2nd edition upgrade?

@zooooma:

As for 1942 2nd edition, is it really that much quicker than AA50? Regardless, I suggested recently buying 1942 2nd for a faster game, but that friend would rather play AA50. That’s the only reason I can think to play 1942 2nd over AA50.

Is 1942.2 quicker than AA50? It is certainly quicker… how much quicker is relative… AA50 has more nations to control… that alone is going to extend playtime (7 nations a turn vs 5 nations a turn)… AA50 also has more territories and higher incomes than 1942.2 if memory serves me correctly… so you’re looking at more nations to play, more territories to conquer, more money to spend, which leads to more units to place, move and kill… these all add to the playtime of the game, which is one of the main reasons (though not on the same scale) that Global takes more time to play than AA50 or 1942.2… its simply bigger, with more nations, more territories, more income and more units to place/move/kill.

For these reasons, 1942.2 is going to play quicker than AA50… but I can’t give you a relative number like “oh, well you’ll definitely save a couple hours a session playing 42.2 over AA50”… I can’t definitively say exactly how much quicker, but the simple logistics that AA50 is a more in-depth game than 42.2 yes, 42.2 will be quicker to play.

@zooooma:

Honestly I’m looking at 1941 before getting 1942 2nd. That game is even faster, and would be great for recruiting players!

Well, there’s a lot of haters of 1941 on this Global-dominated forum, but myself and at least one other guy really appreciate 1941 for what it is… a stripped-down version of A&A, built for speed, ease and a basis to introduce new blood to the A&A world.

If you’re looking to save on the time commitment of playing A&A, if you can stomach the streamlined play, 1941 is by far the shortest-playing version of A&A that there is… as I mentioned above, the main reason is fewer territories, less income and fewer units means you have less purchases, less units to move and fight with, and less territories to conquer… all this adds up to a much smaller time commitment than its bigger brothers… and with the “fewer rules”, it makes 1941 an excellent candidate to teach people new to the world of A&A the “ropes” of the game.

Personally… I really don’t like 1941… I think its “too stripped down” for my liking, and I like spending money, of which there is little to spend in 1941. 1942.2 is more my speed/pacing, and my personal favorite of the A&A franchise (though I may cobble together an AA50 at some point… AA50 has high appeal to me thematically, scale and rules-wise). Having said that, I still appreciate 1941 for what I view it to be… a time saver and teaching/introduction tool to the A&A world, and though I don’t like 1941 personally, I’ve played it more than 1942.2 because I’ve been introducing a few friends/family to the franchise, and I always break-out 1941 to do that with.

As for you, your friends, your time commitments and the fact you already own AA50… I dunno… I still think 1942.2 is a quicker game than AA50, for the very same reasons 1941 is a quicker game than 1942.2. It’s really up to you how much time you want to save, in exchange for how much depth of A&A you’re willing to give up. 1941 is by far the quickest and shortest-playing game of the franchise, but at the same time the game that gives up the most in detail and things to do. The choice is up to you, but realize I think 1941 runs for about $15 on Amazon now… heck, just for the unique unit sculpts alone, its worth the purchase… 1942.2 is of course more expensive, but it’s about half-way between 1941 and AA50 in scale, detail and time commitment… up to you to make the final call of course…

42.2 per turn is 30 minutes once you setup, which only takes 20-30 minutes and can be done before your buddies arrive or after the previous game.  Its not so gigantic like Global that it occupies the whole basement or kitchen table.

Turn 4 is the big kahuna, many strategies will culminate at that point and there is no diplomatic 4 turn (3 hour +)  run up like in Global where you have positioning before the BIG total war.

We can see the writing on the wall after 2 hours most of the time.  We play Mondays 630-9 with time to talk afterwards.  I bought the game in November and we’ve played live 30 times?  Tournament time is 4 hours, 45 minutes to the buzzer

@taamvan:

42.2 (is) not so gigantic like Global that it occupies the whole basement or kitchen table.

