All Global Variants?

I find Ozteas playable w/o a bid. '39 hasn’t been playtested as much. Japan usually steamrolls china so you may want to give a few guys to China. It doesn’t rally take any longer as the first few turns go pretty fast. You should read the game notes if you haven’t played it.

Thank you very much Young. I’ll follow your advice. Would you recommend using your home rules (national objectives and R&D) also to complete newbies?

Tally one for the Axis this weekend.  It was a good war and the Axis won a few key battles with some luckier rolls than the Allies ,  no Sea Lion or fake Sea Lion just Barbarossa .  Japan went after China and the Soviet Union on one,  set up for landings in the Philippines Aleutians Hong Kong the Pearl Harbor battle and Borneo I also put pressure on ANZAC with my Carrier and Destroyer from the Caroline Islands.  I brought the Carrier and planes up to hit Hawaii along with the Destroyer . J1 was 2 Trans and 2 Subs. J2 was 1 Carrier 1Dest 2 Subs 1Trans.  J3 was a Minor Fact, Inf, Art enough to fill my Trans and the rest on Navy.  I was lucky on a few key battles to keep the USA at bay time after time, of the 4 times I’ve pulled Japan out of the cup,  the Axis have won 2. My Axis partner, this was the first time he’s pulled Germany, he’s had 10 or so games to see how everybody else has played the Axis.  Yes Japan has taken some real beatings.

@P-Unit:

@vonLettowVorbeck1914:

I don’t think letting Germany go first in this setup would be devastating to balance at all.

Except for the ~1/3rd chance at a Russia takeover on G1!  Not good for tourney play, or non-tourney play.

Good point. That’s easily fixable though

This is all there will be in the way of official errata for the box rules for a while.

The problem with adding units to Russia is that America/England have been made virtually impossible to kill.  So we either make the game more fun for Russia AND weaken USA/UK to make it possible to beat them again, or we don’t do anything and leave it a monochromatic game (attack Russia being the only viable strategy.)

I, for one, seriously miss being able to do KEF.  I’m not saying it was an “I win” button, because it wasn’t.  But I miss the OPTION.  At least KCF (Kill Calcutta First) is still very viable.

Allowing a brief digression, if we were to compare AA50 to AA42, we find AA50 adds:

More board spaces

[liA nicer looking larger board[/li]

An additional power Better rules for China Cool new factors such as NOs and technology

AA50 is a better game with more bells and whistles, but some might prefer the relative speed and simplicity AA42 has to offer.

Back to the topic at hand,  if we were to compare AA50 to AAG40, we find AAG40 adds:

More board spaces

A nicer looking larger board

Additional powers

Much better rules for China

Cool new factors such as Politics, bases, neutrals, and convoy disruption

Tactical bombers and mechanised infantry

New rules for ICs

expanded rules for 2 hit warships

AAG40 has more features above and beyond AA50 than AA50 has over AA42.  Some people still might prefer the relative speed and simplicity of AA50, but you have to decide if you think you’ll be one of them.

Me, I think AAG40 is the best A&A game ever!  It obsoletes AA50 more than AA50 obsoletes AA42 (though all three are highly playable solid games).

One more thing, although AAG40 is new and optimal strategies are nowhere near having been refined, it looks like AAG40 has more viable strategic options than previous versions of the game.

All the more reason to hurry up and be the 24th so we can all have fun playing out the scenarios!