Re: Field Marshal Games Pieces Project Discussion thread

I played my first game of Amerika last night. It was pretty easy to learn once I was finally able to remember which sculpts were the self propelled anti-aircraft units and and which ones were the self propelled artillery units. It took awhile to play because I was carefully going through every step and double checking to make sure I didn’t develop any bad habits as far as the rules go. I can see being able to play a game in under 2 hours including setup if you had 2 or 3 players who already knew how to play. That would be perfect for the lake in the summer when you go into the cabin to wait out a rainstorm. A&A on the other hand would be more of a whole day this is never going to clear up type of game.

It’s a good game and very well made. I picked up the Strategic Markers expansion set with the game but didn’t use any of the extra rules that come with the pieces so I could learn the game first and decide which rules and extra pieces would be appropriate to make it a better game. I did find the map a little small so I am going to get a bigger one for use at home on the big table. I like lots of elbow room and space to line up my tanks without using chips. In the game the Japanese got bogged down in the northwest with the allies holding the line at Hanford Nuclear Research Facility. They had better luck in the south moving inland and taking out Los Alamos NRF. The Germans made it as far as Detroit in the north and Nashville in the south but couldn’t capture Oak Ridge NRF. On the fifth turn the allies were lucky enough to roll big and go first, which meant that they had 2 turns in a row and were able to take back Los Alamos and 3 cities and accumulating enough points to win the game. If the axis would’ve went first on the fifth turn it would have been a different outcome and they might have won on the fifth or sixth turn. It all came down to that one roll…

So for anyone who’s played E&W, what did you like about the game?

For me, what it comes down to is managing equipment. Like, it’s very much an IPM-style game, so keeping your tanks and aircraft safe while at the same time exerting force as effectively as possible, is the whole puzzle of E&W. The early attacks made by the Soviets are usually about reducing the number of front lines they have to fight on, but also destroying NATO’s equipment (particularly transports, but also armor and fighters.)

@Tater_07:

Sounds like it could be interesting. I will have to get into miniatures and see if I like it. Thanks for the help!

My pleasure.  Something else to keep in mind is that there are additional differences between various game levels.  The higher the game level, the more the combat process is abstracted; conversely, when you go all the way down to skirmish level, the combat processes can be so finely detailed that they can involve the effects of individual weapons being fired at individual targets and inflicting specific damage on them.  Another difference is the level of command represented by the player himself.  Way up at the grand strategy level, the player basically has the role of a country’s national command authorities (the top civilian and military leadership running the war).  Down at the skirmish level, the player would probably have the role of a squad or platoon leader.

@Dylan:

Turn Order: Russia, France, UK, Austria-Prussia.

Russia=Blue
Austro-Prussian Alliance=Yellow
France=Black
UK=Red

UK’s Setup
England= 3 Swordsmen, 1 Riflemen, 1 Calvary, 2 Cannon, 1 General.
Scotland= 1 Calvary
Ireland= 1 Swordsmen
Sweden= 3 Swordsmen
Portugal= 1 Swordsmen, 1 Calvary, 1 Cannon
Gibraltar= 1 Swordsmen
Malta.

France Setup

Paris: 3 Swordsmen, 1 Rifleman, 2 Calvary, 1 Cannon, General
Southern France: 2 Swordsmen, 1 Rifleman, 1 Calvary, 1 Cannon
French Coastline: 2 Swordsmen, 2 Calvary, 1 Cannon
Central France: 1 Swordsman, 1 Rifleman
Holland.
United Netherlands.
Denmark: 3 Swordsmen
Norway: 1 Swordsman, 1 Calvary
Switzerland.
Italy: 3 Swordsmen, 1 Calvary, 1 Cannon
Naples: 3 Swordsmen, 1 Calvary, 1 Cannon
Etruria
Hanover
Warsaw: 1 Swordsman, 1 Rifleman, 1 Calvary
North Spain: 3 Swordsmen, 1 Rifleman, 1 Calvary, 1 Cannon
South Spain: 3 Swordsmen
North Germany: 2 Swordsmen, 1 Cannon
South Germany: 3 Swordsmen

Austria-Prussia Alliance Setup

East Austria: 3 Swordsmen, 1 Calvary, 1 Cannon, 1 General
West Prussia: 2 Swordsmen, 1 Calvary, 1 Cannon
West Austria: 2 Swordsmen, 1 Cannon
Central Prussia: 2 Swordsmen
East Prussia
Central Austria

Russia Setup

Western Russia: 2 Swordsmen
Moscow: 3 Swordsmen, 1 Calvary
Central Russia: 2 Swordsmen
Ukraine: 2 Swordsmen, 1 Cannon
Belarus: 2 Swordsmen, 1 Calvary
St. Petersburg: 3 Swordsmen, 1 Rifleman, 2 Calvary, 1 Cannon, 1 General
Northern Finland: 2 Swordsmen
Southern Finland: 2 Swordsmen
Siberia: 2 Swordsmen

Well we know the color change, but the setup is different

England: 3 Infantry, 1 Cannon, 1 Calvary, 1 General
Scotland: 1 Calvary
Ireland: 1 Infantry
Sweden: 3 Infantry
Portugal: 1 Infantry, 1 Calvary
Gibraltar: 1 Infantry

