War and Peace (2012)

[Wolfshanze]

The kids are doing great… I actually got them “into Axis and Allies” by getting them to play War and Peace and the original 1980s A&A, which I have put a lot of time and effort into sprucing up (my old copy was a mess)… I also got Anniversary and am working on multiple projects on Anniversary… got a map printed, having a custom A&A dice tray made, and am repainting units, along with my other customizations.

On War and Peace, I did a lot of work on it as well… new storage trays, new leaders, and this map project… i’m attaching (a shrunk-down) version of my printable map… my original file is much larger and in PNG format. The game map for W&P is a bit of a mess… the box it comes in is much smaller than a 1941/42 A&A box, so the cardboard map is folded down to 8 separate sections with a lot of creases and “flappy parts” for a lack of a better term, that after having gotten used to printed flat vinyl A&A maps, I just have a hard time being happy with this 8-part floppy hot mess. I scanned all 8 pieces and have been stitching them together in a paint program… from the sample below you can see i’ve pretty much eliminated the board crease completely from France… i’m still working on other parts of the map… I eventually intend to have the map printed on a custom game mat… I already had one done in this manner for King of Tokyo, so it will work well on War and Peace… i love the canvas and rubber map, having it done at this shop:
https://www.inkedgaming.com/collections/custom/products/two-player-custom-playmat

Anyways, here’s the pics of my in-work map project (shrunk down) and my Napoleonic miniatures… oh, they are Reeves 54mm lead toy soldiers… they have some weight to them, but they are designed for play and (obviously) stand-out on the map when leading forces… as with many rare things, I found them on E-Bay… they ain’t at my local Walmart, that’s for sure. I spent a lot of time searching for the right pieces to lead my W&P armies. My “back-up” plan was some pre-painted plastic Napoleonic toy soldiers I found… they weren’t “technically” Napoleon and Wellington but they would have passed as leaders and looked a lot better than the tiny plastic cardboard chits that come with the game (lame).

[Private-Panic]

Thanks for sharing Wolf. When I have received the game I will decide what to do.

[Witt]

I, too, am happy you  are back .
Thank you fir your time to describe the game . I really want to play it.

[bgugs]

I have this game and certainly enjoy playing it. My question to you guys is how you balanced it? I am not sure if I am doing something wrong but it seems like France should run through Austria and eventually Russia and that Britain would have to spend way to much to get Prussia into the fight to make a difference. Has anyone else had this problem?

[Private-Panic]

The game arrived on Friday, I read the rules on Saturday, played a solo game on Sunday and then played two games with a friend on Monday! :-o

Based on that introduction I would say this is a great game. The map, variety of playing pieces and income levels are more reminiscent of 1941 than the other A&A variants I have played, which makes this an evening game. But the additional alliance and diplomacy elements add a lot of options. We both really enjoyed it.

Having another evening A&A type game is really valuable to me. I reckon I will persuade all the friends and family that enjoy 1941 but not more complex variants to give this a go. It might then encourage some of them to try the other A&A variants.

@Wolfshanze:

On War and Peace, I did a lot of work on it as well… new storage trays, new leaders, and this map project… i’m attaching (a shrunk-down) version of my printable map… i’m still working on other parts of the map…

Wolf - I would be very grateful for a copy of your map when you have finished it, if you are happy to share.

@bgugs:

I have this game and certainly enjoy playing it. My question to you guys is how you balanced it? I am not sure if I am doing something wrong but it seems like France should run through Austria and eventually Russia and that Britain would have to spend way to much to get Prussia into the fight to make a difference. Has anyone else had this problem?

bgugs - We played two games as I said. France won the first and Britain the second. In the second game Britain spent all its money in the first two turns on diplomatic rolls for Prussia, bringing them into the war in turn 2.

[Witt]

Thanks PP. Can’t wait until we can play it.

[Wolfshanze]

@Private:

…I would say this is a great game. The map, variety of playing pieces and income levels are more reminiscent of 1941 than the other A&A variants I have played, which makes this an evening game. But the additional alliance and diplomacy elements add a lot of options. We both really enjoyed it.

Wolf - I would be very grateful for a copy of your map when you have finished it, if you are happy to share.

Glad you enjoyed the game… it is on the light side of A&A in terms of complexity and length of play, but I count that as a plus in terms of using it as an intro to A&A style games, and something that doesn’t demand a huge time commitment.

