Hello out there.

I am the Midnight_Reaper. My interests include collecting and playing Axis & Allies games, collecting alternate rule sets, and devising alternate rules of my own. I also enjoy helping others, both in real life and virtually. I try to help answer rules questions when I can.

I am also over on boardgamegeek.com, going by Midnight_Reaper over there as well.

I live in Maryland, am a veteran of the U.S. Army, and am working full time while attending college as well. Haunting the forums here and on BGG is something I do to stay abreast of what it happening in the world of games and what I do to unwind after a long day.

-Midnight_Reaper

And a Merry Christmas to you and to everyone else here at AxisandAllies.org. And a Happy New Year to everybody as well.

-Midnight_Reaper

@Super-Semple While I like the idea of Combat Medics, I think that they might be outside the scope of Global War. When infantry and tank units represent Corps or Armies of troops (which would have thousands of soldiers), what would a Combat Medic unit do, exactly? Do you have a Corps of Medical troops, with hospitals, ambulances, and convalescent facilities? What effect would you have this literal Medical Corps do for you?

I don’t mean to punch holes in your idea, I’m just trying to help you make this rule a better rule. This idea might be better as Hospital unit that is stationary, similar to an Airbase and a Naval Port, and provides some benefit when ground units in nearby zones are taken as casualties.

Alternatively, you might build Hospital Ships and have them off-shore, to provide medical facilities for Amphibious Assaults. The US Navy had about 15 Hospital Ships in commission during WWII, and they were not alone in providing aid and comfort to the wounded.

My 2 IPCs,

-Midnight_Reaper

@CWO-Marc As for what we did and did not have back in 2000, I made a small chart

Unit from Classic (1984)
Aircraft Carrier
Anti-Aircraft Artillery
Battleship
Bomber
Fighter
Industrial Complex
Infantry
Submarine
Tank
Transport

Units Added in Europe / Pacific / Revised (1999/2000)
Artillery
Destroyer

Units Added in Anniversary (2008)
Cruiser

Units Added in Europe 1940 / Pacific 1940 (2009)
Mechanized Infantry
Tactical Bomber

Units Radically Changed in Europe 1940 / Pacific 1940 (2009)
Industrial Complex

Units Radically Changed in the Second Edition games (2012)
Anti-Aircraft Artillery

Units Added in Zombies (2018)
Zombies

So, yes, both a lot already around in 2000 and a lot more still to come.

-Midnight_Reaper

@djensen

Your work on Google SEO has payed off in the usual way: spammers have arrived. Or a spammer, anyways: marieclint123fdr has been up to no good on the forum. That user has posted only three posts, but all three are for ielts and other testing spam. I just thought you should now. I’ve marked their posts as spam already.

On the bright side, if the spammers have you in their sights, they must think they will get some visibility from posting here.

-Midnight_Reaper

@trulpen said in Post League Game Results Here:

@akreider2 said in Post League Game Results Here:

Trulpen (Axis) over Akreider2 (Allies). Bid of 9. Despite the Allies winning a lot of the small battles. I think we need to do a 20 bid. Though I also did the mistake of under-committing with the US to the Atlantic when I saw Germany building a navy.

https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/topic/35374/l20-1-trulpen-x-vs-akreider2-a-9-bm3/152?page=7

trulpen and his german navy. Wonder when that gets around to be the joke of the neighbourhood?

If it’s stupid, but it works, then it’s not stupid. The corollary being that if you don’t know why it’s working, be extra careful when trying it for yourself…

-Midnight_Reaper

I know the game you speak of, I even own a copy. You want to search for Axis & Allies Europe Italy, sometimes referred to just as Italy (which really helps a person find it). Fortunately, I’ve some links for you.

There is an entry for this game expansion at BGG: BGG Italy page. You will also want to look at this review for Axis & Allies Europe Italy. The rules for Italy are in Italian (as the developers of this variant are Italian), BGG user Moshe Callen translated them into English as a part of his review of this expansion. If you are further interested, the original file in Italian is still available at: http://xoomer.virgilio.it/giocolab/Strategia/AA/Italy.htm.

As for playing this game, all you need is a copy of A&A Europe, some pieces for the Italian player (A&A Europe 1940, either edition, work well here), the rules, and the setup. And away you go.

I hope this helps.

-Midnight_Reaper

@Argothair I like the thrust of this strategy, as you described it. As for the naming rights…

@Argothair said in UK Strategy -"Middle Earth":

…
The overall idea here with this modified ‘rebound’ strategy (anyone have a catchier name?)
…

How about: “The Allied Outer Perimeter Defense Plan”? Or, shortened to “Outer Perimeter Defense”? That way you can ask your opponent: “You down with OPD?”

-Midnight__Reaper

@captainwalker said in On this day during W.W. 2:

May 24, 1941. Battle of Denmark Strait

At 0552 hours, British battlecruiser HMS Hood and battleship HMS Prince of Wales open fire on German battleship Bismarck and cruiser Prinz Eugen from 24 km. Although they outgun the Germans, both British ships have flaws.

HMS Prince of Wales holds the distinction of being the only British capital ship to face both the Kriegsmarine and the Imperial Japanese Navy in the first half of WW2. Unfortunately, she did not give a good account of herself, with her main guns jamming in her engagement against Bismarck and a lack of air cover and effective anti-aircraft gunnery leading to the IJN’s bombers sinking her.

HMS Prince of Wales was in commission for less than one full year, from 19 January to 10 December 1941. A tragic fate for what might have otherwise been a fine vessel.

-Midnight_Reaper

My other favorite place for A&A news, BGG, has some help for you…

The A&A and Monopoly mashup: https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/8989/amonoploygif

An A&A map board with the aesthetics of the Milton Bradley board but the spaces of the Nova Game Designs board: (file: https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/2382/novambcompletzip)
Preview:

And the piece de resistance, Milton Bradley A&A game board with large IPC values: (file: https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/174573/axis-allies-classic-1986-world-map-large-ipc-value)
Preview:

I hope that keeps you satisfied for A&A maps.

-Midnight_Reaper

As for more TWaW goodness, fellow gamer @Gentlegamer was able to procure a wealth of TWaW file, which he shared with all of us in the thread linked below:

https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/topic/35569/the-world-at-war-game-files

These files include:
World at War 2005 Rulebook
World at War 2005 Set Up Charts - All
World at War 2005 Technology Chart

And now you know.

-Midnight_Reaper

@thrasher1 said in Looking for the Xeno Games World at War Map:

@midnight_reaper

Is this World at War Fourth Edition map a mounted map?
The 2005 version of the game…

Also: anyone has a picture of the Third Edition map with the red lines?

I don’t see any map, The World at War Fourth Edition or otherwise, in your post. That said, in the second post of this thread are pictures of the maps for two edition: the top map is from the Second Edition and the bottom map is from the Fourth Edition.

As far as I know, all of the Fourth Edition maps were mounted. While I haven’t heard of any that weren’t mounted, I can’t claim to know that every one made by Xeno was mounted. And indeed, the 2005 version of TWaW was the Fourth Edition, whether an upgrade pack or a whole new game was purchased.

As for a picture of the Third Edition map, BGG has your picture:
(Source: https://boardgamegeek.com/image/95236/world-war)

I hope this helps.

-Midnight_Reaper

The simplest and easiest tech rules I’ve seen (This assumes a five power game (e.g. A&A 1942)):

At the start of the game, all powers but the Soviet Union roll one die against the tech chart. What ever result they land on is now theirs, even in the case of repeats. Jet Fighters for all four rollers is possible, if statistically unlikely.

Short, sweet, random, and the tech is used for the whole game. Why not the Soviets? “Should not have purged your scientists, Stalin!” Real reason: letting the Soviets roll would allow the Allies to have an extra tech over the Axis.

One could even use this in the bid process: I’ll take the underdog, but I get (two rolls | targeted roll | I get to pick my tech) for doing so.

-Midnight_Reaper

P.S. Minor text edit.

One last reply for now.

First, let me hit you up with some pictures of how colors of units for different countries varied in the early days of Hasbro/WotC/AH A&A.

Tanks of the United Kingdom, from A&A Europe/Pacific to A&A Anniversary. (Source: https://boardgamegeek.com/image/424344/) - See the source link for a listing of what piece is from which game.

And finally, a couple shots of the rarest (non-mistake) pieces in A&A - RN County Class cruisers in Russian Red. These were only done for the first print run of A&A Anniversary. The next time Soviet cruisers were seen in an A&A game (A&A 1942, 1st Edition), they were replaced with Kirov-class cruiser.

First, a comparison shot of all of the cruisers from A&A Anniversary, 1st print. (Source: https://boardgamegeek.com/image/362555/)

Next, a clearer picture of those rare Soviet County classes, aligned with the rest of the Soviet Navy in A&A Anniversary. (Source: https://boardgamegeek.com/image/399605/)

I hope that helps somebody.

-Midnight_Reaper

@thrasher1 said in List of all different A&A playing pieces (types) for all A&A games?:

@midnight_reaper said in List of all different A&A playing pieces (types) for all A&A games?:

MB A&A:
US & Ger Infantry color swap (1 or 2 production runs, early in the series).

I hear this one quite often. I bought my own game in the early 1990s. I have seen both the correct one and the US-German swap one in The Netherlands (where I am from).

A look at those US/German Infantries (and, two different color IJA infantries as well):
https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/topic/14355/evolution-of-axis-allies-pieces-take-2/24.

A&A Guadalcanal:
US & IJN Cruisers color swap (the whole run, replacements were available on request).

Yes. And yes, this is a rare game. Very glad I bought it immediatelly when it came out.

A look at the Guadalcanal IJN USN cruiser color swap:
https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/topic/14355/evolution-of-axis-allies-pieces-take-2/30.

A&A Anniversary Edition (1st printing)
Some, but not all, Italian M14/41 tanks replaced with UK Matilda II tanks in Italian brown (happened randomly, I think it averaged 1 per set, in those games that had that problem).

I did not know about this one. Thanks for posting this info.

A look at Anniversary Edition’s Brown Matilda IIs:
https://boardgamegeek.com/image/490594/axis-allies-anniversary-edition.

-Midnight_Reaper

@thrasher1 said in List of all different A&A playing pieces (types) for all A&A games?:

Regarding Axis and Allies Europe and Pacific 1940 First Edition:

There are reports about slightly different US sets. So that the Europe and Pacific pieces for the US are not exactly the same shade of green.
Do you know how often this occured?

Regarding A&A Europe / Pacific 1940 Second Edition:

Are the colors of the pieces the same? I only own the First Edition so I cannot compare.

As far as I can tell, the colors between Europe '40 and Pacific '40 are very similar. I’m not going to say exact, but I don’t remember seeing a difference the last time I looked.

And the same for 1940 1st Ed and 1940 2nd Ed - they may be a difference, but I don’t remember seeing one.

You have probably reached the limit of my knowledge. I do hope someone further versed in the intricacies of version differences in A&A pieces can come along to help you.

-Midnight_Reaper

As for mis-molds, there are 3 major ones that I can think of. As 2 of the 3 are in some of the rarest A&A games, getting them all might be a challenge.

MB A&A:
US & Ger Infantry color swap (1 or 2 production runs, early in the series).

A&A Guadalcanal:
US & IJN Cruisers color swap (the whole run, replacements were available on request).

A&A Anniversary Edition (1st printing)
Some, but not all, Italian M14/41 tanks replaced with UK Matilda II tanks in Italian brown (happened randomly, I think it averaged 1 per set, in those games that had that problem).

And now you know.

-Midnight_Reaper

I have charts going further back, but they mostly repeat. I will post them if asked, but only if asked.

-Midnight_Reaper

From my list of pieces from A&A 1942, 2nd Edition. “Fighting Men” is just a reference that this is an infantry sculpt, good luck finding the model for that.

Some explanation for my notes below:
2nd Ed = 1942, Second Edition; Europe 1940, Second Edition; Pacific 1940, Second Edition
40/42 = 1942, both editions; 1940, all four editions
40 = not in 1942; 1940, all four editions

Unit Types	Germany
Infantry	fighting man
Arty-2nd Ed	Ger 10.5cm LeFH 18
AAA-2nd Ed	Ger 8.8cm Flak 41
Tank-40/42	Ger Panzer V Panther
Mech Inf-40	Ger Sd.Kfz-251
		Germany
Fighter-40/42	Ger Bf-109
Bomber-40/42	Ger Ju-88
Tac Bmbr-40	Ger Ju-87
		Germany
Carrier-40/42	Ger Graf Zeppelin
BB-40/42	Ger Bismarck
Cruiser-40/42	Ger Hipper
DD-40/42	Ger Type 1934a
SS-40/42	Ger U-Boat Type VII
Trans-1st Ed	Ger Danzig Class*
Transport-42	Ger Hilfskruever*
*Possibly Dithmarshen Class
		Germany
Unit Types	Japan
Infantry	fighting man
Arty-40/42	IJA Type 92 70mm How.
AAA-2nd Ed	IJA Type 88 75mm
Tank-40/42	IJA Type 95 Ha-Go
Mech Inf-40 2nd	IJA Type 1 Ho-Ha
		Japan
Fighter-40/42	IJN A6M Zero
Bomber-40/42	IJN G4M Betty
Tac Bmbr-40	IJN D3A Val
		Japan
Carrier-40/42	IJN Shinano
BB-40/42	IJN Yamato
Cruiser-40/42	IJN Takao
DD-40/42	IJN Fubuki
SS-40/42	IJN I-Class (1st class)
Trans-40/42	IJN Hakusan Maru
		Japan
Unit Types	United Kingdom
Infantry	fighting man
Arty-2nd Ed	UK Ord. QF 25 Pnder
AAA-2nd Ed	UK QFAA 3.7 inch
Tank-40/42	UK Matilda II
Mech Inf-40 2nd	UK Priest Kangaroo
		United Kingdom
Fighter-40/42	UK Spitfire
Bomber-40/42	UK Halifax
Tac Bmbr-40	UK DH.98 Mosquito
		United Kingdom
Carrier-40/42	UK Illustrious
BB-40/42	UK Royal Sovereign*
Cruiser-40/42	UK County Class / Kent
DD-2nd Ed	UK S Class
SS-2nd Ed	UK Truculent/T Class
Trans-40/42	USA Liberty Ship
*Revenge or Royal Sovereign Class
		United Kingdom
Unit Types	United States of America
Infantry	fighting man
Arty-40/42	USA 105mm How.
AAA-2nd Ed	USA M1 90mm
Tank-40/42	USA M4 Sherman
Mech Inf-40	USA M3/M5 Half-track
		USA
Fighter-40/42	USA P-38 Lightning
Bomber-40/42	USA B-17
Tac Bmbr-40	USA SBD Dauntless
		USA
Carrier-40/42	USA Wasp
BB-40/42	USA Iowa
Cruiser-40/42	USA Portland
DD-40/42	USA Fletcher
SS-40/42	USA Gato
Trans-40/42	USA Liberty Ship
		United States of America
Unit Types	Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Infantry	fighting man
Arty-2nd Ed	USSR 152mm How.
AAA-2nd Ed	USSR M1939 85mm
Tank-40/42	USSR T-34
Mech Inf-40	USSR Zis-42
		USSR
Fighter-40/42	USSR Yak-3
Bomber-40/42	USSR PE-8
Tac Bmbr-40	USSR Il-2 Sturmovik
		USSR
BB-40/42	USSR Gangut
Cruiser-40/42	USSR Kirov
DD-40/42	USSR Gnevny
SS-2nd Ed	USSR Srednyaya/S-Class
Trans-40-2nd	USSR Baltic Timber*
*Possibly Volgoles type
		Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

-Midnight_Reaper

From my list of pieces from A&A 1941. “Fighting Men” is just a reference that this is an infantry sculpt, good luck finding the model for that.

Unit Types	Axis			Allied
Infantry	fighting men		fighting men
Tank		Ger Tiger I		USSR IS-2 Stalin
		Axis			Allied
Fighter		Ger Fw-190		USA P-40 Warhawk
Bomber		Ger He-111		UK Lancaster
		Axis			Allied
Carrier		IJN Akagi		USSR Kostromitinova
Battlecruiser	IJN Kongo		UK Hood
Destroyer	IJN Akizuki		USA Sumner Class
Submarine	IJN Kaichu type (2d cl)	UK U / Undine Class
Transport	IJN Yamazuki Maru	UK/Can Fort Class
		Axis			Allied
Could have beens
		Axis			Allied
Artillery	IJA Type 96 howitzers	USSR M1943 howitzer
Cruiser		German Konigsberg	UK Town class, Southampton subclass

As for the “Could have beens”, Kreighund posted years ago that there were plans to include artillery and cruisers in 1941. While those pieces were deleted before production, there were specific units identified for those pieces. Those would-be scuplts are reflected in the list above.

-Midnight_Reaper