Has anyone here tried “World on Fire?” It’s so much fun! I came across a small table at a game convention and they were selling it so I figured what the heck. Best $12 I even spent! It takes like a second to learn and makes the game way more fun!
Its just a deck of cards for each nation the gives them special abilities. (Germans get heavy tanks and dive bombers, US gets marines and island air strips.) The effects lasts for one battle, so its not like a tech upgrade. (In fact, the rules say they work WITH tech, but I don’t play tech games so I couldn’t say.)
You get one card per NO at the end of your turn instead of the 5 IPCs.
Its not pretty. (Comes in a plain white box, with plain text on cards) but man is it fun! My brother and I are re-addicted to the Axis and Allies! The best part is, each nation gets two cards to start, so the opening moves aren’t same-old same old any more. If Germany has a lot of sub/air bonuses, they may go hard after UK fleet and take it easy on Russia. Lots of ground bonuses and they might do just the opposite!
I’m afraid I’ve never heard of it. I did a quick internet search and could not find a trace of this game. Would you be so kind as to give us some more details about this game expansion you found?
-Midnight_Reaper
Huh. Yeah I googled it too and didn’t find anything! It was definitely a small kind of company, fortunately they were smart enough to put their website on the wrapper.
Looks like $12 was a convention price. The buy it now is $15 plus shipping. If I were you I’d still go for it!
Sounds like a “fortress america”-like modification
I guess I come from a different perspective of what I like about the game. I don’t like the “woah, look what the opponent got, which I could not plan for, and it might win the game for them”
You probably like the great variance of tech dice rolls too.
Actually no, I despise that! I always play low luck, and as I said in the first post, I don’t play tech at all. ( I think it ruins the game. When you’re losing, you might as well try for tech. If it fails, you still lose, if it works, you might win, which is dumb. Every decisions should be a hard one, not a no-brainer!)
The advantages in world on fire only last one battle, and they’re not big enough to tip a battle you would otherwise lose in your favor. They certainly won’t win you the game! They’re just enough to tip a battle that would have otherwise have been 50-50 in your favor.
What I like about Axis and Allies is stress of the decisions and being rewarded for correctly balancing risks vs rewards, and I think this amps that up a bit.
If you don’t use a card you can trade it for 3 ipcs, which feels about right for the value of the bonuses. (They can tip a battle more than 3ipcs worth, but only if you wait until the right battle to use them, whereas you can have 3ipcs now.)
If anything, the objectives are a little less valuable in this version, which makes the game even a little more balanced. My brother and I have started playing World on Fire with no Bid, alternating sides, and so far the score is even between the axis and the allies.
@PizzaPete I missed your mention of no tech, my apologies.
Perhaps you might like a directed National Advantage, where you have to roll dice (akin to tech) to achieve a specific national capability, which varies by country. This way, there’s no surprises about the advantage(s) you develop, and therefor, the cards don’t randomize your strategy. If this sounds interesting to you, PM me your email and I can send you what we use in the Chicago Rules for this.
Just gonna say we use NA, Event cards, Tech and NOs in my game and it doesn’t throw balance off. This all depends on how you have it in game. Example as Axis roll said yes we roll for each country 2 NA you get at start of game always.
Event card each country draws at start of there turn so every body knows what they can do not do or loss or get something.
The NOs are just for 3 Island groups controlled in game. Tech is a 10 tech table and yes random die roll after break thru but not all techs are good for your country. Not trying to say nothing negative in how you guys play. Just ideas here.
Low luck has its moments too. Guys want the normal die roll risk and it does represent in game morale, supplies, accuarcy and such and such.
Axis roll its funny to see when guys roll for that NA at start of turn !!! lol
