@DouchemanMacgee:
I’m a bit confused here.
The news article on the front page of AA.org frames this as an expansion to 42SE but the map on the box doesn’t look like the 42SE map.
The article says “the game is itself a standalone game, but also an expansion to Axis & Allies 1942 Edition.” The “also” part possibly implies that rules and components of AAZ can be imported into 1942, if you own that game, as an extra option to playing AAZ on its own.
Are the infantry silhouette tokens on Western China and India meant to be deploy points for infantry only? I can’t imagine you can build new ICs in the game anyway.
@CWO:
The article says “the game is itself a standalone game, but also an expansion to Axis & Allies 1942 Edition.” The “also” part possibly implies that rules and components of AAZ can be imported into 1942, if you own that game, as an extra option to playing AAZ on its own.
Read it again and you’re absolutely right. Thanks!
@CWO:
I don’t know if it’s simply a flub by the art department, or whether it reflects some aspect of the rules (i.e. perhaps the Axis teaming up with the Allies against the zombies?), but I’ve noticed that even though the front cover (https://www.axisandallies.org/p/box-art-axis-allies-zombies/) is divided into an Allied side and an Axis side, there are a few crossovers. Montgomery (easy to recognize) and a Russian officer (based on his medals) are on the Axis side, and there’s a German officer (possibly Guderian) on the Allied side.
The cynical old man in me thinks that the artist couldn’t distinguish Allied figures from Axis figures.
Are the infantry silhouette tokens on Western China and India meant to be deploy points for infantry only?
That’d actually be a neat concept worth importing/house-ruling into other games in the series.
Think about it, how annoying is it in some editions that you have to choose between blowing 15IPC on a factory in Sinkiang or India and letting Japan go on an unhistorical conquering spree/drive to Moscow with Tanks? I’d love a way to spend like 5 IPC to give a territory the capacity to “raise militia” or whatever. Typically players only spam INF out of Factories (in those locations) anyway, so losing the ability to build other units wouldn’t be a huge loss.
HA HA HA game aint out yet and already coming up with House Rules!
SWEET !
:evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:
I cant wait to build 5 to 10 Zombie Inf per IC.
So, basically only the zombie pieces are new ? And they come in 3 different sculpts ? They can be imported to the 1942 game, but not Global 40 ?
@SS:
I cant wait to build 5 to 10 Zombie Inf per IC.
From what the back of the box says, and especially from what Scott Van Essen (the game’s designer) says below, it doesn’t sound as if zombies are built, at least not by the OOB rules. It sounds more as if they’re a spontaneously-generated byproduct of battlefield casualties, and that their cumulative effect is to make intensely fought-over territories more and more impassable over time – sort of a “Sahara / Himalayas” effect, to put it one way.
“What I’m most excited about is instead of fighting over the same territory again and again, what happens is those turtles become more and more overrun by zombies and suddenly it’s just too dangerous to fight or even to try just stay there,” Scott explained. “You have to change your plans you have to shift to new fronts and you have to find different ways to attack your opponent because the zombies become this weird invisible map that you need to find a way around.”
@Imperious:
yea sweet China is 3 areas total. These hobos must play 1941 AA and decided to add Walkers
No, no, China is 5 territories, but Japan occupy 2 of them…
Now it even has an entry at board game geek
@SS:
HA HA HA game aint out yet and already coming up with House Rules!
SWEET !
:evil: :evil: :evil: :evil:I cant wait to build 5 to 10 Zombie Inf per IC.
I was suggesting that the idea of a cheaper IC that only produces INF would be an interesting house rule the A&A games where the powers don’t start with many factories (e.g. Classic, Revised, 41, 42 1st Ed.)
But I have no doubt that this game will need to be heavily house-ruled to be playable.
@Imperious:
yea sweet China is 3 areas total. These hobos must play 1941 AA and decided to add Walkers
No, no, China is 5 territories, but Japan occupy 2 of them…
Not sure what IL meant, but when I referred to three Chinese territories I was only counting the ones that start the game under U.S. control. There are only 3 visible on the board on the back of the box. Other games have had 2 (China/Sinkiang, in Classic/Revised/42 1st Ed.), 4 (Sinkiang/Yunnan/Szechwan/Anhwei 42SE), or many (AA50/G40), but never 3.
Occupied Chinese areas starting as Japanese areas are not Chinese areas, so again 3 Chinese areas
Man, that board map looks REALLY small… I think it’s even smaller than 1941…
@Nowhere:
Man, that board map looks REALLY small… I think it’s even smaller than 1941…
The board looks pathetically small, yes.
The scale looks bigger than 41 though. Some quick comparisons (I’ve attached the 41 map, for reference):
41:
Sub-Saharan African and Siberian territories have no IPC value.
Generally lower IPC values for territories.
“Eastern Europe” is one territory.
“Szechwan” is the southern Chinese territory, and is only one territory.
