• I use to own  the MB version of A&A, Max’s Advanced Rules, the three books from Gamers Paradise, Central Powers and New World Order from Table Tactics, and the original World at War. I am just getting back into the game with my sons. I still have the MB version and I just bought the revised rules. I loved the extra rules.

    After looking around I see that there are tons of other variations. There is D-Day, AA Europe, AA Pacific, Battle of the Bulge, and shortly Guadacanal from Avalon Hill. There is miniatures from AH/Wizards. Xeno still puts out World at War. There is also Pacific at War, Europe at War, Russia at War, and The Eastern Front. Table Tactics still has Central Powers, New World Order, and Accessories. I have found The Struggle for Europe and Asia from WW2wargame. There is also The War Game: World War II that looks interesting.

    I think I have a copy of Max’s lined up. I intend to get pretty much everything on the list above. The problem is what order to get them in. I wanted to ask you guys your experiences with some of the expansions. I loved all the ones I owned. World at War was probably my favorite. Of course we combined a lot of the expansions, taking what we liked from each one. There are plenty of expansions I haven’t played. That’s where I need you guys’ help. A short description of any of the expansions you have played with some of the cool rules would be great (I’m not asking for specific rules, just what’s cool about the expansion). Let me know which ones I should try to get first. Thanks for any info/help.

    Adam



  • I did look there. Most of those threads kind of devolved into talking about strategies. There are also different threads for different expansions. I wanted one thread with advice about which expansions I should look at getting first.

    Adam


  • Ddraiglais,

    I personally like revised but I think for starting out AA D-Day is a good one. The reason I say this is b/c it comes with order cards that tell you very specific actions to take to get to the next step. The land units’ move just like the ones you are used to from classic, but the reinforcement schedule and air movement is totally different.

    For beginners I would stay away from A&A Mini’s I have played A&A games for several years without a break in between. I started AAM this year and am still having problems wrapping my brain it.

    There is no reason why you can’t start out with classic or revised. I have just found that with a game as overwhelming as this it’s easier to have new players follow card instructions on a as you go basis. As you get better you can use the other optional cards that come with the A&A D-Day game.

    I hope that was of some help to you. I hope you and you sons have a great time.

    -LT04


  • I am actually restarting. I started playing the MB version back in the 80s. In the 90s I had a bunch of expansions for it. The game is not hard to grasp for me. That’s why I was asking about expansions.

    You do bring up a good point though. If D-Day is easier, I might use that to help my sons understand the basics of the game. We’ve played revised, but I’m not sure they get the whole thing yet. I should have D-Day in a little over a week. I will probably pick up Europe, Pacific, Battle of the Bulge, and World at War as well at that time. I’ll just play D-Day with my sons and play the others with my friends.

    I don’t think I’m interested in A&A minis. I already play 40K for a more advanced game. If I wanted to do a WW II game with miniatures, I’d probably go with Flames of War. I have a few of those books, but nobody else around me ever got interested in it. One quick question about A&A minis: are the pieces compatable with regular Axis and Allies? Some of those miniatures look really nice. I wouldn’t mind picking a few up and painting them for use in other versions of Axis and Allies.

    I still love Axis and Allies though. It’s easy to teach. My biggest problem with it is that it is fairly predictable. Most games play out in only a couple of different ways. That’s why I loved the expansions I had in the 90s. That’s also why I am looking at different expansions and/or rules sets. I am very interested in The Struggle for Europe and Asia and The War Game: WW II. Those seem to be very different in the way they pan out.


  • Ddraiglais,

    A&A Mini’s (AAM) Is in no way compatible with other A&A games. You don’t have to paint them either. AAM is more geared toward small unit tactics with a handful of INF and a few ARM units and maybe an air unit.

    If you want to know more about AAM go to the axis and allies miniatures discussions.

    -LT04

  • 2007 AAR League

    Why can’t you use minis pieces for regular A&A?  Are they larger and won’t fit on the board?  If not, I see no reason why they couldn’t be used in place of regular A&A pieces.


  • I suppose you could they are a lot bigger some are almost 2’’ around. That’s a big INF unit though. I don’t know how familiar you are with AAM but they are very different then the other A&A games. For example some mortar INF can drop shells 16 spaces away. So from Tokyo you could shell all three allied capitals.

    The individual stats are also very different than the other A&A games. For example a US BAR gunner is better combating other INF and a US Bazooka is better vs. ARM.

    I could go on and on like this, maybe I misunderstood what you meant.

    -LT04


  • @losttribe04:

    I suppose you could they are a lot bigger some are almost 2’’ around. That’s a big INF unit though.

    Sounds like somebody needs a bigger map to play…

    MORE POWER!!! WaHoo!


  • @Ddraiglais:

    I am actually restarting. I started playing the MB version back in the 80s. In the 90s I had a bunch of expansions for it. The game is not hard to grasp for me. That’s why I was asking about expansions.

