Aggressive Russian Strategy

Its an exceptionally hard game to learn, even though it is not among the most complex wargames.  We’ve play with a variety of different groups, a house group of 4, a local city group about 10 guys, the 30-40 national guys at Gencon.  This has helped with some of the burnout of seeing the same strategies over and over.

I think that when some people get frustrated, they just kind of try different random and unconnected moves and buys but don’t seem to learn the overarching lessons of the game

keep your stuff together
don’t lose it piecemeal
attack and defend in overwhelming force or refuse battle
plan multiple turns ahead with your buys
don’t repeat your mistakes
don’t repeat other people’s mistakes
don’t give up or get discouraged press on
luck favors the bold
know your specific opponents idiosyncratic habits and exploit them

None of these lessons are like “buy 2 tanks and place them in X” or “never do X or Y with Japan”.  They are general rules that will lead you to victory.  If you ignore them, you’ll lose no matter how much you play the game.

Wow, it is irritating how so many of you try to put some one else in a box.

Think about it and ask your self if you want to be confronted like that, the way you suggested.

Thanks for your Post CWOMarc this might be something for him.
I made the experiance, that sometimes peoples just have different things in mind regardless of how many times you tried to convince them.
If he doesn’t fit in in your group explain it nice and simple.
Start positive, explain in a few sentences the problem, give at least one or two good alternatives
(the link of CWOMarc in example) and finish positiv.

If his World is Naval warfare try not to convince him into Aircombat.
Like you cannot convince a Apple to be Orange.

@aequitas:

Wow, it is irritating how so many of you try to put some one else in a box.

Think about it and ask your self if you want to be confronted like that, the way you suggested.

If his World is Naval warfare try not to convince him into Aircombat.
Like you cannot convince a Apple to be Orange.

I find it irritating that you don’t think people should try and help someone play A&A better… the person in question clearly has some issues that go far beyond “he just kinda likes playing with a navy”… this is literally a guy that tries the “Soviet Naval Strategy” from turn-1.  Just stop and think about that nugget for awhile.

If I were that guy, and I was the one going “gee, I think some Russian Cruisers on turn-1 would be pretty cool, let me try that strategy”.

After I got destroyed and lost Moscow in record-time, I would pray to the war gods that somebody would pull me aside and go “hey… about that Soviet Naval Strategy of yours… you might want to try something different, let me show you”.

You seem to champion letting this guy have terrible strategies for all eternity.  People around here have all been offering helpful tips to try and improve his play so everyone can have more enjoyable A&A gaming, not leave him floundering hiding behind Soviet Cruisers in the Arctic Ocean.

The irony is that even if they are a total novice and they don’t learn anything, its better than playing with a group of 40+ year old men who crack playground jokes and act inappropriately tense when things don’t go their way or some kind of tension arises at the table.

That’s why I’ve put considerable time and effort into meeting with and making new friends around the continent (through this website, local email list, local con attendance, and gencon attendance) so that I don’t have to play with grown children.

Finding ANYONE that enjoys the game is always a joy… in a world full of computers, cell phones, Netflix and instant gratification across the web, its hard to find anyone who wants to go to someone else’s home, break out a board game that can take hours and play some face to face.

This guy with the obsession to build ships?  I’d love to invite him over for some rounds of A&A… at least its a fellow human being willing to do something other than a computer or console game… and who knows… maybe I could sharpen his game skills at the same time…

There are a large number of people who will not learn a strategy game, even a relatively simple one like A&A.  Since a game can stretch on for 6-12 hours, it can ruin a whole day to have someone at the table who is not only incompetent but will never progress.  You know the outcome of the match by the second round, but still need to grind on for the rest of the day.  Repeated failures with the same strategy but still expecting a better result is a definition of insanity.

One of the players in our gaming group will only build infantry as Russia and will 100% turtle down in Moscow.  With zero desire for even the smallest Russian counterattack, it is a simple matter for Germany to sweep around the capitol, capturing Siberia and the Middle East.  If the Axis is patient, they are guaranteed eventual victory.  Making matters worse, he plays incredibly slowly.  Turns can last for 30 minutes before he concludes that once again he is not going to make any attacks.  Eventually Axis players get bored and decide to make an attack on Moscow, realizing that it is premature but unwilling to spend a few more hours before launching a more overwhelming conquest.  I personally would rather go home than participate in a match with him at the table.

