Alpha +3 rules PDF

Sadly, the rules for Global 1940 are scattered across the internet in bits and pieces with no sign of it getting consolidated even in a PDF form. SHAME ON EVERYONE INVOLVED WITH THIS MESS!

go fix it!

My understanding is the PDF will only be produced once the 2nd edition of Europe 1940 is for sale. They never provide rules for future games in PDF format until the product is out.

The Alpha ruleset in its current form was made available to guide changes and playtesting.

@Cow:

go fix it!

I downloaded the Pacific PDF, copied and pasted it in a word document, and than proceeded with the time consuming task of incorporating the Europe rules one paragraph at a time. Once that was done, I than added all the Alpha +2 Rules, copied that document and added all the Alpha+3 rules so that I have 2 rule books for each major modification. I can’t begin to tell you the hours it takes to do a project like this accurately so that I can have all the latest Global rules in a single printed resource. I posted it once, but it was understandably booted due to copyright issues. You say to fix it?..… Well I have for myself and the members of my A&A club, but that doesn’t let Larry or WOTC off the hook for not providing essential materials for their products.

@Imperious:

My understanding is the PDF will only be produced once the 2nd edition of Europe 1940 is for sale. They never provide rules for future games in PDF format until the product is out.

The Alpha ruleset in its current form was made available to guide changes and playtesting.

The Europe PDF was never available.

@Young:

but it was understandably booted due to copyright issues.

That would be the problem.  Probably any one of us could spend some time putting the rules together into one document, since a lot would be cut/paste from the Alpha 1, 2, 3, threads at Harris site.  But I don’t think we would be able to distribute that publicly because it is their product after all.

HMMM. They have copyright over alpha stuff?

If it’s on their web site I would say they own it.  That probably includes posts made by anyone.

I’m pretty good at that, and I agree it works.  :)

@Cow:

HMMM. They have copyright over alpha stuff?

There’s something VERY important to remember about copyright and trademarks - it doesn’t apply to ideas, only to their practical applications.

See, the whole concept and logic behind Alpha +3 is nothing more than a mental process and you can’t make a claim to that. What WOTC has a claim to is to specific elements of the Axis and Allies universe, like terminology (the Axis and Allies name, I.P.Cs, Industrial Complex, etc.) due to owing the trademark, and to any written/graphic materials they produce.

So, what does this means? That if someone makes a completely new document that describes the Alpha 3 changes but without using any Axis and Allies terminology, images or original text (anything published at LH site or released by WOTC) then WOTC can’t do anything about it.

And the proof to what i’m saying? Look at TripleA. What I described above was what they did when WOTC send them a ‘cease and desist’ letter to shut them down due to copyright/trademark violations a couple of years ago.

Also, trademark does not extend to generic/common terms like geography or infantry/fighter/etc.

Well I did print it out for my home game, alpha 1 2 and 3 sits in the box along with the rules. I own both boxes. I own aa50, revised, I don’t own v4 because that is just 1 territory different and a cruiser piece from revised, I own classic. I own the old europe box as well. Most tripa players do own the boxes. Most players on this forum own the boxes. There are some who can’t get a hold of the aa50 box because of the limited supply (so they printed a scanned version out and bought the pieces separately). Point is the majority of people here are fans or newcomers trying to look up rules.

I understand the concern over piracy and impact on sales,  game has to sell or there is no more game, but global is just not geared toward a casual audience. Revised and aa50, yes a casual audience can hop in and play a game in a reasonable time frame, get drunk, roll some dice, move in on germany with allies, move in on russia if he is axis, you get a quick result by taking germany before russia falls = you pretty much won, take russia before germany falls = you pretty much won, both drop same round = you play a couple rounds and you pretty much know who won. Global is not for the casual board game player who wants to pick up a game and just play and have a result after 1-8 hours (depending on their attention span). 1) bigger map 2) more rules 3) OOB is somewhat lackluster (mexican standoff in pacific, germany pretty much should be able to take uk over, japan should get calcutta j3-j4, after that it is pretty much what it is… if the axis are newcomers the usa income would be crazy to deal with, if the axis and mid to experienced, the allies have a difficult time after losing 2 countries. As a result people come to the forum to see if they are missing something about the game… they find out alpha +3 rules exist and they want to try it… but they find it to be scattered.

I just feel that if the pdf was made available, the g40 consumers would be happy. However since they are reprinting this with alpha +3 rules… it might hinder their sales (depending on their marketing analysis). So they might publish the pdf rules after the reprint hits.

@Hobbes:

@Cow:

HMMM. They have copyright over alpha stuff?

There’s something VERY important to remember about copyright and trademarks - it doesn’t apply to ideas, only to their practical applications.

See, the whole concept and logic behind Alpha +3 is nothing more than a mental process and you can’t make a claim to that. What WOTC has a claim to is to specific elements of the Axis and Allies universe, like terminology (the Axis and Allies name, I.P.Cs, Industrial Complex, etc.) due to owing the trademark, and to any written/graphic materials they produce.

So, what does this means? That if someone makes a completely new document that describes the Alpha 3 changes but without using any Axis and Allies terminology, images or original text (anything published at LH site or released by WOTC) then WOTC can’t do anything about it.

And the proof to what i’m saying? Look at TripleA. What I described above was what they did when WOTC send them a ‘cease and desist’ letter to shut them down due to copyright/trademark violations a couple of years ago.

Also, trademark does not extend to generic/common terms like geography or infantry/fighter/etc.

I think this is right…AND I also would think that the “generic/common” use also includes images that are not “owned” by WOTC.  For example, the Air Force roundels being used for markers - those are simply reproductions of widely used images by various governments around the world - they don’t “own” those images.  Having said that, if they used a new creation for their symbols, maybe that’s verboten??  Their logo…sure.  The term “IPC’s”…sure.  The terms “Aircraft” or “Tank” or “Armor”…NO WAY!

Honestly, I think they are going to publish the pdf rules after the reprint hits, probably why they don’t want other sources compiling the rules. In case they make minor changes, add faq stuff in, etc etc etc.

@Young:

The Europe PDF was never available.

Not through any official channel, but someone on this forum was kind enough to scan it for us:
http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=20856.0

It is my understanding that the latest rules can be found by combining the Global rule set from the Europe rulebook with the contents of this post:

http://www.harrisgamedesign.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=6149

I would think there is restrictions on intellectual property such as game mechanics, I know we are only talking about copyright laws, but you guys are making it sound like I could recreate Axis and Aillies as long as I rename it and give it a whole different look and feel.

Of course you can. There’s nothing unique about the game mechanics of A&A. Just look at what’s there:

• A world map
• A division into territories that can be captured, some of which have a “capital” (VC)
• Economic value that differs per territory
• Money (IPC’s)
• Different units that fight at different strengths
• Improvements that can be bought (tech)

All of those elements exist in many other board games, though not necessarily combined in the same way. The real achievement, imho, lies not in the game mechanics as such, but in the finetuning that has given us a board game that is exciting, challenging, and decently balanced while still reflecting the very different powers of World War II.

I would call it ‘Axes & Alles’ or ‘Access & Alice’ or something…  :wink:

Game spaces would be ‘water areas/land areas’.

Anything else?