The War Game - Massive Axis and Allies Variant

And if I order this game, I want to know exactely how much it will cost to ship it to Norway. I want to get a price with all includet, so I go to my local post office and pay and pick up my game. I love this new game, and I agree with IL on most subjects, but I dont afford to pay like $ 400 just for shippping

They have a website.
http://www.thewargame.com/game_page.html

But is “Gamer’s Forum” is “Coming Soon!”.

why is’nt this Jeff character more active in this thread ? Why he need IL to talk his case ? And have there been a message board for this new game ? I mean IL has his Gamedreamers side, do Jeff plan to do anything like that ?

Yes he will soon get involved himself. Hes not the type to be posting and living on these boards like we are. I asked him to show up and he is short of time… but he will. He will start his own site soon. Right now hes sorting out his orders and shipping out games. Hes a one man show at the moment. I do most of his talking because that is what he asked of me knowing he wont have much time.

Having read the comments on this thread, I have a few thoughts.

Having Pakistan on the map in a WWII game would put me off a bit, too. It would be sort of like having a game on the Civil War and having the states of Oklahoma and Nebraska on it. It is annoying – but neither situation involves an area that is likely to see much game play.

Having all the units, Allies AND Axis, be German would give me considerable pause as well. This seems like an unfortunate choice to me; I would have thought it would be better to go with more generic units like in the original game – or default to US if nothing else. I realize this is rather nitpicky to some, but it would bug me. On the other hand, I’m assuming that most, if not everyone, who is a potential buyer of this game has other games with more appropriate units that they could sub in. Still, I think this is a legitimate gripe, and one that the creator should have considered before production.

As to the other gripes – really, has anyone ever produced a game that didn’t raise objections from people about something that was in the game, be it a rule, the map, a component, etc.? I’m not trying to start a fight or anything – personally, I have pretty high standards myself for things I’m going to spend money for. But ultimately, isn’t the question of whether or not it’s a good game the most important thing? From what I’ve read about The Wargame, it seems that just about everyone agrees that it’s a good game, with good rules and a lot of fun.

Here’s a test – which game has a more accurate map – Axis & Allies or The Wargame? Axis & Allies? OK. Now, which game is a better GAME – Axis & Allies or The Wargame? I’m guessing most people here would say that The Wargame is better. If The Wargame is the better game, does it really matter if there’s a minor glitch or 2 on the map? Another way to look at it is this – which of the two games are you most likely to want to play?

I have Axis & Allies and Axis & Allies Revised at home. I played A&A for years back in the 80’s when the Milton Bradley edition came out, and got a lot of enjoyment out of it. I’m not for a moment saying that A&A isn’t a good game. But after buying and playing WWII: The Struggle it’s unlikely that I’ll ever play A&A again. Not because A&A isn’t a good game, but because The Struggle is a better one, and I’d rather spend my gaming time playing it.

I think everyone who likes the A&A-style games and is interested in a more complex game should buy The Wargame if they can afford it, and if they think they’ll get enough play out of it to justify the cost. My reasoning for this is quite simple.

I think it’s extremely unlikely that you will ever see a major game company produce an “Axis & Allies On Steroids” kind of game.

The problem is that such a game is going to have a limited appeal. Sure, wargamers are always at least interested in a game that takes an existing game system to the next level. But I’d wager that isn’t the attitude of the average Joe who has the game. How many people who own A&A are going to want to go out and buy a bigger and better version of a game they already own? My guess is not very many – I’d say a very optimistic figure would be 10%. That kind of number isn’t enough for an established company to take a chance on. I suspect that companies that are pitched that sort of idea would say “There’s already a game like that in the market – Axis & Allies.” I also wonder if the failure of Eagle Games might discourage efforts of this sort.

The point is, if we want “bigger and better” designs they’re going to be games like The Wargame and WWII: The Struggle – games that are the dream of a guy like us who has the creativity and determination to put an idea together and see it all the way through to completion. They’re going to be labors of love that are developed in the basements of guys like this, not creations motivated in the interest of pure profit in the offices of a company like WotC. Because of this, I think we should do all we can to support these sorts of efforts. It rewards them for their efforts, and encourages them and others to create more games – which also is to the benefit of us all.

I would love to buy the Wargame, but it pisses me off that this Jeff ruined Atlantic with  art. Pictures of tanks and infantry all over the Atlantic sea, was he smoking weed when he made the map ?
I propably buy it anyway, and cannibalize the Tiger tanks for my A&A Revised houserules.

Try to accept those pictures as some artistic embellishments. When you played those eagle games you had to put up with whales and octopus and other crappy things and you didn’t complain then. Why you complaining now? At least they lend some humor to the game and relate to the theme of the game. I would have altered the opacity on those pictures but it was something he wanted. When you actually play the game those pictures don’t bother anybody.

