Why almost nobody plays Spring42 at Triple A?

My own subjective impressions/reasons….

1. The Triplea v2/v4 map is (relatively) ugly.  An aesthetics upgrade ought to be a priority, considering that Revised/sp42 is the ‘basic’ a&A map.
2. For Revised veterans, v4 isn’t different enough…it’s like playing the same game.  The winning strategies for Revised and v4 seem quite similar.
3. I personally prefer AA50 (Italy’s inclusion helps game variation alot, and NOs make for a brisk pace)…plus the strategies are still being developed (unlike Revised).  I played sp42 some when the map first came out but eventually I concluded I was having way more fun playing aa50.  Balance isn’t really a problem–that’s what the bid is for.
4. Revised gets played as much or more than 42 because players are set in their habits and don’t want to learn a new rule-set…it’s similar to the old-schoolers that only play Classic.

One thing you mention isn’t true…discussion on Revised/Classic is pretty much dead here, but the Sp42 threads are relatively active.

Triple A has always had ugly maps. Even when they use my ugly maps they manage to turn them into even worse.

They always look the same with those garish colors and horrible linework.

@Imperious:

Triple A has always had ugly maps. Even when they use my ugly maps they manage to turn them into even worse.

They always look the same with those garish colors and horrible linework.

AA50 and some of the newer maps (Rising Sun, Empires etc) are much better.

Even if all of the TripleA maps were as ugly as the v4 map, TripleA would still be overwhelmingly superior to any other option with regard to features, convenience, and user-friendliness.

I’ve been only playing v4 on TripleA. AA50 is fun but I prefer to play it face to face because it takes longer to play.

AA1942 is essentially the old Revised regarding strategy, although I’ve trying out a Pacific strategy for the US on 42, since it seems to have better odds than on Revised.

And I never use the 1942 board when playing face to face. I prefer the old Revised board.

Well, chess (online games) are not exactly esthetically beautiful, but chess is still way more popular than most boardgames which are available as computer-games, including A&A.

I think AA42 is not as popular as other A&A games, mainly b/c AA50 is “better”, more complicated and probably more interesting. But I have a hard time understanding why some people still prefer classic or revised over AA42, or AA50.

Answer:
Not enough of a difference from previous versions for people to find novelty in it.  Most people playing here online consider themselves more “serious” players and would rather play a more complex version like AA50 or the good ol’ standby version of Revised.

Too much change = fear
Not enough change = boredom

Such is humanity.  :wink:

@Granada:

Thanks all for posting responses. After playing first serious A50 game yesterday I can see part of the appeal. But still i think the game is way too long for me.

I guess I haven’t played enough Spring42 to opine on its average length, but I do find AA50 is on average a shorter game then Revised….at least if both players are at the same level. Revised can easily go 12-13 rounds or more, AA50 rarely goes beyond 8-9.

Spring42 is perhaps shorter on average then Revised though…since tank rush is a more attractive strategy for Axis.  Also, Pacific offensives are more attractive for Allies, and Pacific games tend to be resolved a bit quicker (unless it goes down to the wire, in which case it can easily go much longer than KGF).

Answer:
Not enough of a difference from previous versions for people to find novelty in it.  Most people playing here online consider themselves more “serious” players and would rather play a more complex version like AA50 or the good ol’ standby version of Revised.

Too much change = fear
Not enough change = boredom

Good post…that’s it in a nutshell.  Like Sub, I’d rather play AA42 than Revised, but I’d love to see a map revision from TripleA first.

@Granada:

Although I can see the argument that for the experienced players the AA50 is more attractive and for everyvody there are too little changes to revised. I think actually Spring 1942 is actually quite different game to revised because of the change of the transport rules you cannot use many startegies developed for the revised.

Anyway I still cannot understand why the community would not give the Spring1942 more support.

The basic strategy is the same for the Axis: kill Russia as quickly as possible. The Allies might have a better shot if they decide to go after Japan, and both KGF and KJF strategies might have similar odds of succeeding, although this is highly debatable. From what I’ve seen so far Allied players are sticking to KGF (I haven’t played against a KJF yet and it is my standard Allied strat), which is harder to accomplish because of the German subs and airforce, plus any Japanese planes sent to Europe, and the transports’ lack of defense.

AA1942 is a bit like the ugly duckling. AA50 and AAP40 are new and bigger, plus there’s the stigma of being seen as the new rules being stuck on Revised along with a few map changes.