G40 vs AA50 discussion (from League players)

[gamerman01]

We have an interesting discussion (in the league) going about the pros and cons of G40 vs AA50:

[Soulblighter]

(About G40) …The games are too time demanding and I find myself not enjoying them…

(edited by Gamerman01)

[gamerman01]

I strongly believe AA50 is the best global A&A game for the balance of fun vs. time

So I’m sorry no one is interested in it any more because new, shiny.

Tech was amazing in AA50, and the turns and the whole game was so much more manageable. It’s a lot of work to command 15-20 planes at a time and dozens of other units, along with the naval and air bases.

Obviously, G40 is THE standout A&A game in many departments, but that time sink and the amount of RAM you need in your head is sometimes staggering.

[gamerman01]

I came back to clarify my previous comment. G40 isn’t new at all (10 years old) but it’s the latest still. It was super exciting at first, but became quickly obvious she demanded an awful lot of time and attention.

Balanced mod breathed a lot of life back in, and it’s a fantastic game. But don’t try to teach it to your cousin who’s never played Axis & Allies. Try A&A Zombies instead. It’s amazing.

[oysteilo]

@gamerman01 said in Post League Game Results Here:

I strongly believe AA50 is the best global A&A game for the balance of fun vs. time

So I’m sorry no one is interested in it any more because new, shiny.

Tech was amazing in AA50, and the turns and the whole game was so much more manageable. It’s a lot of work to command 15-20 planes at a time and dozens of other units, along with the naval and air bases.

Obviously, G40 is THE standout A&A game in many departments, but that time sink and the amount of RAM you need in your head is sometimes staggering.

played it a few times with beers and gin and tonic live but never online or on forum. Seems to favour the axis huuughly

[gamerman01]

There are 2 scenarios.

If you play 1941 with the Dardanelles strait open, yes it favors the Axis hugely. But if you close the Dardanelles, not so much.

1942 was pretty balanced IIRC. Don’t remember bids.
AA50 is on Triple A although China looks weird compared to the actual game board.

[simon33]

@gamerman01 said in Post League Game Results Here:

There are 2 scenarios.

If you play 1941 with the Dardanelles strait open, yes it favors the Axis hugely. But if you close the Dardanelles, not so much.

1942 was pretty balanced IIRC. Don’t remember bids.
AA50 is on Triple A although China looks weird compared to the actual game board.

Really, I remember 1941 (v6) being hugely unbalanced. Maybe it really swings on those straits, don’t remember that bit. Don’t think I played it more than once after seeing it though, massive backwards step.

1942 - do you mean classic? Think that was a bit biased towards the allies even if you made Russia restricted. Didn’t play v2 (revised), v3 (aa50) or v4 (Spring 1942) but v5 started biased towards axis but then there was a revised setup known as 42.3 which evened things up a lot.

Karl7 also thinks aa50 was the best one OOB, although I doubt I could step back to that. Also it was out of print for a long time. So I never got into it.

[simon33]

@gamerman01 said in Post League Game Results Here:

But don’t try to teach it to your cousin who’s never played Axis & Allies. Try A&A Zombies instead. It’s amazing.

Got to agree with this one. There is too much in the learning curve. 42.3, revised or classic might be a better starting point.

[gamerman01]

@simon33 said in Post League Game Results Here:

@gamerman01 said in Post League Game Results Here:

There are 2 scenarios.

If you play 1941 with the Dardanelles strait open, yes it favors the Axis hugely. But if you close the Dardanelles, not so much.

1942 was pretty balanced IIRC. Don’t remember bids.
AA50 is on Triple A although China looks weird compared to the actual game board.

Really, I remember 1941 (v6) being hugely unbalanced. Maybe it really swings on those straits, don’t remember that bit. Don’t think I played it more than once after seeing it though, massive backwards step.

1942 - do you mean classic? Think that was a bit biased towards the allies even if you made Russia restricted. Didn’t play v2 (revised), v3 (aa50) or v4 (Spring 1942) but v5 started biased towards axis but then there was a revised setup known as 42.3 which evened things up a lot.