30 minutes to decide not to attack is poor sportsmanship.

Some turns can take a while but unless there is some really difficult and game changing decision, that is beyond the pail.

Does anyone really finish games on the same day they start? Doesn’t seem likely to me.

@ShadowHAwk:

Well even in the netherlands there are plenty of people to find to play boardgames with. The board is full of people in the US that want to play A&A.

With the United States at 3.8 million square miles (9.8 million km2) and with over 324 million people, maybe there’s a few thousand that do play, but none are anywhere near Pensacola, Florida where I play (or at least they’re in hiding and I don’t know of them).  Yes, PB-mail/board whatever, but I’m talking face-to-face play, which is just super hard to find… I’m glad others on this board have face to face partners close by, but just because YOU do, doesn’t mean everyone has a bunch of people wanting to play face-to-face next door.

I’m happy so many people have regular face-to-face people to play… but not everyone is in the same boat, so please don’t assume just because your situation is a certain way that everyone else is the same too.  I have one friend who’d like to play, but he’s the kind of guy who always has this or that going on and it’s always a “next weekend” thing that never happens.  I’m willing to work with someone who’s not so great at A&A over having nobody to play.

Having said that, if anybody is passing through Pensacola Florida and wants a nice game of A&A, buzz me!  :-D

typically only the first round should take any considerable amount of time. J1 attack go or no go. G1 assault on UK fleet and France, then the NCM position for attacking russia. UK deciding on its position in Egypt, etc.

As far as your friend who won’t do what YOU want him to do,
we draw tokens to see who is who. France and China are omitted of course. Randomize the player assignments and then your buddy will have to do something else eventually and maybe he will see USSR played as you want it or even better by someone else.

This is a positive way to make it work without alienating your friend. He is your friend and it is only a game not worth losing a buddy for.

Simon33,

Yes, we set up at the game shop at 10AM when it opens, and end around 5-6PM.  Game 111 is tomorrow at 10AM.

At least 45 people were in that store a few weeks ago on Saturday, 2 pathfinder groups, 1 star wars rpg, 1 coed birthday party playing group games all day, 1 axis and allies crew (us), 3-4 painters, 1 star wars ttwg, 1 new homebrewed game demo, ticket to ride, 20+ shoppers at any given hour.

It is a golden age of gaming in Kansas City.  If you build the game room, they will come.

Sean: Russia is the easiest country to play when ANZAC is combined with something else… if someone is struggling to master the tactics for this easy power, they will fail even more miserably when controlling anything else.  If it takes 30 minutes to think about moves for Russia, think how long it would take for a complicated country like Germany, Japan, or USA!

There are some people who should find another game besides A&A since the game is not very enjoyable if one player is extremely weak to the point where the ending is a foregone conclusion given enough patience.

@Wolfshanze:

but none are anywhere near Pensacola, Florida where I play (or at least they’re in hiding and I don’t know of them)

I found one!

http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=32848.0

At least your guys problem is different from mine. The people I play with are smart enough to change tactics when needed but because I have spent 20 years playing with them, we all know each others plans and that gets boring. I actually forced everyone including myself to play a different country just to see a different game.

@Herr:

@Wolfshanze:

but none are anywhere near Pensacola, Florida where I play (or at least they’re in hiding and I don’t know of them)

I found one!

http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=32848.0

Thank you Herr KaLeun… it’s a two year old post, but i’ll take a shot and see if he’s still around… sent him a PM and posted in his thread.

Wish you good luck Wolfsschanze, maybe there are more out there then you thought.

@aequitas:

Wish you good luck Wolfsschanze, maybe there are more out there then you thought.

Nope… heard back from him… unfortunately (as it was an old post), he has since moved out of the area… all alone in Pensacola with no A&A partners for face to face…  :-(

See you in Indy, Wolf!

Its a drive but its worth it…

@taamvan:

Simon33,

Yes, we set up at the game shop at 10AM when it opens, and end around 5-6PM.  Game 111 is tomorrow at 10AM.

Wow. How many rounds does such a game go for? Typically, the first round goes for about 1.5-2 hours in my experience. Later rounds might be under an hour but I can’t see getting to 10 rounds in this time unless you play significantly faster than my experience.