another poll…
Friday, I will have a newbie showing his moves…
I have made some positive and negative comments as well:
should he start as axis?
or should he start as allies?
probably I’m missing lots of pros and cons here,…
I’ll see about the vote :lol:
I like the Axis for learning…
You have 1 nation, Germany, that can just focus on land units with some air power. They start off with a lot of pre-existing units, and they get to learn what works and what does not in land battles, trading territories, etc.
Then you have 1 nation that needs to develop logistics and supply lines, work with naval units in combat and for tranny runs.
I have the opposing view, easier to play allies, more forgiving to screw ups…
Screw up as allies and you still got a big chance, make a mistake as Axis and your in really deep trouble…
logistics is more difficult with the allies, and for newbs, thats the toughest part of learning. I think the Axis are easier for beginners
Not only that but you don’t really have to work together to win to play the Axis. At the beginning of the game, Japan and Germany are kind of doing their own thing. The allies have to work together and sometimes the timing can be hard if you aren’t used to the turn sequence.
I think a newb can start as either axis or allies, but I think they should be limited to either Russia/Britain on the allies or Germany on the axis. All of these countrys are pretty cut and dry and with Russia/Germany they get a good feel for troop production/movement/combat in a confined space. Plus what they need to do at that exact moment is pretty visible (defense/attack, spreading too thin etc). Britain is a little more challenging because most newbs will have to choose between air assaults and taking the ocean (and most choose going heavy air instead of keeping that much needed atlantic ocean). The problem with America and Japan is they are too open and everytime I watch someone with limited experience play, it seems like 95% of the time they wander around with no direction as to what they really want to do. Overall though I think the easiest country to play is the Germans because you can make mistakes, yet still quickly recover.
so far,
I think you all made your point…
this is a very difficult decision :-)
I will slightly favor the axis when I talk about them and let him choose afterwards :-P
('cause I think combining Ally forces is much more difficult then everybody says it is - for a newbie, that is -)
A bit off topic but would anybody be interested in writing an article titled “Your First Axis & Allies Revised Game” for the website? I think newbies could find such an article very useful.
Well, over at Caspian Sub we have Beginner Strategy Guides. They are only one page long so a newbie won’t be overwhelmed, and there is one for each power. It gives a recommended opening purchase and moves. It also give quick strategy tips for the early, mid, and late game.
They were designed with the idea that you could print them off, keep them in your box, and hand them to a new guy as needed.
We are still on the first version of all of them, so if you can think of things you’d like changed we’re open to suggestions (but the stuff still has to fit on one page; that’s the hard part).
Have at it:
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/Caspian_Sub/
Peace
Anyone ever just take it easy on new players? Or just try unorthodox strats? Maybe against a newb is the perfect time to try a new KJF, or buy that fighter with Russia, or just build battleships with the UK (oh, wait, that might work…) Or if they are the Allies, perhaps Germany could try for Sealion or Japan go for a big Pacific fleet and shoot for Los Angeles. I think throwing KGF at a neophyte could be discouraging.
@bebo:
Anyone ever just take it easy on new players? Or just try unorthodox strats? Maybe against a newb is the perfect time to try a new KJF, or buy that fighter with Russia, or just build battleships with the UK (oh, wait, that might work…) Or if they are the Allies, perhaps Germany could try for Sealion or Japan go for a big Pacific fleet and shoot for Los Angeles. I think throwing KGF at a neophyte could be discouraging.
feel free to try any of those strategies in our game.
I was going to try the IC in Panama against you, can make my trannies go both ways from there :wink:
Thanks! I’ve started posting these articles.
@CrazyStraw:
Well, over at Caspian Sub we have Beginner Strategy Guides. They are only one page long so a newbie won’t be overwhelmed, and there is one for each power. It gives a recommended opening purchase and moves. It also give quick strategy tips for the early, mid, and late game.
They were designed with the idea that you could print them off, keep them in your box, and hand them to a new guy as needed.
We are still on the first version of all of them, so if you can think of things you’d like changed we’re open to suggestions (but the stuff still has to fit on one page; that’s the hard part).
Have at it:
http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/Caspian_Sub/Peace
I think that if one person is a newb in your group they should definately play as Russia. For the most part Russia uses no navy and little airforce (although an important one at that). Besides the first round all they buy is one unit. Russia also doesn’t have those big supply trains that Germany has. The only concept that really needs to be learned for Russia is to stack, trade, and strafe.
I played with a newbie last Friday (like I said I would)…
He choose to play with G and J…
and I think that was the best way to go!
as G he saw what massive alliance the allies could announce and how destructive they could capture Berlin :-P
(I took it with 20 UK units remaining in UK 5 or UK 6 :-P)
as J he noticed he needed to build trannies right a way to hold and expand the mainland!
and this was in his first game!
he lost the game for sure,
but he had fun and would love to play as axis again (definitely as J :-))
I can say he has most of the strategies and techniques in order to play as a good player from now on…
What I’ve done with several players I taught was to play several practice games first. This is best if you’re trying to foster long term interest. It’s not easy to get creamed and crawl back to the board for more if you’re just starting out.
So what I did was explained things as we went along, with no pressure of the game counting towards anything, so that the player could get a feel for logistics and some simple strategy. The player got to play the Axis for a game, and the Allies for one. Once we started playing for real the learning curve had been accelerated, and not as many newb mistakes were made.
Even though I talked alot of strat, I didn’t reveal everything so that they could come up with their own ‘best’ way of playing.
It worked well for me and the people I play with.
Of course, if you like the feeling of crushing someone, or don’t care about the long term, just pound the crap out of 'em and let them learn the hard way…
It’s always a good idea to make a few pointers to the general mistakes made by newbs. I have noticed two typical mistakes with new players.
1. Infantry is always a good buy, we all know why so I don’t need to explain, but some new players have a habit of choosing arm over inf. whoa, why should I buy inf when I get a better defense and attack for just two ipc more?
2. The efficiency of transports and how they can be used good, each round, and never be a big bunch of floating metal. To my experience many players are using a lot of money on buying a single or two ICs when they don’t really need them.
My opponent is an intelligent guy,
if I would not be playing at my best, he would be insulted :-)
Last Friday, he learned it the hard way indeed.
we played for 4 hours, but I can say: in his next game he will be a proffesional already :-P
By the way, I never played with allies before, so I had to try that one strategy I keep dreaming of for the allies, and it worked perfectly…
Axel, don’t suppose you could share that “one strategy” for those of us also somewhat unfamiliar with the Allies? :-P
I hope some day, I could use it against one of you guys :-P
I mean I hope I can get to play a game on line someday and demonstrate the victory or defeat of my strategy…
while still, I’m not sure if it’s going to work against professionals…
