“Any major mistake by any country can lose the game. Japan has more wiggle room than you give them credit for. I think more of the Axis game relies on Germany not doing something dumb. As long as Japan moves forward, it will be okay.”
The problem is that the Allies can be allowed to make errors without playing their game too much in Jeopardy. However, one wrong move by the Axis can be compounded.
“can’t make his own decisions”.
Yeah, this is a problem. You want to give the new player advice, but not so much as to actually play his moves for him (which can happen).
“except Germany–that takes a lot of experience against good players”
I agree, giving Germany to a new player is a big no-no, unless they’re naturals.
“Japan would be a good country to play for this kind of game because the other players would probably enjoy the surprising moves such a newbie might make as Japan, and it might be good for everybody’s skills.”
Japan might be a good selection if the new player has played other strategy games before (Risk, RTS or Turned Based on computer), and has some idea ahead of time how to play A&A. It’s surprising how learning A&A can be a springboard to learning other games because the principles and concepts you learn can easily be applied to any other situations. However, a player completely new to the game might feel a little too “overwhelming” with all the options.
“For instance it is very easy for inexperienced USA players to “turtle” and just keep building and building with no results, but with a little coaching, a newbie will learn to make attacks quickly.”
True, a lot of moderate players will complain that USA goes too slow. How, USA can be very much involved in the game. Their number one goal is not to plan and liberate Western Europe (requiring lots of time and IPCs), but Africa. Africa is the perfect battleground. Given some support from UK, USA can made dramatic sweeps through Africa and liberate the from the oppression of the Nazis. And I bet many history buffs new to this game will enjoy this sense of “historical realism.”
Also, what I like about giving start players USA is that they actually feel like their presence is felt. Whereas USSR MUST hold out against German and Japanese attacks and Japan MUST conquer Asia as quickly and with as little causalities as possible, USA’s moves are more like the icing on the cake. Here you have the beleaguered Allies trying desperately to prevent an Axis Victory, then USA arrives just in the nick of time to relieve the Allies’ woes. The feeling of having done this is incredible, especially if it’s a climatic event like the D-Day invasion. "There stands Jackson like a Stonewall; rally 'round the Virginians! :wink:
“Remember that a new guy is just starting to play and might not want to play again if the game is no fun and people are unsportsmanlike, which’d be a real shame 'cuz A & A is really cool!”
#1 When Introducing a New Player, play for fun. :roll: That way the new guy doesn’t feel lost or feels like he’s holding the rest of the team back.