• 2007 AAR League

    @captainjack:

    @Tarling:

    Wow Questioneer, way to throw venom, malice and personal attacks into that post. As an almost solely FTF player now venturing into online play I’d like to say that I think online play is no less challenging than ftf play. Online play tends to bring up a wider variety of players and play styles, which I think makes it more challenging than ftf (gaming groups, friends, etc tend to have a similar assortment of people). If your argument is that only ftf at tournaments counts for anything, then you’re insisting that a tiny minority of all A&A players should declare what the game should play like, including ONLINE play.

    To counter your chess analogy: look at professional poker. For years now the people winning the WSOP have been online players. It’s not the same but…well none of these are the same!

    Personally I’d say play with tech for now in a league setting. The game just came out and no one could claim to be an expert at AA50 just yet. If after this season the results are clear that tech far and away won most games, then that will be the first credible evidence as to its efficacy.

    Nicely said, +1

    Ditto, +1


  • @Cmdr:

    You should never put yourself in a position where one technology gained by the opponent will suddenly change the game.  IE, your fleet should assume the enemy has those long range fighters or those heavy bombers (or both).

    First turn Heavy bomber roll by an enemy UK or USA player. GG, you lose. Rommel wouldn’t even argue this.

    In other words, the best players will assume the enemy has all 12 technologies and act accordingly taking risks where they must, but being ready with a plan to recover should the technology come and the battle turn so as not to lose the war.

    The biggest tech advantage is one of the few extremely powerful techs (Hvy Bombers,  Paratroopers, Advanced Shipyards) are rolled on the first turn. Against a competent player you may as well just say “nice game, you win” and restart the game.


  • P-Unit you are making what I consider one of the WORST mistakes in strategic thinking to validate your argument. You are assuming that everything falls your way.

    So the US gets Heavy Bombers turn one. How much did they spend to get it? What is the effect of this in reduced round 1 purchases? What happens if the AA guns blow them out of the sky? What happens if they roll 1s and 2s? What happen if your target gets Improved Industry or radar on their first or second turn?

    Answering these kinds of questions is what Jenn is referring to in her stating that you would assume your opponent has all 12 techs.

  • 2007 AAR League

    @a44bigdog:

    P-Unit you are making what I consider one of the WORST mistakes in strategic thinking to validate your argument. You are assuming that everything falls your way.

    So the US gets Heavy Bombers turn one. How much did they spend to get it? What is the effect of this in reduced round 1 purchases? What happens if the AA guns blow them out of the sky? What happens if they roll 1s and 2s? What happen if your target gets Improved Industry or radar on their first or second turn?

    Answering these kinds of questions is what Jenn is referring to in her stating that you would assume your opponent has all 12 techs.

    Bigdog, you are making an equally false assumption. Can you count on AA’s knocking more that an average number of bombers out? no. What happens if they roll average or above instead of 1’s and 2’s? What are the odds of Germany getting Improved Industry or radar? Very small without a large tech investment and even then it’s no guarantee. And Germany getting radar means you can move an AA to Italy but Improved Factories doesn’t help Italy at all.

    And just remember that radar doesn’t make SBR’s unprofitable. It only brings the cost/benefit numbers back to a relatively normal level with the advantage still being with the bombers. You knock twice as many bombers out, but the ones that survive still do double damage. You can figure [6 bombers v. radar] means on average 2 lost bombers with 4 remaining bombers rolling 8 damage dice as opposed to [6 bombers v. AA] with on average 1 lost bomber and 5 remaining bombers rolling 5 damage dice. Radar doesn’t exactly offset heavy bombers completely.

    And heavy bombers don’t just help with SBR’s. They affect the entire gameboard. This game isn’t so much about winning the dice battles. It is more about leverage. Forcing your opponent to abandon a weak position without having to risk large amounts of your units. And that includes naval as well. All of those people who say that Japan can stop a US SBR campaign with Japan landing in Alaska can’t do that against heavy bombers. Ask yourself what Japanese player is going to place their navy within range of US heavy bombers just to try and slow down bomber production.

