The Return of Axis & Allies Anniversary Edition

[The Big E]

For anyone who is interested, I did an in-boxing vid on YouTube.
Here is the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaGdIdtpqR4&t=287s

I tried to cover the pieces and what sculpts that they were, or at least what sculpts were common to some countries, but I am no expert.
Seems like you guys got it pretty well covered here.

Also, has anyone been seeing any damage on the new games, particularly the parts/container boxes and rule book.
It seems to me that the box may have been packed incorrectly. The box lid support cardboard strips that were inside should have been on the cardboard punch out sheets and not the parts boxes. Got some creases and indentations. the box lid is fine, so the supports worked for that, but the parts boxes did not hold up.
Also, one of the Japanese infantry and a British fighter seems to be defective.

I am going to contact WotC/AH customer service in the morning, the book says they run 7 days a week.

[GeneralHandGrenade]

@Wolfshanze:

@CWO:

Next table:

Italy

Land units:
Infantry: 20 x Italian
Tank: 6 x Carro Armato M14/41
Artillery: 6 x 70mm Type 92 Battalion Gun (Japan) [open-strut version]

Air Units:
Bomber: 4 x Mitsubishi G4M Betty (Japan)
Fighter: 6 x Messerschmitt Bf-109 (Germany)

Sea Units:
Aircraft Carrier: 2 x Graf Zeppelin Class (Germany)
Battleship: 2 x Bismarck Class (Germany)
Cruiser: 2 x Admiral Hipper Class (Germany) [transom stern version]
Destroyer: 6 x Type 1934A Class (Germany)
Submarine: 6 x Type VII (Germany)
Naval Transport: 4 x Dithmarschen Type (Germany)

This is exactly what I was looking for,  thanks Mark… you’re ok in my book, despite what GeneralHandGrenade thinks…  :-D

Hey! Don’t make me come over there and mess up your formula with logic, Wolfy.

[Wolfshanze]

Ok, I looked over my auxillery bin… I don’t have 1940 Global, I don’t have AA50 (yet), but I did (for some reason) collect a small set of Italians… probably just so that I could add them as “flavor” units for Germany in 1942 (“southern Germans” if you will).

Anyways, all the Italians I collected are from 1940SE, so they are, in-fact, Italian… since I didn’t buy any copy of the game, every Italian I have is what I thought I might want/need for “southern Germans” with lee-way. Oddly enough, I was VERY CLOSE to the unit set that comes with the new AA50, here’s my list… some are dead on, others are very close plus or minus a unit or two:

I have for Italy:

10 Infantry
6 Tanks (M15/42)
4 Art (Cannone da 75/32)
2 AA

6 Fighters (C.202)
3 Bombers (P.108)

3 CVs (Aquila)
3 BBs (Littorio)
4 CAs (Zara)
6 DDs (Soldati)
4 Subs (Marconi)
4 Transports (Iridio Mantovani)

Units I was short on compared to AA50
10 Inf (I suppose I wouldn’t need any, since AA50 has the same Italian infantry I already have?)
2 Art
1 Bomber
2 Subs

Aside from possibly the infantry, looks like i’ll have to pick up a few units to match, since I wouldn’t want to use German/Japanese units for Italy, especially when i’m so close to the numbers in AA50 already.

[tin_snips]

@The:

Also, has anyone been seeing any damage on the new games, particularly the parts/container boxes and rule book.
It seems to me that the box may have been packed incorrectly. The box lid support cardboard strips that were inside should have been on the cardboard punch out sheets and not the parts boxes. Got some creases and indentations. the box lid is fine, so the supports worked for that, but the parts boxes did not hold up.

Yep, mine arrived with indent damage to all the storage boxes and rulebook. The worst was to the UK box. I contacted WotC support and they’re sending out replacements apparently.

[Dauvio Vann]

I saw one in a board game store today, and the price is $100.

[baron Münchhausen]

120$ Canadian dollars in Montreal.

[tytyboogie]

What info did WOTC  require besides shipping address name and number and what not?  Going to call today my game arrived im assuming with the same indents and damage to the storage boxes and possibly rulebook as this appears to be a common issue and was wondering if they asked for pictures as mine is a xmas present and its still in the packing box wherever the wife hid it.

[CWO Marc]

My storage box for Italy was slightly crumpled.  Enough to notice but not to the point where I’ll bother requesting a replacement.

[Wolfshanze]

@tytyboogie:

What info did WOTC require besides shipping address name and number and what not? Going to call today my game arrived im assuming with the same indents and damage to the storage boxes and possibly rulebook as this appears to be a common issue and was wondering if they asked for pictures as mine is a xmas present and its still in the packing box wherever the wife hid it.

I saw an unboxing video, and he had the same “flaw” in a storage box… I think the problem is self-evident if you look at the unboxing video… there is a disposable cardboard “X” for lack of a better word that is packed in the box that sits on top of the storage boxes inbetween them and the box lid… presumably to prevent the box lid from caving-in… of course any pressure on the box lid then presses that cardboard-X and it puts a dent in the storage box(es). I think this is what’s happening.

