Best posts made by Narvik

@Narvik

UK TURN 24 - SUMMER 1945

Winston resign, Attlee new UK player.

King is re-elected as the Canada player

UK take over Syria and Lebanon from France

British Somaliland: Sheik Bashir start a rebellion against UK rule

NURENBERG TRIALS BEGIN

@Narvik

ITALY TURN 24 - SUMMER 1945

Tito back down. Trieste (town in Italy) is not worth a new world war.

NON-COMB MOVE
N: It: 2 Inf (Yugo) to Yugo

@Narvik

ANZAC AND UK PAC TURN 24 - SUMMER 1945

Aus: Curtin dies in office. Ben is the new ANZAC player

Subas Bose, the Free India player, is assassinated

Tokyo Kid signs the surrender abord USS Missouri in sz 6.
D. MacArthur is supreme commander in Japan.

Unfortunately I miss a MacArthur figurine so Patton step in. Will edit later
Martha Gellhorn and Capa far right
Also the cleaners have startet to put away the game. Next holiday this basement will be used for the A&A 1914 game. But that will be another Blog

COMBAT
OPERATION CAPITAL
India: 4 Inf, Art, Tank (UK) + 4 Inf (Pun) + Inf (Gur) attack> Shan State: 2 Inf (JA), Inf (Siam), Inf (Free)
Loss Axis: all units

Tranny to sz 43 + Inf (UK) Inf (ANZ) amp> Borneo; Inf
Loss Jap: all units

BATTLE OF SURABAYA
TF 37: CA, DD, Tranny to sz 42 + Inf (UK), Inf (ANZ) amp> Java: 2 Inf (Indonesia)
Loss Indonesia: all units

@Narvik

FRANCE TURN 24 - SUMMER 1945

Charles de Gaulle become PRESIDENT of France for job well done

Winners of the A&A Global 1939 Tournament game is:
The Allied Team: Clement, Truman, Stalin and Chiang- the Big Four

@Narvik

How risky was the real WW II game for the players?

Lets look into the 9 playable powers:

3 players died in Round 23, all in april 1945.
Adolf, the german player, commited suicide because he lost the game.
Benito, the italian player, was hanged because he lost the game.

FDR was winning the game, but died of natural causes just before cashing in. An intriguing fact is that if Wendell Willkie had won the election, and become the US player, he too died during the game, in Round 21, oct 1944. So either way a vice had to finish the game. In this case Truman.

Also two ANZAC players died in office during the game. Michael Savage died in Round 3 and John Curtin in Round 24, the last round. ANZAC was played by 6 different players, starting with “Pig Iron Bob” Menzies and finishing with Ben and Fraser.

The first UK player, Neville Chamberlain, resigned in Round 3 and died in Round 5.
The most famous UK player, Winston, resigned in Round 24, the last round, and was replaced in the Victory Parade by Clement Attlee. Now that must have been disappointing to Winnie.

None of the 5 french players died but 4 of them was arrested and spent some time in prison.
Both Daladier and Reynauld were locked up at Itter Castle prison already in Round 4.
Petain and Pierre Laval got locked op in Round 21 for switching to the Axis.
de Gaulle would pop up and play France the last round, rejecting the Allied victory and keep a solo game going in the old french colonies all over the world.

Of the main 9 players only Stalin, Tokyo Kid and Chiang would play from Round 1 to the final Round 24.

Of the minor neutral non-playable powers, a lot of players would be arrested after the game, for being war criminals. Others would be assassinated during play.

Poland, the first to fight, lost 2 great players:
Ryds-Smigly in round 10 and Sikorsky in round 16.

Metaxa, playing Greece, was possible poisoned in round 6.
Tsar Boris III, playing Bulgaria, was possible poisoned in round 16.
Stauning, playing Denmark, died in round 11.
Ulmanis, playing one of the Baltic States, died in GULAG in round 13, and Smedina in round 21.
Szalasi, playing Hungary, was hanged in round 23.
Quisling, who tried to play Norway unofficial after the worlds first solo coup by a radio speech, and with no back up what so ever, and even during a german attack, in wich the german player Adolf nor any of his officers was prepared for this, is hanged in round 23.

In China, the ROC- player Wang Jingwei is killed in round 21. The other puppet players to Japan, Prince De and emperor Puyi, spent some time in GULAG, but survive a short time after round 24.
KMT-player Chiang survive round 24, but are soon to be replaced by Mao, playing CCP.

The dominion players Will King, playing Canada, and Smuts, playing South Africa, are in the game from round 1 to round 24. Now that pretty much sums it up. Hopeful we won’t see this much drama on a Con, a Turnament game in our basement with casual friends.

