You can get both games at Amazon.ca with free 2 day shipping in Canada as well but they cost a little more. The prices shown are in Canadian dollars, whereas you have to convert if ordering from the US. I think 61 bucks for 1942 and 40something for 1941.
Nice - I hope those prices hold up. I’ve been o0ff work temporarily for a couple months and going through hell with insurance. plus I just shelled out for new Supremacy 2020 expansions against my better financial judgment. :-P
What I want even more than the games I’m still missing is more FMG WWII dice. I ordered some years ago, but they were so poorly stocked I could only get Germany, Italy, France, and China.
I’m certainly a fan of the more advanced games. But I like to remind myself that, had MB’s 2nd edition been the last A&A game ever made, we would still be playing it and considering one of the best games ever made.
I get that 1941 is more “bare bones” than MB. And of course I haven’t played it yet. But I’m optimistic it will be a good game in its own right, even if it pales in comparison.
IMHO, 1941 is less in every department than the 1980s MB A&A… it has fewer units in the box, fewer territories on the map, less income for all nations… it really is in every aspect, a bare-bones, “what’s the most we can remove from the game and have it still seem to be A&A” type of game there is. But for the same reason, it is cheap to buy, easy to learn and the fastest of the series to play… but the gaming experience (IMO) is less than that of the 1980s MB A&A. If you end up hating 1941 for its gameplay, its still worth the purchase, if for nothing more than some pretty interesting unit sculpts that are unique to 1941, but fully playable with other versions of A&A (like German Tiger tanks).
The true-successor to the 1980s MB A&A out of the current lineup of games, is, in-fact, 1942.2. More than 1941, more than AA50, and certainly more than Global, 1942.2 has the closest “feel” of 1980s MB A&A in units available, map/territories, income purchase power, overall gameplay and depth of game… it is the true successor to MB’s 1980s A&A. Having said that, I would consider AA50 the “ultimate evolution” of the 1980s MB A&A design concept. Global is a beast of its own… a great game, but its more of a bigger evolution of A&A and a “lets see what we can do with a game like this” rather than a refinement of the original, it’s an evolution and a taking it to the next level.
That sounds reasonable.
One thing MB has going for it is viable Weapons Development. I remember thinking this was really cool when I first played in 1990, and the game just doesn’t feel whole without it…
Weapons Development is good in MB’s A&A. Especially late game when the board gets a bit stalemate-ish and progress slows right down. Even better if you use the optional rule that Japan starts with Super Subs, that’s one extra shot at HBs or IT.
1941 & 1942 have no Weapons development at all. Global Weapons Development is terrible - without Research Tokens it’s just a poor investment considering how useless the nerfed HB upgrade is.
AA50 was the last game to have Weapons Development worth spending IPCs on (although the HB nerf was a big hit).
Weapons Development aside, I’m sure you are dead on.
All this talk is sure getting me antsy to throw some dice!
What I want even more than the games I’m still missing is more FMG WWII dice. I ordered some years ago, but they were so poorly stocked I could only get Germany, Italy, France, and China.
IWNGU sells FMG stuff now.
They do sell sets of each nation dice, but it seems like they don’t have USSR, USA, UK and ANZAC in stock :\
But they also sell entire sets of all 54 dice:
http://iwillnevergrowup.com/shop/fmg_dice
But they also sell entire sets of all 54 dice:
That’s 33% made up of dice I already have. Also, no Canada? :-P
1941 & 1942 have no Weapons development at all. Global Weapons Development is terrible
Well you might be dead-on there, but do remember this…. Weapons Development is quite possibly one of the easiest things to “house-rule-in” into either 1941 or 1942 (and many in the Global community have altered their Weapons research with house rules and custom cards).
If you’re a fan of the AA50 weapons development, it wouldn’t be very hard to house rule that into 1941 or 1942.
If you’re a fan of the AA50 weapons development, it wouldn’t be very hard to house rule that into 1941 or 1942.
I might go as far as to not update my FAQ for A50 (HB nerf), and to not update my Global map (Western Canada).
House rules can get messy, though. Plus I like to think playing at home prepares me for tournament play (in case I ever play another tournament).
House rules can get messy, though.
Only if you choose to make them messy… 99.9% of my games are played in my home… so our house rules ARE the rules of the game. As for people who visit who don’t want/agree to houserules or for tournament play… duh, you play without the houserules… not sure how you make a mess out of something you have complete and total control of.
Using houserules isn’t messy at all… if it’s messy, it’s because you created a mess to begin with.
Using houserules isn’t messy at all… if it’s messy, it’s because you created a mess to begin with.
Suppose I have an idea for a house rule. It’s elegant and tidy and I’ve done my best to not create a rule with drastic effects . I suggest this rule. My friend ponders (briefly) and counters with a hastily modified version of my rule - not necessarily clean and definitely not well thought out in terms of game play. Messy.
I can’t expect people to willingly play my house rules unless I do the same with their house rules. I’ve played with people who want to make house rules purely for the sake of constantly mixing the game up. I played with another group who had a plethora of house rules based on what they thought was realistic despite almost all of these rules being a big help to the Allies in a game that grossly favoured the Allies already (MB).
I don’t create such messes, but I do avoid them by trying to keep the floodgates closed.
That said, A&A edition rules cross-over is pretty mild. I’m sort of tempted to play AA50 with AAAs and SBR rules from Global or 1942.
I really think you’re overthinking houserules… use em or not… it’s only a mess if you want it to be. If there’s ever a disagreement amongst friends, you just stick to official rules.
Earlier in the thread read that 42.2 plays in under 5 hours. That is cool to hear. We play Global 40 2nd all the time. Fast games in 5 hours or all day for the win sometimes. Might have to check out the smaller/faster board.
@ShrimpBoatChef:
Earlier in the thread read that 42.2 plays in under 5 hours. That is cool to hear. We play Global 40 2nd all the time. Fast games in 5 hours or all day for the win sometimes. Might have to check out the smaller/faster board.
Ya… I’d put 1941 at about 3 hours playtime, and 4-to-5 sounds about right for 1942.2 (depending on the experience of the players).
