I took a look at the opening post. Although I do not agree with all points, it sounds quite solid in general and can function as some good common sense and/or as rule of thumbs for less experienced players.
There is another way to win…
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@Cmdr:
I am perfectly willing to send 8 fighters, 5 tactical bombers and 2 strategic bombers to kill 3-5 Chinese Infantry and the Chinese fighter because it ends, permanently, the Chinese from having a high value attack and defense unit. It will most likely cost me 2 or 3 planes.
If you are in a position where you would need to do that then you have placed yourself in a very bad position. There are 3 territories in China you need to worry about as Japan, Kiangsu, Kwangtung and Yunnan. For economic, victory, and positioning reasons they are they only territories worth worrying about(yes Shangtung and Manchuria are important, but I have never seen China realisticly threaten any of these). You should never have to worry about taking planes as casualties espically against China. Concentrate your troops in anhui and Hunan, bring reinforcments into Kwangsi, and Hit Yunan on another turn.
Not necessarily. I used to never attack Russia with Japan, in which case, killing the Chinese fighter only made tactical sense. Without it, you are no longer limited to where you have your equipment, as you will never face anything but infantry and the occasional artillery unit. Losing 3 of 15 aircraft to kill the fighter makes sense in that equation. Also, trading 6 or 7 more to take India early on makes sense to me, as now you can start threating (maybe not doing, but threatening) Russia’s underbelly with Japan and Italy instead of just Italy.
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Tell Paul - yes to Infantry! For example, as Germany, after G1’s naval build (to gain the initiative in the Atlantic!), I can’t help myself but build a healthy dose of Infantry, 10 per round when possible, as long as humanly possible. On land Armor, Mech, Artillery, even air power are secondary to stacks of neverending Infantry protecting your capital units… and in this case I consider an Armor or Fighter etc. to be a capital investment. They aren’t to be used in a trifling way.
Of course we are in the realm of personal play style, but when I am going Barbarrossa I prefer to build arty on G2. Considering the large numbers of German inf already at the front, adding some slow oomph to the stack seems to be a priority. Also when I take forward IC’s they end up pumping out inf to rebuild my stack of defensive units. Still I try and have enough inf/art to keep my tanks alive in the moscow battle.
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@Cmdr:
Not necessarily. I used to never attack Russia with Japan, in which case, killing the Chinese fighter only made tactical sense. Without it, you are no longer limited to where you have your equipment, as you will never face anything but infantry and the occasional artillery unit. Losing 3 of 15 aircraft to kill the fighter makes sense in that equation. Also, trading 6 or 7 more to take India early on makes sense to me, as now you can start threating (maybe not doing, but threatening) Russia’s underbelly with Japan and Italy instead of just Italy.
China is not a priority and will never be able to threaten the areas of importance once you have reinforced yourself there. Losing planes to take India does make sense because you will have all of Indias income if you succeed, gain a 5IPC NO for Japan, and take a territory that is worth 3IPC, plus have knocked out a major producing power that was against you. You cant really knock out the Chinese, not like you can with India, so its a wasted effort. Take down their economy, take Yunnan, but sacrficing 30IPCs to gain 1IPC, deny your opponent 7IPC(provided your even fighting over Yunnan), to destroy a single 10IPC unit (the infantry are irrelevent as your main declared target if the fighter) is not an equal exchange.
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In a conversation based on economic advantage, I haven’t seen any mention of National Objectives. Of course we can assume that it goes without saying, but because they have the power to draw units in places that may be vulnerable, No’s can not be ignored in a war of economic attrition. With Italy in particular, NO’s (once achieved) can become difficult to pry away, thus preventing their objectives becomes a huge priority for the Allies, even if position and odds aren’t on their side.
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For me, NO’s is practically half the battle.
I make a point of studying my NO’s, and my opponents, making sure to get mine, and to prevent theirs. A kind of, we’re good, their bad mentality.
It’s important to also pay attention to which territories are the most valueable.
For example… Archangelsk, could be worth 6, Norway, 8.
Caucausus if it trades hands between German, Russia, Italy, could be worth 14 for the Axis.
Then there is the swing! +3 for me in Norway, - 8 for you, = Allies + 11.
- 11…
Also, in any game where Italy becomes a “somebody” 85% of the time, it’s a false economy. If you hold egypt and take Gibraltar and Morocco, thats - 10, get a ship (that will survive) in the med and that’s -15…
At that point, italy is stiffed. Neutralize them with some subs in Sz97. That’s Game.