Karl7 also thinks aa50 was the best one OOB, although I doubt I could step back to that. Also it was out of print for a long time. So I never got into it.

No, I meant 1942 version of AA50.
Dardanelles open breaks the game because Axis can hit Caucasus Russian factory directly from the beginning as I recall. Yes, the map looks like Chutes & Ladders after you’re used to G40, but the tech and the NO’s that were introduced in that game (tech tokens) and that it’s 3 powers against 3 powers was amazing. G40 US/UK combo and Italy/Germany combo (and US/ANZ combo) are not strengths of G40 IMO

[Karl7]

@gamerman01

We regularly play AA50 here in the Bay Area in FtoF settings. You can finish it in a day, easy. The 1941 set up needs a bid, usually around 15, we find.

The other great one OOB, was 2001 Pacific. If you just did the India fix, the game was pretty tight, fun and easy to finish in less than 5ish hours. (Although it has some of the old classic mechanics, so would probably cause some 504 errors in my mind trying to play it again)

[gamerman01]

'41 AA50 was so popular because it was a different starting time, I was a bit annoyed because few would play 1942 which I liked. The first round of '41 was basically getting you to '42. Japanese take all the islands… tedious.

Anyway, '41 was so popular (I did play it a bunch later) it couldn’t have been too unbalanced.

I have 35 of my games of '41 scenario in my records (61 games of '42). Bids ranged from 6 to 19 (and most are under 15)
I won’t tell you how many I won unless you ask, but <cough> I won a ton of them including the '41 league championship of 2012. Bid of 11. Against Zhukov.

'41 wasn’t broken at all.

[gamerman01]

Ahhh, the veteran Karl is in lock step with me - we posted at the same time :blush:

Anyway, not arguing just to argue, just “hey”! Give it another shot?! But not the alcoholic type this time

[gamerman01]

'42 AA50 bids were miniscule. It was balanced. Sometimes a little bid one way, sometimes a little bid the other.

Again, there is no better A&A global game for tech.

[gamerman01]

@gamerman01 said in Post League Game Results Here:

I have 35 of my games of '41 scenario in my records (61 games of '42). Bids ranged from 6 to 19 (and most are under 15)

Eh, to be clear, those 96 games were all ones I played, not the community in general. So you could play a lot of games with a lot of people.

If you were losing, it was over quick. You get diced in G40 global game, you suffer for a very long time if you don’t resign.

Just sayin’! G40 isn’t the best at everything! :D :D

[LennardF]

@gamerman01 I bought Anniversary during a reprint a few years ago and quite enjoyed it. Fun on it’s own as a shorter play than Global it was also interesting to see the progression of ideas Larry Harris followed on his way from AA to Global.

[trulpen]

Haven’t tried AA50, but G40 (read BM4 and P2V) simply is a gem.

[Karl7]

@gamerman01 said in Post League Game Results Here:

@gamerman01 said in Post League Game Results Here:

I have 35 of my games of '41 scenario in my records (61 games of '42). Bids ranged from 6 to 19 (and most are under 15)

Eh, to be clear, those 96 games were all ones I played, not the community in general. So you could play a lot of games with a lot of people.

If you were losing, it was over quick. You get diced in G40 global game, you suffer for a very long time if you don’t resign.

Just sayin’! G40 isn’t the best at everything! :D :D

My G40 BM games are now at least 18-22 rounds if they are competitive. Once in awhile you get a rout that causes someone to throw in the towel first 5-10 rounds. But not usual. Even if Germany captures Russia, it isn’t over if Allies are in good position. Almost the start of the game really.

[trulpen]

Perhaps you’d like to introduce me, @gamerman01?

[gamerman01]

Oh wow, it would be like playing a brand new game - exciting. I can’t get my kid to play more than 2 turns, as in, less than 1 round. I had started a game against the AI, rolled super subs for Germany for 5 IPCs, and never proceeded from there.

I do have 3 big G40 games going right now all against people who would love to beat me, so I probably need to wait. Remind me later?

[gamerman01]

I usually got my opponent to agree to +1 movement on long range aircraft. +2 in a serious game is overwhelming. I don’t like 1 turn delayed tech.