    The fact remains that if the US, Japan, Germany, or UK get heavy bombers on their first turn, it is over for the vast majority of games. The only ones that can be salvaged when your opponent does that are the ones where you happen to roll heavy bombers early as well and hopefully without a massive tech investment that would cripple your unit production which is very slim indeed.

    I don’t really care anymore. If we are allowed to make gentleman’s agreements about not purchasing tech in a game then I’m happy. And if I play a game with tech and I manage to win a game because I lucked into heavy bombers or any other exactly right tech rolled at exactly the right moment then I’ll know it was a cheap win that I didn’t deserve. At least I’ll admit it. I won’t pretend it was some kind of master strategy.


  • I made no assumptions.

    I merely posed realities that can happen. Heavy Bombers is not an automatic win. Period Full STOP. I never said any of those outcomes were the likely outcomes.

    And as Far as Japan you might want to count spaces from England to the Pacific. Not ALL coastal Seazones are in range. At most the US would probably have 4 bombers in the US. Japan also can send in unguarded transports too if they are so concerned with capital ship losses.


  • Chances of unlocking Heavy Bombers on the first turn:

    1/36 = 0.0277…

    3 percent or once every 35 games.

    Assuming all nations roll for tech in the first round, the probability goes up to 16 percent or once every 6 games.

    Either way, I’m willing to live with those odds.

  • Moderator

    @a44bigdog:

    Well Darth it sounds like you have the answer worked out. So when are you going to kick off the '09 AA50 League?

    I’m waiting for AA50 specific forum for games.  I’d like two child boards under games played, one for AA50-41 and one for AA50-42.  I think it might be far too confusing to try and use the current League games forum since there are still Revised games going on and using the generic forum (where the games are currently getting played) would also be a bit messy as well.


  • @U-505:

    And just remember that radar doesn’t make SBR’s unprofitable. It only brings the cost/benefit numbers back to a relatively normal level with the advantage still being with the bombers. You knock twice as many bombers out, but the ones that survive still do double damage. You can figure [6 bombers v. radar] means on average 2 lost bombers with 4 remaining bombers rolling 8 damage dice as opposed to [6 bombers v. AA] with on average 1 lost bomber and 5 remaining bombers rolling 5 damage dice. Radar doesn’t exactly offset heavy bombers completely.

    And heavy bombers don’t just help with SBR’s. They affect the entire gameboard. This game isn’t so much about winning the dice battles. It is more about leverage. Forcing your opponent to abandon a weak position without having to risk large amounts of your units. And that includes naval as well. All of those people who say that Japan can stop a US SBR campaign with Japan landing in Alaska can’t do that against heavy bombers. Ask yourself what Japanese player is going to place their navy within range of US heavy bombers just to try and slow down bomber production.

    The fact remains that if the US, Japan, Germany, or UK get heavy bombers on their first turn, it is over for the vast majority of games. The only ones that can be salvaged when your opponent does that are the ones where you happen to roll heavy bombers early as well and hopefully without a massive tech investment that would cripple your unit production which is very slim indeed.

    I don’t really care anymore. If we are allowed to make gentleman’s agreements about not purchasing tech in a game then I’m happy. And if I play a game with tech and I manage to win a game because I lucked into heavy bombers or any other exactly right tech rolled at exactly the right moment then I’ll know it was a cheap win that I didn’t deserve. At least I’ll admit it. I won’t pretend it was some kind of master strategy.

    Finally, someone with some sense.  3 or 16 %-who cares its too dicey- might as well play russian roulette or craps.  If you tech people “love” tech so much than you guys can play me everytime and I’ll start out with heavy bombers and you- nothing.  I mean c’mon “tech doesn’t effect the game that much right???”

    Look, I think the people deserve a CHOICE to turn the option on or off as well as the NOs.  Also, what about the 2 new optional rules that Larry gave us in the new FAQs- use them or no???

