Posts made by DoManMacgee

However, all things considered, I’m glad the Zombies appear to be constrained in a way.

If they only show up as INF Casualties and as the result of the Zombie Cards (TM, Copyright Wizards of the Coast 2018, all rights reserved.), then you can easily remove them from the game with the following quick house rules:

House Rule 1.) Skip phases 1 (“Play a Zombie Card”) and 2 (“Zombies Attack”).

House Rule 2.) Zombie do not spawn when Infantry are killed.

Then you can make up some other fun house rule for the neutral countries with IPC Values/strategic importance, or just ignore them.

So to all the naysayers who panicked about the Zombies “ruining the game”, it turns out that it’s incredibly easy to get rid of them. I know that won’t sway people who take personal offense at the zombies being in a WW2 board game in the first place, but that’s your conscience and we already bogged down two other threads with those kinds of arguments.

I didn’t expect the Zombies to be so… “uninspired” I guess is the word I’m looking for.

What happened to all the talk of “Zombies will stop the stalling” that we’d heard previously? It sounds like they’re just a random factor (luck of the draw) thrown in for the sake of randomness.

In fact, if anything, the threat of zombies spawning due to INF casualties will only encourage EVEN MORE stalling, since the game is actively discouraging you from swapping minor territories (i.e. the 2 INF Vs. 1 INF or 1 INF/1FTR Vs. 1 INF fights that define the Eastern Front in smaller-scale A&A games).

Moreover, the threat of Zombie INF discourages any major engagement whatsoever, because even if I beat your 20 INF/5 TANK/5 FTR stack with my 30 INF/10 TANK stack, I’m probably just going to lose the rest of my army to the 40-45 Zombies that show up afterwards. And it’s not like anyone’s going to be capable of building less INF-heavy armies with the IPC incomes dramatically reduced, so things are just going to devolve into a stall war for fear of Zombies.

There has to be something else to the Zombie mechanic that they haven’t revealed yet, because from the sounds of it they’ve basically made the game unplayable.

But hey, paper money. Isn’t that what people on here have been rioting about for like the last 4-5 editions of A&A?

Others will say the puns for the tech (“Z-4” instead of “C-4”, etc.) are in bad taste, but I think they’re hilarious

@seancb:

after a few rides in the Mystery Machine with Scooby and the kids.

I think those responsible for the zombie idea ate too many Scooby Snacks, if you catch my drift…

1941 without NOs is more balanced than 1942 scenario.

People are saying 1941 scenario is broken because with NOs turned on Axis catch up to Allied economy extremely quickly while maintaining their huge advantage in starting forces. This is mainly because within the first two turns Axis will achieve most of their NOs while locking the Allies out of theirs.

When you play without NOs, the gap between the Axis and Allied economies becomes much larger, making it much more difficult for the Axis to catch up.

I’d noticed the higher income but did not notice the Artillery! Good catch and definitely positive news.

@robert:

The zombie map might be a good replacement for the 41 map if the size is right.

Has anyone actually found value in the 41 Map as a teaching tool?

I’ve had no problems starting people on 42SE/Revised and then moving up to AA50/G40 if they’re interested in spending an entire weekend fighting it out.

In my defense, I’m only planning on buying the game if it’s actually worth buying (which it likely won’t be, judging by the apparently miserable size of the map on the back of the box that was revealed a few days back).

Like I said in my previous posts, I can understand (but can’t relate to, it’s just a board game to me) people being offended by the shameless, quasi-disrespectful cash-grabby nature of the game, but I cannot for the life of me understand why you’d quit G40 (or any other edition of A&A, for that matter) over a separate game that should rise or fall on its own merits (or lack thereof).

@Nowhere:

Man, that board map looks REALLY small… I think it’s even smaller than 1941…

The board looks pathetically small, yes.

The scale looks bigger than 41 though. Some quick comparisons (I’ve attached the 41 map, for reference):

41:

• Sub-Saharan African and Siberian territories have no IPC value.

• Generally lower IPC values for territories.

• “Eastern Europe” is one territory.

• “Szechwan” is the southern Chinese territory, and is only one territory.

AAZ (box):

• Sub-Saharan African and Siberian territories have low IPC value.

• “Eastern Europe” and “Balkans” appear to be separate territories.