The Solomans is also a crucial territory for example. It used to (not sure if it still does?) Effect Japan for + 5 (5 of 7 NO), Anzac for + 10 (All homeland territory + another No can’t remember) , USA for + 5, that’s a 20 IPC value, for a territory worth NOTHING.
Keep it all in mind folks…
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NO’s are probably the only thing keeping things balanced. IMHO.
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For me, NO’s is practically half the battle.
I make a point of studying my NO’s, and my opponents, making sure to get mine, and to prevent theirs. A kind of, we’re good, their bad mentality.
It’s important to also pay attention to which territories are the most valueable.
Keep it all in mind folks…Again another very very good and important point. I think this is one of the key components to understanding the game overall. This is the main reason I have always argued against a Japanese invasion of the Soviet Unions or deeper involvement in China, espically China. The Japanese NO for taking all the islands of the DEI 17IPCs total (12IPCs for the islands themselves, with another 5IPCs for the NO itself). I believe this move will better position Japan to make further gains against the allies and capture more Pacific NO’s for Japan
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Everyone,
So many of the opinions that have been stated here are just so logically obvious as almost wouldn’t require expression,…but for the benefit of ALL of us I’m glad they were.
I feel the Best things to have in any game are:
1. A complete and thorough understanding of the Rules.
2. A logical plan for How as where as Where to fight at any given Time.
3. The ability to be Flexible in your objectives or even your strategy.
4. The logical acknowledgement of all the Capabilities of your enemy as well as your
own,…and the Application of them.In accomplishing these points everything else would seem to just follow.
Also, let me say I’m very much enjoying your very intelligent discussion of strategy and tactics. Please, keep it going. I feel everyone will be able to benefit from these.
Let me also say I’m certain that all of you are undoubtably very accomplished and formidable players.“Tall Paul”
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GH,
Well, in your case, I guess I would definately have to say that the refreshments would have to fall under the category “House Rules”,…haha.
We usually have plenty of juices, cokes(sodas, pops, whatever your term) and snacks available to make it a little more enjoyable. Although we’re very strict on keeping the refreshments completely away from the gameboard.
GH, I wonder if some of your games might have ended up with the Itallians invading the Tokyo Geisha houses or the the Anzacs having a Picadily Holiday in old London Town??? haha.
“Tall Paul” -
@Tall:
GH, I wonder if some of your games might have ended up with the Itallians invading the Tokyo Geisha houses or the the Anzacs having a Picadily Holiday in old London Town??? haha.
“Tall Paul”I said that we hung out with Mary Jane, not Jim Morrison.
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And Molson’s is a type of beer I think. Could be non-alcholic, I can’t remember because I don’t really drink.
We also try and keep the drinks away from the table. I had a friend who had a copy of the old game with coffee marks and syrup and other nasty things all over it. Since I still play with him, we had to institute a no-beverage rule for out games!:)
That being said, during our games there’s a thick haze of battle smoke drifting over the table….
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And Molson’s is a type of beer I think. Could be non-alcholic, I can’t remember because I don’t really drink.
We also try and keep the drinks away from the table. I had a friend who had a copy of the old game with coffee marks and syrup and other nasty things all over it. Since I still play with him, we had to institute a no-beverage rule for out games!:)
That being said, during our games there’s a thick haze of battle smoke drifting over the table….
Molson is Canadian beer and it definitely has alcohol, as far as battle wounds go, my money bills had tons of little burn holes.
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The other way to win is…
Do like my 8 year old, throw the board across the room scattering all the pieces. Who’s to say he didnt have 40 infantry on all your capitols? You can’t prove it without the board being set up!
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@Cmdr:
The other way to win is…
Do like my 8 year old, throw the board across the room scattering all the pieces. Who’s to say he didnt have 40 infantry on all your capitols? You can’t prove it without the board being set up!
Hey Jen,
Out of all the A&A global games you have played, what’s the ratio of online to table top?
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@Young:
@Cmdr:
The other way to win is…
Do like my 8 year old, throw the board across the room scattering all the pieces. Who’s to say he didnt have 40 infantry on all your capitols? You can’t prove it without the board being set up!
Hey Jen,
Out of all the A&A global games you have played, what’s the ratio of online to table top?
Dunno. I would guess like 15-20% but that seems high…could be as low as 5-8%. I do more burst games on a table top…we can do 5 global 40 games (speed chess style) in a Saturday…used to do 8 or 9 classic games…coulda done more if we knew about battlemap to save us on set up.
