Sorry for the screw-up re posted.
New player needing advice on what extra pieces to purchase.
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Hello fellow players, I’m a new player from Italy, COMPLETELY new. I’m not even a player yet.
My girlfriend bought me an A&A Europe 1940.2 + Pacific 1940.2 and I can’t unwrap them until Christmas, so I’ve never played them yet.
Reading about the game on the internet, I’ve found some frequent complaints about the lack of certain pieces, so I’ve come here and, as a first thing, I’ve used the search function but I couldn’t find a sactisfying answer to my question.
As veteran players what would you suggest me to buy to “complete” the game (to play Europe, Pacific or global)?
To make it easier for you I’ll formulate specific questions:- Do I need to buy more miniatures? What will most probably run out during a playing session?
- Do I need more dice?
- Do I need more country roundels?
- Do I need more plastic chips? If yes, what color? HBG offers several colors but having not played the game yet I don’t know what all those colors stand for (blues, yellows, grays, browns etc. etc.)
- I’e read complaints about the lack of game currency and the subsequent need for pen and paper. There are some “battle bucks” on HBG, are they useful? What should I buy to use as currency?
- I see other pieces on HBG, plastic factories and other nice looking stuff, please feel free to suggest me what to purchase to make the game more playable/fun.
Thank you in advance to those who will help!
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Things I tend to run out of:
1. Japanese artillery
2. Japanese transports (easily chipped)
3. German artillery
4. Japanese planes
5. UK fighters
6. US fighters
7. US destroyers (easily chipped)
8. US transports (easily chipped)If it’s easily chipped, you may not choose to invest in extra pieces. For whatever reason, a lot of players tend not to chip planes unless space is really limited.
Marsh
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- Do I need to buy more miniatures? What will most probably run out during a playing session?
I haven’t had a problem of running out of miniatures. However, I have bought some neutral infantry pieces from HBG to make my game better
- Do I need more dice?
Extra dice doesn’t hurt
- Do I need more country roundels?
I would say yes. I stocked up roundels until I have 50 for each major power and 30 for each minor power, which is probably over kill.
- Do I need more plastic chips? If yes, what color? HBG offers several colors but having not played the game yet I don’t know what all those colors stand for (blues, yellows, grays, browns etc. etc.)
Definitely! I bought 2 (or maybe it was 3) extra bags of chips from the games off of HBG. That seems to be enough for my games.
http://www.historicalboardgaming.com/Europe-Pacific-40-2-Sealed-Bag-Chips_p_1125.html- I’e read complaints about the lack of game currency and the subsequent need for pen and paper. There are some “battle bucks” on HBG, are they useful? What should I buy to use as currency?
I use and love the battle bucks. A lot of players like poker chips. You should use one of those two methods for money. Writing it all down on paper is lame, and kind of makes me not want to play the game.
- I see other pieces on HBG, plastic factories and other nice looking stuff, please feel free to suggest me what to purchase to make the game more playable/fun.
I love using these as neutral infantry on neutral countries. It’s complete unnecessary, but I love pimping out my games.
http://www.historicalboardgaming.com/HBG-Battle-Pieces–WW2-Neutrals-Basic-Set–Dutch-Infantry-Soldier_p_791.htmlGetting some original plastic industrial complexes might be nice. Search on ebay for these as HBG almost never has them in stock.
I hope this helps! Let me know if I can answer any other questions for you.
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I found that green chips disappeared at the bottom of the stack of grays, so I bought some different colored chips. We also are getting to everyone chipping colors at the top, so even the greens are fine.
Extra dice really are a must.
Extra Japanese and German roundels seem to be a must. If you run out of Italian roundels too, the Allies should just concede! :-)
Cheap Hoyle poker chips work great as IPCs. They don’t get banged up and can be washed in case of spills.
Marsh
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Japanese Mech Infantry!!!
I always end up using the French Mechs.
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I did once run out of Japanese tanks, but that was an odd game. I only included stuff I’ve run out of multiple times.
Marsh
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You’ll need more white or grey chips…and maybe more red chips.
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The game comes with adequate pieces, which is not necessarily true of some other editions (1941 is a cheap edition with too few, WW1 has some deficiencies). If you have any other axis and allies games you can take the pieces from them. In G42 you will need more Axis Armor than comes in the OOB game so I use the 1985 42.1 pieces.
