As you all know, AAP40 came without the insert rooms in te tuck boxes that we got in AA50. Inspired by AA50, I made some inserts that are fairly easy to print, cut, and fold.

You may have noticed them on Boardgamegeek, if you are frequenting that site. (or at the HGD forums).

There are two versions for different paper formats:

• A3 format paper: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/filepage/51250/diy-tuck-box-insert-a3-format-printing

• Letter format paper: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/filepage/52700/diy-tuck-box-insert-letter-format-printing

There is also a guide on how to assemble them here:
http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/482533/diy-tuck-box-insert

Enjoy!

Is there any chance for an upgrade kit for those who own the 1st edition but do not wish to buy the complete 2nd edition 1940 games?

Might FMG/HBG/others be putting one together? This would mainly be the new artillery AAA/AAA pieces I guess. Perhaps also with a sticker to correct the board (Korea SZ), but that might be pushing some copyright limits?

I realize that the AA guns are more effective when definding in the west against Allied “liberation” attempts. The big question is whether the tempo gain of bringing them east is worth it, and ultimately more efficient.

What I mean is: Yes, an AA-gun is better at defending a stationary stack than advancing with the aim of possibly taking some very random pot-shots at enemy planes. That is pretty obvious.  BUT they happen to start on the board in round one, and they typically won’t be needed in the west for the first several rounds. Bringing them east from the beginning will add some momentum to Barbarossa, but at the cost of a less attractive puchase mix during the mid-game if they are to be replaced by newly purchased AA-guns or their equivalent in infantry. Is the boost worth that downside?

@Stalingradski:

I like to bring 3 to France, 3 toward the Russian front… the 3 in France will end up in Normandy or 2 in Normandy/1 in S France, to make things a little tougher for the Allies.

Although I could see the charm in sending all 6 to the East.

So I take you are stationing infantry along the coast as well? Otherwise the Allies can just land 1 inf, and take out your AA guns automatically. Does that strategy work for you?

So in Alpha+3 Germany starts with an awful lot of AA guns (6). How to best utilize them?
I haven’t seen this debated much. Is that because it is a no-brainer or because it is an overlooked issue?

Anyway, assuming this situation:

• No Sea sealion

• Standard Barbarossa(one main stack headed for Moscow, some smaller groups taking territories for IPC’s)

• No KJF

• No tech

• Some USSR plane buys (presumably in order to trade territories)

…how would you deploy the German AA guns?

I guess there are a few basic options:
West:

• Integrate in Atlantic wall (Normandy etc.)

• Keep in Germany (probably Western)as a second line of defense and to deter sniping of Wester Germany

East:

• Use to make über stack less vulnerable to counter attacks

• Spread out to make it more difficult for the Russians to trade territories using planes

Split
Some combination of the above

Some musings:
East
I’m pretty certain that at least some of the AA guns should be brought east, but there are many options. The Russians are probably not going to have enough planes to require the use of more than one or two AA guns to “cover” the stack. Of course they could all be added to the stack anyway just to give it more staying power in the face of a counter attack (as cannon fodder obv.), but I have a feeling that there must be more cost-efficient uses for them.

An option would be to equip some small groups of say 1-3 infantry with 1 AA gun; they would be tricky for the Russians to attack because they would either have to expose their planes to AA fire, or to commit tanks/artillery which could then be smashed by a German attack using overwhelming Luftwaffe support, which in theory should be beneficial for Germany. On the other hand this seems like wasting the AA guns, as they are overly likely to hit anything and are nearly as expensive as a tank. (Mind you I’m not suggesting buying additional AA guns, so this comparison can’t really be made.)

West:
The AA guns just seem to be unimpressive on the Western front. Defending on the coastline (Atlantic wall style) just seems hopeless because there are so many territories to cover, and the AA-guns aren’t really useful in an in-land counterattack-based defense (ie. stationed in France).

I guess one could justify stationing some AA-guns in Western Germany to deter sniper-landings there, but that just seems rather situational.

Perhaps shipping an AA gun or two to Norway might be a good way to make early British landings there more difficult.

What are your thoughts on the German AA guns, and how are you using them?

How about using those tabs for the amount of IPc’s that the particular goal gives? That would make it easy to sum them up. The other numbers aren’t really that important during play.

@Azrael:

Very nice I have been waiting for these to get reprinted for a while but is axis and allies global better then the Europe engulfed and Asia engulfed games (they combine as well)?

The 'Engulfed games are certainly great games, but they don’t combine as smoothly as Global does. I like both, but just get to play A&A more.

So AA50 plays very well OOB and is fairly balanced, so it probably shouldn’t be tinkered with….

…BUT perhaps some of the changes introduced in 1942 2e could potentially improve AA50? I can think of a couple:

• Starting IC in India?

• The new Anti Air Artillery piece (and the general AA changes)?

• Australian IC (From 1941)?

I’m just thinking a few years from now, when we are all used to the new rules, perhaps AA50 will begin to feel dated, and thus start to fade, and that makes me sad  :|

Would it be worth the effort?
Is it sacrilege?

The latest setup changes of the fleets in northern Europe made me thing during my latest game. You can’t hit the UK/Fr Cruisers with the Kriegsmarine and cover survivers with a newly built Carrier anymore. That makes it difficult to position the German boats in a good way.

That made me think long and hard, and one option I considered was an airbase in Benelux. This would allow the Germans to bring out the Kriegsmarine from the Baltic sea, and cover any survivors with planes. I’m just not sure this investment will be worth it in the long run, and in the end I ended up not building the base.

Would it be worthwhile for the Germans to have an air base there? What additional options would basing the Kriegsmarine in the English Channel open up? You would get a longer reach into the Atlantic compared to operating off of Hamburg, and you also have an IC adjacent when you take Normandy. I’m not sure this extra reach is worth the investment, and it is a double edged sword as you will also be closer to US warships when they become large in numbers. you could snipe south America with a single move from the Channel, but that is about the only interesting target comes within three SZ’s due to the relocation.

In the mid-game having the AB in Normady would be more desirable, but then you can’t make the attractive first round attack with the KM as you don’t control Normandy from the beginning.

Thoughts?

After Action Report:

I decided to order a printed poster as adviced above. it looks pretty good, but the dark areas are a bit too dark, and I even increased the gamma slightly before i submitted the file. Unfortunately they made a horrible cropping of the image, and it is basically useless. The entires US west coast is missing  :?  See the attached image.

I have now contacted the printer’s customer service, hoping they will redo the poster….

@Imperious:

OK you should contact HBG and get some grafics made as well as new replacement boxes made of plastic. I would find an accommodating plastic container that is the same size to offer an entire replacement of the cardboard, then have the dividers configured to fit perfectly in the new box. A decal sheet of each nations logo and identification could round out the product.

At BGG they got some guy who already has made these dividers and people are selling them on ebay.

http://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/66868/diy-tuck-box-insert-letter-format-printing

I made those!  :mrgreen:  Are people seriously selling them on Ebay  :?