AAZ (box):
Sub-Saharan African and Siberian territories have low IPC value.
“Eastern Europe” and “Balkans” appear to be separate territories.
Generally lower IPC values for territories (ex. Russia is 4 IPCs when it’s usually 8, East Indies is 2 when it’s usually 4, etc.), but not as low as 41.
“Yunnan” and what appears to be “Sinkiang” are the southern Chinese territories, with the territory that is probably “Sinkiang” bordering Russia and “Yunnan” bordering Japanese-occupied Asia.
The AAZ map is definitely based on the 41 map though (look at the borders of the Russian/Chinese territories), which is probably a bad sign.
I’m curious/nervous about the die on the box image (the one with the letters “D” and “A” on the visible sides). Is it possible that WOTC took a hatchet to the combat system?
Also, I just realized something that no one’s caught yet:
Some of the Neutral territories (Turkey (2), Saudi Arabia (1) and Mongolia (1)) have IPC values. Could mean interesting game mechanics like violating neutrality might find their way into the game. Could be a sliver of hope that this game isn’t hot garbage.
The zombie map might be a good replacement for the 41 map if the size is right.
The extra IPC territories would be a welcome change.
The zombie map might be a good replacement for the 41 map if the size is right.
Has anyone actually found value in the 41 Map as a teaching tool?
I’ve had no problems starting people on 42SE/Revised and then moving up to AA50/G40 if they’re interested in spending an entire weekend fighting it out.
@DouchemanMacgee:
The AAZ map is definitely based on the 41 map though (look at the borders of the Russian/Chinese territories), which is probably a bad sign.
I’m curious/nervous about the die on the box image (the one with the letters “D” and “A” on the visible sides). Is it possible that WOTC took a hatchet to the combat system?
Speaking of realizing something that no one’s caught yet:
The starting incomes for several nations can be spotted on the AAZ Box image of the map:
AAZ (box):
Russia: 14
Japan: 15
UK: 22
Germany: 23
US: unknown but surely higher than 23
As a comparision,
1941:
Russia: 7
Japan: 9
UK: 12
Germany: 12
US: 15
The income on the AAZ map is much higher for all than 1941, which is a good thing… my #1 complaint about 1941 is the complete lack of income for EVERYONE. I could see using the AAZ map as a replacement for the 1941 map for income alone.
Another thing I noticed that nobody else seemed to… like 1941, the Industrial Complexes are printed on the map… but it looks like Infantry-only production plants are ALSO printed on the map? Total guess on my part, but look at those symbols in China and India… they look like the factory emblems (sorta) but with infantry instead of factories as the icon.
Also, there’s clearly Artillery in AAZ… there’s none in 1941… with artillery and higher income, but with a small board and other limitations, this might be a better intro to A&A than 1941 is… probably wouldn’t be hard to just “not” use the Zombies if you wanted a “better 1941” as a teaching tool.
A final thought about the tiny map size of AAZ… the Japanese could land tanks on the Pacific coast of Russia and drive into Moscow the next turn with said tanks…
@DouchemanMacgee:
The zombie map might be a good replacement for the 41 map if the size is right.
Has anyone actually found value in the 41 Map as a teaching tool?
I’ve had no problems starting people on 42SE/Revised and then moving up to AA50/G40 if they’re interested in spending an entire weekend fighting it out.
I have used 1941 as a teaching tool, though I must admit I usually do something to change incomes (upward)… 1941 isn’t much fun when you have to save up for a few turns to buy an infantry… lolz
I’d noticed the higher income but did not notice the Artillery! Good catch and definitely positive news.
Speaking of artillery, and piece sculpts in general, this looks to be a bit of a back slide, to the days of Anniversary of all things.
British Arty: US 105mm Howitzers
German Arty: 88mm Flak-cannons
Russian Arty: US 105mm Howitzers
and
British Destroyer: US Fletcher class (noted as Johnson class in A&A rulebooks)
British Submarine: US Gato class (noted as Ray class in A&A rulebooks)
but also
British Tank: Matilda, not US Shermans in UK tan
Just a thought…
-Midnight_Reaper
well, Anniversary was the last game printed so making more minis from the same sculpt makes economic sense.
I imagine keeping the costs down and retail price low was an important factor for this game.
well, Anniversary was the last game printed so making more minis from the same sculpt makes economic sense.
I imagine keeping the costs down and retail price low was an important factor for this game.
If that’s the theory, then Anniversary should have had either 1942 or 1940 sculpts… since those were the last games made before Anniversary… they had to dig up old sculpts to make Anniversary.
Mind you, both 1942 and 1940 are still in production.
Anniversary was just printed last fall, so it would be still fresh in the factory.
The others were a few years before that.
I don’t know if molds are kept or discarded after a certain time.
Using previous sculpts/models to make new molds would be easy enough for new games but AAZ is so close after AAA that they might just run the same molds for the new game.
Cutting costs on production as well.