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@Cmdr:
@Young:
@Cmdr:
The other way to win is…
Do like my 8 year old, throw the board across the room scattering all the pieces. Who’s to say he didnt have 40 infantry on all your capitols? You can’t prove it without the board being set up!
Hey Jen,
Out of all the A&A global games you have played, what’s the ratio of online to table top?
Dunno. I would guess like 15-20% but that seems high…could be as low as 5-8%. I do more burst games on a table top…we can do 5 global 40 games (speed chess style) in a Saturday…used to do 8 or 9 classic games…coulda done more if we knew about battlemap to save us on set up.
Forgive me, but I didn’t understand any of that. I do however know what speed chess is.
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We limit you to 5 minutes to buy, combat, non-combat and place. (Collect money during the next guy’s turn.)
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@Imperious:
I sure hope no game reports that were meant to be taken seriously came from those games.
I agree: you should play a game with Jennifer so you could get in a serious game right?
Yea that sounds about right!
Hell no. It’s speed Axis and Allies. Course, when you have 20 minutes to prepare while your opponents and allies are going what’s your excuse for needing 30 minutes to do your round?
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@Cmdr:
To address the overall balance of the game.
***you’re “7” pts are really a lot less. Saying you win no matter what side you play…yeah thats not a point, thats a statement. A dumb statement too. To be clear, I am not calling you dumb, but your statement is certainly stupid.-
It matters not which side I play, it is a very rare occurance when I beat an opponent who is a better player than I am.
great point. Irrelevant :roll: -
Historical accuracy does not mean balance, by definition, it requires unbalance. Be careful when asking for historical accuracy!
yeah…irrelevant -
I feel that Russia cannot survive without significant allied intervention. Unlike most of the games of Alpha 2 I played. This is a good thing.
Thank god we don’t all play this game like you. My games saw incredible allied assistance to Russia. Ya know Russia never gets their NO for holding sz125, so why not put allied units in Russia?? I think you should try and do this, it might make russia stronger. I suggest bringing units from India when Japan is contained, the whole allied airforce from the pacfic should end up in Moscow. Ground units from a US factory in Korea and mobile units from India! -
Sea Lion is still an option. It has not been removed. At least, I missed the rule saying you are not allowed, under any circumstances, to invade England with the Germans. If that rule exists, I will change my stance on this point.
Pretty sure you’re still allowed to attack Iceland too, its just not going to win you the game. If Sealion is still viable, then I challenge you to try and win a game with a sealion move. -
I am sick of hearing how a pair of extra AA Guns on the German front of Russia suddenly made Russia this unholy behemoth that will over run the globe. It is not going to happen, I have never seen it happen, and I highly doubt anyone who has played the game at least once would let it happen. See 6)
I haven’t heard this one, my concern is the aa gun as a whole, not one here, or one there. Rather the radical changes to the game by changing the unit. If you are bound and determined to pick an aa gun to point at, look at France!!! Why is that aa gun there? Why have outliers occur on G1??? -
AA Gun changes are AWESOME! So much more realistic that they can only fire a couple of shots before running dry. Likewise, the enemy would destroy AA Guns when they invade. Using them as hit counters for England was just brilliant (in the most British sense of the word, of course!)
Right aa guns are destroyed, this is how its been since A2 right? Sealion was not a gimmie so ‘fixing’ it was actually ‘breaking’ it. -
The non-aggression pact for Russia seems a bit wonky. I really don’t know how you can fix this. I like that the units almost have to be used against Japan. Made no sense that Japan invades and Germany gets smacked. One thing I am toying with at home is to give Russia 15 IPC to spend as it sees fit when Japan attacks, but it has to be placed in a territory that Japan is actually invading. This is similar to previous rules regarding the Russo-Japanese non-aggression treaties. I think it was an AARe rule, but it has been a while…it could have been an MSN Gaming Zone rule (wow, that dates me I am sure!).
Well I’ve never played A&A Revised or the ‘MSN Gaming zone’ game. I like the change, it is almost the way we were playing Mongolia in our home games, and this is better. Russia’s impetus to not attack is because they want to call on the Mongols if war comes. We play a much easier rule that any territory bordering Mongolia is attacked by Japan then Russia joins or some other bothersome rule.