Having Pakistan on the map in a WWII game would put me off a bit, too. It would be sort of like having a game on the Civil War and having the states of Oklahoma and Nebraska on it. It is annoying – but neither situation involves an area that is likely to see much game play.

Well im sorry you and Pakistan don’t get along. :-P

Having all the units, Allies AND Axis, be German would give me considerable pause as well. This seems like an unfortunate choice to me; I would have thought it would be better to go with more generic units like in the original game – or default to US if nothing else. I realize this is rather nitpicky to some, but it would bug me. On the other hand, I’m assuming that most, if not everyone, who is a potential buyer of this game has other games with more appropriate units that they could sub in. Still, I think this is a legitimate gripe, and one that the creator should have considered before production.

Everything was considered. The game will ( since you have read this thread) feature all the different national units after they recoup their investment. They don’t want to reinvent the wheel by introducing those silly generic pieces and have to do the same job over again like what happened with Milton Bradley edition and Hasbro edition. Since Germany by far has the best looking equipment it was an easy choice to put them first and after latter prints of the game feature all sorts of new pieces… But its very expensive to do this.

As to the other gripes – really, has anyone ever produced a game that didn’t raise objections from people about something that was in the game, be it a rule, the map, a component, etc.? I’m not trying to start a fight or anything – personally, I have pretty high standards myself for things I’m going to spend money for. But ultimately, isn’t the question of whether or not it’s a good game the most important thing? From what I’ve read about The Wargame, it seems that just about everyone agrees that it’s a good game, with good rules and a lot of fun.

Yes it is indeed.

Here’s a test – which game has a more accurate map – Axis & Allies or The Wargame? Axis & Allies? OK. Now, which game is a better GAME – Axis & Allies or The Wargame? I’m guessing most people here would say that The Wargame is better. If The Wargame is the better game, does it really matter if there’s a minor glitch or 2 on the map? Another way to look at it is this – which of the two games are you most likely to want to play?

Yes the idea was to get the game very playable rather than historically accurate. Play testing for this game has been like 14 years so its had enough time to mature. Its got alot of replay value as well.

I think everyone who likes the A&A-style games and is interested in a more complex game should buy The Wargame if they can afford it, and if they think they’ll get enough play out of it to justify the cost. My reasoning for this is quite simple.

The Wargame is not really complex at all. Its on the same level as AAR. It takes only 15 minutes to explain the rules.

I think it’s extremely unlikely that you will ever see a major game company produce an “Axis & Allies On Steroids” kind of game.

Right nobody is going to spend the kind of money on real cardboard because they have to pay hundreds of hungry mouths… Jeff is a one man show …so so he can afford to put so much into a box you wont need a gym membership if you lift the box 5 times a day.

The problem is that such a game is going to have a limited appeal. Sure, wargamers are always at least interested in a game that takes an existing game system to the next level. But I’d wager that isn’t the attitude of the average Joe who has the game. How many people who own A&A are going to want to go out and buy a bigger and better version of a game they already own? My guess is not very many – I’d say a very optimistic figure would be 10%. That kind of number isn’t enough for an established company to take a chance on. I suspect that companies that are pitched that sort of idea would say “There’s already a game like that in the market – Axis & Allies.” I also wonder if the failure of Eagle Games might discourage efforts of this sort.

I think Eagle games failed when they made that silly poker computer game and paid that lady ( Anne Duke) way too much to support it. I knew that company would fail. I posted it many years before it actually did fail…because their games are too much like 1970’s comic book games ( ala  Helen of Toy)

The point is, if we want “bigger and better” designs they’re going to be games like The Wargame and WWII: The Struggle – games that are the dream of a guy like us who has the creativity and determination to put an idea together and see it all the way through to completion. They’re going to be labors of love that are developed in the basements of guys like this, not creations motivated in the interest of pure profit in the offices of a company like WotC. Because of this, I think we should do all we can to support these sorts of efforts. It rewards them for their efforts, and encourages them and others to create more games – which also is to the benefit of us all.

Yes we should support these creative people and reward them for creating good games. Without them this genre of games will not move forward.

Jeff is obviously not a history buff

Pakistan was a territory in 1939, but its correkt name then was Baluchistan. Also Thailand should be Siam. Its a lot of historic wrong names, but mayabe he print a revised map later.

IL, is this map stiff or soft rolling ?

How large is the box ?

How much it cost to ship to Norway ?

