Greetings All.
I am organizing a game in a couple of weeks with mostly new/inexperienced players. Unfortunately, I am stuck with the Classic/2nd Edition board and pieces, but like the Revised Edition rules, so I am thinking of running this as a hybrid game. In this case, it would mean:
NO: Artillery
NO: Destroyers
YES: 2-hit Battleships
YES: All other Revised ed. rules, including new production values and unit stats, submergable subs, limited production at ICs, etc.
So my questions are:
1. Has anyone else played this way?
2. How does the combination of new rules/old board affect game balance? (Off hand, I can see an advantage of the new tanks for Germany on the Eastern front, but a disadvantage when invading Egypt on G1.)
3. Any suggestions for modifications of rules and/or pieces?
Theoretically, the Revised Edition rules are all “Better,” as they represent years of gameplay and feedback, and personally I like most of them. My concern really is about only getting half the benefit while lacking the new pieces.
stop being so cheap and just buy Revised ed
Not helpful! :-P
I know it isn’t helpful, but I agree with Adlertag - just buy the Revised Edition - you won’t ever regret it. I think if you play a Hybrid game you’re going to run into more problems than you think. For Example, you’ll have submergable subs, but no destroyers to “seek out” those subs. Just my 2 cents - Good Luck!
I tried playing like you described with my Classic board (it took me 2 years before I managed to buy Revised…not everyone lives in a place where you can just walk into a store or get it through the internet).
Using the Classic map with the new rules poses a few problems, specially in the case of the transports: the US/UK will benefit from it the most since it will allow them to carry more units, and the fact that W. Europe can be reached from E. US (on Classic) will just make things a lot harder for G.
My advice would be to get and print out the Revised map and Revised rules while using the Classic pieces. As for the problem of the artillery/destroyer pieces, you can either use an AA Gun or some unused naval pieces (like the Russian ones) with a country marker underneath it to mark it as Artillery/Destroyer.
Thanks, Hobbes!
Gavinator,
Don’t let other people keep you from having fun with your friends. A hybrid game is just another way of saying you are play testing a new set of ‘home rules’ that look a lot like Revised Rules.
As far as any imbalance problems, I’m sure you will spot them quick enough and find a way to deal with them. Just play a few test rounds first before you get down to a real game.
As far as the problem of more Allied units arriving in Europe, I would make a rule that does not allow transports to load and unload in the same turn if they move on your turn.
Artillery are just immobile tanks, ( upside down).
Destroyers can be represented by transports on their sides.
Anyway, I’m sure that you and your friends will have a great time playing a fun game.
:-D
The change of the board changed the game at least as much as the new pieces and rules.
Where are you at that getting a copy of Axis and Allies Revised is a problem?
It’s just nicer to play on a board than a printout, but if you want to play Revised, play Revised properly - at least use a printout and substitute pieces for destroyers/artillery.
Comrades,
Thanks, Ivan, for those tips.
I should add that originally this problem arose because the last time we play (months ago), I could only find an electronic copy of the Revised rules to hand out to my players. This time around I managed to find 2nd Ed. Rules in PDF to spread around, so that problem is solved.
Secondly, when I put the various options to my players, they all voted to play straight 2nd. Ed. Rules, so my proposition is moot at this point. Clearly they do not understand the subtle difference between a one-hit and a two-hit Battleship! Arg!
Cheers.