As for the map, I fully intend on sharing with anyone who wants it… I haven’t yet finished smoothing out the board seems from my stitch job, but as soon as that’s done,  I will share the full size map… I’ll release it in original PNG format so it can be easily modified if anyone wants to make customized changes to the board. Of course,  I think the scan job went pretty good… it should port over pretty good to printing a smooth one piece map of whatever size you want.

So Private Panic, what did you think of the great Napoleon and Wellington cardboard chits? Are you sticking with them as your leaders or will you do something different?  How are you storing your pieces?

[Private-Panic]

@wittmann:

Thanks PP. Can’t wait until we can play it.

You were going to let me know when you were sufficiently over your last eye operation for us to meet up again?

[Private-Panic]

@Wolfshanze:

As for the map, I fully intend on sharing with anyone who wants it… I haven’t yet finished smoothing out the board seems from my stitch job, but as soon as that’s done,  I will share the full size map… I’ll release it in original PNG format so it can be easily modified if anyone wants to make customized changes to the board. Of course,  I think the scan job went pretty good… it should port over pretty good to printing a smooth one piece map of whatever size you want.

Thanks very much Wolf.

@Wolfshanze:

So Private Panic, what did you think of the great Napoleon and Wellington cardboard chits? Are you sticking with them as your leaders or will you do something different?  How are you storing your pieces?

I guess I will replace the cardboard chits at some point. But storage is not a problem in my non-OCD world Wolf! :roll: Plastic bags work fine! :-o

[Wolfshanze]

@Private:

I guess I will replace the cardboard chits at some point. But storage is not a problem in my non-OCD world Wolf! :roll: Plastic bags work fine! :-o

Nooooooooooooooo!  :-o

Now I won’t be able to sleep at night, knowing that across the Atlantic your War and Peace units are floating around loosely in plastic bags, not properly stored in a storage bin… my OCD senses are going crazy!

But please replace those cardboard chits, how can a lowly cardboard chit lead armies of 3D sculpted army units?

[Private-Panic]

Chastised as I am, I will gladly play with any Napoleon or Wellington figures you kindly send over …… :-)

[bgugs]

bgugs - We played two games as I said. France won the first and Britain the second. In the second game Britain spent all its money in the first two turns on diplomatic rolls for Prussia, bringing them into the war in turn 2.

Did Spain not take Gibraltar at that point? The best strategy I have been able to come up with for Britain is to spend heavy on Gibraltar to kill Spain while trying to find the money to bring Prussia in. In my experience if you don’t fight through Gibraltar Britain can’t get the required troops to the mainland. Maybe there is something I am missing but it just seems like Spain needs to be contained before Britain can throw money at Prussia. It has also been a while since I played this so maybe I should go back and try it again. I am glad you guys enjoy it too. It is definitely a fun little game.

[Private-Panic]

Yes bgugs. Gibraltar did fall, never to be recaptured. GB used its naval dominance to land troops all around Europe’s coasts instead, wherever an opportunity presented itself, causing France and Spain lots of problems.

More importantly, Prussia was able to combine with Russia, eventually squeezing France out of Vienna and bringing Austria back into the war.

Based on an experience of only 2 games it seemed clear that Prussia contributed far more than Gibralter would have done. Perhaps my next game will prove differently! :-D

[Wolfshanze]

@Private:

Chastised as I am, I will gladly play with any Napoleon or Wellington figures you kindly send over …… :-)

Do a search of E-Bay… look for 54mm Napoleon or Duke of Wellington miniatures… or try the poor mans avenue, get a bunch of toy soldiers and grab one of the officer looking dudes for each side:

https://www.amazon.com/Plastic-Soldiers-Napoleonic-Infantry-Waterloo/dp/B00HYHI6LW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1523381766&sr=8-1&keywords=napoleonic+soldiers

https://www.amazon.com/Plastic-Soldiers-Napoleonic-Infantry-Waterloo/dp/B00HYJOPJM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1523381766&sr=8-2&keywords=napoleonic+soldiers

[Private-Panic]

Thanks for the links Wolf :-)

[John Brown]

I just got this game, and hope to play it soon. :-D

[Private-Panic]

Enjoy!

[John Brown]

Thanks Private Panic!

I think I will enjoy it. :-)

[bgugs]

I haven’t played this in a while. Maybe my group missed something. It always seemed to me thought that France could easily hold its coast while running over Austria and even Prussia if necessary and then slowly over power Russia since they are making so much money at that point. I always found that Britain’s only chance was to try to run through Spain and hopefully do it faster than France gets through Prussia and Austria, then kill France from both sides. However, it has been a while and my opponents tended to also make major mistakes so that could have lead to me finding this game very one sided.