Pakistan was a territory in 1939, but its correkt name then was Baluchistan. Also Thailand should be Siam. Its a lot of historic wrong names, but mayabe he print a revised map later.

dude everybody knows this. You can put a line thru the word and write underneath “Baluchistan” I dont think it effects play very much.

IL, is this map stiff or soft rolling ?

Its cardboard nice and thick…how is it supposed to roll?

How large is the box ?

3 feet long and 1.5 feet wide about 10 inches tall

How much it cost to ship to Norway ?

Ask Jeff… haven’t you done this already?

IL, my thinking was that if you post the shipping cost to Europe here in this poen thread, you will save Jeff the work of answering hundreds of e-mails from european gamers.

OK ill do just that!

Now fair thing to Jeff he was right about Thailand which changed it’s name from Siam on June 24th 1939 and as I understand it the map starts 1st september 1939 correct?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thailand

Also, Baluchistan is NOT Pakistan, but just one of several provinces which were merged into Pakistan in 1947.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan

Of course I have other issues with the names, like “West Africa” in the central Sahara.  But never let it be said i don’t give credit where it’s due.

@Adlertag:

I would love to buy the Wargame, but it pisses me off that this Jeff ruined Atlantic with  art. Pictures of tanks and infantry all over the Atlantic sea, was he smoking weed when he made the map ?
I propably buy it anyway, and cannibalize the Tiger tanks for my A&A Revised houserules.

I don’t mind the pics, but if it was me I would have put my face in more of them then the one.  :wink:

Adlertag: the box is huge, If it helps, it was about 36 Inchs x 18 Inches x 6 Inches and I’ll check the weight tonight, but I’d guess 20 to 25 pounds.

@dezrtfish:

Adlertag: the box is huge, If it helps, it was about 36 Inchs x 18 Inches x 6 Inches and I’ll check the weight tonight, but I’d guess 20 to 25 pounds.

Wow, it won’t be cheap shipping this to Norway

IL, I really want this game, but if I buy now, maybe Jeff make a new map next year, a better map without art in the Atlantic. Can anyone guarantee that this map will not get revised the next 5 years ?

The map will never be changed it has remained the same since its inception in 1990. 17 years is a good track record. Also, I once tried to convince him to change it and that was a no go. I think thats 1000% no changes no matter what.

The only thing that will possibly change is nation specific pieces after about 3-5 more 2,000 print runs of the game. You gotta buy at least one copy. You will thank me for this.

Jeff didn’t return email on shipping. I would just place an order and ask for shipping quote

I am strongly considering ordering this game, but i have a few questions? First of all is it balanced, this is an issue with A&AR, is it one here, after all, it is 5vs3? Also I read on thewargame.com that the Axis start at a total income of 236 IPC and the Allies win if this goes lower than 225 IPC, this seems too easy, am I wrong or what? All the pieces are German, but are they painted different colors (I assume they are, but am just checking)? About how long would it take for me to receive this item in Massachusetts? Overall is this game worth the $125?

IL has played it a lot, and believes it’s too easy for Germany to defeat Russia.

The pieces are made in 8 different colours, I don’t think there are any neutral pieces.

Is this a major problem, is Jeff working on this, or is it something that only requires giving extra IPC’s or inf to Russia to boost defense?

I am strongly considering ordering this game, but i have a few questions? First of all is it balanced, this is an issue with A&AR, is it one here, after all, it is 5vs3? Also I read on thewargame.com that the Axis start at a total income of 236 IPC and the Allies win if this goes lower than 225 IPC, this seems too easy, am I wrong or what? All the pieces are German, but are they painted different colors (I assume they are, but am just checking)? About how long would it take for me to receive this item in Massachusetts? Overall is this game worth the $125?

IMO The Soviets fall too predictively in 5-6 turns. This has no bearing on the outcome of the game as a player keeps fighting on after the Capital falls ( note the spelling) If the Soviets were ABLE survive then Germany is doomed. The game is extremely balanced but does not seem so after a few plays. First the axis, then the allies and back again the axis seem to have the upper hand. The Axis start with less income as a ratio to allies, while the allies arent going to push the axis around below 225 unless you play a longer game. All pieces using the same molds, while future editions in 3-5 years will all have nation specific molds. Thats quite a hurdle considering the price point and your getting a freeking 6x3 foot thick Cardboard map… the largest ever produced. For $100 bucks its a no brainer considering the game plays will ( even with soviets falling kinda easy)

I’m not as experienced at the game as IL, but I own it and think the map by it’s self was worth $125.  I haven’t played enough to see if it’s balanced yet though.  In any case I think Balance can be fixed easily enough if it becomes necessary.

BTY, if things go the way I hope I will have the opportunaty to try this game out with two other members of this site in Oct.  So there will be some more oppinions comming soon. :wink: