news really awwwwww man 6 weeks? is this another typo or just a sick joke…or…are you serious???
Serious. And hopefully Germany 4-6 weeks after that.
WOW! Germany could be ready so soon after the Italians? I know this project had to “cut it’s teeth” with the Italians but I didn’t expect further nations to be ready that much sooner. Do you think USA and the others will be on the same schedule?
A small correction.
If anyone decides to do this like I did, I have found that if you put the metal strip on the bottom of the ship, it is better to cut them 1/4 inch wide. I found that the 1/8 inch wide strips make the carrier a little unbalanced and can tip from side to side with planes on it. However, the 1/4 inch wide strips make a good flat base for the ship. Plus it provides a little more metal for the round magnets on the planes to attract to. So remember: 1/8 inch wide for top of carrier, 1/4 inch wide for the bottom.
I don’t see how Japan can win declaring war turn 1. I tried that in Pacific 40 and Japan was crushed. They did manage to get the DEI, but USA came over with a large fleet and duked it out with the Japan navy. They lost the first battle, but also cost Japan several warships. Thing was, USA was making so much money they could afford to replace their losses and Japan couldn’t. Japan was so busy toiling on the mainland with the Chinese and Brits and simply couldn’t match USA’s naval builds. Eventually the Japanese fleet was whittled down to almost nothing, the Chinese were a constant pain with extra infantry springing up everywhere and the Brits were hitting the Japs with tanks from India. Then the USA started building transports and troops to put in them. Two or three rounds later, Tokyo was under American control.
I always wait as long as possible before bringing America into the war, Russia too. As Japan, you can concentrate more on eliminating China. Maybe you can even provoke UK or ANZAC to attack you, in which case USA is still neutral. Japan can ususally handle them as well as China if they don’t have to worry about the US Navy. Also, by the end of round 3, Germany should have Paris and maybe even London under control with a decent buildup for a successful Barbarossa. Italy, with any luck, should control the Med, taken Cairo and ready to start grabbing up IPCs in Africa. Especially if Germany gets London, as there will be no new British units coming from South Africa.
Hey Clyde85,
I just finished my game earlier today. One thing that might have been a mistake in this game was attributing the normal rules to it, specifically Russia’s status as an ally and Japan’s status as an axis. When Germany grabbed up the European neutrals, I treated Mongolia as no Pro-Allied. Russia gained an extra 3 inf in Western Mongolia and Japan simply attacked the other 3 in Eastern Mongolia to keep them from being turned into Russians. With the nature of this game, Japan probably should have been considered Allied and Russia Axis. After all, one of Germany’s NOs was trade of oil and wheat from the Soviet Union. Also, I guess China was as you suggested, an unaffiliated beligerant. They got the benefit of the Burma Road NO for a couple of rounds or so and probably shouldn’t have. That didn’t really matter because once Japan closed it, they were pretty good at keeping it closed the rest of the game. Even Soviet help wasn’t enough with too much going on up north.
Okay, here’s how it went. Japan finally captured all of China Round 9 and had established a strong line 1 territory beyond the Chinese border, in Soviet territory, all the way north. Just two spaces from Moscow itself! In Europe, Berlin and Rome fell Round 8. ANZAC liberated Paris Round 8. Last German units destroyed Round 8. Last Italian units destroyed Round 9. USA and Britain rule supreme!
By this time, we were growing rather weary of this game so we decided that Japan was indeed an ally and USA and UK would help her to stomp out evil Communism. On round 9, both UK and USA declared war on Russia and grabbed up a lot of Soviet territory, including Leningrad, which was pretty easy since they already had huge forces in Europe and almost all Soviet stuff was out east fighting Japan. Round 10 Russia simply stacked infantry in Moscow and Stalingrad. Japan eliminated the last forces outside of city territories and took Stalingrad. Britain snatched up all but one remaining Soviet territory and Moscow. Then USA leapfrogged over their British allies and took Moscow itself with 2 tanks, 3 fighters, 1 tac bomber and a fleet of HEAVY bombers. Communism is dead in 1945. Next, Cold War with Japan?
I think in a game like this, the Neutral rules and maybe some NOs have to be changed. For example, the German NO of 5 IPCs for each Russian city could go to Japan. Maybe Japan could get another NO for keeping the Burma Road closed. Back when all we had was the Milton Bradley version of A&A, I came up with scenarios of different combinations of Allies. The most devastating one was Germany and USSR together. They could grab up a lot of territory without buying transports. Then when they had more money, worry about navy and airpower. The only weakness was no naval presence in the Pacific, which left Eastern Russia and Southeast Asia vulnerable. Another thing about changing alliances is you often have to change the setup. If Germany and Russia are friends, there’s no need for them to have huge forces facing each other when they are needed elsewhere. One way you could fix this is to have the first round be Non Combat movement ONLY. Or, you could simply devise your own setup from the starte.
Let’s see, six weeks from now would be about mid-November. Then they have to ship them to you so you can ship them to us. I guess these will be our Christmas presents.
I just tried out an experiment. I got those little round magnets from Hobbytown USA for the planes. Next was how to fix the carriers.
