Victory Conditions

Global 42 is an official axis and allies game. Some might not be aware of it or the fact it was designed for tournament play. It’s been out for several years now. 7 full rounds at which point you count axis controlled IPCs (not counting NOs). If Axis have 125 IPCs on the board they win.

But the point of this thread is about the balance it provides. Granted, it’s almost a totally different game than G40. And many discussions have focused on the idea of balance. Interestingly, I think the turn order is the main reason. Plus it’s kind of nostalgic (when remembering the turn order of Classic/Revised):
Russia
Japan
America
China
Germany
British/UK Pacific
Italy
ANZAC
France

Japan: Starts with 14 planes as opposed to 21. Has the option to conduct a risky naval opener. It may achieve a head start for limited naval supremacy. It could also get India on round 3 if the UK player isn’t careful. However, Japan could easily fall apart due to having 7 less planes and risky opener battles.

Germany: No longer has the Italian can opener threat. This is huge and really changes the dynamics. Germany gets attacked by Russia first, and has to re-cock. German units are in N. Africa and in the Med is a destroyer n’ transport. However, Germany can’t easily go everywhere like it can in G40.

For 7 rounds, the Axis can rampage and win according to the tournament victory rules.

However, if playing according to the regular OOB rules for victory, I think this setup leans Allies but not as much as G40 leans Axis.
Is this a balanced setup as is or would the axis need a small bid, maybe 3-10 IPCs. I think a small bid would make the Global very balanced and probably more fun for both sides.

Right, that’s what I meant.

Not to mention the capture of the Persian Gulf oil fields by the axis.

@knp7765:

By the way, has anyone else noticed that Allied victories usually take much longer than Axis victories? Most of our Allied victories are roughly 13-15 rounds while Axis victories tend to be around 7-8 rounds.

I’ve had numerous Allied victories after 3-4 rounds (when they realize that USA and USSR entering the war is going to be too much to handle), and you can have them in the first round especially if an attack on 95 or 97 goes almost perfectly.
Again, since the Allies win if the Axis can’t, whenever it becomes apparent that the Axis can’t, it’s over.  So Allied wins happen at all different stages of the game.  Have you ever had Germany fail to take Paris in the first round?  Or have their sea battles G1 go badly?  There are many ways for the Axis to lose, and lose early  :-)

You made very good insights and overall summaries of common situations in the game, by the way.  Haven’t heard much from you for awhile, unfortunately!

That is why I prefer to incorporate the “no more than one unit per territory or seazone” rule.

I think the great variation that bids provide allow for great replayability. Who wants a game that always depends on what kind of dice Germany got G1? Pick sides, set up the board, roll a couple dice, quit. Blech.

To your point about a 12 being too much, though - only 1 game has been finished in the league this year with a bid over 11, and the axis(-15) won.

Most good players are not going to give their opponent more than 10, is what we’ve been seeing in the league results. And among what appear to be opponents of close skill level, the Allies have won at +9, +10, +8, +10, +9, and +8. And the Axis have won at -9, -15, -7, -9, and -11. Yes, that’s a small sample size, but it seems to be pretty even.

I think the best judges of when a game is fair and balanced are the players. As you can see, over half the games have been run at an 8 or 9. And 2/3 of those games have been won by the Allies. You have people that don’t want to give bids too big, people that acknowledge the Axis has an advantage, people that don’t really want to play the Allies - it’s an interesting and fluid dynamic that always seems to find its own level.

@Cow:

I believe if japan takes the last VC, once france ends / germany is about to begin… that counts as a full round… you don’t have to go again so to speak.

It has to be a full round from the time the last VC is taken. So in this example, it would have to come back around to Japan in order for the Axis to achieve victory.

@Daedelus:

It means you can win the Game without having to capture any Russian Cities.

Well, yeah, theoretically.  Just seems like, particularly with new rules bringing in the U.S. if Axis is in Canadia, that’s not a very realistic proposition.  South Africa seems like it would make for more viable strategery options.

I mean, I haven’t ever put a lot of thought into an Ottawa strategy, mostly because, just looking at it, it seems pretty well doomed to fail.  Might as well try to grab New York.

@special:

People are playing to slow ;)

Agreed.

BUMP