• Generally lower IPC values for territories (ex. Russia is 4 IPCs when it’s usually 8, East Indies is 2 when it’s usually 4, etc.), but not as low as 41.

• “Yunnan” and what appears to be “Sinkiang” are the southern Chinese territories, with the territory that is probably “Sinkiang” bordering Russia and “Yunnan” bordering Japanese-occupied Asia.

The AAZ map is definitely based on the 41 map though (look at the borders of the Russian/Chinese territories), which is probably a bad sign.

I’m curious/nervous about the die on the box image (the one with the letters “D” and “A” on the visible sides). Is it possible that WOTC took a hatchet to the combat system?

Also, I just realized something that no one’s caught yet:

Some of the Neutral territories (Turkey (2), Saudi Arabia (1) and Mongolia (1)) have IPC values. Could mean interesting game mechanics like violating neutrality might find their way into the game. Could be a sliver of hope that this game isn’t hot garbage.

Basically what Argothair said. Particularly:

@Argothair:

If there’s no house rule limiting my Indian production, then as the Allies I will drop 80-90% of Britain’s production into India for the first 6 rounds.

It cannot be overstated how one-sided the UK Vs. Ottoman fight goes in the OOB rules. You’ll completely demolish Ottomans in no time at all, and have a strong position in the Middle East that gives UK the option of either finishing off the Turks and opening a Baltic front or funneling reinforcements into Russia if it looks like the situation there can be salvaged.

If anything, you might want to look towards killing Italy first as the CP (you’ll need Germany’s help, often to the temporary deficit of the French front). Defeating Italy frees up Austria to move troops into Russia/keep the Ottomans alive, and removes one of USA’s possible landing sites in Europe, making the late game Allied assault slower.

@CWO:

To me, the worry isn’t the idea that AAZ somehow spoils the previous A&A games; the real worry is what this new game might potentially mean for the future of the A&A franchise.  If AAZ turns out to be a one-off anomaly, I can live with that.  Even better: if AAZ turns out to be the starting point of a new cycle of A&A games being published, and those games are more conventional in nature, then I’d even be prepared to give AAZ qualified credit for being that starting point, regardless of what I might think of the game itself.  But if AAZ turns out to be the first of a whole string of wacky reconceptualizations of A&A, then that would be another story entirely.

This is basically my stance, which is why I’ll continue to give the game the benefit of the doubt until we learn more.

However, the the low IPC incomes and small map size from the back of the box do worry me that this game might end up being nothing but…

@Imperious:

zombie crap and attack

We are talking about a game where you can win World War II as Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan. Is that not disrespectful to the people (civilians and veterans alike) who suffered as a result of their tyranny and gave their lives to wipe them off the face of the earth?

As I said before, I can understand not wanting to buy AAZ or future A&A titles from WOTC over this, but don’t tie AAZ to the games that Larry made. Larry has demonstrated his respect for the veterans of WW2 countless times over the years and it’s absurd to blame him (or his creations) for a game that he likely had nothing to do with.

How does Zombies ruin G40? I can understand not buying Zombies, or even boycotting WOTC out of anger and swearing never to buy a new A&A ever again, but not quitting outright.

At the end of the day, your customized G40 setup that you’ve put countless hours/days into is still there, regardless of whether WOTC “ruins A&A forever” or not.

@SS:

HA HA HA  game aint out yet and already coming up with House Rules!
SWEET !
:evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:

I cant wait to build 5 to 10 Zombie Inf per IC.

I was suggesting that the idea of a cheaper IC that only produces INF would be an interesting house rule the A&A games where the powers don’t start with many factories (e.g. Classic, Revised, 41, 42 1st Ed.)

But I have no doubt that this game will need to be heavily house-ruled to be playable.

@Narvik:

@Imperious:

yea sweet China is 3 areas total. These hobos must play 1941 AA and decided to add Walkers

No, no, China is 5 territories, but Japan occupy 2 of them…

Not sure what IL meant, but when I referred to three Chinese territories I was only counting the ones that start the game under U.S. control. There are only 3 visible on the board on the back of the box. Other games have had 2 (China/Sinkiang, in Classic/Revised/42 1st Ed.), 4 (Sinkiang/Yunnan/Szechwan/Anhwei 42SE), or many (AA50/G40), but never 3.

