IPC record sheet for AA42 for -Over the board- (OTB) Tournament play

@cernel said in Playing in 2017 still, General Strategy/Discussion:

That submarine is making a battle with an average +10 value swing there (140% the value of the attacking force!), which is more than sending it to kill the lone British transport

Actually, sending the German submarine which is in the North Atlantic to kill the transport next to Eastern Canada (average +7) instead of taking the shot against the 1 cruiser and 2 transports next to Eastern United States (average +10) is some less than a -3 difference since, if using it to kill the British transport, then nothing can kill the submarine on the same round, whereas the 50% chance of the submarine surviving next to Eastern United States implies the ability for the Americans to make a battle with 1 destroyer, 1 fighter and 1 bomber (or even more units) against 1 submarine, which is an about +4.4 value swing, to be reduced to +2.2 on the account that the submarine will be there only 50% of the times. So that covers at least most (2.2/3) of the difference between the two options the submarine has if you actually think that having that submarine alive next to Eastern Canada at the start of the second German turn is actually worth its value or more. Opinions?

In any case, the battle next to Eastern United States is certainly a good option which your opponent may take and, in this case, it will be a 50/50 on either:

Germany having 1 less submarine for nothing. America having 1 less cruiser, 2 less transports and having to invest units to kill 1 German submarine, with slightly more than a 1/6 chance also to lose 1 destroyer in the process.

Does a monopoly game have enought 10s 5s 1s and 20s to work for A&A?

Has anyone made a victory city tracker for AA42 similar to this:  http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/308716/axis-allies?size=large  from the Revised game but using the AA42 color scheme and 2 victory conditions? I would try it but I do not have the programs to do such a chart. Thanks.

Hey coachofmany I visited your site which is pretty cool.  Which grey chips match up best with the chips from AA42, Battle of the Bulge or the Pacific 40, or are they all the same?
I want to place an order shortly.

@Keredrex:

I would say Russia…

It is very true that Russia only has to worry about a few territories and doesn’t have a lot of buying opportunities. However, Russia is a tactical nightmare for anyone who wants tan easy game… Don’t expect to gain a lot of ground much less win as Russia unless you have REALLY good Allies. They also have a terrible income… But as Keredrex said, you only have to buy land units pretty much.

For simplicity’s sake, yes Russia is easiest. But from a tactical/“winning”/strategy standpoint, it’s pretty hard.

@WTFchris:

Why do you guys put factories on Asia?  Seems like a waste to me.  Japan only has enough income to buy 8 units for transporting anyway (can increase to tanks and inf later with more income).

If you spend 15 on IC, then you put 3 units there a turn, but you aren’t using Japan IC fully because money shortage.  You gain no movement either (except through China corridor, which will be almost defenseless in a turn or two).  You can drop from Japan to Buryatia which is just as close to Russia as any mainland IC.  why waste 15 IPCs?  I also build no ships until I see US pacific fleet amassed (which rarely happens).  Since you took out Hawaii fleet (doesn’t matter what you lost as long as their’s is gone), they are not within reach for 2 turns.  Only build boats in response to US massing.

I have made India IC though as income increases and you can’t spend all your money at Japan IC.  This allows for pressure on Caucus at same time as northern pressure.  Then I just mass at Yakut and India until I have enough to hit either Russia IC.

I think your reasoning applies very well to Revised…but I’m not so sure about this game.  It may well be that transport tactics that work well in Revised will apply here (for instance I think popular Germany tactics like the Lurch are still applicable here), but there are a couple problems…

It’s hard to buy transports if UK is applying pressure.  If UK has a bomber, sub and possibly a fig in range of 62, Japan can’t drop any new transports w/o keeping a bb and a loaded carrier in 62 or buying some surface navy.  Going with a factory (or 2) on J1 allows Japan to go after the Allied navies without having to worry about protecting convoys.  The alternative is staying in 62 and going after Pearl with air/subs only…I’m not crazy about that option but it is an option.

The one area where factories are superior to transports in terms of mobility is being able to drop 3 tanks at a time that are already situated on the mainland.  My impression so far is that tank heavy strategies are more tempting for Axis since Germany is frequently defeated quickly in Africa…giving Allies the advantage in the long game.  Meanwhile, it takes longer for the Allies to set up an Atlantic shuck than in Revised…so Russia is more vulnerable to being tag-teamed by the Axis.

Therefore Saltz, keep that in mind in your strategies.  Always, I MEAN ALWAYS, have enough infantry fodder to bring to battle.  This is an economic war as much as anything.  If you keep losing tanks and planes on hits because you don’t have enough ‘fodder infantry’ to throw to the wolves you will surely lose your battles.  Unless of course your opponent’s buys are the same as yours.

Hey, there’s an idea.  Have a war with no infantry or artillery.  See how that works out.  Might be fun, never know.

Overall the changes are positive imho.  Revised is a classic game and deserves another run and the chance to appeal to a new generation.  AA42 takes the best innovations from Anniversary (ie naval rules and units) and applies them to Revised.  It should be interesting to see how the strategies change.  It’s also a good move to remove tech–Revised works better w/o tech because tech is about luck and detracts from the strategic aspect.  With dice, luck is already a sufficient factor in the game.

Could be a big hit.