So you think that you start US at 15 and after the first round automatically move them up 2? Well, I understand what you are getting at, but that wasn’t anywhere in the rulebook either. If they are going to do something like that, it should be laid out in the rulebook. After all, this is supposed to be a beginner level game and people just starting out with this kind of game will get confused if it isn’t laid out nice and simple in the rules.
By the way, played my first game today. Axis won everything in 7 rounds, although by the rules (2 capitals) they actually won in 5 rounds. Germany captured Moscow round 2 and London round 5.
It seems as though the game is Axis slanted, but would have to play more to be sure. England really seems to have gotten the short end of the stick. England is only worth 3 IPCs and therefore can only place 3 new units per turn. In this game more than any other, once the Royal Navy is taken out, England is almost defensless.
For example: Germany attempted Sealion with 2 inf, 2 tanks, 1 fighter and 1 bomber. England had 4 infantry plus 1 US fighter. Both sides were wiped out. However, Germany still had it’s transports, a brand new bomber purchased this round, another fighter brought back from Russia plus 2 more inf and 2 more tanks waiting for another assault. On England’s turn, they could only place 3 new units on England. That’s the limit. Unfortunately, the US didn’t have another fighter to send. So, next German round, of course England falls. I know this sometimes happens even in Global 40, just with more units on both sides, but it just seemed so weak and almost easy for Germany.
I will say the extra UK factories in India and Australia gave Japan some trouble. The actual unit limitations sure told itself. At one point I needed a 3rd UK destroyer but the game only comes with 2. I was able to use one from my regular A&A pieces but if someone only had this game, they would have to write UK Destroyer on a piece of paper and put it on the board. I also came very close to running out of German inf and tanks even though I was using chips everywhere I could. Personally, I would prefer to buy 2 of this game, one simply for extra pieces, then the game could be played properly.
Overall, I think this is a pretty cool game. While I’ve gotten used to Global 40, it’s refreshing to play a much simpler game once in a while. No SBRs, No AA guns, No shore bombardment. Yes, this is a very simple version, but still fun and not so time consuming as a game of Global or even 1942. This game took us roughly 3 1/2 to 4 hours, and that was with a couple of breaks in play and playing the game in a very leisurely pace. I would guess it was more like 3 hours of strict gameplay time. You have to keep track of IPCs on a sheet of paper, but that’s not so bad. I have designed some simple worksheets for just that purpose. I will try to attach one.
IPC chart 1941 page 1.xls
