Images of the Map?

This is all we have so far (zoom in)

http://www.wizards.com/ContentResources/Wizards/Sales/Solicitations/2012_12_19_AA1914_Solicitation_en_US.pdf

I feel bad saying this, but I’m not too excited by the look of the map and that means a lot to me. If this was in the AA50 or Spring 1942 colour scheme I’d be all over it. Right now I’m hesitant.

Yrs.,
R.

I would have liked an original A&A Europe style, but this seems OK.

Is it just me, or is that board a diamond setup?

IE, it’s on an angle?  with US in one corner, Russia in the other, and Africa hitting the bottom corner?

Can Mexico invade?

Is Mexico even on there - can’t see myself.

The diamond shape is the only way to fit in Africa. I think it will grow on people, but I do wish they’d give higher priority to making a big enough map instead of squashing things in. The biggest problem with the approach taken is that Europe is so small.

no Mexico as far as i can tell.

Things i dont like
-Ottaman are teal
-Austria hungary is light green
-Diamond map
-Italy is orange

I’m loving it all and can’t wait to buy it!  :-)

@empireman:

Things i dont like
-Ottaman are teal
-Austria hungary is light green
-Diamond map
-Italy is orange

I second all of this. Too many bright non-military colours, even though AA Global proved that scheme could cover a very diverse palette without going “clown car.” Also, while previous maps have warped geography, never have landmasses been warped so much. At least lately.

In the game’s defence, though: the geographical space they had to fit in was awkward, and I’m sure they agonized over the diamond design for a long time. And who knows how much pressure they felt from Hasbro overlords to attract younger players with wilder, brighter, colours.

Just my two cents. I hope they sell a lot of copies and find that younger fan base, too.

Yrs.,
R.

Do wilder, brighter, colors REALLY draw in younger players?

I don’t think so…

That said, wasn’t looking like a totally goof kind of the thing to do in 1914? LOL I mean, the Archduke died because he was sown into his clothes…

I would have chosen for colors-
USA- Dark Green
UK- Tan
France- Blue
Russia- Brown
Austria-Hungary- Dark Yellow
Italy- Light Brown
Ottaman- Dark red

@Gargantua:

Do wilder, brighter, colors REALLY draw in younger players? I don’t think so…

Whether it’s true or not, the idea is accepted as true by a lot of designers. I’m an illustrator that works with packagers every once in a while, and they certainly like asking for things to be brighter and bolder when dealing with a younger market.

Yrs.,
R.

I like the non 1940 colors. Gives me a whole new selection of colors to use for powers like Spain, Finland, Communist China, Poland, etc. in 1940 setups

I bet most people prefer the French infantry from Global to the ones in this. Uniform is virtually the same.

OK here it is - my best guess for the map. Certain areas remain in darkness (Barents sea, sea borders of Belgium/Netherlands).

I’d forgotten that Albania is an Italian satellite; the historical grounds are very dubious.

Still needs IPC values and Naval Bases. The latter could be added to virtually any area with a coastline, but some candidates are more obvious than others.

But, for example, does the “Kiel” area have a NB on both SZs? Also, if there is no Skagerrak SZ, the Kiel canal is redundant. Conversely, if the Mediterranean SZs are correct, the Corinthian canal could allow direct movement from the Adriatic to the Aegean.

Edit: I think a Kiel NV could cover both sea zones simultaneously.

Some of the distortion is weird; I had to move Corsica and Sardinia westwards to make the SZ border work.

Doesn’t look like Rio de Oro is on the map… so I got rid of it.

Don’t think I’ll ever believe in a map which has just one space between Romania and Persia; there should be 3 minimum.

On the Diplomacy theme, does anyone think a “simultaneous orders” version of this game is viable? Putting aside the politics, is it mechanically doable?

What happens when two opposing forces both attack over the same border?

Either fight the battle on the assumption that it takes place on border tt (no man’s land?) or

The larger force is assumed to push the smaller back, so the battle takes place in the starting tt of the smaller army.

It seems weird that Italy and England would have almost as many territories as Russia (not counting africa/middle east)

Yea, I’m not a huge fan of how Russia has so few territories in Diplomacy, or….what will probably be a similar situation in A&A 1914

I agree maybe they should have divided Sevastopol and Ukraine.