COMBAT DICE UPDATE - FMG

I loved everything about the pieces and I like HBGs inf size more than FMGs which I believe is a little too small.

The picture is primarily about the chips, but I notice it includes a bonus piece of new information about the FMG Italian infantry units: they have the FMG star under the base.  Nice touch!

yo fmg,  i had an idea. what if you made a flat/creamy white w/ the FMG logo for neutrels( just because it looks cool thats why)

When will we be able to order them?

While I rather like the idea, India is basically a power. But upside down turtle fmg is not even done  Italy.

yeah i read earlier fmg say that they had the 2 US tanks sculpts already. but i was wondering if you use 2 fighters such as mustang and the F4U and make one into a dive bomber would they still be scaled as fighters

@knp7765:

Well, we have to get the FMG Tigers first. There was a pic of two of the prototype FMG King Tigers with an OOB Panther to give you some idea of size comparison.
The HBG Shermans are a bit smaller than the OOB Shermans, which I think makes them look more realistic compared to the OOB Panthers. The OOB Shermans were a little too large in my opinion. The Panther was a pretty big tank.
However, I think WOTC made the Shermans this way because all OOB pieces seem to be within a certain range for each different type of unit. For Example, all Aircraft Carriers are 64mm long, all battleships are between 58 and 62 mm long, and so on. I think all the tanks were between 20 and 22 mm long. I think this was WOTC’s way of keeping some sort of continuity between sculpts. So while the Panthers and Tigers look okay, Shermans look a little too big. That’s especially true with Japan’s Type 95. On the board, it’s as big as a Sherman yet in real life, the Type 95 was a tiny tank. Not nearly as big as a Sherman and not even close to the size of a Panther. I think if a Type 95 was made to the same scale as the Panther, the piece would be around 13-15mm in length and end up looking like the tiny mech inf units.

Hey KNP, the OOB Sherman in the AA50 is smaller and pretty much the same size as the HBG Sherman (btw).

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!