Okay, we have put 15 hours in on our first game of Global '40… and only got to F8. The game-state seemed to still be fairly balanced between the Axis and the Allies: Japan is hulked out, and Germany / Italy are pretty squeezed, but none of the major powers (except China) have been eliminated yet. France has even been resurrected! It seems like it will take until F11, or at least another 5 hours of play, to determine whether either side has an insurmountable advantage.
None of the seven players present dragged their feet, and everyone present had played Pacific before, so there wasn’t a lot of need for explaining rules to anyone. I have to conclude, on the face of it, that it seems impossible to resolve a good game within a single working day, even with overtime.
Perhaps we will discover more efficient strategies which may lead to quicker conclusions, but that day seems a long way off yet. So my question to you all is:
Is this game too long? That is to say, does the sheer scope of the thing hurt its playability?
I’m not sure if I will ever find a group of players who will be willing to dedicate themselves for the full weekend that is seemingly required to finish the game.
I suppose it’s a matter of taste: some runners like to sprint, others prefer long-distance. But it certainly feels futile, at least to me, starting a game that you know many of the players won’t be able to stick around to finish.
I agree completely
The great thing about AAA is that there are many variations… This one is EPIC in scale.
If you want a shorter game there are many other options: AAE40 and 1942 for starters.
From what I’ve read on the boards and now experienced (albeit in only one game) I think your 20 + hour game will be rare. My group played a 6 hour game on Sunday/Monday that would have been probably 10 hours had it been played to conclusion. The Axis players conceded when Japan was lost to the US with no hope of recovery. I think most games will be like this i.e. conceded when one side or the other has an overwhelming advantage.
I must say though it was kind of tough being the US and having the Axis concede on R 5. I wasnt even totally in the thing yet and they give up…. SHEESH!!
The point of the global game is for it to be the biggest, longest, and grandest game, for the most experienced AAA players. For newer players or people seeking a break from the massive game, thee’s AA42 and the theatre-level games.
wow thats close to my groups play time in revised my 2 unkles and my dad take FOREVER on there turns its in sain. Now you tell me global will take 15-20 hours shese i hope your groups slower than mine doubt it our first game was 3 hours befroe t1 was done in revised.
If I know anything from my experience in playing new versions of this is that the turns will reach their faster speed by game with seven with a seventy five percent improvement
We just finished an 11 hour game played over Sunday/Monday and it finally ended when the Axis player playing Japan started getting tired and began to make foolish mistakes. My wife was lucky enough to capture Japan with no hope for an Axis recovery. I enjoy long games like that but if we do not have the time we will switch over to the AAA50 game for a global.
my group’s first game is about 23 hours so far (3 sessions); we’ll be finishing on thursday.
not all axis and allies games should be made to be short…
i welcome the addition of a long, big game to the axis and allies universe
Yeah we played yesterday - 4 out of 6 players new to the Pacific rules let alone the Europe and Global rules. 6 rounds in 12 hours. This game will always be long unless of course stupid play or stupid dice decide it earlier. Improvements for 1-day of gaming with decisve victory as opposed to calling it:
1. experienced players.
2. powers purchase their units prior to their turn.
3. chess clocks.
With the guys I game with we only seem to play a full-on 6-player global game probably 4 times a year (stat holidays) so we treat it like a ‘fishing trip’ - up and ready to go really early, and prepared to play for 12 hours if need be. Lots of Band of Brothers and loads of beer. We started at 8AM yesterday, but for next time I’m going to propose 7AM.
Again without dumb luck and/or play the game is epic, but if you give every ‘major’ power only 10 minutes to complete a turn or less you should be able to get out before dinner provided you start early. :wink:
Is this game too long? That is to say, does the sheer scope of the thing hurt its playability?
No, I don’t think it’s to long. I have known since I first played Pacific that this game would require a weekend, if not several, to finish, and that finding players willing to commit to that would be hard. But still, some people play World in Flames, and that takes even longer. It’s just a matter of taste, and I don’t think AA Global is meant to replace the earlier versions, but rather expand on them.
Hell, me and my buddy are even thinking of using supply rules and stuff like that, and that would probably just make the game take even longer. But then again, we’re ok with that.