You just need to use the chips. Many of the miniature poker chips are incompatible with one another both the AxA ones and the ones available on the market. The grooves for WW1, old AxA, new AxA and after-market chips don’t fit together.
gray 1 green 3 red 5 yellow (optional) 10
While playing with the paper money is feely and popular, it is a pretty big waste of time (30+ minutes per game) dealing with doling it out and just managing it. So is tracking the money on the income strip. We use a pre-printed chart that one player fills out, which also discourages cheating and mistakes (because the chart is there for all to see).
Buying the small chessex (10mm?) dice is a pretty good idea, I use these to mark out how many moves each plane or pile of planes have left to avoid mistakes. I use the chessex 25mm dice because they are really good looking and clacky but they are also round cornered so they tend to spin quite a bit (another time waster; only casino dice have sharp corners). A lot of wargamers just use the small dice, you can roll tons at once and somehow the physics mean they don’t spin as much. Some people use different colored dice for different attack powers at the same time but this can also be used to cheat and is subject to mistakes so I don’t do it.
The HBG/FMG pieces are really cool, but they are outrageously expensive and if you are not just buying alternate sculpts for existing pieces, you’ll need house rules to add self propelled guns and self propelled artillery etc to the game.
A dice tower may be useful to keep dice from spraying all over the place, we use the box lids.
A sewing counter or abacus like counter may also be good to keep track of hits as you move through the combat since it is easy for the rolling player to forget his running total while they are playing out a large attack.
However, none of these are necessary. OOB is solid for G40.
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While playing with the paper money is feely and popular, it is a pretty big waste of time
I have to STRONGLY disagree with this. Using paper money/poker chips is part of the Axis and Allies experience! I apologize for being crude with this metaphor, but this is like saying that foreplay is unnecessary when having coitus. It may, by definition, be true, but completely false when lined up with people’s expectations of the experience.
So, paper money/poker ships is pretty much mandatory for a proper Axis and Allies experience :)
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While playing with the paper money is feely and popular, it is a pretty big waste of time
I have to STRONGLY disagree with this.�  Using paper money/poker chips is part of the Axis and Allies experience!�  I apologize for being crude with this metaphor, but this is like saying that foreplay is unnecessary when having coitus.�  It may, by definition, be true, but completely false when lined up with people’s expectations of the experience.
So, paper money/poker ships is pretty much mandatory for a proper Axis and Allies experience :)
I was all paper even when I knew poker chips might be a good option, but I switched completely to chips over bucks this year mainly because you can handle them, pass them, and count them all with one hand… (a huge advantage for me while shooting videos as well).
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Welcome to the axis and allies world. If your girlfriend won’t let you open the games till X-mas, maybe she will allow you to pull the rules out of each set (and the maps would also be helpful if you can pull it off). I also suggest you checkout Young Grasshopper’s Beginners Guide (see link below). Even if you can’t open your games Young Grasshopper has links to the Avalon Hills site so you can download the rules. It also has links to the set-ups, and FAQ (changes or clarifications to the rules). This won’t be a quick easy read if you have never played axis and allies before. I would also suggest that you watch as many of Young Grasshopper’s U-tube videos as you can to get up to speed. He has done a terrific job introducing new players to Axis & Allies (not knowing if you speak English, but his video’s are awesome).
This is a pretty big map when combined for the global game, about 82 cm X 178 cm (32 inches X 70 inches). You will also need a little extra room around the map for unit trays etc…. so you may want to prepare something/somewhere ahead of time to play it. You may even consider setting up the whole global game to get the feel for it, but only play the Euro side the first time to get familiar with the rules and movement etc…The Pac side has more political rules to deal with (unless Japan attacks on the first turn) and much more navy and sea zones which can get overwhelming.
Young Grasshopper’s Beginners Guide link:
http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=34418.0Avalon Hill website link for rules (can also get here through YG’s Beginners Guide above)
http://avalonhill.wizards.com/rulesUnits and chips (may need more chips):
US and UK units come in both games, so being you have Europe40 and Pacific40 you can combine the units for these powers. This should give you enough units for the most part to play the individual games, or the global version. Chips are used when you have more then just a couple of the same type of unit in one territory (gray-1 unit, green-3 units, red-5 units). You will use chips when setting up the game, or when you merge stacks into a single territory to save space. You may need to swap some units on the map for chips when you want to buy a unit and don’t have that type in your supply box too.
Example, when setting-up the territory Germany it starts with 11 infantry. You wouldn’t use 11 inf because it takes up to much room, and you will run out of inf very fast. You use chips, could use 1 red chip (5), 5 gray chips (5), and one inf (1) on the top of the chips to represent 11 inf (could also just use 2 red chips and 1 inf on top for the same thing). The green chips are relativity new to me because they didn’t come in the original version (or earlier AA games). Being that I have plenty of chips from other versions I don’t feel the need to use them, but you will most likely have to at some point, unless you buy more chips from HBG. You can also use coins as some have posted if you run out of chips. Most people don’t like to use chips for planes, ships/transports, but you do what you have to.
Edit unit and chip trays:
I believe that the game still comes with trays for each power to hold the units, but I don’t think it is compartmentalized (the original version wasn’t). If I was to purchase or make something this is the one thing I would concentrate on. Keeping all the individual units separate is a big plus when playing. You can make cardboard inserts for the cardboard trays the game comes with, or buy plastic containers with dividers. I found plastic containers (with a hinged lid) in the sporting goods section of a local department store (Walmart I think). They are about 10 cm X 20 cm (4 inches X 8 inches), and have up to 12 compartments, but you can pull some of the dividers to form larger compartment’s (for inf and capital ships).Dice:
Dice are awesome, they can kinda take on their own personalities. I have many AA games, and have also purchased a couple sets of combat dice from FMG that are power specific (you can see the German set in the advertisement in the side bar if you scroll to the top of this page). Most of us probably have a favorite set of dice, or use different dice for different situations. It’s part of the whole trash talking AA experience (“don’t touch my dice…”). I would suggest having more dice because it will make the bigger battles go faster (even borrowing dice from other games you may have). Having a dice tray, or somewhere to roll the dice (box top) is important so that your dice don’t go crashing through the board, and mess things up.Roundels, air/naval bases (AB/NB), and industrial complexes (IC’s):
I always seem to need more Japanese markers, but I would play the game a few times before looking to buy more units or roundels (you can always draw something up, or substitute if you need to). The cardboard AB/NB and ICs are ok, but you may choose to upgrade them later. I have the plastic IC’s from other AA games and use those for major ICs, but still use the cardboard minor IC, and AB/NB. You can buy this stuff from HBG, or FMG, but it might be quicker and more cost effective to just go out and buy the 1942 2nd edition. It has 5 of the major powers (no Italy, Anzac, or China), nearly all the units for each power, and it has more dice, chips, and cardboard ICs. Plus it is a good stand alone game as well that has similar rules (helpful to break it out and play when introducing new players to the game).No paper currency:
Yep, this is regrettable in my opinion. I have Industrial Production Certificates (IPC’s) from other games I own, and some War Bucks from HBG too. I haven’t used poker chips, but I hear that is a good way to go as well. I’m old school and like to gather my income in IPC’s and place it with that power. When I purchase units I will put the IPCs with those units as I go keeping track of what I’ve spent along the way. Like if Russia is buying 5 inf (3 IPCs each costing 15 IPCs), I will place those 5 inf on top of 15 IPCs etc…We don’t like to use the income tracker w/roundels because it is easy to forget to adjust it, or roundels get moved around (by accident of coarse :wink: ).With that said, we also print off a computer generated spreadsheet with all powers on it to track incomes after each turn (it is two sided and has 5 complete rounds of play on each side). This may seem redundant, but the spreadsheet is very helpful to keep things straight. It has the starting income for each power and allows for increases or decreases to income, records if that power saved any income from last turn, or was convoyed etc…We also refer to it at the beginning of each players turn just to make sure he has the correct starting income (IPCs in hand). We have found that sometimes just using paper IPC’s and/or the games income tracker that you can easily forget to add or subtract income etc… Using a spreadsheet may add a bit of time, but seems to help keep arguments to a minimum because you can see that he saved 5 IPCs the last turn and that’s why he can afford to buy what he did. It also helps you to remember about convoy’s, because convoy damage is on the sheet (I realize you probably don’t know what convoy damage is, but once you do, you will probably forget to do it :-D ).
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Thank you all for the thorough explanations. This was all I wanted to know (for the moment). :-D
I’m sure I’ll come back with a lot more questions after I start playing next winter.@WILD:
Even if you can’t open your games Young Grasshopper has links to the Avalon Hills site so you can download the rules. It also has links to the set-ups, and FAQ (changes or clarifications to the rules). This won’t be a quick easy read if you have never played axis and allies before. I would also suggest that you watch as many of Young Grasshopper’s U-tube videos as you can to get up to speed. He has done a terrific job introducing new players to Axis & Allies (not knowing if you speak English, but his video’s are awesome).
Yes, I’ve downloaded both manuals and hi-res maps for the two games and read everything. The next step would have been to search for tutorial videos on youtube, but you just gave me the perfect link, thank you sir. I’ll spend the next days watching Young Grasshopper’s videos. :-D
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I would definitely buy more chips. Once you get into this game, you will make monster stack. To have those stacks, you need a chip representing 10. In case of emergency, you can use a country roundel to represent 10, but getting a color chip that fits with the other chips is definitely better.
Oldy players like me have just pooled all of the plastic chips and all of the roundels from all of our axis games in one big box. In the game, you have white chips (1) and red chips (5), I would recommend getting ones in a different color like blue or green, to represent 10.
Some people have 4 kinds, worth 1,3,5, and 10, but this can be messy with that many colors.
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oops, might be wrong :/
Could have swore it only came with two types when I got the game.
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I would definitely buy more chips. Once you get into this game, you will make monster stack. To have those stacks, you need a chip representing 10.
Thanks for the adviceve, I’ll buy a lot of yellows to use as 10. :-D
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I would definitely buy more chips. Once you get into this game, you will make monster stack. To have those stacks, you need a chip representing 10.
Thanks for the adviceve, I’ll buy a lot of yellows to use as 10. :-D
Something my friend and I do… Yellow for Axis 1s, and black for Axis 5s / gray for Allied 1s, and red for Allied 5s.
You would be amazed how much easier it is to identify enemy units on the board.
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I have to STRONGLY disagree with this. Using paper money/poker chips is part of the Axis and Allies experience!
I very much agree with your disagreement (if that makes sense). Maybe I never progressed from the time when I played Monopoly as a kid, but to me there’s just something about having a big stack of physical play money in my hands that makes me feel rich, even if those simulated bills aren’t even worth the paper they’re printed on. A few years ago, someone published a special edition of Monopoly (one of the countless ones that have been produced over the decades) which, along with property values being adjusted for inflation into the million-dollar range, includes debit cards and a card reader rather than paper cash. My reaction was: that’s just wrong!
A few months ago, incidentally, I gathered all the IPCs from all the copies of all the editions of A&A that I own and assembled them into three stacks (one stack per denomination), to see how high each pile would be. From memory, I think the answer in each case was about three inches. I put each pile into a separate plastic zip-lock sandwich bag for convenient storage. At one point I piled all three bags on top of each other to form a single stack of bills, which was mildly thrilling from a kid-playing-Monopoly perspective. (From an adult-playing-A&A perspective, however, it’s much more fun to use that cash to buy tanks and warships rather than houses and hotels.)
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the proper dice sizes are 12mm for the small and 16 mm for the large. Boy, 25mm dice would be huge.
I stand by what I said, messing around with the chips money and casino placards is a big time waster and it introduces ample opportunities for both cheating and mistakes.
However, I agree with your sentiments I suppose; I’m not that interested in playing TrippleA because playing live is part of the experience to me, poker chips or not. I’m sure the better competition is online but PBEM style games are even more cumbersome and detached than PvP PC computer games. I don’t really want to have the thrills of annotating/rulechecking dozens of turns or puzzling out how to move sprites on a screen, but im sure there have been some sweaty moments watching for the results of randomly generated numbers to come in by email and really figure out how he rolled 6,6,4,4,2,2,1,1,1,1…damn its exciting just talking about it…
Reminds me of the documentary Man vs Snake; getting a billion points in a video game isn’t so much about your gameplay as it is applying that gameplay in a marathon environment over 48 hours of boredom and stress, which makes Gencon as good as it is, because there were no endless days of time to think out a move or analyze strategy, everything had to be done in that moment with all the fatigue, excitement and planning coming together at once at 8am on a Sunday and after 6 full games in 10 days.
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I like using white and gray plastic industrial complex pieces from other A&A games instead of the little cardboard pieces in the 1940 games.
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OnTopic:
I dont get the whole point of buying extra pieces for a game you have not yet played and you might not need those pieces at all. On the forum we are influencing eachother and that gravitates to a certain playstyle. Going completely blank might cause different strategies and different requirements on pieces.
Why not just play the game as it is from the box ( maby scavenge stuff from other games with dice if you want to speed things up ) and go from there. Check what you run into yourself and fix those things.Yes, that makes a lot of sense. It’s just that I have read a lot of complaints in online reviews about insufficient pieces and I thought I’d try and ask veterans what pieces might run out and what additions could be nice. Of course I’ll decide what’s needed with experience and playing sessions.
For now, I’m surely going to buy battle bucks (I have been a monopoly player in my childhhod :D), extra chips and dice and some infantry for neutral territories.
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