@CWO:

The article says “the game is itself a standalone game, but also an expansion to Axis & Allies 1942 Edition.”  The “also” part possibly implies that rules and components of AAZ can be imported into 1942, if you own that game, as an extra option to playing AAZ on its own.

Read it again and you’re absolutely right.  Thanks!

@CWO:

I don’t know if it’s simply a flub by the art department, or whether it reflects some aspect of the rules (i.e. perhaps the Axis teaming up with the Allies against the zombies?), but I’ve noticed that even though the front cover (https://www.axisandallies.org/p/box-art-axis-allies-zombies/) is divided into an Allied side and an Axis side, there are a few crossovers.  Montgomery (easy to recognize) and a Russian officer (based on his medals) are on the Axis side, and there’s a German officer (possibly Guderian) on the Allied side.

The cynical old man in me thinks that the artist couldn’t distinguish Allied figures from Axis figures.

@General:

Are the infantry silhouette tokens on Western China and India meant to be deploy points for infantry only?

That’d actually be a neat concept worth importing/house-ruling into other games in the series.

Think about it, how annoying is it in some editions that you have to choose between blowing 15IPC on a factory in Sinkiang or India and letting Japan go on an unhistorical conquering spree/drive to Moscow with Tanks? I’d love a way to spend like 5 IPC to give a territory the capacity to “raise militia” or whatever. Typically players only spam INF out of Factories (in those locations) anyway, so losing the ability to build other units wouldn’t be a huge loss.

I’m a bit confused here.

The news article on the front page of AA.org frames this as an expansion to 42SE but the map on the box doesn’t look like the 42SE map.

In fact, it looks like an original map, because I don’t know of any A&A edition where China is 3 territories and the Siberian territories are worth IPC.

I like the aesthetic of the map (I personally dislike the “Earth-like” design they’ve used in every game since AA50) but I can already tell the majority of the community is going to hate the small size.

I’m interested in the zombies as a stall-breaking mechanic, but unless my eyes are failing me, it looks like the IPC values on the territories are going to be severely reduced (a-la 1941), which would make for a pretty stale game IMO, since less IPCs = less variance in builds = less variance in strategies.

Can’t quite come out to Columbus to play you (I live about 9 hours away, in Northeast PA).

But, as I’ve posted in a few other threads, there’s an Axis and Allies (Revised Edition) tournament coming up near Pittsburgh in July (21-22) of this year. Last year we had about 16 people turn up so you’ll have plenty of players to have a game with.

Thread Link: https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=41731.0
Website Link: http://www.boardgamers.org/

Let me know if you want more details and I can re-post them from the other thread ASAP. If you’re willing to make the drive to Pittsburgh it’d be great to have you.

Copy/Paste of what I put in the other Pittsburgh thread:

Thread Link (in case you want to find this guy, who seems to live near you): https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=41432.0

Tournament info:

I live in Northeast PA, so way too far away to make the trek out to Pittsburgh on a regular basis, but there is an Axis and Allies (Revised Edition) tournament coming up near Pittsburgh in July (21-22) of this year. Last year we had about 16 people turn up so you’ll have plenty of players to have a game with.

Thread Link: https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=41731.0
Website Link: http://www.boardgamers.org/

Let me know if you want more details and I can re-post them from the other thread ASAP.

Date: July 21-22
Time: Not yet posted, your best bet would be to turn up July to learn what the schedule is.
Convention: World Boardgame Championships (Sponsored by the Boardgame Players’ Association, a group dedicated mostly to Avalon Hill Wargames).

Game: Axis and Allies: Revised Edition (2004).

We use a variant of the LHTR that caps each round at 4 hours. Adjudication is based on which faction controls a greater number of Victory Territories at the end of the time limit.

We usually do 3-4 rounds of Swiss style play (where you play opponents who are performing similarly to yourself), with the top 4 players being determined after a point (based on win/loss record), and then having a playoff to determine the champion.

Directions to the venue, costs and other information is all available via the links I posted above. Hope to see you there! We had about 16 players last year and it was a blast!

I live in Northeast PA, and while I live a bit too far away to actually drive to where you are, I can tell you that there’s an Axis and Allies (Revised Edition) tournament coming up near Pittsburgh in July of this year.

Thread Link: https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=41731.0
Website Link: http://www.boardgamers.org/

Let me know if you want more details and I can get them to you ASAP.

Really looking forward to rolling research dice for new memes and tide pods.