I usually figure half and hour to an hour per round as long as players have a concrete idea of what they want to accomplish and plan during other people’s turns. So, the fastest game of Europe I have had so far was this last weekend, at 4.5 hours and 5 rounds.
In your opinion, what is strategically your favorite army to play and why?
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Italy might be fun now, because right now they have their small empire, but if you could get past Egypt and the Med, you could really build a big empire.
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Japan.
I’ve always been a bit of a geek, reading and admiring the tactics of the 19th and 20th century naval warfare, and advent of the areoplane and submarine only makes Japan’s aspects in these terms more interesting, at least personally for me. I think reading Kaigun may have had quite an influence of me.
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Actually, believe it or not, ANZAC. I’ve always liked playing as the underdog, and more than once my Japanese opponent has claimed that I turned the ANZAC faction from “thorn in the side of Japan” to a “razor sharp knife in the side”.
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Germany and U.K. have to be the best “strategically” to play becuase of Germanys vast spread of options on who and how to attack. As for U.K. you are short on cash and spread around the world under constant attack which makes each game full and exciting to play….at least until you’ve been wiped off the map. :-)
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Italy and ANZAC are my favorite. Italy simply because the allies CAN’T ignore you but they usually do. By the time they realize their mistake, you have a nice little empire and can be a lot tougher then anyone thinks. (I find that a lot of players somehow equate Italy’s real-life ineptitude in the war into “ok, hey can’t do anything without Germany” in-game)
ANZAC does the same thing in AAP40. I’ve had a couple games where I played the Aussies and had the Japan player look down and mutter “where the hell did all those subs come from???” (make a quick land grab in DEI then pumped everything into sub fleet with some fighter backup.)
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Japan.
I think reading Kaigun may have had quite an influence of me.
I loved Kaigun. Wrote my senior thesis in History based on that book.
Anyways, my fav to play is the US, 'cause I like to be the good guys… and there’s really no pressure. I can let someone else screw up then bail them out at the last minute. Always fun. -
Italy and China. Italy is always fun because they have limitless potential. They are underrated and small, so it requires a certian amount of skill and cunning(and as always a certian amount of luck) to win, making them alot of fun. In one game of AA50, I had taken Egypt and Brazil, with factories in both before the allies ceeded.
I’ve always had a soft spot for China, lived there for a time, they had such a rough time during the war. Also, any time they are an option to play, you know its going to be one hell of fight just to survive. The china theater was such an intresting and confusing front, and recreating and playing this in a board game is not just a passion, but ahellofa lotta fun :)
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As you may be able to tell from my avatar, I like the UK. It has a balanced force of land, sea, and air, and in E40 will be able to affect all fronts. Of course, Japan also is balanced but they only have a few fronts, and I have a moral problem with the Japanese
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As you may be able to tell from my avatar, I like the UK. It has a balanced force of land, sea, and air, and in E40 will be able to affect all fronts. Of course, Japan also is balanced but they only have a few fronts, and I have a moral problem with the Japanese
Not the Germans? Or did the Japs personally affect you somehow… if you would care to share.
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Germans too. If I see a game I’m not playing, I usually want the allies to win
Nothing personal, but here’s an interesting fact:
During the war, Japan recruited captured Indian soldiers to fight for Japan to “liberate” India. Now, India was going to be given independence after the war(UK wouldn’t have the strength or will to keep it), and Japan probably would not have done the same.
After independence, the troops that fought for Japan were regarded as freedom fighters(which I don’t have a problem with per se, since they thought Japan would free India) and given good pension, but Indian troops who fought for the British are not
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After independence, the troops that fought for Japan were regarded as freedom fighters(which I don’t have a problem with per se, since they thought Japan would free India) and given good pension, but Indian troops who fought for the British are not
Wouldn’t that make you angry with the UK, or the Indian government then, not Japan?
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With Russia being as big as it is, I might try to play more defensive
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@Dylan:
With Russia being as big as it is, I might try to play more defensive
Wouldn’t Russia’s size cause you to play more offensively? With there being more space and longer time for the Germans to get to you… wouldn’t you be able to expand a bit? Granted if you buy only infantry you can’t do much attacking, especially with more space, but can’t the Russians be a bit more reckless with the extra territories? Or do you mean to screw the Germans over by trapping them in continual webs of never ending Soviet infantry… thus delaying the German advance until the other Allies can take some pressure off? That could work I guess.
I will probably play conservatively at first though (with any country) because it is a new game and you need to feel it out.
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Lately I’ve enjoyed playing Japan. The mix of units required really fits my style. In the old days with my old MB A&A set, I most enjoyed Germany and the US. Of course, the upcoming game may change that yet again….
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I really don’t know, they all have relatively different objectives, and I like the diversity. Russia was my favorite to play when I first started with 1942, but I think I might like Japan best in Anniversary Edition. I almost said UK, but I have yet to win with the Allies in AE. :roll:
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@Dylan:
With Russia being as big as it is, I might try to play more defensive
Wouldn’t Russia’s size cause you to play more offensively? With there being more space and longer time for the Germans to get to you… wouldn’t you be able to expand a bit? Granted if you buy only infantry you can’t do much attacking, especially with more space, but can’t the Russians be a bit more reckless with the extra territories? Or do you mean to screw the Germans over by trapping them in continual webs of never ending Soviet infantry… thus delaying the German advance until the other Allies can take some pressure off? That could work I guess.
I will probably play conservatively at first though (with any country) because it is a new game and you need to feel it out.
I don’t like seeing my units die.
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I’d have to say my favorite is the US. Other than my personal bias, I just like to be the most powerful economic power, and I’ve found that in close games they’re most often the ones who cwin or loose the entire game. Russia is too defensive and doesn’t have enough options, the UK is fun, but really spread out and can’t always defend every front, Japan is overpowered in all of my games (AAP40 and AA Revised) and I don’t really like to play as them, and Germany starts strong, but it’s easy to make careless purchases and loose your advantage.
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@Dylan:
@Dylan:
With Russia being as big as it is, I might try to play more defensive
Wouldn’t Russia’s size cause you to play more offensively? With there being more space and longer time for the Germans to get to you… wouldn’t you be able to expand a bit? Granted if you buy only infantry you can’t do much attacking, especially with more space, but can’t the Russians be a bit more reckless with the extra territories? Or do you mean to screw the Germans over by trapping them in continual webs of never ending Soviet infantry… thus delaying the German advance until the other Allies can take some pressure off? That could work I guess.
I will probably play conservatively at first though (with any country) because it is a new game and you need to feel it out.
I don’t like seeing my units die.
Oh… you’re one of those guys….
Just kidding. I mean, who does like to see their guys get killed? One of my friends that I play with sometimes will not even send US units into a territory to strategically disrupt an Axis power, knowing his guys will be killed. He is a little weird about that, treating them as if they were real soldiers or something… he is very anti-Japan when he plays too. Like, he will NEVER play as them.
While I am an American Patriot, I don’t have the qualms he does. It is only a game after all. (Or is it…?)
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Without a doubt, Germany with the U.S. a close second. All the allies usually gang up on the Germs and its fun to see if they can live until the Italians and Japanese can start to help them. In AA50 the Japanese usually have to send some planes or ships to help the Germs unless the U.S. player decides to try and take out the Japanese first like what happened in my last game. When playing the U.S. its fun to see how quick they can get involved and yet be effective when they do. The U.S. is so far away from the action and so weak its a challenge for them to get going and make a difference.
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Russia or the UK for the challenge
USA to ‘break the mold’ and challenge JapanI like to play the Allies because they are the underdogs
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