No, just the entire kitchen island… actually, that’s just me, I printed up an enlarged map of 1942.2 to take up my entire kitchen island, because I hate chits and I just wanted to have space to put a bunch of units in every territory! lol

If I had a basement I could dedicate to A&A, I’d probably have Global like everyone else with a basement seems to have.

You can get both games at Amazon.ca with free 2 day shipping in Canada as well but they cost a little more. The prices shown are in Canadian dollars, whereas you have to convert if ordering from the US. I think 61 bucks for 1942 and 40something for 1941.

@zooooma:

I’m certainly a fan of the more advanced games.  But I like to remind myself that, had MB’s 2nd edition been the last A&A game ever made, we would still be playing it and considering one of the best games ever made.

I get that 1941 is more “bare bones” than MB.  And of course I haven’t played it yet.  But I’m optimistic it will be a good game in its own right, even if it pales in comparison.

IMHO, 1941 is less in every department than the 1980s MB A&A… it has fewer units in the box, fewer territories on the map, less income for all nations… it really is in every aspect, a bare-bones, “what’s the most we can remove from the game and have it still seem to be A&A” type of game there is.  But for the same reason, it is cheap to buy, easy to learn and the fastest of the series to play… but the gaming experience (IMO) is less than that of the 1980s MB A&A. If you end up hating 1941 for its gameplay, its still worth the purchase, if for nothing more than some pretty interesting unit sculpts that are unique to 1941, but fully playable with other versions of A&A (like German Tiger tanks).

The true-successor to the 1980s MB A&A out of the current lineup of games, is, in-fact, 1942.2.  More than 1941, more than AA50, and certainly more than Global, 1942.2 has the closest “feel” of 1980s MB A&A in units available, map/territories, income purchase power, overall gameplay and depth of game… it is the true successor to MB’s 1980s A&A.  Having said that, I would consider AA50 the “ultimate evolution” of the 1980s MB A&A design concept.  Global is a beast of its own… a great game, but its more of a bigger evolution of A&A and a “lets see what we can do with a game like this” rather than a refinement of the original, it’s an evolution and a taking it to the next level.

@zooooma:

What I want even more than the games I’m still missing is more FMG WWII dice.  I ordered some years ago, but they were so poorly stocked I could only get Germany, Italy, France, and China.

IWNGU sells FMG stuff now.

They do sell sets of each nation dice, but it seems like they don’t have USSR, USA, UK and ANZAC in stock :\

But they also sell entire sets of all 54 dice:
http://iwillnevergrowup.com/shop/fmg_dice

@zooooma:

1941 & 1942 have no Weapons development at all. Global Weapons Development is terrible

Well you might be dead-on there, but do remember this…. Weapons Development is quite possibly one of the easiest things to “house-rule-in” into either 1941 or 1942 (and many in the Global community have altered their Weapons research with house rules and custom cards).

If you’re a fan of the AA50 weapons development, it wouldn’t be very hard to house rule that into 1941 or 1942.

@zooooma:

House rules can get messy, though.

Only if you choose to make them messy… 99.9% of my games are played in my home… so our house rules ARE the rules of the game. As for people who visit who don’t want/agree to houserules or for tournament play… duh, you play without the houserules… not sure how you make a mess out of something you have complete and total control of.

Using houserules isn’t messy at all… if it’s messy, it’s because you created a mess to begin with.

I really think you’re overthinking houserules… use em or not… it’s only a mess if you want it to be. If there’s ever a disagreement amongst friends, you just stick to official rules.

Earlier in the thread read that 42.2 plays in under 5 hours. That is cool to hear.  We play Global 40 2nd all the time. Fast games in 5 hours or all day for the win sometimes.  Might have to check out the smaller/faster board.

@ShrimpBoatChef:

Earlier in the thread read that 42.2 plays in under 5 hours. That is cool to hear.  We play Global 40 2nd all the time. Fast games in 5 hours or all day for the win sometimes.  Might have to check out the smaller/faster board.

Ya… I’d put 1941 at about 3 hours playtime, and 4-to-5 sounds about right for 1942.2 (depending on the experience of the players).