First Impressions of Axis & Allies 1914

Tanks are not worth buying unless:

1. They come down to 5 IPCs

2. They attack on 3/4

Tanks is definatly worth buying if your on the offence!

Their ability to absorb a hit each round means that 2defending infantrys defence roll is negated (in low luck)
That means if the defender has 20inf and you have 10tanks he will not get ANY hit in lowluck.

Combined with 2in speed (if they have so, havent read unit statistic yet) this makes tanks a nessesary lategame unit which preform great if shielded by infantry and other units in defence.

In some way you can say that the tank have 8in attack and 1in defence.

These WWI tanks can only move 1.

The most realistic depiction of tank usage in this game would be to have tanks almost exclusively offensive. Their impact towards the end of the war was very significant.

I don’t like what I’m hearing about the fighters.

I think an extensive optional set of rules should or should have been included in the game. the sculpt are a little un-refined from the few pictures I can find around the net.

Rail should’ve been included.

Though not really as much of a factor but, damn I wanted a zepplin or two. Fortification of some sort would’ve been nice too.

Lets see what we have here:

-A production chart that is useless
-Chips that are hard to read
-A useless tank unit
-An overpowered air unit
-Longer game play (6 turns in 10 hours!!)

Ouch, this sounds …brutal. I love all things Axis and Allies and will probably be getting myself a copy but damd. Why are people claiming this to be the best Axis and Allies experience to date? Is it simply because its so different to everything else? Is it really more elegent, balanced and an overall a better game than Anniversary?

Please convince me that this is a brilliant design and not the dinosaur it appears to be.

@Holden:

Lets see what we have here:

-A production chart that is useless
-Chips that are hard to read
-A useless tank unit
-An overpowered air unit
-Longer game play (6 turns in 10 hours!!)

Ouch, this sounds …brutal. I love all things Axis and Allies and will probably be getting myself a copy but damd. Why are people claiming this to be the best Axis and Allies experience to date? Is it simply because its so different to everything else? Is it really more elegent, balanced and an overall a better game than Anniversary?

Please convince me that this is a brilliant design and not the dinosaur it appears to be.

• The tank isn’t useless, I just think it is misunderstood.  It basically generates a free unit each round of offense.
• Not sure what you mean by overpowered air unit…air supremacy is extremely valuable if you have a lot of artillery present in the territory
• I think game length is a result of completely new game mechanics with new rules and just trying to figure out how to play the game.  Once you are familiar with the game, it doesn’t take nearly that long.

I was excited about the novelty of the single-round combat and the dogfight aspect of planes, but as sloppy as the Revolution is, as bizarre as the US is, and with what I am hearing about tanks being overpriced (there are already few enough units, we don’t need to exlude any more), and with the obvious lack of pieces (which as soon as I saw the unit count weeks ago it raised a red flag), I really gotta wonder if they figured that requiring the playtesters to pay big money to test and then release the 2nd edition (just like global) was better than insisting on a high-quality product in the first place.

They noted that the differences between 1940 OOB and 2e were not big enough to make too many people buy both; the goal here is to to make a first game so much worse than the 2nd edition that not only will people buy the first edition because of the novelty, they will also buy the second edition.

@vonLettowVorbeck1914:

They noted that the differences between 1940 OOB and 2e were not big enough to make too many people buy both; the goal here is to to make a first game so much worse than the 2nd edition that not only will people buy the first edition because of the novelty, they will also buy the second edition.

Well, I don’t think that we have playtested the Armor enough- It may well be worth it to buy a few.  The Russian Revolution - thankfully - does not require new pieces if they change the rules on that- so right now just don’t use that optional rule.

You may be right on not having enough pieces, although it looks like from Flashman’s play test only Germany and the UK were lacking in a couple Infantry pieces each.  Every A&A game doesn’t have enough ‘poker chips,’ but most of us have other versions we can scavenge from.

I bet the US will be changed to ‘not able to move until turn 4,’ which will make it a bit more tolerable.  Again, another rule change like the revolution that is easy to make and does not require buying a 2nd edition.

From page 7 of the FAQ thread, from Krieghund:

While the US is neutral, it is neither friend nor enemy to any other power.  Because of this, it may not move units into non-US territories, as such territories are neither friendly nor hostile to it.

So the rulebook is in error when it mentions that the US cannot enter CP territories. It can’t enter any other territories while neutral. So that should help assuage, although not eliminate, early US entry fears.

The rule being optional does not excuse it from being lazily and terribly put together. I don’t even see half the effort that went into the Revised NA’s. Included in the price of the game is the Russian Revolution rules, and that in that portion the customer is getting shorted.

