the G42 is awesome, and the game can be pre-stipulated to last 7 or 8 hours or rounds, so that you know exactly when the end will be. The climax of the game as far as big confrontations and stack battles also occurs around J7 so it makes for a more closed-ended game.
There are fewer “opener” battles, and the overall forces are smaller and less built up.
G41 by Oztea and BalancedMod are both supposed to be fun as well.
We’ve been playing the variants over the last month and a half, and there all fun. I like having more options at my table other than just G 40, and feed back from other players is great
Tanks
S.A.
Played it, I really Like it it is well Balanced
How long is the average G42 game? My groups biggest issue with G40 is how long the game is, everyone gets very antsy at around 10 hrs. Looks like 3-4 hours would easily be cut off with G42.
Gencon and Pregencon Game Times G42
Game 102 Win, full game, 7-8 turns, 9 hours with lunch
Game 103 Loss, full game, stipulated 7 turns, 8 hours
Game 104 Win, capitulation on T3, 4 hours
Game 105 Win, capitulation on T5, 6.5 hours
Game 106 Final, Win, full game, stipulated 7 turns, 7 hours
Gencon and Pregencon Game Times G42
Game 102 Win, full game, 7-8 turns, 9 hours with lunch
Game 103 Loss, full game, stipulated 7 turns, 8 hours
Game 104 Win, capitulation on T3, 4 hours
Game 105 Win, capitulation on T5, 6.5 hours
Game 106 Final, Win, full game, stipulated 7 turns, 7 hours
can you list what side you played for each game?
Game 102 Bid +6 (Allies) Played Allies put 2 infantry in eastern Russia. Won KGF after attacking Germany, strat bombing it. Germany+Italy only contributed like 30-40 IPCs to the count, he lost most of the atlantic wall, the Balkans…
Game 103 Bid +0 Played allies tried the same KGF and utterly failed, Loss.
Game 104 Bid +0 Played axis won after our opponents lost almost all UK sea assets and gave up
Game 105 Bid +0 Played axis got extremely lucky and every german unit (3 inf 1 art 1 armor?) in one territory survived on the spearhead as well as subs in atlantic, left Russia scrambing, held off USA in pac
Game 106 Bid +0 Played axis they went KJF and shifted from Hawaii to queensland to java, which led to a massive battle on J7…japan prevailed but was completely open, with japan nearly being taken over, didn’t have India, won economic victory 133/125
A 7-10 hour play time sounds a lot more suitable for my group. I’m anxious to give it G42 a try.
The best part is not only do you get to start without the multiturn run up with USA, but also that all the action comes to a nice head around 7 hours. If the allies cant make a big fuss by then, the Axis run wild on the tournament condition, which states that the Axis must have 125 or more IPCs by the end of the game. This requires that the hold all the territories at game start (plus a few) gets Germany Italy about 56 and Japan about 54), and hold one more game region in order to win.
You could also use YG victory conditions.
You could also use YG victory conditions. �
After just one game, I can see that the Allies would take their Africa token very easily (perhaps I add no Axis surface warships in the Med to that). It all depends if there is an Axis token that becomes just as easy for them, perhaps the 7 cities on the Europe side is easier in the G42 scenario .
The cities VC continues to confound even in G42; many attempts by the Allies to defeat the Axis on one side of the board led to severe setbacks on the other side. Several games ended with a major capital lost by the winning side. Germany is under so much pressure in the G42 version it is hard to see how it could clench the necessary cities without losing Rome, Paris or a recaptured Egypt, and taking 2-3 Russian VCs isn’t nearly as easy as in G40.
The economic victory still leads to a binary outcome (Axis win if they rage and lose if they are contained), and a more certain one. However, it still doesn’t state what turn that has to happen by, and as long as the Axis had any chance of reaching it, they could insist on playing another turn. Its not hard to do, and 125 is constantly within reach.