[GeneralHandGrenade]

If you take a look at my unboxing video, it seems to have been packed incorrectly. The cardboard strip is flattened and misplaced. The punchcards are placed on top instead of on the bottom like the other videos that showed damage to the inside components. As a result of the mispacking, my game made it to me in pristine condition. Even if the strip was placed correctly, it would have been fine if they had done the other ones with the punch cards on top as they were hard cardboard and could have withstood the pressure.
I purchased it at a store. The other ones were shipped by Amazon but I don’t see why that would matter.

[The Big E]

@GeneralHandGrenade:

If you take a look at my unboxing video, it seems to have been packed incorrectly. The cardboard strip is flattened and misplaced. The punchcards are placed on top instead of on the bottom like the other videos that showed damage to the inside components. As a result of the mispacking, my game made it to me in pristine condition. Even if the strip was placed correctly, it would have been fine if they had done the other ones with the punch cards on top as they were hard cardboard and could have withstood the pressure.
I purchased it at a store. The other ones were shipped by Amazon but I don’t see why that would matter.

Actually, I am thinking that other than being flattened, your box was probably packed the correct way(or at least, the best way).
With the cardboard punch boards on top of the boxes, it helps to distribute the weight of what might be on top. I have not seen any vids or statements that the box lid itself is damaged, so the cardboard strip lid support worked for the box top. It’s just that the container boxes weren’t designed to support that kind of weight, thus the creases and indentations.

I contacted WotC yesterday and started the procedure for getting replacements, customer service was very helpful. It is just a matter of it being a brand new release that replacement parts might not be available right away. We may have to wait a bit, but they informed me that they would take care of it.

[Wolfshanze]

Big E it was your unboxing video I saw and noticed the oddity of WotC packing. I refuse to watch GeneralHandGrendade’s unboxing video, well, because… you know… Canadians…

[The Big E]

@tytyboogie:

What info did WOTC  require besides shipping address name and number and what not?  Going to call today my game arrived im assuming with the same indents and damage to the storage boxes and possibly rulebook as this appears to be a common issue and was wondering if they asked for pictures as mine is a xmas present and its still in the packing box wherever the wife hid it.

You’ll need pertinent information:
Name, address, contact info, etc.
A detailed list and description of damaged items, be as specific as you can.
Also go through and check your pieces, I had a small number of mal-formed units.
They said pictures would help but the person I spoke to said that was optional.

Customer service will then take that and put it through to the replacement people. Being a brand new release, it may take a little bit as replacements may not in supply yet, but that they would take care of it.

International may be different process, I have heard that the whole game needs to be returned for international, that sounds a little ridiculous but I do not know for sure.

Hope this helps.

All in all, the damage to mine was not severe, and I thought that after a little time without the weight on the parts boxes that they would bounce back into shape with a little help, but alas, not to be. I wouldn’t really care if it wasn’t for the beautiful artwork of the weapons and medals and stuff on them. Also the fact that I will be giving one away and giving another one as a gift was a concern for me to make sure that replacements could be procured if there is a problem with the ones I will be giving away.
The rule book with a little pressing and rolling will take care of any crimps in the book.

[GeneralHandGrenade]

Unlike Floridians, at least Canadians can count. 1-100, 1-1,000,000,000. We can count as high as you want. We hang our chads on purpose too.

[The Big E]

@Wolfshanze:

Big E it was your unboxing video I saw and noticed the oddity of WotC packing. I refuse to watch GeneralHandGrendade’s unboxing video, well, because… you know… Canadians…

LOL! Come on now, we can’t hold that against him, can we? Then again…

General’s a great guy, even if he is from up nort dare hey…

Thanks for watching the vid, hoped it helped.

[Erocco]

Cheapest place I found in Vancouver (Lower Mainland) is the hobby store in Brentwood Mall. $107 + tax which comes a few cents shy of $120. I haven’t opened the game yet but today I will after seen more than a few people had problems with creases on rulebooks and container boxes.

[Wolfshanze]

@The:

Thanks for watching the vid, hoped it helped.

It helped confirm what I already knew… I have to have this… like you, I missed AA50 the first time around… but damn WotC for publishing this right before the holidays… I just hope its still in stock after Xmas when I have money again.

[tytyboogie]

Thank you Big E as i was able to place a call to setup the replacements.cool video too got a good luck at everything since i cant open till the holidays. i noticed ill be able to use my original foam trays from the 80’s edition i have painted and ready after i slit the 2 middle dividers in each tray. your video had good close ups of all the items i wanted to confirm.thanks

[Wolfshanze]

@tytyboogie:

i noticed ill be able to use my original foam trays from the 80’s edition

For Anniversary?

How on earth would you fit the over 600+ units from AA50 into the 5 foam trays for the 300 units in the 1980’s Classic edition… it barely fit them? What about Italy?

It would be nice if that could be done, but I just don’t see how that would work.

[The Big E]

Per an email I received a little while ago:

**Hello The Big “E”(I change the name for this post…lol…they didn’t actually refer to me as the Big “E”),

Thanks for that follow up. I have submitted an order to be fulfilled by our Product Replacement Team. You should receive your replacement pieces in the next couple of weeks, possibly even sooner!

If you have any further questions, please feel free to reply back to this email, or reach us at the contact information linked below. We’ll be happy to help you out however we can.**

So WotC customer support is indeed up to snuff and helpful and accommodating. That’s very reassuring. Not all gaming companies out there are as good!