@vonLettowVorbeck1914:

The rule being optional does not excuse it from being lazily and terribly put together. I don’t even see half the effort that went into the Revised NA’s. Included in the price of the game is the Russian Revolution rules, and that in that portion the customer is getting shorted.

Not disagreeing with you here but they can amend the rules by using a FAQ.  These are human beings and can make mistakes.  It is hard to write a rulebook for newbies if you’ve been playing the game for months.

I must admit - I did not have opportunity to play - yet…

Buit I think both Tanks and planes are done very good.

Air recon does wonders in a WWI environment and tanks absorbing hits does make them worth playing - if you are on the offense.

The chips are OK and Russian revolution - well i have ideas ;)

Just played with my normal group- we love it. The Russian Revolution works really well, since it is a balancing act to knock them out in such a way as to maximize CP advantage. The US is dull at first, but no surprise there. The take away for people: don’t knock it til you try it. We played until my wife went into labor, so I only have five and a half rounds done. Things looked even. Without the option to knock out Russia, though, CP are in dire straits. We like it.

Now wish me luck. My wife is glaring at me for typing on my phone. 10 hours and counting…

The time we spend here and the emotions this forum can instill in others  are  beyond comprehension.
I am now immune to my wife’s deathly stare.

MY best friend(and chief playing partner) still worries about it though!

@DWoodchuck:

We played until my wife went into labor, so I only have five and a half rounds done. Things looked even. Without the option to knock out Russia, though, CP are in dire straits. We like it.

Now wish me luck. My wife is glaring at me for typing on my phone. 10 hours and counting…

Man, I feel your pain; I’m in the same boat. It’s hard having a baby and Axis & Allies 1914 on the way…I’ve gotten plenty of, “If you only cared about this or that as much as you care about that stupid game…”

Just ignore it.  :evil:

The chips are a problem. I’ve spent far too much time searching for the right kind, substituting others for shortages, mixing and exchanging chips to get the right colours.

Yes I can, and will, use my reserves of grey and red chips next time but I shouldn’t have to.

But as I’ve said before, there is nothing here that couldn’t be fixed with an upgrade pack. Only if the map were changed would it require the purchase of a complete 2nd Edition.

This would include, then:

A production chart/turn record tracker.

About 20-30 more 1 unit chips

About 10 more dice

Extra UK infantry

Extra German infantry

Maybe more German subs

Extra US transports

Extra UK transports

I can easily improvise all this from my games collection, but what about people new to Axis and Allies? It could put them off for life.

@ossel:

@DWoodchuck:

We played until my wife went into labor, so I only have five and a half rounds done. Things looked even. Without the option to knock out Russia, though, CP are in dire straits. We like it.

Now wish me luck. My wife is glaring at me for typing on my phone. 10 hours and counting…

Man, I feel your pain; I’m in the same boat. It’s hard having a baby and Axis & Allies 1914 on the way…I’ve gotten plenty of, “If you only cared about this or that as much as you care about that stupid game…”

Just ignore it.  :evil:

I’d respond with " I know. I’ve really been neglecting my beer-drinking time."

Just marking this thread for future reference and study. Looks like a very interestng game.

“Tall Paul”

I’ve gotten used to HR with A&A so I’m not overly concerned with rule glitches. My concern is that the business model seems to be “Buy this edition or miss out.” So yes I’m buying this and probably two copies. I have all the games some multiple copies except AAE40 1st ed. and Guadal Canal. I was able to get P40 fist edition. The price jump in AA42SE scared the crap out of me. The reasoning behind it is that I feel like the price points on these games will make the series go further into a niche market. That being said I want to support the game. I just wish we would get a fully produced game from the start. I don’t see why there can’t be beginner, intermediate, and advanced level instructions with web supported for us nerds and hardcore tourney players.

@toblerone77:

I’ve gotten used to HR with A&A so I’m not overly concerned with rule glitches. My concern is that the business model seems to be “Buy this edition or miss out.” So yes I’m buying this and probably two copies. I have all the games some multiple copies except AAE40 1st ed. and Guadal Canal. I was able to get P40 fist edition. The price jump in AA42SE scared the crap out of me. The reasoning behind it is that I feel like the price points on these games will make the series go further into a niche market. That being said I want to support the game. I just wish we would get a fully produced game from the start. I don’t see why there can’t be beginner, intermediate, and advanced level instructions with web supported for us nerds and hardcore tourney players.

P40 fist edition
WHERE DO I GET THAT???