Does anyone have any photos comparing the different versions ….....

@vonlettowvorbeck1915 A couple of Chinese territories in the original version have dual Japanese and Chinese markers printed on them too.

@Nowhere:

Never a fan of the default German transports

Me neither.  For background info on that particular class, see here:

http://www.german-navy.de/kriegsmarine/ships/auxships/dithmarschen/history.html

@calvinhobbesliker:

Did Spring 1942 introduce defenseless transports?

AA50

Spring 1942 was basically A&A Revised played with AA50 rules.  1 or 2 Battleships and/or Destroyers were changed to the new Cruiser piece, but otherwise the set up was identical.

Okay aa50 can take 2-10+ hours. Global can take 6 hours to a few days.

The longest aa50 game I had lasted 32 hours because Germany was on the brink of losing, had a miracle defense against UK USA attack… Hit improved artillery with 1 tech roll that has been going for a long time suddenly has enough to kill south europe, survives another UK all in blast. Meanwhile Japans 30 tanks 5 bombers dies to Russia 25 inf 2 USA fighter (5 aa gun hits)  the Game that refused to end.

So global just takes long where as aa50 if it takes long it is because the game ending battles failed.

@toblerone77 A bit late to the party here but anyway…!
The sculpts are made in a lighter plastic than later versions and the Japanese infantry sculpts, for example, really show this. Lots of them have half their helmets missing and their rifle stocks are too thin and are thus often bowed or malformed. Another example is Italian tanks which have smaller and far inferior sculpts to the europe 1940 version.
This is my favourite Axis and Allies version regardless and I have swapped out all the pieces with better sculpts from other version. Its probably cost me a fortune in potential re sales but I don’t care.

the peices on the board represent divisions, corps, etc.
Each infantry model on the board probably has about 100 snipers in it. but it consists of maybe 10,000 - 50,000 men total, so the snipers dont have that much of an effect.

Snipers would be a good unit for a stalingrad A&A game, but now your getting into a different area of gaming….tactical gaming.

A&A, Risk, Diplomacy…are strategic games.
Flames of War, A&A Miniatures, Warhammer…are tactical games

Strategic games deal with commanding grand campaigns, where tactical games are more like chess, each piece has a different and unique task. Snipers fill a tactical roll. If bishops are your long range artillery, rooks, the armor, then the knight is a sniper…for example.

The Game of Axis and Allies is about making a mathematical machine of probabilities that beats someone elses.  That includes the territories you take, the positions your units are in, the options they have, and the IPC’s you are making.

This game IS about the Economics.

Excellent post Umrmeche, combine this type of play, with a General focus of making sure you are constantly giving oppurtunites to take advantage of your opponents and the mistakes they make, and you’ve got a winning strategy 80% of the time :P

You have to remember, lots of People give up before their capital ever falls, and the logisitics of making that happen anyways, are mostly bent on the Economics of the Situation.

Consider this thinking when you are buying your units too.

Stable version: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?wn3mjmen3yk

Unstable version: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?wzvnmlw1uej