@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.