    Questioneer


  • @questioneer:

    Finally, someone with some sense.  3 or 16 %-who cares its too dicey- might as well play russian roulette or craps.  If you tech people “love” tech so much than you guys can play me everytime and I’ll start out with heavy bombers and you- nothing.  I mean c’mon “tech doesn’t effect the game that much right???”

    Come on.  Why should someone just give you a free tech?  Are you that insecure in your strategy?  Just because we “tech players” love tech so much, doesn’t mean that we even use tech in every single game.  It’s just an additional strategic option which also happens to be very historical.

    Look, I think the people deserve a CHOICE to turn the option on or off as well as the NOs.  Also, what about the 2 new optional rules that Larry gave us in the new FAQs- use them or no???

    Questioneer

    Haven’t you been reading the posts?  It has been proposed and accepted that players could request and play non-tech games.

    In my opinion, for the 2 new optional rules, the Intercepter rule would help shut up the whining about SBRs, so I say use it.  Personally, in my group’s games, SBR is rarely used, so, the new rule won’t affect us much.  For the closing of the Dardanelles, it will definitely change our games by keeping Italy off of Russia’s back, but the rule is more historical, so I also say let’s use it.

  • 2007 AAR League

    The obvious solution is a Tech League and a non-Tech league.  Makes sense that way you are comparing apples to apples, a non-tech game is very different from a tech game.


  • @U-505:

    And just remember that radar doesn’t make SBR’s unprofitable. It only brings the cost/benefit numbers back to a relatively normal level with the advantage still being with the bombers. You knock twice as many bombers out, but the ones that survive still do double damage. You can figure [6 bombers v. radar] means on average 2 lost bombers with 4 remaining bombers rolling 8 damage dice as opposed to [6 bombers v. AA] with on average 1 lost bomber and 5 remaining bombers rolling 5 damage dice. Radar doesn’t exactly offset heavy bombers completely.

    A quick factual addition: if one player has heavy bombers and the 'target’has radar it doesnt just balance it back to equal.  Main reason is that the capital cost of bombers is halved.  One bomber at 12 IPC is still carrying out the duties of 2 bombers at 24 IPC, even though the risk/reward equation is comparable.


  • @Bardoly:

    @questioneer:

    Finally, someone with some sense.  3 or 16 %-who cares its too dicey- might as well play russian roulette or craps.  If you tech people “love” tech so much than you guys can play me everytime and I’ll start out with heavy bombers and you- nothing.  I mean c’mon “tech doesn’t effect the game that much right???”

    Come on.  Why should someone just give you a free tech?  Are you that insecure in your strategy?  Just because we “tech players” love tech so much, doesn’t mean that we even use tech in every single game.  It’s just an additional strategic option which also happens to be very historical.

    Look, I think the people deserve a CHOICE to turn the option on or off as well as the NOs.  Also, what about the 2 new optional rules that Larry gave us in the new FAQs- use them or no???

    Questioneer

    Haven’t you been reading the posts?  It has been proposed and accepted that players could request and play non-tech games.

    In my opinion, for the 2 new optional rules, the Intercepter rule would help shut up the whining about SBRs, so I say use it.  Personally, in my group’s games, SBR is rarely used, so, the new rule won’t affect us much.  For the closing of the Dardanelles, it will definitely change our games by keeping Italy off of Russia’s back, but the rule is more historical, so I also say let’s use it.

    Comment1:
    Historical???  LOL  Measuring actual research and development with dice- right lol :lol:

    Comment2:
    Sorry, No-tech games are cool, haven’t been keeping up- this forum is huge you know.

    Comment3:
    Agree with 1st optional rule, but the 2nd (close black sea)- would that unbalance the game to allies a bit though???- debatable.


  • Hey, where’s the sign-up forum/thread to play people for AA50? How can a noob like me (well, noob to AA50) get to learn to play if there’s no place to say ‘hey, anyone want to play or tutor me?’ Is it basically PM people to play at the moment?


  • There is a thread in the Find Players and Game Discussion section for people looking for AA50 games.

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