No, I don’t think it’s to long. I have known since I first played Pacific that this game would require a weekend, if not several, to finish, and that finding players willing to commit to that would be hard. But still, some people play World in Flames, and that takes even longer. It’s just a matter of taste, and I don’t think AA Global is meant to replace the earlier versions, but rather expand on them.
Here’s the thing: I’ll never play Pacific on its own again. I have never played Europe on its own and, having witnessed the wonder and the glory that is Global, I doubt I ever will. AA42 and even AA50 feel cartoonish by comparison with this epic. With the exception of the ‘battle’ games, this is as good as it gets for A&A… it is the ‘terminal’ game of the series. It just couldn’t get bigger and more detailed than this without people losing interest, or becoming a different genre of game; so it does, in some sense, supercede earlier versions.
I’m not dissing Global–I’m deeply impressed with it–in fact, I’ve been thinking about it more or less constantly since playing it. I just wonder how I will find players with a sufficient level of dedication, and enough time to play it as often and as completely as I would like. Perhaps this thread is simply me lamenting the death of my free time for the next year. :-D
P.S.:
I wasnt even totally in the thing yet and they give up…. SHEESH!!
That’s what she said! Zing!
There will always be ‘casual’ A&A gamers for who a Global game would last far too long. So AA42 and all that is for them. And Global is for types like us who like bigger and longer games :-D
My 1st (and only so far) game lasted 13 hours and we finished 7 complete turns. Japan was still a threat with a large navy and airforce but it was basically contained to its islands. Germany may have been able to finish Russia off but Itlay had reached it’s apex and was declining.
I would have to say it was a draw at this point with a very slight edge going to the Allies. I would have guess it was going to take a while to finish.
I’m not sure if I will ever find a group of players who will be willing to dedicate themselves for the full weekend that is seemingly required to finish the game.
Get better friends. :lol:
Seriously, I don’t get to play A&A very often, so when we do get together, it’s always been for a dedicated weekend of drinking and A&A. We usually could get in 2 games, so i guess now it will only be one Global.
Either way, I think we’ll have just as much fun, if not more for having completed such an epic game with 8 plus players.
The length required will certainly reduce its ability to be played by some, but there are always multiple versions for those with less time. I wouldn’t be able to play anything bigger than global, but the length is perfect for a weekend. If I only get 1 to 2 weekends free enough to play it, I’ll still be happy.
I’m not sure if I will ever find a group of players who will be willing to dedicate themselves for the full weekend that is seemingly required to finish the game.
Get better friends. :lol:
Hehehehe :-D
I’ve got some of mine coming over to play, as I am the only one with a big-ass table which easily fits the global game and leaves plenty of room for the boxes, battleboards and IPC tracker. Of course, it helps that I have no pets or kids :wink:
We are now in our 3rd game. The first Global game only lasted two rounds (took like 5-6 hours), and the axis made so many mistakes, we ended it. The 2nd game we had 3 players to start so we played E40 (a forth jumped in on day 2). It was a great, back & forth game that ended in the 11th round w/axis conceding. It would have went at least 2-3 more turns before a total kill, but the writing was on the wall. I think it lasted about 15-16 hours, over 2 days. The 3rd game we are playing global again. Two of us started it, but we have let people jump in and out. It is hard to get like 4-5 people together for a marathon game like this. One guy walked in and said lets start a new game (we were in the middle of the 3rd round of that 3rd game). The reaction was “are you nuts, you know how long it took to get this far” (about 5-6 hours). Most powers were just getting their feet wet.
My friends and i dedicate an entire weekend of beer/weed/Axis. Our first global game was a practice run that lasted only a few hours, but our second game was roughly 15 hours. Good times! If you want to play a short game, go play Monopoly.
I’ve been playing my first game since Aug 25th, eighteen days now, averaging about 2 to 5 hours a day to it. Been going real slow to look at all possibilities. I’m in round twelve, UKs turn. China is gone, of course France has been long gone and the US is sitting strong in Rome, (South Italy) facing off with the Germans and what ever is left of the Italians. The Germans and Russians are having a war of attrition on the Eastern Front. Japan and UK are trading blows in India. Japan can’t get it done because the US & ANZAC keeps bothering them. It been very interesting, hope to be finished by Christmas, wife wants the War Room er, Dinning Room back.