@DoManMacgee

Thank you so much for taking time to go through and liking this blog. I guess we both love history.

I can’t take credit for the idea. The Classic A&A MB edition was publised in 1984, and from 1995 online homepages on the WWW had become common. I remember there were lots of homepages about A&A, like Don’s Essays and Thrasher, and a dude made a blog almost exactly like this, but with MB Classic and start in 1942 and each Round was 6 months. It was so well done. Unfortunately I can’t find it, it’s propably lost. I loved it so much I wanted to do the same. Now his blog was really well done, and my blog is just the beta test. I was hoping for some discussion and feedback before I make my homepage. So far I understand that I have to make better pics. To represent historical events visually is important. Nobody read a lot of text.

Again, thanks for giving me feedback

@DoManMacgee Oh no, it’s not finished, it’s in progress. I need to figure out the Collect Income too, and that is not easy. We have the GDP that change all the time, and also the Military Outlays change from month to month. I don’t even know for sure how many aircrafts were made because the estimates differ from source to source. Some say US made 30 000 aircrafts but no more than 2000 were operational at any time, so where did all the planes go? And the estimates of casualties on the Eastern Front differ one million men give or take. In my Blog that is like 10 Infantry. I can’t make an accurate historical correct Blog if I don’t know the correct numbers.

This Blog have surprisingnly many wievs but not so much diskussion. Lets look into how I solved the US entry. In the real war Japan dow’ed USA, and then Germany dow’ed USA some days after. But the Turn order in A&A, which I follow strictly, is Germany, Japan, USA. Also a dow should be made in that players turn. That left me with a few choices:

-Round 10 winter 1941/42. Jap dow US. Next US attack Germany. Round 11 spring: Germany dow USA. Now attacking nazis is not bad, but this was not historically correct. Germany did in fact dow USA before strict neutral USA started attacking the Axis.

to solve this I could let Germany dow USA in Round 9 fall. Also not historically correct, since in fact Japan dow’ed USA before Germany dow’ed USA. A very importent point is that Japan would’nt dow anyone before the german attack on Moscow was resolved. IF success Japan would attack USSR far east, but if failure Japan would attack USA.

To change the Turn order was never even considered. That would mess up everything.

My solution was, as you know, to let all Axis players dow USA simultaneously on Japans turn. My rational for this is the Berlin Pact, signed in Berlin september 1940 by Germany, Italy and Japan, and later the other Axis, and this pact was an agreement to dow USA all toghether at the same time. One for all, all for one. I don’t see any other way to do it. A slight violation of the OOB rules yes, but also the less of many evils. But I am surprised it was no questions. All wievers just accepted my solutin. I miss that kind of discussions. I guess you have to be a super nerd of a history buff to engage in that. And I figure the casual A&A players are not. They just want a good time playing a board game

@DoManMacgee Thank you for feedback. Much appreciated.

As we speak I’m working on a WWI Blog, and also the new A&A Stalingrad game, and reading books about WWII economy, so this blog will not be edited anytime soon. I also have OCD when it comes to accuracy and prefection, so I need time.

I actually did consider using the HBG map, but had to turn it down for several reasons. First, HBG is fanbased and not official. I want to use the official A&A maps, pieces and rules as far as possible. Also, living in Europe I am not aware of legal issues when using stuff from other companies in Blogs. It feels more safe to stay to the official A&A franchise. I’m not rich and can’t afford a law suet (spelling? English is not my first language) Also I’m conserned bout the visuals. The A&A maps looks good. I don’t like the glossy colors on the HBG maps. Most of all I want to mix the A&A 1914 and the A&A 1940 global maps, somehow, But again, legal issues? I can do so much in my basement with friends, but an official Blog? I dunno man.

The problem with “in-game rules” or OOB (out of box) rules, is, as far as I am conserned, I don’t love them. This rules are designed for game balance, playability and ease of play. My 5 years as soldier and studying military history for 40 years, make my stomach turn upside down when reading the rules. Very few of the rules make sense. Take the new Stalingrad game. Now that was a missed opportuinity. A regional map with plain steppe terrain perfect for maneuver warfare with Blitzkrieg, Deep operations, breakthroughs, flanking, hit and run, and a city map with urban warfare, and the designer ruined it. Both maps have typically trench warfare and attrition. I love the supply rule, and units beeing out of supply when encircled and under siege, just as in a real war, but for some reason the designer ruined all the possibilities. We can only fix it with a lot of House Rules. And that is what I am working on as we speak.

