New to the game- is this a good game to start with?

The games can’t really be played solo. That said, you can practice openings by yourself and learn. Eventually, you will need a partner. Of course, if you master the rules and enjoy playing, you can always find a stream of willing on line players here. Alternatively, there are threads here designed to find players near you here on this site.
This is the most complex and probably best game in the franchise.
Welcome, also to the forum.

You can also play using TripleA.  This is a very good way to learn the game.  It has a built in AI for you to play against on your local machine or you can opt to play others online.

http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=26989.0

Maybe you should pick up 1941, if it still costs £25, just to be sure you like the game mechanics. Just in case.
Then get 1940. Skip 1942, as it is an in between game and costs too much for what it is.

AAA is easy to pick up, but having the board is so much better!

Welcome, this board is a great resource!

Also, everyone is extremely helpful and nice when asking and answering questions which is a huge plus. Not many internet forums are like this!

@wittmann:

Maybe you should pick up 1941, if it still costs �25, just to be sure you like the game mechanics. Just in case.
Then get 1940. Skip 1942, as it is an in between game and costs too much for what it is.
AAA is easy to pick up, but having the board is so much better!

Yes, I agree that there’s something uniquely satisfying about moving real pieces on a real map rather than just electrons on a computer screen.  Wittmann’s suggestion that you buy 1941 first, then jump to the two-part 1940 game, has an additional advantage too: the sculpts in the 1940 and 1942 games are part of A&A’s main evolutionary line, but the ones in the 1941 game are all different in shape from their 1940/1942 countreparts (though identical in colour).  Those extra units are nice to have and they can be used, if you wish to do so, to supplement the 1940/1942 ones in various ways.  Just as an example, the 1941 game includes pieces modeled on German and Russian heavy tanks and on British and Japanese battlecruisers, which could (for instance) be treated as special units under home-made house rules.

I recommend AA50 if you can get your hands on it.

Revised or 1942 2nd edition.

Global is a much longer game. You will be unable to complete it in a 16 hour period of time the first time around.

I totally agree with you guys on wanting to play on a real map with pieces.  I suggested TripleA because its a game he can play Solo ad learn the game.

@cyanight:

I totally agree with you guys on wanting to play on a real map with pieces.

Apparently none of you has a cat…. ;)

TripleA is much better if you have a cat (or small children for that matter).  8-)

@DizzKneeLand33:

Apparently none of you has a cat…. ;)

TripleA is much better if you have a cat (or small children for that matter).   8-)

Haha! good one  :-D!

Casperthegm,
you can play this game solo if you want to foolproof a strategy or simply put it to a first test. It is not that hard because there is no secrecy in this game (other than guessing what your opponent is going to do). You just play all the major powers by yourself moving your forces in anticipation of the worst case scenario for each nation. Or you move the forces the way you know your next opponent is going to.
Ofc… it is much more fun (and challenging) to play a real opponent. If that opponent has a knack for strategy games ;-).

Last but not least, if you love complex games (like I do), this one is complex enough. By far not as complex as a combat simulation (wargame true to its name), but much more complex than RISK or CATAN for example.
It still is mainly a game, not a historically correct simulation. It is in fact historically very incorrect but the strategical challenge is great.

Buy Global no matter what, because when it goes out of print you’ll wish you had. If you can, start out with the old Milton Bradley edition (it is out of print but it was produced in heavy numbers) so getting even just the classic board and a PDF copy of rules is sufficient if you already have the Global game. Learn on Classic or the smaller versions first but have Global on hand because you’ll want to go further with the Axis & Allies series.

As far TripleA goes, it’s nice to have but can never replicate the feel or real life in game experience you will have playing the actual game. Also regarding TripleA; you still need to know the rules, while it uses the A&A game system, it is not officially an A&A game. The official game rules are easy to download to PDF and study, and playing the game via TripleA will require a decent knowledge of those rules, most player will expect you to know those rules as TripleA at this point cannot simulate every nuance of the actual board game. It’s not that TripleA is a bad way to play but it does require knowledge of the actual A&A rules.

My personal suggestion is to buy the Global set and Spring 1942 Second Edition and you will be well served. From there you can expand if it strikes you as something you’ll want to play.

Lastly, A&A is more of a hobby than just a game. While it doesn’t require the same type of effort of games like Warhammer, Bolt Action or Flames of War, it is more than just a simple board game that will leave you either frustrated and tipping over the table, or becoming a very enjoyable pastime and hobby. Â

@DizzKneeLand33:

Apparently none of you has a cat…

Yes, the cat issue is something that’s come up a few times on this board, as the picture below will illustrate.  I can’t recall if the suggestions were made seriously or not, but some board members have thought about protecting their games-in-progress from one weekend to the next by using a system of overhead pulleys to either raise the table to the ceiling or lower a protective hood over the map.  Feasible for a dedicated gaming room in the basement, but not likely to be approved for the living room by the lady of the house.

Cats love those A&A boxes. Your cat looks exactly like mine, lol

@cyanight:

Cats love those A&A boxes. Your cat looks exactly like mine, lol

I’m not actually sure whose cat this is; the picture is in one of my file folders, and as I recall it was posted on this forum a few years ago.  But yes, cats in general do tend to like boxes in general – and fortunately the one in this picture doesn’t seem interested in clawing the cardboard.  A friend of mine has a cat who just loves shredding boxes to pieces from the inside.

Yeah, using the boxes as cat traps is a good idea. As long as they don’t destroy the boxes (fortunately my cats don’t). But yeah, you have to have someone watching the table at all times, or else you come back to a cat having conquered the Pacific ocean or something like that.

Well, the good thing about a cat invading your board is that the cat doesn’t side with the Axis or the Allies. He/she will destroy both sides impartially.

i disagree…this game can be played solitaire…i play it solo all the time and sometimes i get some very interesting positions which help me against human opponents…

when you play a certian nation during a turn…play that nation and the board as if you were playing human opponents…rolling the dice and choosing casualties and non combat movement…etc…

trust me…the games you get can be very long and very fascinating…

yes…this game was never designed for solitaire…but…with all these intelligent A&A players out there…try it and watch how WW2 unfolds…

@CWO:

@DizzKneeLand33:

Apparently none of you has a cat…

Yes, the cat issue is something that’s come up a few times on this board, as the picture below will illustrate.  I can’t recall if the suggestions were made seriously or not, but some board members have thought about protecting their games-in-progress from one weekend to the next by using a system of overhead pulleys to either raise the table to the ceiling or lower a protective hood over the map.  Feasible for a dedicated gaming room in the basement, but not likely to be approved for the living room by the lady of the house.

That is SO CUTE!!!

How well does the cat play?  Does he attack the US on turn one? :-D