Help Requested! High Resolution Maps & Box covers

@conquisitore
That is the right kind of price!
I might try harder to find someone who can do that for me here

My group has taken the ultimate step that many on this and other sites are loathe to do. We have unified turns, 1:Axis 2:Allies. We mainly play a modded AA50 with slightly (5-10) more territories. This greatly increases the speed and playability for several reasons.

Positives
Firstly, the vast majority of the engagements can be done simultaneously without any real issues.

Everyone can purchase simultaneously, and if you are not particularly a-retentive some people can finish their purchasing while others are moving forward with their attack declaring, but please make sure all attacks are declared before any attacks begin, to easy to start conflict there with meant-to/didn’t-do.

The most important factor in time improvement is not the actual simultaneity of the turn but that every turn, every round, attack and defense, involves every player. No one is bored (US/USSR) for turn after turn of waiting to do anything. This engagement greatly increases the camaraderie (heh) and the pressure of the turn. Everyone’s attention is focused. We REGULARLY complete our AA50 to a satisfying surrender in about 3 hours. In fact most of us have young kiddos so we don’t really have a choice.

Another useful point is that if someone brings an uninterested significant other or newbie, Italy makes a great and dynamic option when coordinating with an expert playing Germany. I find that scheduling is one of the hardest issues with getting a group together and perhaps one of the main reasons you would want a shorter game.

Counter points/Solutions
No 1/2 punches with Italy/Germany or UK/US. This might be a bigger problem on Global but I do not feel that it is an issue in AA50. To correct this we use some special rules including a reserved 2nd attack round for unused armies that want to attempt a blitz through/drop past a recently conquered territory or Sea Zone.

Massed Allied navies, especially in Europe. Haven’t really figured this one out, but it is historically accurate and axis can usually get the allies to a surrender point without Operation Sealion anyway. Massed navies is one of the reasons we support the 7/0 Transport rule in the recent editions over the 8/1 of the old editions.

Starting positions for UK and USSR. Since Axis will move collectively ahead of them, USSR and UK might need a little tweaking in the setup. I usually move some of UK’s Pacific/Indian navies one space further from J1. Additionally we give a territory or two to USSR to absorb the assault of G1.

Conclusion
I feel like if you really want to make A&A work for you, it can. It just might take a little more willpower in working through and agreeing to some compromises on OOB rules.

P.S. It always helps if the scheduling problem is with other people, you be the one to set up ahead of time. I always end up falling on that sword.

@macdown343
Why don’t you use the existing map files or do you want to customrise territory’s ?

@Imperious-Leader said in Axis & Brollies : Action Cards and Event Cards:

you should set it up with card decks made at “Artscow” or something like it in terms of name. They are sold as long as you set up account and you will earn a bit of change

Also consider:
www.makeplayingcards.com was recently (2019) used successfully by siredblood to produce his “Blood Bath” A&A version card deck - at a resulting fair price for consumers

drivethrucards.com was recently (2018) used successfully by Young Grasshopper to produce his co-deck “Omaha” and “Utah” cards for A&A G’40 - at an absolute steal of a deal for consumers

If you have not already done so, please consider selling your deck(s) at either or both sites - I would love to see you get paid for your work.

Is there anywhere that I can get one of those discontinued Ammo Boxes from FMG? I saw someone got one on ebay, but I had no such luck.

@AlphaKappa:

I don’t like the large size of the OOB Dauntless tactical bomber piece.  I am considering replacing them with the HBG P-47 Thunderbolt or Helldiver.  What are the sizes of these pieces?   The P-47 looks bigger than a typical fighter.  Would it work as a tac?

I have the HBG P-47 fighters… they are the same size as the OOB fighters… by comparison, they are bigger than the HBG P-51, which is actually smaller than OOB fighters.  If you’re expecting the HBG P-47 to be as big as OOB Tac Bombers, you’ll be disappointed.

Try placing them in the northern Canadian territories, Alaska, and the northern Soviet Union. These are large territories that see little action in the game, so it’s justifiable to create blowup boxes in them, probably 8 or more.

I’m not aware of such a blank outline map existing.  Your best option might be to cover the game map with several taped-together sheets of clear acetate (the kind used for purposes like overheard projection) and trace the borders with a felt pen to produce a blank outline.  You’d then have various options for transfering this outline to the wood surface.  A low-tech method would be to cover the wood surface with sheets of carbon paper (if you can still find any, since it’s gone out of style), place your acetate outline over the carbon paper, then trace over the borders with a hard pencil.  Alternately, you could scan or digitally photograph your acetate outline and use that as the printing file you mentioned.