    You do bring up a good point though. If D-Day is easier, I might use that to help my sons understand the basics of the game. We’ve played revised, but I’m not sure they get the whole thing yet. I should have D-Day in a little over a week. I will probably pick up Europe, Pacific, Battle of the Bulge, and World at War as well at that time. I’ll just play D-Day with my sons and play the others with my friends.

    I don’t think I’m interested in A&A minis. I already play 40K for a more advanced game. If I wanted to do a WW II game with miniatures, I’d probably go with Flames of War. I have a few of those books, but nobody else around me ever got interested in it. One quick question about A&A minis: are the pieces compatable with regular Axis and Allies? Some of those miniatures look really nice. I wouldn’t mind picking a few up and painting them for use in other versions of Axis and Allies.

    I still love Axis and Allies though. It’s easy to teach. My biggest problem with it is that it is fairly predictable. Most games play out in only a couple of different ways. That’s why I loved the expansions I had in the 90s. That’s also why I am looking at different expansions and/or rules sets. I am very interested in The Struggle for Europe and Asia and The War Game: WW II. Those seem to be very different in the way they pan out.

    Adam,

    I think you are asking two different questions:  (1) “what’s the easiest game for my sons to play to learn the mechanics of A&A?”, and (2) “what are the coolest expansions out there for advanced players like myself?”  That’s two TOTALLY different things.  The expansions may be cool to you, but unless your kids are geniuses, they are likely to be overwhelmed by World at War, never mind Europe at War (with rules so complex, I don’t see how you could play it in one sitting – maybe THREE sittings  :lol:).  So, I think you should slow down and introduce them slowly to the world of war gaming.  Maybe start out with Risk II or Samarai Swords – something real easy to learn and easy to play in a couple of hours.  It will suck for you, but these are your kids, remember?  If they are having fun, you will be having fun.  If they show interest, then I would introduce them to Classic.  It has all the basics and is the easiest to learn.  IMO, A&A D-Day is a completely different game – basically, a tactical game like AAM rather than a strategic game like A&A.  If you start them with that game, they might like it, but it will only confuse them when they go to play Classic or Revised, because the rules are very different.

    Anyway, good luck.  As for expansions, my money is still on World at War, although I don’t think the Axis can win without a bid somewhere in the 20s (at least not between players of equal ability).  Anything more complex than that is beyond all but a very tiny minority of the gaming community, at least in my experience.


  • My sons have been doing o.k. with revised. They understand the game mechanics pretty well. They haven’t even begun to figure out any sort of strategies yet.  :-) I guess I am asking two different questions. While I enjoy playing with my sons and their friends, I am trying to get a bunch of my friends involved in it. There are a few of them that use to play. I think the more advanced rules would make them a bit more interested. I have D-day, BotB, and another editon of revised on the way. It was a package deal on Ebay. I’ll look those over and see which I’lll use with my sons and their friends and which I’ll use with my friends. I also bought nine of those little plastic tackle boxes. It’s a lot nicer than those styrofoam trays that come with the original game to store your pieces in. I do think World at War will be next. I loved the older version and can’t wait to see what they did with revised.

    One expansion I kinda wanted to ask about that I have never tried is the set from Pewter Craft. I’m not sure it’s a lot more rules. Rather, it looks like some new pieces with rules for the pieces (commandos, paratroopers, rockets, etc).

    One thing about the advanced rules and the younger group that I thought of though. I could get them involved in some advanced rules games, but have them play minor powers (France, Italy, and China). That way the adult players could kind of hold their hands through the more advanced rules (Germany guides Italy, UK/France, US/China). That would free up the adults from having to play two countries, and it would help my boys and their friends learn some of the more interesting rules sets.


  • Don’t rush them to fast. If you overwhelm them they may just say to h*** with it all.

    I didn’t play very often when I first started so it took me almost a year to get advanced enough to be able to follow game mechanics and figure out a strategy.

    You might google “Don’s essays” He wrote a series of I think 4-6 essays they reference each other and each on focuses on a different dimension of the game. I don’t remember what all of them were but he covered things like how to find dead zones, purchasing habits, basic allied and axis strategy’s and things like that. My game didn’t start to excel till I got my hands on those.

    -LT04


  • Well, they’re already asking for more.  :-D

    It took me forever to get to any kind of advanced rules. I’m not even sure they had advanced rules when I started playing (mid-80s). It wasn’t until around 94 or so that the guys on my first ship started playing. We almost immediately started playing advanced rules after we started playing A&A then.

    I think I’ll let them come up with strategies/tricks on their own. It’s really great to see how excited they get when they figure out a new trick.


  • Yeah it’s almost like Christmas when a noob thinks they have an ace up their sleeve.

    I hope when my sone gets older he has the same intrest yours do.

    -LT04

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