@DoManMacgee you were a playtester OMG I have so many questions. Will make a thread in the Stalingrad forum soon, but just mention very fast, since we are doing this anyway, a few years ago there was this talk 'bout streamlining the rules for all A&A games, both global and theater games. That has not been done. North Africa and Stalingrad got very different rules. Now that was a missed opportunity. Why a new supply-rule? Now we have 3 different supply rules, one for Bulge, another for N.A and yet another for Stalingrad. Also all games are scripted. The old D-day game was the worst, so boring to play. I get it if you are playing competetiv in Tournaments and want a fast game, fast to set up, fast to play. But 99% don’t play competetiv. We, the people, are die-hards plastic piece junkies with a military power fantasy. The beauty of the classic A&A MB 1984 edition was it was not scripted. Anything would go. German battleship in Indian Ocean? Sure, why not. A&A should not be Memory Game the historically correct re-enactment simultasion. Ok, enough rant, will make threat in Stalingrad forum soon

@DoManMacgee I agree so far. I don’t play Tournaments so at some point we will not agree. But basically all versions of A&A should be easy to learn. A&A is not a hex and counter game. I miss the Classic Rulebook, it was 4 pages if I remember correct.

Lets take the Road Movement rule. In North Africa anything with wheels can move 5 spaces on a road. I love it. But in Stalingrad only Tanks and Mech can move 2 spaces and 2 additional spaces if they start at a road, but Assault guns and Rocket Launchers can not move 2 additional spaces. Now that don’t make sense since the Panzer III and the Stug III had the same range and the same speed limit. And also the ZIS 42 halftrack was the excact same as the ZIS 42 Rocket Launcer. I guess its because of game balance. But for playability all motorized vehicles should be able to Road Movement. So this rule beats me for sure.

I also noticed there are 6 spaces between Grain elevator and Tractor Factory. So it takes a Tank 3 Rounds to move between those points. A Round is 2 weeks. So it takes 6 weeks to drive 15 miles, or 25 km. I am awere it was a lot of rubble and debris in the streets of Stalingrad, but I walk 15 miles, or 25 km, on my feet in 'bout 3 hours. OK, lets give this to game balance and playability, it’s just a game after all. But it does bother me.

I need to start posting in the Stalingrad Forum. Hoper you have some inputs.

@The_Good_Captain

The Headline of the video read “Rating Imbalance” Now if you had used that Headline in the Thread too I would’nt have derailed your thread. I’ve played A&A since 1988 and totally agree with your investigation. But of course you had to use “Every versions” and “All versions” and that is not correct. You have so far investigated 5 versions, and we don’t even know what Anniversary edition. Is it the 20th, 25th, 50th Avalon Hill or 40th Anniversary version? That matters.

FYI: As of 2026 there are 19 spin-off versions. 4 are updated or expanded versions of the global Classic. 5 are Theater games. 4 are local games of specific battles. 1 is WWI and 1 is Zombie apocalypse. The Video-games, online games and A&A Minis are kept outside of this.

List of all versions
1981 Nova ed Global
1984 MB Classic Global
1999 AH Europe Theater
2001 AH Pacific Theater
2004 AH D-day Local
2004 AH Revised 20th Anniversary ed Global
2006 AH Battle of the Bulge Local
2007 AH Guadalcanal Local
2008 AH Avalon Hill 50th Anniversary Global
2009 AH 1942 25th Anniversary ed Global
2009 AH Pacific 1940 Theater
2010 AH Europe 1940 Theater + Global when combined with Pacific
2012 AH 1941 Global
2012 AH 1942 second ed Global
2012 AH Pacific 1940 second ed
2012 AH Europe 1940 second ed Theather + Global when combined
2013 AH WWI 1914 Global (for some reason)
2018 AH Zombies Global
2024 Renegade North Africa Theater
2024 Renegade 40th Anniversary ed 1941/42 Global
2025 Renegade Stalingrad Local

Now when you have analyzed and investigated all the games on the list, then you can claim “Every game” and “All games” and I will comply.

Also your investigation is adressed to the expert players that play competitive. I don’t know how many that is. I figure 99% of the A&A community are casual players with a military power fantasy that also are plastic piece junkies, that played with Airfix miniatures as kids and now is a step up the ladder. To back up this:
A&A MB Classic is the best selling physical wargame ever with one million copies sold by 1998, and 2 millions sold by 2008. (if we can belive Wiki) But A&A online only have 11 000 ranked players. And if you play competitive at Tournaments just how many expert players do you spot? Right, my point is valid.

Sorry for the derailing but be careful next time you make a Headline that is in-correct.