clear out the rocket infantry. Then swoop in and finish the job with your air wing. Alternately, if he's built lots fo AA Guns, but few rocket men, nuke his power plants instead. Many players don't build enough power stations to withstand a nuclear attack, and once their power goes into the yellow or red, you can air raid his base with impunity, targeting critical installations like the Con Yard, Tech Center, and Radar Dome.
But say you're attacking an allied player with gap generators, and you can't see his base? Send in spies if you can; otherwise, throw a tank or APC in. Guide it carefully, not worrying about damage- drive into the heart of the base. Once you find the installations you want, nuke them, then follow up with the air raid strike. It doesn't matter if the area goes black after the tank is dead, as long as you got your attack orders off first. You have bound your air team to on hot key, right? If not, select all your air units, then hitCTRL and a number key. Now when your tank penetrates the Gap Generator area, and you see a likely target, hit the number for your air team and then target that structure. Air teams will attack under the gap if you tell them what to hit first.
Obviously, these paths to victory are not all-inclusive, and you'll frequently mix and match strategies from all camps, depending on how close your enemy is and the land/water ratio of the map you're playing.

Treaties
Although you will sometimes run into games that are "No Tanyas" or "Ore truck treaties", particularly on the Internet gaming services where just getting enough players up and running can be a chore, in pure LAN/modem play, such pacts are a bit of a cop-out. It is your responsibility to fight off Tanyas and stake off enough territory for ore-mining. Tanyas are only dangerous to the unprepared, and no treaty should be necessary. Tank builders can usually build enough tanks to have on huge force to dominate the central ore fields, protecting their harvesters from harm.
And as a worst-case defense against Tanyas, you can crank out enough tanks to play MAD(Mutually Assured Destruction) with a Tanya-loving enemy: if he wipes out your buildings with the wicked woman, you'll have enough tanks to roll down and take out his base, since he'll have spent all his money on the Tech Center, APC, and Tanyas, while you've bought nothing but tanks, tanks, and more tanks. You may both lose, but maybe int he next game, he wont be so eager to send tanyas on you, adn will instead target some other, more inept patsy.

Alliances
Some ganes will begin with pre-determined allies: in such games, your job is to find your ally on the map as soon as possible, and coordinate first defenses, and yhen attacks. Many targets cannot be taken out by one nuclear bomb, but two or more allies working in tandem with coordinated nuclear attacks one after the other can lay an enemy to waste.
But if you're playing every man for himself in a big map, you had better build up a mixed defensive capability: Scatter your power plants for surviving nuclear attacks, build lots of rockets and some anti-air defenses, and try to wall of the approaches to your base with concrete or lines of tanks to keep tanya-filled APC's out. And if you're playing "first one you meet is your ally," as we often do in four to eight player games, find the player closest to you and make them your ally. That's one less flank to worry about.
Finally, if you're going into a game with pre-set partners, and you have reason to believe that the map will let each side build up a while before being tank-mobbed, it often pays to have on epartner be the soviets, the other they allies. Crank out an MCV apiece early, build con yards in each others bases, and then temporarily go to war as you take each others yard with engineers. this should allow each partner to have access tothe full range of Soviet and ALlied units. Nothing can be more pleasing than the twin strength of Gap Generators and Tesla Coils.

End-game
In a closely fought network battle, the ore will often run out long before the battle is decided. Then the key to victory becomes crate recovery, and he who has the fastest units that can span the most territory will recover the most crates, get the most money, and probably win the game. This is why you build those fast jeeps and APC's. Also, when you find a bunch of infantry in a crate, scatter them around teh map and hide them under trees. they will act as "Freedom Fighters" to distract the enemies and recover crates.
During lulls in the fighting, you must constantly be scouring your territory for new crates. The vigilant player will recoup four or five times as much money as the player who does not understand the value of crates and keeps his eyes nervously fixed on his base, worrying about Tanyas. And once most of the ore is gone, sell off all but one of your harvesters by moving them onto the Repair bay and using the sell key. Keep the one remaining the harvester for scooping up the ore that will eventually regenerate in the fields near your base.

The Map
Knowing what is going on during a game of Red Alert is crucial to success. Always run the small map in your upper right in the max zoom out (click on the globe icon to do so), so you're seeing not only your units but also everyone else's. Build that radar dome ASAP so you get the map, and then the Tech Center, for the GPS satellite. If you're the Soviets, send yourspy planes out to black areas of the maps as soon as they are available; never wait. Likewise, use your nukes and paratroopers as soon as they are ready, as you always want to be maximizing production. If you have no idea where to drop paratroopers, drop them in or outside your own base for additional defense, as soon as they are available- just don't get them in the way of your harvesters. Dropping paratroopers over enmy anti-air is another good tactic, since it will tie up AA guns who will then ignore a flight of choppers or jets.
Taking out your enemy's map is a huge step towards victory. Taking out an Allied Tech Center or Radar dome will do the trick, though if they have Gaps up, you won't be able to find them. Sacrifice a heavy tank if you have to- send it into his base under the black shroud, with your mouse ready to drop the nuke on any targets of opportunity. Otherwise use the spy or paratroops.

Beating Computer Opponents
 Red Alert's skirmish mode against AI players is an excellent way to get your feet wet for multi-player gaming, though keep in mind the computer players are pretty brainless and will never be as devious and unpredictable as a human rival. But what they will do is buid up fast, ridiculously fast, and attack you constantly.
One good tactic to use against them is to build up air power quickly, form a striek team of six or more helicopters, and then take out their construction yard. Do it early enouhg, and the comptuer will have built up no air defense. Next take out his barracks to choke off his production of rocket men, and after that his base is pretty much yours for the picking. But he'll sell every building he's got and throw all his troops in one massive human wave against your base. To beat it, a Tanya or two can work wonders as can a harvester targeted to run over the infantry.

SimBase
Occasionally you'll see a peculiar situation in Red Alert, something we've dubbed "SimBase" This is when two players, usually newbies, move about the map so cautiously, retreating like blushing school girls each time they meet, that half an hour later each side has one gigantic base sprawling along half of the map with massive, immobile armies reminiscent of a U.N. Peacekeeping force.
If you find yourself in conflict with one of these tyros, a tough-talking Tanya or two dropped in some forgotten alley of their sprawling metropolis will usually snap them out of their timidity.

A neat little strategy I just added, so this is credited to me!
Well, that was the end of the PCGamer strategy guide for Command and Conquer Red Alert. You better appreciate becuase it took me a LONG ass time to type it up. Before I go off to develop my own strategies, let me mention one thing I did today in a game, it is kind of cool too. Make sure you have chronospheres, and when your cronoshift is ready, build a barracks, but don't deploy it, have already about 5 barracks' in your base so you can pump out infantry fast, once the last barracks is don't but not deployed, chronoshift an MCV into a far corner of an enemy base with no defense. Immediately deploy the barracks and start pumping out tanyas and building turrets/AA guns/camo pillboxes, send tanyas to tear up your opponents city, by the time they realize what is going on, lots of buildings are destroyed, once the opponent finally gets rid of your pesky outpost in his base(unless it kills him first), he will be hurt, and usually the player himself will be pretty pissed off, which will also give you a psychological advantage over him. Thanks, and enjoy.

Once again I am giving credit to PCgamer, this info was in their 1997 May and June issues, but does not appear on their site, so I typed it all myself. Go to their page for other crappier strategies on older games.

BTW, I saw Jurassic Park: Lost World on oppening night, it kicks ass, go see it.

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