First I tried putting small magnet strips on the bottom of the carrier. That didn’t work so well because the magnets on the planes kept scooting over the side. I guess the polarity was wrong.
Next, I took a thin sheet, 12"x24", and cut into strips 1/8" wide and about 2" long. I tried putting the strip on the flight deck and on the bottom of the ship. The magnets really hold strong to the new metal flight deck. They also hold pretty well with the metal strip on the bottom, although the attraction is not as strong since it has to go through the body of the ship itself. Since both ways seem to work well, I guess it would be a question of aesthetics or if you really wanted a good strong hold for your planes. With the metal on top, your planes will NOT move. With it on bottom, they might scoot a little if really jarred, and possibly rotate a bit, but they still seem to hold pretty well.
The hardest part is cutting the sheet metal. When you cut sheet metal in such narrow strips (1/8 inch) it tends to kind of curl up so you have to straighten it back out. Of course, that’s not too hard once you cut it into 2 inch lengths. Once you have the metal straightened out, simply use a little super glue and put it on the ship, whichever side you want. It’s a lot of work but works great.
Also, the Italian fighter is the Macchi Folgore. The Sparviero is the 3 engined Italian bomber.
Hey docfav7,
Thanks for the link to Litko. I just ordered some of the Mini Blast Markers for marking battles. Not the same as your fire/smoke column but I think these will work fine for me. Usually I have no problem remembering where a battle is, but there are sometimes, like when Japan or Germany is really on the march, they could have a half dozen battles in one turn. It will be nice to have the markers there when I take all the pieces to the battle board.
I have seen it go both ways. On one hand, Germany does have to commit a lot of resources for Sealion which leaves them weak in other areas. On the other hand, a successful Sealion deprives USA of an airbase for attacking Germany. If Axis is able to protect Gibralter, USA has no place to base operations unless they attack neutral Spain, thus making all other neutrals pro-Axis.
It really depends on how players build in their respective countries and on naval victories. One key I have found for a successful Sealion is for Germany to build an aircraft carrier with 2 fighters to protect their transport fleet. If UK tries building expensive planes and warships to try and rebuild the RAF and Royal Navy, Sealion can be successful with somewhat limited units by Germany. However, if UK just plops a bunch of infantry there, Germany has to commit a lot more land units of it’s own which could keep dragging it out.
Another thing I have noticed is that Sealion really needs to happen G2 for Germany to be able to still build up a decent force for Barbarossa and protect against USA. In our first game of Global, Sealion wasn’t successful until G3 and so weakened Germany on other fronts that Barbarossa ended up being a failure. Germany kept having to pour so many units to keep at Russia that USA landed in Europe, liberated France and destroyed Italy. After that, it was just a matter of a couple of more rounds and Germany was finished.
In our second game, UK did a little poor planning and Germany pulled off Sealion in G2. As a result, they had plenty of force for Barbarossa and smashed the Soviets. Soviet counterattacks failed and the Germans pushed onward. By the time USA could get to Europe, Germany had too much defense and the US even had trouble fighting Italy.
Yeah, I got the Superpowers board game and tried it out a couple of times. I just wasn’t crazy about it. Maybe it was the weird fictional countries or the modern equipment, I don’t know. Maybe I’m just too used to WW2 style pieces from A&A. I actually decided to sell my copy on eBay, mostly to save closet space (too many versions of A&A).
Update on my game in progress. I am up through round 5 now. In the East, Japan is making slow progress toward the west. A strong force in Eastern Russia just destroyed a large Soviet infantry force and has open territories in front of it. Attempt to totally annihilate China failed, thanks to Soviet help. China was down to 2 territories but now back up to 7 and threatening to re-open Burma Road. Japan is fairly weak in Southern China, but so is USSR. Strong Japan force in Northern China facing nearly equal Soviet force.
In Europe things are going bad for Axis. Germany attempted Sealion round 4 and was a disaster. All units lost but 1 bomber. Seven transports protected by Aircraft Carrier but NO fighters, they were lost in Sealion attempt, promptly sunk by RAF. USA is in the war now and has a massive fleet. Took Gibralter, Portugal and Normandy from Germany and Morocco from Italy. US & British planes destroyed Italian fleet. Italians pushed out of Africa and Middle-East by Brits from South Africa and India. Egypt liberated. ANZAC fleet arriving after long journey from Australia to help out. Rome is threatened.
It’s weird that Japan gets no NOs from this scenario. One question: If USA and UK finish off Italy and Germany, should they turn around and help Russia by attacking Japan? After all, this scenario is basically two very separate wars. Here’s another idea, what if USA and UK ended up JOINING Japan, attacking Russia and destroying Communism? Or, should we just let the Japan/Soviet conflict play out?
It seems like all the little plastic pieces used in ALL boardgames are made in China. I know that all of WOTC’s pieces are. The games may be put together here in the US or in Canada, but all the little pieces always seem to be made in China. I guess you just can’t make that kind of stuff here, or at least not cost efficiently.
I think what Stefano was asking is if the ANZAC and French dice would be ready to order when the Italian Combat Units are.
