Ever sense I got my first axis and allies game in 2005 (I’m 17, so, most of my life) I have enjoyed the game, though I didn’t understand it at first, as I matured and became more aware of tactics and strategy I became engrossed in the game. I have a fairly sizable miniatures collection now, I own both halves of A&A 1940, I own 1941 for teaching my girlfriend how to play, and I still own my first copy, and break it out now and again just for fun.
Now what I assume because you are here that you too fell in love with the game, and I ask you if you think A&A 1914 may do the same again? Make you fall in love with a new series of games (assuming they produce them)
I personally foresee a WW1 based naval and aerial miniatures game if A&A 1914 is successful. Given how the current naval one is drying up (If I’m not mistaken they have covered every major Japanese, German, Italian, Soviet, and America capital ship.) and they are always looking for new ways to line their pockets. I would personally buy both in a heartbeat, especially if they made a mega unit, like the AT AT in Star Wars miniatures, representing a German Airship.
Sorry if I rant a little
I too, love Axis and Allies and have been playing since the early 90’s with 2nd Edition. However, I don’t think that the Great War is nearly as popular with the populace as WWII, and I just don’t think it will sell as well. This leads credence to those who believe that 1914 will be a single print run 'ala Anniversary Edition.
What I would l love is 1914 to be enough of a hit to where they make an "Anniversary 1914’ Edition on the scale of AA1940 with more complex rules. Probably to look more like the “Great War” scenario on Triplea.
I really want to see the American Civil War and/or American Revolution, using the same mechanics as A&A. But that’s off topic. :lol:
I love gaming WWI but I don’t think the demand will be there to expand beyond the base game.
I am hoping too for more WWI games! Battle games like A&A: D-Day, BOTB, etc., and hopefully a cooler and more advanced game about the Great War that we are getting now. I think a theater game of just the Western Front would be super cool. Triple A’s “Great War” had a lot of things right. Not everything, but definitely there are some things in that game that are superior to this one. I think the battle mechanics for Larry’s WWI game are better, but the map(including the blowup box for the Western Front) and some of the other colors for the nations are superior. Red for the Ottomans is so much better then Turquoise for example. I don’t know what they were thinking with that?
Yeah, I think this game will be a one-off.
Consider the plastic figures market: HaT has embarked on a pretty comprehensive WWI range; but for every WWI German infantry set produced you’ll find at least 20 WWII sets. Nazis are good box office.
There’ll be a flurry of WWI games in the next couple of years (I know of at least 4 in the works) for the Centenary, but I doubt we’ll see any more than one version of each, then nothing.
Don’t know if HBG will be doing any WWI, but they can probably sell many times more German WWII sets than all WWI combined, so why bother?
WW2 is something everyone relates to. World.War.Two. It engulfed the Pacific and European areas of the world in dramatic fashion and was fought by every major power in the world (even if they didn’t know they were a major power when it started).
Some of those powers still exist today, and there are still people alive that fought in those wars, whose kids heard stories, whose grandkids heard stories and those grandkids are getting ready to have their own kids if they haven’t already. Its a generational thing. World War I is slowly lost in memory. For example, when I was in high school we barely broached much of WW1 in history class and outside of Germany being the bad guy, I don’t know how it all developed. Many of the other wars we know are less involved, and in many cases isolated to one region or country of the world. Less… glamorous.
What makes WW2 magical from a board game perception is how involved the entire globe was in it. Not many wars (if any) can even boast of that. That makes the board game of WW2 so magical.
Now don’t get me wrong, some wars touch people in different ways, but we’ll never glamorize Korea or Vietnam the way we do WW2. Although the Civil War from a strategic perspective is awesome, I don’t think it can sell well when it was over slavery and an embarrassing admission that it existed as was fought over in the USA. There may be board games to replay those wars, but the scope pales in comparison to how compelling WW2 was on a global effort.
I highly doubt a WW1 or Civil War board game will reach as many kitchen tables as WW2 games, particularly of the A&A Brand.
WW2 is something everyone relates to. World.War.Two. It engulfed the Pacific and European areas of the world in dramatic fashion and was fought by every major power in the world (even if they didn’t know they were a major power when it started).
Some of those powers still exist today, and there are still people alive that fought in those wars, whose kids heard stories, whose grandkids heard stories and those grandkids are getting ready to have their own kids if they haven’t already. Its a generational thing. World War I is slowly lost in memory. For example, when I was in high school we barely broached much of WW1 in history class and outside of Germany being the bad guy, I don’t know how it all developed. Many of the other wars we know are less involved, and in many cases isolated to one region or country of the world. Less… glamorous.
Now don’t get me wrong, some wars touch people in different ways, but we’ll never glamorize Korea or Vietnam the way we do WW2. Although the Civil War from a strategic perspective is awesome, I don’t think it can sell well when it was over slavery and an embarrassing admission that it existed as was fought over in the USA. There may be board games to replay those wars, but the scope pales in comparison to how compelling WW2 was on a global effort.
I don’t know where you went to school, but I got next to nothing on either World War. Basically what I got in school boiled down to WW1: There was a war in Europe, America saved bacon of England. And WW2: We were attacked by Japan, and we kicked the ass of some Nazis. Though to your point my friends can name more powers in WW2 then WW1 (Germany, Japan, England, America.) as opposed to (Germany, America, England). So I hope education doesn’t have much to do Axis and Allies appeal, or it may die out in the years to come.
Yeah I have to agree with that, plus most of those wars involved only a couple factions that fought, along with the ethical dilemmas of any Cold War (That said I would buy Axis and Allies: Grenada if it came out) and overwhelming firepower on one side or the other.
I know this is not a one off. It will be reprinted. WOTC NEVER makes games they can’t recoup the outlay in sculpts they spent for one game. They rehash the same sculpts in other games they make. I think we will see a western front game of some type and at least a 2nd edition.
Will the second edition have trains in it?
I hope so IL. Flashman, as much as I’d love to see rail movement, the track record is not good.
Will the second edition have trains in it?
Even the 10th edition won’t have any trains. The trains will still be at the train-store.
Then what happens to the CP units left in Russia after the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
Germany transferred a million of them to the western front in time to take part in the great spring offensive starting later that month (yes, it took less than 4 weeks to move a million men by train the entire distance).
In this game they might as well retire from the army for all the chance they have of seeing combat again.
Then what happens to the CP units left in Russia after the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
They move one space, which equals trains.
One space equals walking.
Seven spaces equals trains.
Germany will be able to make more than enough brand new fresh units in great quantities to reach the front long before whatever army they have in the east will…something real life germany couldn’t do. So all in all I think the lack of trains will leave Germany feeling just fine.
It’s time for SCI-FI WWI/WWII in my opinion.
Crash some UFO’s on the board, and have everyone fight over technology.
or open a portal to hell, and make the Central Powers -align- with the Triple Entente to save all of humanity.
Or an even weirder universe in which East Prussia is part of the Russia Empire in 1914, infantry walk to the front from their capital city instead of from the nearest railhead, and America gets involved in the war almost before everyone else has got seriously started.
Wait a minute…
Or an even weirder universe in which East Prussia is part of the Russia Empire in 1914, infantry walk to the front from their capital city instead of from the nearest railhead, and America gets involved in the war almost before everyone else has got seriously started.
Wait a minute…
And Russia switched their capital to Moscow before there was even any revolution at all.
Oh and no Mexico, which means there wasn’t a certain note sent that triggered the war.
Oh and no Mexico, which means there wasn’t a certain note sent that triggered the war.
For the love of God, how will the war trigger?!
=D