This 1942 is pretty well balanced and fun to play. However, it is historically inaccurate. The United Kingdom should have control of Iraq and Syria since these two nations were invaded in 1941. Japan should have control of Burma, the Aleutian Islands, the Gilbert Islands, the Solomon Islands, and Celebes. I could list more problems with Larry Harris’s G42 scenario but I think these issues will suffice. It is disappointing to see that Larry Harris didn’t do his homework when creating this setup.
This 1942 is pretty well balanced and fun to play. However, it is historically inaccurate. The United Kingdom should have control of Iraq and Syria since these two nations were invaded in 1941. Japan should have control of Burma, the Aleutian Islands, the Gilbert Islands, the Solomon Islands, and Celebes. I could list more problems with Larry Harris’s G42 scenario but I think these issues will suffice. It is disappointing to see that Larry Harris didn’t do his homework when creating this setup.
I must agree. If you want a real deal 1942 try the one by Oztea. Larry’s is really a gem if you want a quick game, but it removes just a little too much in an attempt to make things streamlined and “fair.” Yes, it is balanced as a whole, but the theaters are not balanced. I still love it :)
Next you will be saying that the territories in Risk aren’t historically accurate either–I just visited the famous Irkutsk Province and found that it had been taken over by Green blocks of wood.
Risk? That’s only for Larry haters.
What is a good purchase order for Germany, to really stabilize the Russian front, and then to really dominate the drive into Russia where they have to pull back? There is no Italian can opener option in this turn order. Do you do 2 turns of slow walkers…art/inf mix, and then mech/armor, or 1 turn of slow walkers then fast movers. Which is a good route, north to Leningrad or the G40 style drive south of the Prippet Marshes? Â In G40 with a G3 declaration of war a more experienced player than me can hit Moscow G6 or G7 usually no problem. But this game is much more difficult. Anyone develop a strategy for G42 Germany? I’m almost at the point of thinking that the Axis side should get a small bid.
Germany can conquer Russia, but it is not easy.
You need to build ground only. Japan will cone up the rear for you. The US will have problems spending too much in Europe, for fear of a Japanese victory win. This will help you.
But remember that this is tournament game set up. Time is a factor here. A winner is decided differently than normal. (I imagine.)
I agree that more German units and fewer Japanese ones, might have worked better, but this is what we have to work with.
@wittmann:
But remember that this is tournament game set up. Time is a factor here. A winner is decided differently than normal. (I imagine.)
Could you tell me what these tournament rules are? Because the setup Young Grasshopper refers to in the 1st post has the same (awful) victory conditions the original 1940 setup has. I’m willing to take any alternative to that.
I played my first 1942 a week ago, and liked it. Quicker, and more agressive. Can’t really comment on good strategies since I’ve played so little.
Smorey Swamp Origins/Gencon/Tennessee Tournament Rules for G42:
Event Sponsor determines which teams will play which teams based on who your team has already played this tournament.
Roll for first bidder
Bid for teams
Place Bid units 1 per territory where you already have like units. No cash kept, any IPCs left are lost.
Agree on Time to play/Number of turns. This can be based on agreement at the beginning of the game, or based on the time when all the games must end per event rules. All Players are free to agree that the game will go until a stipulated time/turn at any time. Most of us were quite tired after 8-10 hours of daily play so we typically agreed on T6 to end the game on either T7 or T8. The Allies wont have time to win the game if you play only until T6, or 6-7 hours. On days 1-2, there was essentially no time limit but we still ended most games by capitulation or stipulation. On days 3 and esp. 4, there was a 10 hour and 9 hour time limit based on the event closing time.
At the agreed upon end of the game, or when time expires, count all of the territories held by the Axis. No NOs or bonuses will be considered, only points printed on the board. If the Axis have a total of 125IPCs or more at the end of the final turn, they win. Otherwise, the Allies win.
This is not that difficult for the Axis to accomplish in a no-bid game. Even if the allies lose London/Moscow etc the allies can still win, if the Axis lose Japan/Rome the Axis can still win. Knowing when the game will end is critical to all players because your strategy has to culminate in an epic confrontation on T7 or so in order to deny/grab all of the required money, but as long as everyone is playing with the same game end in mind, it makes for a great, “short” game.
Great, thank you for the comprehensive reply!