@The:
A clever Russian player would allow a few Chinese territories to die off before they help and liberate them i.e. now they have controll of them as I thought Chinese territories don’t get liberated unless recaptured by China please correct me if im wrong and then the Soviets help China while gaining Ipcs from territories China lost making it best of both worlds for them.
Extra IPC plus having two communist forces attacking Japan
Chinese territories are like any other Allied territories. If an allied player (eg. Russia) takes it back from Japan, the control and IPC income of that territory go back to China. This is also the case for all the Chinese coastal territories held by Japan at the start of the game. Any territory with the Chinese Nationalist symbol is considered originally Chinese and the IPC value of those territories goes to China. There are only two Japanese territories on the mainland that can be captured and controlled by Allied powers other than China: Korea and Siam.
Jeremy’s right. We’ve all kind of gotten off topic here. It’s not about how much American involvement affected the outcome in the ACTUAL war.
This is supposed to be about whether or not USA is too powerful economically in the Global game of Axis & Allies and if there are any solutions to solve this problem. I think that the gradual income increase suggested by leddux is VERY good. It not only gives the game a little better balance, it also reflects the historical unpreparedness of the USA for war at that time. I think I will try that in my next game.
By the way, any thoughts on Sea Zone 101 being serviced by the Major ICs of both Eastern US and Central US? I still think there should be another sea zone in the Gulf of Mexico so land units built in Central US couldn’t just immediately board transports built by the IC in Eastern US. Or, the US couldn’t just build 20 ships all in the same sea zone. That’s just too much.
@spartan:
What are “AAA Mini Maps”?
Maps for Axis and Allies miniatures
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=ah/aamprod/products
Thanks Spartan.
The stuff I order from Field Marshal Games always gets to me really quick. For example, my copies of A&A Europe 1940 – shipped on Monday the 23rd and on my doorstep by Friday the 27th. That’s pretty good from Canada to Wichita, KS.
I started a Global game using this scenario this weekend. So far it’s only gone through 2 rounds (boy this game is long). For round 1, both Japan and Russia re-positioned themselves but didn’t attack. Russia stayed neutral and Japan concentrated on China. In round 2, Russia still wasn’t quite ready but Japan was so they attacked. Killed 12 of the Soviet eastern infantry and surrounded the other 6. China is about destroyed, down to just 4 territories and 2 lonely infantry (they lost the fighter and the Burma road is closed) However, Russia is moving tanks, halftracks and planes to the east and since they are now at war, their units can enter China and help out there. Japan is very strong at the moment, but I’m not sure if they can last out for the long haul. Plus, Japan’s biggest strength, their massive navy, is just about useless.
Meanwhile, everyone else is moving toward Europe. The US has already moved almost everything to the east coast and has amassed a massive force there waiting for round 4. The Brits have held off Sealion so far. The Luftwaffe managed to destroy the Royal Navy, but the RAF also destroyed the Kriegsmarine so it’s kind of an uneven balance there. The UK Pacific forces are starting to give the Italians a headache in Africa.
The weirdest part of this game is no massive buildup on the German/Soviet border. Except for a few token infantry on both sides, they have both pulled all their heavy equiptment the other way. Looking forward to seeing how this develops. Since I am about to start my work week tonight, I probably won’t get back into the game until my next weekend (Monday/Tuesday nights).
I second domicron. lets gets some games under the belt before calling in the red flag. generally peeps tend to call the red flag in support of their favorite side anyway. lets keep it neutral for once.
I am not sure that you have been reading the same thread. We are simply saying that credit is due for ALL Three Major Allied nations and I feel that credit is even required for the minor nations and some of the immense contributions they made considering their side.
As for the comments on Russian aid, that could not be more true. Yes the US and UK send a large amount of aid to Russia but ultimately it was Russia and the Five Year Plans and horrific timeline forced on the Russian people that allowed them to industrialize, it was not the US who industrialized Russia it was Russia herself. As was also pointed out already Russia became an enemy even before WWII was over!
In a way, you could say that Russia was really an enemy of the Western Allies before WW2 even started, as far back as the Russian Revolution. Many of the Western Powers, including America, Britain, France and Japan, had limited forces in Russia advising and backing the White armies against the Reds. Unfortunately, the White armies suffered from corrupt and incompetant leaders and ill-disciplined soldiers while the Reds had very organized leadership and pretty much pasted the Whites on all fronts, thus bringing Communist rule to the Soviet Union. I’m sure that Lenin, and later Stalin, never forgot that.
As for the US involvement in WW2, does anyone wonder what the outcome would have been if Pearl Harbor never happened? Or, if Germany and Italy didn’t hold up their end of the tri-partite pact by declaring war on America? Before Pearl Harbor, American Public opinion was still 80% in favor of America staying neutral. Even with Pearl Harbor, America was only technically at war with Japan, NOT with Germany or Italy. What might have happend if America had only went to war in the Pacific? Or not at all?
Do you also use the rule from the original A&A Europe where any Allied equipment that is in a Russian territory with an IC gets switched to Soviet pieces in USSR’s “place new units” phase?