I have the game

It’s not as good of a game as G40 but it is still a good game. The play is much different so that adds some variety to your game collection. Make sure that if you are going to get the game that you get extra pieces or you will be frustrated. Aside from German infantry the next thing to run out is the playing chips and they are slightly larger than the chips you are using now so they don’t stack well. You can buy the pieces and chips from HBG. The tournament rules are better than the OOB rules as well.

In my opinion it is impossible for the CPs to win without the Russian Revolution rules (still super hard with them). Be sure however, to allow the Central Powers to decline the armistice if they wish, as detailed in the errata.

These are estimates…
USA - 23
France - around 40.  France had taken Portugal and a bunch of territories in Africa.
u.k. - around 38 or so, from all the ottoman territories it took.
Italy - weak.  Around 6 or 8.
Austria - no territories gained and none lost, so around 25?
Germany - powerhouse…around 60 from all the Russian territory, and now Italian territory and very close to Rome.
ottoman empire - around 6 a round.

@KimRYoung:

even if 50+ brits are coming through sebastopol? and by then the french are also making a lot of IPC, from spain and such.

50+ Brits?? Never seen that many units on the board ever in the Mid-east. Not saying in your games that didn’t happen (unless your just talking theorectical), but if the UK sends NOTHING into France early on, then Germany and Austria can usually push on to Paris and if not capture it, severly weaken the Allies while increasing their IPC count enough to fight on two fronts.

We have found that the once the Turks and Austrians secure the Balkans, the Turks can either press into Egypt and or towards India. Britain can’t get enough troops into Egypt quick enough do to lack of transports in the Indian ocean and the Turks can push into Africa gaining vital IPC’s if things go well. Enough to pin down UK troops in India.

Don’t get me wrong, the CP has a tough road to victory in this game, but if the IPC count goes their way early on and Russia can be knocked out (revolution or capture) then the UK MUST send resources to France to assist (along with the US) or the French will get overwhelmed.

Have you tried the Tournament rules?

Kim

and IPC balance in france, even with entire western front taken that’s still like 8 IPC. important yes, but not life threatening. and it’s probably round 4 at least till you reach that.

I don’t agree with the two space rule change for land units. Land units in World War 1 were not mobile and if you are looking for a game with full mobility the original axis & allies WOII games are a much better choice.

However I do see the potential of limiting the capacity of producing units in India to 5. Playing UK is much harder as you have to keep producing units in India to keep the Ottomans away and also have to build a navy in the west to threat the Germans. The UK simply lacks the IPC to help the Russians in this scenario since a decisive victory against either the Ottomans in the East or against the German navy in the west is very hard to accomplish. In the two games we have played with this rule Russia Revolution has occurred.

Yea, the rules are a hurdle the first time through, then they feel good after you get the hang of them.

OK after playing the game a few times I have to say this is my least favorite AA game to date.

I agree with many others it is near impossible for the Central Powers to win, the first game we played I won but we where still new to the game.

The Russian Revolution oob was just broken, now it has been fixed but I still hate the idea that if the Russian Revolution is triggered the CP lose one of the victories cities need to win the game.  As if it’s not hard enough for the Central Powers.

The debate over contested territories and moving out of, is just silly.  The first game we played this rule wrong, but the idea that you cannot leave a contested battle into a territory that you already have units in is beyond stupid.  The idea I couldn’t leave a contested zone into an allies is bad, but not being able to move into territory with my own army unless I own the territory.  Shows a easy way out when writing the rules in my opinion.

Cruisers are next to useless in this game.  The extra movement of 1 does not make it worth buying them, with battleships being so cheap.

Obviously many rules where overlooked when first released such as
US neutral rules and what they can or cannot do  (many of these things are not in the OOB rules as written)
US transports before they are at war.
I also notice when many of these things where questioned the official response came back with what seemed like a bit of attitude at people pointing out these errors and that truly turned me off.  It is not the players fault the rules are unclear or just out right do not say something cannot be done.  There is no reason to blame the players for pointing out these faults in the rules.

@Auztria:

Yes. If they truly had a historically accurate setup, Russia would have almost as many troops at start as Germany and Austria-Hungary combined. The Ottoman Empire would have no fleet, Germany would have extra cruisers in the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, Britain would have just 1 infantry, and Africa would be even more barren. Of course they can’t do that, simply for gameplay reasons. If Russia could conquer Galicia and East Prussia effortlessly every game, people would quickly grow bored.

But you see… I went to school to be a historian! I will have to do a little bit of experimenting with the Russian infantry bordering Galicia and East Prussia. Naturally, it raises my hackles that the Russians can’t do much more than poke the CPs on this front. The Russian TTs containing six infantry probably ought to have eight (on the western border). Any attack they make in Prussia or Galicia is going to be bulldozed by a massive A-H or German attack with at least 12 infantry in each case to throw at the hapless Russians.

I have a soft spot for those intrepid Bulgarians c. 1915. This has led to some experimenting on my end to make them a playable country in lieu of a country in the direct Ottoman pale. Instead of collecting income, they would do something like China does in A&A:Pacific 1.0–crank out people or arty (no planes, tanks or ships). I even thought about allowing the Germans to give them a subsidy (1 IPC or something along those lines). Australia is often talked about for its commitment to the war (and justly so), but I was blown away when I read the Bulgarian stats. 1,200,000 mobilized out of about 5 million people!!  If Italy is in this game, surely Bulgars can’t hurt…