Our group, one of which is color blind, is struggling too much trying to tell the difference between the Italian and Russian units, especially when they are near one another on the board. I plan on painting the Italian figures but don’t know if I should….
1. Paint them with a brush?
2. Paint them with spray paint?
3. Dip them into paint and shack off excess?
Do I need to prime them using any of the above options?
Thanks.
I dislike both Victory Cities AND National Objectives, for the same reasons. First, they create a black hole affect, almost forcing players to congregate to specific areas of the board. While this can, and usually does, result in play closer to the historical time line, it lessons the strategic options players have and makes each game play out similarly (I prefer games that allow for various strategies). The second reason I dislike both, when either or both are used, is that variable VCs and optional NOs make the game SO different that everyone has their own personal preferences and it’s hard to get everyone to agree on how to play because everyone has their personal preference and knows how the game flows and has their own strategies under the ruleset they use.
These reasons may seem contradicting, but they aren’t. I really hoped they would have one way to win the game and balanced the game with that in mind, and tweaked the game so that it was playable in a resonable amount of time. As it is now, the 15 VP game takes no less than 6 hours, usually 10+, and 13 VC games can be over in 2 turns. Too much chaos.
@Imperious:
I think we need another picture of it square on. I cant see Europe.
also you others please use the latest file i got. I found some minor mistakes on my first draft.
this is current:
Excellent map, and one that’s ALMOST perfect to print out and play on instead of the default board. The few suggestions I have, possibly for an alternate version, are:
Remove all the backgroud pictures and charts, . IMO they just get in the way
Change the color of neutral territories. Too similar to UK right now
You seem to use white around the neutral territory borders, but aren’t consistent with it’s usage. some neutral borders have white, other don’t
With the unique nation colors for each starting territory, I don’t think you need nation icons in each of these territories. The colors should be enough to tell who owned it at the start of the game (which is my biggest pet-peeve with the AA50 map).
Again, awesome job!
PS: Can I edit this pdf file to my liking, or is it locked?
We also had this problem in our first game. We had a VERY difficult time when Russian and Italian units came into contact with one another. I’m going to spray paint mine too.
Our group of 6 played their first game of AA50 today, playing the '41 scenario. This group has been together for 20+ years and have played every type of game you can imagine, including all the other A&As. With 6 people we had 1 person playing each nation. It took us about 9 hours to complete the game, with only one player having read the rules, eating while playing, and taking our time due to rule reading and trying not to make mistakes. In short, the Axis were struggling the entire game, giving up after turn 7 or 8. Here’s a general flow of our game.
The UK discovered Heavy Bombers on turn 1 and the USA discovered Improved Shipyards on turn 1 or 2. Needless to say, the Axis were being pummeled by Hvy English bombers for the rest of the game. Italy pretty much was put out of the game on turn 2, losing it’s entire navy to Heavy Bombers and having it’s only industrial complex bombed into the dark ages every turn. Italy never got going in Africa. America and Japan had a back and forth battle in the pacific for the first 3-4 turns, while the USSR kept pressure on Germany while the UK bombed Germany into submission throughout the game. The Axis did make it semi-competitive with a sneaky take over of Moscow, but it only prolonged the game as it looked as though they may come back. With Japan fighting a 3 front war vs USA/China/USSR they never were able to eject China, couldn’t compete with USA’s early Improved Shipyards (Japan got Improved Shipyards late in the game), and couldn’t put enough pressure on the USSR to keep them from running over Germany.
Overall, we had a good time, but spent a lot of time going over the rulebook and coming across situations not covered in the rulebook. Thankfully, we found answers on these boards from Krieghund. Even with these clarifications, we weren’t all too happy with the holes in the rulebook. Some Pros and Cons of AA50, after 1 game:
PROS
Large map allows for easier unit placement
6 nations makes the game seem more even
Game seems more balanced
The National Objectives resulted in battles for territories all over the map
The new Research Token rule is better than previous tech rules
Reduced naval costs keep the sea battles going
New sub rules are much better than all previous editions
Cruisers are a great addition, filling in the much needed gap between the DD and BB
Gamepiece holders are very nice, with covers so units don’t fly all over
China, while adding lots of clumsy rules and units too close in color to USA, are a nice play balance addition
CONS
3 separated map section is a royal pain, but can be cured with connectors. It still should have been one folded piece
While new map looks nice, the natural terrain look makes it much harder to tell who owned territories at start of game, making calculating income on the fly VERY painful
Rulebook wasn’t playtested (read upon completion) enough. We couldn’t believe the things that were missing or unclear
Early techs can still throw the entire game into a lopsided, unrecoverable mess if one side gets 1 or more and the other side doesn’t (Heavy Bombers still seem too strong).
Random and luck-based tech rules can throw an otherwise tactical and strategic game into a lucky die fest
Italy and Russian units are almost identical in color, to the point where you literally can’t tell them apart.
Italy is pretty pathetic and probably not worth assigning one player to play
Too expensive for what you get and slightly new rules and pieces
@Imperious:
http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=1719431d339c3594dd8b33b5aa27078d
here it is.
Wow, those are awesome. But, what are the Convey Zone’s for in AA50? I’m lost.
Where is the rule that states air units can’t attack submarines unless there’s a destroyer present? I’ve only seen this rule in the destroyer section, at the end of the manual:
@rulebook:
Additionally, your aircraft may attack enemy submarines.
I’m aware that subs can submerged when there isn’t a enemy DD present, but I don’t see anything that says aircraft can’t attack or have have their attack results applied to submarines without a DD present. For example, what happens when a German CC and some German aircraft attack a willing group of (only) British subs? Can the aircraft attack? Where are the rules governing this? Thanks!!
CLSGames informed me that they will receive the game on Tuesday, to ship out either Tuesday or Wednesday.
Our gaming group almost always plays 1 person per nation and I’m a little concerned about the lack of interest in playing Italy, seeing that they only have 10 IPCs and starts with only a handful of units. Hopefully they can still be a fun and interesting nation to play.
Out of curiosity, why do some of you buy more than 1 copy of the game?