Each of the 1940 games, on its own, has a map board 35" w x 32" h.
Hmm…this is interesting. The Anniversary map board measures 46 x 24 (w x h), which works out to 1104 square inches. The Europe 1940 board (as does its Pacific 1940 counterpart) measures 35 x 32 inches (w x h), which works out to 1120 square inches. Have I done my math wrong or are the 1940 map boards really larger in terms of area than the Anniversary one? If the latter, then the Anniversary map board is bigger only in one direction (width), not bigger overall.
@CWO:
Hmm…this is interesting. The Anniversary map board measures 46 x 24 (w x h), which works out to 1104 square inches. The Europe 1940 board (as does its Pacific 1940 counterpart) measures 35 x 32 inches (w x h), which works out to 1120 square inches. Have I done my math wrong or are the 1940 map boards really larger in terms of area than the Anniversary one? If the latter, then the Anniversary map board is bigger only in one direction (width), not bigger overall.
I believe that width/length/long side, however you want to phrase it, was implied in his question. When people reference board size, they are usually talking about linear distance, not area.
Man, I thought this was the A&A Forum… I took a wrong turn and ended up on the Math Forum… The AA50 board is big… that should be the final answer!
Hmm, 46^2+24^2 is greater than 35^2+32^2, so the Anniversary board has a longer diagonal length, which is normally used to measure screen sizes.
The sculpt updates could be swapping out the original German/Italian Cruiser - it changed post Anniversary - and maybe a different Italian tank. Coz reasonz. The main reason there were so few Anniversary Editions is because there were issues with the tooling Hasbro still had that was used for the print run. There are fewer than 30,000 original Anniversary Editions on Earth. The game was never supposed to have a three panel board btw.
It is unfortunate that there will not be Mechanized Infantry, Tactical Bombers and Anti Aircraft Artillery in the game - important pieces that are a permanent part of the A&A family of units.
That it is being reprinted because of concern over secondary market value is hilarious if true. That it is being reprinted because it is low hanging fruit and an easy way to bring A&A back from the dead is more believable. Oh and the game was NOT revered internally - a birdy told me it was viewed as an annoyance by most wotc employees or an afterthought at best. Remember WotC pulled the plug on A&A at the Dawn of the Recent Golden Age of Board Gaming. Literally at the moment it had the most momentum it ever enjoyed at Wizards - and with little to no marketing support or online presence - they killed it.
If you have an original and are concerned over it losing value, don’t. In time people will still want one of the original games and the value will come back - maybe not what it’s at now though - heh. If you are one who always wanted one and can now GET one at a reasonable price, then rejoice! Hopefully someday Wizards of the Coast will understand what they have on their hands and infuse some experience, passion and new ideas into the old girl. Axis & Allies Endures.
Reveal - WotC is working on a House on the Hill - Axis & Allies variant called: Bunker on the Hill.
Yeah, I had always wanted a copy of this, but I could never justify the high price tag. I’ll definitely be getting one of these reprint editions.
The sculpt updates could be swapping out the original German/Italian Cruiser - it changed post Anniversary - and maybe a different Italian tank. Coz reasonz. The main reason there were so few Anniversary Editions is because there were issues with the tooling Hasbro still had that was used for the print run. There are fewer than 30,000 original Anniversary Editions on Earth. The game was never supposed to have a three panel board btw.
It is unfortunate that there will not be Mechanized Infantry, Tactical Bombers and Anti Aircraft Artillery in the game - important pieces that are a permanent part of the A&A family of units.
That it is being reprinted because of concern over secondary market value is hilarious if true. That it is being reprinted because it is low hanging fruit and an easy way to bring A&A back from the dead is more believable. Oh and the game was NOT revered internally - a birdy told me it was viewed as an annoyance by most wotc employees or an afterthought at best. Remember WotC pulled the plug on A&A at the Dawn of the Recent Golden Age of Board Gaming. Literally at the moment it had the most momentum it ever enjoyed at Wizards - and with little to no marketing support or online presence - they killed it.
If you have an original and are concerned over it losing value, don’t. In time people will still want one of the original games and the value will come back - maybe not what it’s at now though - heh. If you are one who always wanted one and can now GET one at a reasonable price, then rejoice! Hopefully someday Wizards of the Coast will understand what they have on their hands and infuse some experience, passion and new ideas into the old girl. Axis & Allies Endures.
Reveal - WotC is working on a House on the Hill - Axis & Allies variant called: Bunker on the Hill.
Interesting information to be sure. So what is your background or connection to WotC, if you may share discreetly?
No connection but been playing for a long time and its cool A&AAE is coming back. Hoping for some work to be done on 1942 2nd Edition - love that game. It would be cool to have a new setup including tactical bombers and mechanized infantry in that baby! A&A 1942 3rd Edition! Oooh yes I would pay $80.
FROM THE WOTC SITE… “Upon its release nearly a decade ago, the Axis & Allies Anniversary Edition became an instant classic! Now this deluxe board game designed by Larry Harris, returns with rulebook updates and streamlined gameplay.With over 650 playing pieces including the largest board ever created for an A&A game, this beloved board game is a must have for the strategy gamer enthusiast”
What do you think “streamlined gameplay” means?
@Young:
What do you think “streamlined gameplay” means?
This is what I am most curious about.
From the wording it reminds me of 1941. They promote 1941 saying: “This game is designed to for quick set up and streamlined gameplay making it the perfect introduction to A&A mechanics and play style.”
