Young Grasshopper is here!

That’s good news, YG!
Thanks for all the videos.
You make a great job of vulgarization.
I like to watch them.
Baron

Nice! Welcome to the second Edition YG! I think you’ll dig it. The scale and gamelength is very similar to Revised or Spring42, but there are enough minor map changes, that the game takes on a totally different vibe. You can still do most of the same things strategically, that you could do in Revised (in terms of Allied or Axis coordination), but the routes are way different. Every now and again, I’ll be taken completely aback by some minor feature of the map and think to myself “whoa, why does it make sense to do this? The move is so different from Revised!” hehe
:-D

A lot of times its feels like a weird funhouse mirror of the revised map. Like there are instances where you’ll think to yourself “I should definitely go north, because that’s what worked in Revised” only to realize later that going south works way better, or vice versa. Other things too, like how to lead with US rather than UK in the Atlantic, or the order in which to buy stuff, where you’ll find that in 1942.2 just kind of messes with your head and your old habits hahah. This has been my experience anyway, and there is enough difference in the territory divisions and unit set up from Revised, to make the game feel a lot different, while still preserving the same essential 5 man flavor.

I have been thinking a lot about 1942.2 openings and balance lately. My main A&A buddy that I game with face to face seemed to really enjoy playing on this map. We played a lot of Global and AA50 as well, and the older boards, but there is something straightforward and enjoyable in the scale of 1942.2 that almost gets back to what you fell in love with in Classic. One thing you will notice right away, especially coming at it from a lot of Global games, is that the first round takes a lot less time to complete compared to the 1940 situation, so the face to face experience is at least a lot more accelerated from the second round on. In my group we can almost always finish the game in one session, and still feel reasonably satisfied about which side was coming out on top.

I would suggest that you guys try this game with a Russian bomber bid, rather than an open bid. I tried to make the case for this set up change in that ‘All the Russian Openings’ thread I’ve been working on. I think on balance this produces the most enjoyable gameplay and the best first round. In other words I think its just better for the game and less distorting, than allowing an open bid. In my group the Ruskie bomber has become standard, so we no longer bid on this board, and we make no other rules adjustments when playing face to face. We just include the Moscow bomber as part of the set up and then switch sides as normal. I consider the 1942.2 board to be even Axis vs Allies if you make this Moscow bomber change. It’s just more consistent and easier to implement than an open bid for Allies, ( since an open bid adds invariably busts the situation with Egypt or the Pacific.) Finally it looks pretty cool too! Since the Russian bomber is truly giant compared to the other sculpts, and it really allows your Soviet player to feel like they’re part of the War, rather than just an infantry spawning machine.

Even if there are other bids that are technically more potent that Allies could have for 12 ipcs, the Red Bomber is just way more fun in my view, and enough of a boost to give your Allied player a real and fairly consistent shot at winning. So that’d be my main suggestion for your group, if they want to try something dynamic that doesn’t upset the balance in the other direction. If you have any say in the conditions for the tournament, I would suggest that approach over an open bid and see if the players enjoy it. I suspect they will. So yeah, add a Russian bomber at Moscow, and don’t look back. Its all you need! ;)

We also find that the simplicity in the unit roster and the rules can be fun very focusing and helps to speed things up, though we sometimes miss the technology tree and national objectives of AA50. Ultimately 1942.2 is faster, and has that 5 man charm we recall from the older games, which is why I think it has become the go to game now, for me anyway.

Glorious Sundays! Have fun dude!
And glad to see you in this section too

Yeah its really pretty close, the only thing that feels like going backwards from Global will probably be the single hit carrier decks, and the fact that you don’t have cheap mech to play around with haha!

Ah that’s cool, coming at it from AA50, I think the main thing you will notice that’s different is the lack of shucks. The only really good shucks that still exist are…

For the Japanese: sz 61 to Tokyo and back.
For the British: sz 5 to UK and back. Harder to set up than it was in Classic or AA50.
For the USA: the only good shuck left is sz 36 to Borneo/East Indies/Philippines and back (to Push Burma)… But this requires factories and solid KJF positioning.

Other than those, almost every transport move requires launching 2 spaces outright.

The weird ones that might not seem as intuitive for a Classic player are the USA launch to sz 22 or sz 23. There is also the sz 10 to sz 3 launch (with the drop in Finland) for late game KGF, but I find myself going to sz 22 or 23 all the time. I would have considered this to be putting myself out of position in AA50, but in 1942.2 its actually optimal Africa coverage, since its hard to converge in sz 13 before the third round.

Also, for a German naval game, the go to here is the Med rather than the Baltic, even though Italy is only worth 3. Sometimes I will see the Germans drop a carrier to clear to the Med, because otherwise you don’t quite have enough range with starting fighters to hit everything you want.

Some people suggest a extra destroyer set up change for the Americans in sz 11, but I think this is kind of a buzzkill for the Axis, since it takes their best Atlantic U-Boat option off the table. (Another reason I prefer a Russian bomber, to all other bids.) Germany has enough to worry about with their subs and starting air, and I think giving the Allies more ships on the bid just really screws them and makes the German opening too one dimensional.

Optimal German purchasing absent the carrier is probably heavy artillery with armor to race behind, or heavy luftwaffe and just grind slow on the ground (their bomber threat is potent here, similar to G40.)

Optimal Japan purchasing is similar to previous boards, transports with naval or air, over starting factories. With the factories usually being dropped in the second round, once you get a chance to see which way Allies are going.

USA is a little harder to play than in previous incarnations of the 5 man game. It just feels like they have a huge responsibility and not quite enough money to make it happen, but I guess we’re all a bit used to that by now haha. I think they have a really strong priority to cover Africa early, and its pretty easy to do without too much investment, but beyond that taking an Atlantic or Pacific strategy to the next level can be pretty daunting. I’m a big fan of bombers for the USA if you want to get out early and feel like you’re having an impact. Building a fleet takes a bit longer. In general it feels like it takes USA a full round or even maybe two rounds longer to make a decent crossing when compared with their situation in AA50. Slower at the outset, but the same basic principles apply, as in the older games, once you’re get things up and running.

UK likewise takes a bit longer to establish an Atlantic fleet, most people like to spawn Spitfires and stay focused on India for the first 3 or 4 rounds, or at least until USA has a strong enough carrier force to cover them, or until their starting Pacific ships can swing around the globe and get back to England. Its kind of cool though, because by buying a ton of fighters early, you can really give Stalin some breathing room and have a better chance of holding onto India for a few rounds to make use of the factory there. Then when the time comes to drop an Atlantic fleet, you can just sail a few of these fighters back to land on double carriers buys (instead of having to buy fighters and carriers at the same time.) There is something just really satisfying about saving Russia’s ass, and then returning to sz 6, 7, or 8 the following round to land on two brand new carriers! A nice trick to help you stack up quickly on fleet defense when you need later in the game.

Well anyhow, enjoy the new board and let us know how it goes! I’m eager to hear the results of those early games, and to learn your thoughts on the map/balance. Hope your friends enjoy that Ruskie bomber idea.

She’s a total Russian “Night Witch” and a mean flying machine! Gives the Axis plenty of headaches over the long haul, I think you’ll find ;)

Another 42 2E lover here and looking forward to your video!

P.s. If I ever have chance coming up to Toronto I would love to invite you for a face to face game! :-D