Paris: 3 Infantry, 1 Cannon, 2 Calvary, 1 General
Southern France: 2 Infantry, 1 Cannon, 1 Calvary
French Coastline: 2 Infantry, 2 Calvary
Central France: 1 Infantry, 1 Cannon
Denmark: 3 Infantry
Norway: 1 Infantry, 1 Calvary
Italy: 3 Infantry, 1 Calvary
Naples: 3 Infantry, 1 Calvary
Warsaw: 1 Infantry, 1 Cannon, 1 Calvary
North Spain: 3 Infantry, 1 Cannon, 1 Calvary
South Spain: 3 Infantry
North Rhine: 2 Infantry
South Rhine: 3 Infantry

Austrian-Prussian Alliance
East Austria: 3 Infantry, 1 Calvary, 1 General
West Prussia: 2 Infantry, 1 Calvary
West Austria: 2 Infantry
East Prussia: 2 Infantry

Russia
Western Russia: 2 Infantry
Moscow: 3 Infantry, 1 Calvary
Central Russia: 2 Infantry
Ukraine: 2 Infantry
Belarus: 2 Infantry, 1 Calvary
St. Petersburg: 3 Infantry, 1 Cannon, 2 Calvary
Northern Finland: 2 Infantry
Southern Finland: 2 Infantry
Siberia: 2 Infantry

Very similar.

The pieces are risk

Infantry: 1 Unit (risk)
Cannon: 5 Units (risk)
Calvary: 3 Units (risk)
General: 10 Units (risk)

I’ll try to do a better map.

I’m also making a second game World War I.

From BGG:

I have not yet played this game but thought I would review the components and rules prior to playing. These are my initial impressions which may change after playing the game.

I was intrigued enough to purchase this game for several reasons: 1) the publisher is offering a significant discount on the game - $25.00 plus shipping (wow!), 2) it has 438 component pieces (I love little plastic armies), 3) it plays on a world map, and finally 4) I love Axis and Allies and have been nostalgic for games like Supremacy ever since I dug it out of storage last month.

In summary, I have not been disappointed yet. I feel I got superior value for my money and would recommend this game to other fans of world domination games. I can’t wait to play!

The Components
The main playing pieces come on plastic sprues and should be removed with an exacto knife. Seven colors came with the set: White (use by all players for factories, air defense, generals, nuclear bombs, and leaders), and colors for six players - Gray, Blue, Red, Purple, Green, and Yellow. These pieces represent infantry, tanks, fighters, bombers, battleships (now called battlecruisers), aircraft carriers, artillery, subs, and transport ships. It doesn’t matter which superpower uses which color. The plastic is good quality.

The game actually allows for up to eight players and the rulebook mentions an expansion pack. I am guessing Brown and Orange would be in the upcoming expansion pack.

The pieces are very good and remind me a lot of Axis and Allies pieces. The one drawback seems to be the tanks which are much smaller than those pictured. In fact, they are almost teeny-tiny. I’m not sure if the small size will hinder or help gameplay at this time.

Other components include circle territory markers, plastic poker chips for stacking under the pieces, dice, plastic container trays, plastic bags, and cards for each superpower, development tracking, and conducting battles.

The gameboard is beautifully illustrated on a heavy, large tri-fold board. It reminded me so much of Axis and Allies I had to go back and look at it to make sure it wasn’t the exact same board!

Finally, the box is heavy duty and will hold up for years. Somewhat surprisingly, the game was shipped to me via Fed Ex with a shipping label slapped on the clear shrinkwrap! Most games would never make the journey but my set survived with a minor dent on a corner. However, if you are at all concerned about getting your set “Mint in Box” I’d highly recommend requesting some type of shipping container when ordering your set from the publisher. They may charge you more but it may be worth it to you. I couldn’t care less.

Rules
I think the rulebook could have been written better. You can view a copy of the rulebook on the superpowergames.com website. The website also clarifies some errors in the Errata section.

Play mostly works like Axis and Allies with players attempting to gain control of enough capitals to win the game. There are a few interesting twists that have been created to make the game fit in a more contemporary setting: Alliances can be formed and broken, technology can be researched, and money is eliminated (technically still in the game just not represented with paper currency). Additional minor concepts have been added like Encirclement which allows players to resolve battles without rolling the dice in certain situations. Clearly the designer is attempting to speed play and focus the game on the fun aspects of world domination rather than the tedium of counting out paper money and fighting insignificant battles.

Final Thoughts
Some of the graphics and illustrations lend the feel of an upstart game maker pursuing his passion with an invention created with a low budget in his garage and home personal computer. Part of that makes me instantly like the game even more. In fact, the creator emailed me shortly after purchasing the game asking for feedback. Very nice personal touch!

If you like Axis and Allies, I think this game may be for you. It looks fun, the components are great, and for $25.00 you are getting a tremendous value. There might be some minor polish issues here and there but it’s got all the goods where it really counts.

I will do another review after I have a chance to play!

Looks very good Thunder :D :D :D ! Will we be able to buy the game when it is done? If so, where? Thank you for your work!