So for the AA50-reprint this could mean a somehow (moderate) “simplification” of the ruleset. Now we can only speculate about what could be meant…
It could certainly mean that the actual rules have been simplified. A more minimalist interpretation, however, could be that the rulebook has been revised (as Krieghund has indicated previously) to make it clearer and easier to use; a rulebook that’s easier to consult during play would, technically, “streamline” the playing process without the content actually changing in a substantial way. (I’m not saying that the rules aren’t likely to have changed in some way; I’m just speculating on what a marketing person might mean by “streamline,” which sounds great but is a little vague on its own.)
@CWO:
It could certainly mean that the actual rules have been simplified.� � A more minimalist interpretation, however, could be that the rulebook has been revised (as Krieghund has indicated previously) to make it clearer and easier to use; a rulebook that’s easier to consult during play would, technically, “streamline” the playing process without the content actually changing in a substantial way.� � (I’m not saying that the rules aren’t likely to have changed in some way; I’m just speculating on what a marketing person might mean by “streamline,” which sounds great but is a little vague on its own.)
Understandable… when I was a waiter I was constantly in search of new adjective words to help me upsale the soup of the day (just a little story about me).
@Young:
when I was a waiter I was constantly in search of new adjective words to help me upsale the soup of the day
My favourite line for describing a wine I’ve just tasted is, “An impertinent little vintage, with a soupcon of pretentiousness.”
@Young:
@CWO:
It could certainly mean that the actual rules have been simplified.� � A more minimalist interpretation, however, could be that the rulebook has been revised (as Krieghund has indicated previously) to make it clearer and easier to use; a rulebook that’s easier to consult during play would, technically, “streamline” the playing process without the content actually changing in a substantial way.� � (I’m not saying that the rules aren’t likely to have changed in some way; I’m just speculating on what a marketing person might mean by “streamline,” which sounds great but is a little vague on its own.)
Understandable… when I was a waiter I was constantly in search of new adjective words to help me upsale the soup of the day (just a little story about me).
I have to agree with CWO Mark here. streamlined gameplay definitely sounds like a “sell the soup” phrase in this instance.
@Young:
@CWO:
It could certainly mean that the actual rules have been simplified.� � A more minimalist interpretation, however, could be that the rulebook has been revised (as Krieghund has indicated previously) to make it clearer and easier to use; a rulebook that’s easier to consult during play would, technically, “streamline” the playing process without the content actually changing in a substantial way.� � (I’m not saying that the rules aren’t likely to have changed in some way; I’m just speculating on what a marketing person might mean by “streamline,” which sounds great but is a little vague on its own.)
Understandable… when I was a waiter I was constantly in search of new adjective words to help me upsale the soup of the day (just a little story about me).
I have to agree with CWO Mark here. streamlined gameplay definitely sounds like a “sell the soup” phrase in this instance.
One question:
Why is this not your profile picture?
@Young:
What do you think “streamlined gameplay” means?
… “in comparison to A&A 1940” … would be my guess as to the portion of that statement they simply left out.
If you have an original and are concerned over it losing value, don’t. In time people will still want one of the original games and the value will come back - maybe not what it’s at now though - heh.
I’ve always held the belief that people with that mindset don’t really love the game (AA50)… or they love the almighty dollar more than the game. If you are a TRUE fan of A&A and you have a rare gem of the game like AA50 (especially before the reprint), then what you care about is… well… YOU HAVE THE GAME THAT FEW OTHERS HAVE… if its worth 10-cents or 10,000 dollars is irrelevant… you have this rare game, you love this rare game, you want to play this rare game, you’re not selling this rare game. It’s true value is that YOU OWN IT… selling it for any amount means you didn’t really love the game, you loved the money more. Okay, selling it to give your daughter the cancer treatment she needs, i’ll give you a pass on that… but I don’t think the game was ever worth that much. Bottom line, if you only have the game to see how much it is worth so you can sell it… you obviously don’t love the game (if you sell it because you love a different version of A&A, nothing wrong with that, but it goes hand-in-hand with the fact, that AA50 wasn’t what you truly loved). Knowing it’s “value” if you were to sell it, with no intention of actually selling it… well, that’s an irrelevant point, isn’t it… if you’re not selling it, it’s value is precisely zero, because you’re not selling it… its value is that its in your home and you get to enjoy it.
Then there’s the “Limited Edition” people who seem to only care that they have it and you don’t. They focus on the words “Limited Edition” like it is the most important thing about AA50… as long as they have something that you don’t, they find pleasure with that knowledge… it bothers them if someone else is happy about finally getting AA50 after all these years. There’s a special Chinese Hell for people who obsess about those things (The Chinese have a lot of Hells).
For everyone else, who do love the game… I’m happy for the people that have always had AA50 and enjoy it (or at least have an honored spot on the shelf for it as they moved on to 1940)… for those that didn’t get the chance to grab it, now they will… so they can rejoice as well (and for Grasshopper that passed his on to others so they could enjoy it as he had moved on to 1940, that was very nice of him too).
@Young:
FROM THE WOTC SITE… “Upon its release nearly a decade ago, the Axis & Allies Anniversary Edition became an instant classic! Now this deluxe board game designed by Larry Harris, returns with rulebook updates and streamlined gameplay.With over 650 playing pieces including the largest board ever created for an A&A game, this beloved board game is a must have for the strategy gamer enthusiast”
What do you think “streamlined gameplay” means?
Obviously it can only mean one thing… they rewrote the rules to match 1941’s rulebook, and they cut the income on the board by a significant amount… Germany’s starting income, for example, is now 10 IPCs. It’s a bigger board, with more units, but it’s totally a clone of 1941 now, just bigger. Enjoy the reprint of AA50 everyone! :-D
[Ducks for cover under my desk]