Without regard to point 7, I think the changes to the game have filtered out the wheat from the chaff of players. One either cuts the mustard and adapts to the new rules (which I am thinking more and more are fine just as they are and more balanced than A+2) or one goes back to playing A+2. In the rare instance of at least one person I play with periodically, he only plays OOB. With regard to point 7, well, that’s just a wonky situation and I don’t think we will ever find a good answer. Mongolia also seems weird…why would the Mongolian empire decide, on a lark, to declare war on the world and join the USSR if the USSR no longer exists? Sure, it’s probably a rare occurance, but I bet it would happen more than once. (Hell, I’ll MAKE it happen one day. Just to have a game I can point too, online, that shows it happened!) Probably won’t liberate the Russian dynasty, but according to the rules, if Japan so much as spits at a territory neighboring Mongolia, even if there are no Russian units or non-adjacent territories, Mongolia joins Russia…and for that matter, why are the Italians and the Germans allowed to invade these territories?? Wouldn’t Mongolia see this as Japan’s allies doing Japan’s dirty work for them???
I totally agree. I don’t feel like wheat, I feel totally chaff-ted right now! Being a playtester for a 100 dollar game only to find out that the balance issue is being thrown out the window in order to change a unit’s statistics dramatically. Face it, a year from now when we find out just how out of whack A3 is Larry won’t even care, he’ll be unveiling his new game. He’ll say, ‘who cares? Stop playing that stupid game anyways, I got a new one for you! Only 150 dollars!’ and everyone will come running. Well I’m too old to sit patiently and wait on someone who has proven to me he’s more concerned with profit than producing a valuable product. I’m sticking with A2 and am one of the first people to ‘stick his head in the sand’ and say NO MORE! If I ever get tired of the option and variability of A2, then I most likely will try some house rules.
Larry just provides us with the pieces and identical boards, there’s not law that says we have to listen to his craptacular rules.
~ Reposted here as well as on Larry’s forum.One comment, just because Mantle hasn’t played a game doesn’t mean he’s talking out of his bum. Read what he says, sometimes he’s right! Don’t white wash him.
Just to further expound on the awesomeness of allied units in Russia. Ya know as Russia how annoying it is to get can openered? Ever wanted to do that to your enemies? Well now you can! Just follow the patented Brad’s Gravy Train to Moscow and you to can blitz into the axis heartland. Just sprinkle Moscow with a generous helping of British war materiel. Mechanized units from India, perhaps a few inf if they can make it and plenty of air. Now when Germany attacks the next turn, Russia can open the door and British units can blitz on through to the other side! IF using this tactic against Japan make sure UK opens the door. This is extremely handy in making sure the axis don’t outflank Moscow to the north.
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Money is the most important aspect to this game.
The Axis starts out with 66 IPC Income (30+26+10) and the Allies with 175 IPC Income (37+52+12+28+17+10+19), so just to compete the Axis needs to bring itself to parity with the Allies by capturing territories, gaining NO, denying Allied NO, convoy raiding, stopping Allied convoy raiding, or STR raids.
But those initial default IPC values do not consider NO additions that are default…such as Germany gaining 5 IPCs from the Sweden NO, or USA gaining 10 from holding Continental USA. Those NOs are default, so we can assume they are baked into the system (assume every power is at war). Given this, we adjust the starting IPC values for the default NOs (Germany +5, Russia +5, London +5, Calcutta +5, ANZAC +5, USA +25), giving us starting IPC values to compare:
Axis: 71, Allies 220.
This gives us a starting value for our equilibrium score, which is the difference of those two values: 149. So the Axis needs to gain 149 Equilibrium “points” to hit a parity with the Allies. Axis gains are Allied losses, so every territory is worth double towards equilibrium, but then we also incorporate the NO bonuses or the portion of the bonus (if multiple territories determine a NO bonus) to find the total value of a territory. If the Axis can capture 149 points worth of territories then they are are equilibrium with the Allies. Unless they reach equilibrium or better, the Allies will ultimately win the game. Here are some of the values of territories:
Yugoslavia: 2
France: 8 + Remaining French IPC value
Southern France: 7.25
Normandy: 4
Finland: 2
Eastern Poland: 2
Hong Kong: 8.5
Yunnan: 3.5
Caucasus: 9
India: 12.5 + remaining Calcutta IPC value
Borneo: 10.5
Hawaii: 10
Eastern USA: 92
Egypt: 11.5 (assuming Germany gets land unit there)
West Indies: 3.25
Gibraltar: 1.25
Greece: 3.25
Southern France: 4.25
Philippines: 9
French Info-China: 4
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