2nd edition upgrade?

The 1940.2 map has a few minor differences from the 1940.1 version, but nothing critical.  1940.2 has an income tracker along the top edge; the Canadian territories on the Pacific side of the map have been rejiggered, and have incorrectly been given a UK roundel; and I think that one or two Sea Zones have had their position changed in terms of where they connect with land borders.  (Personally, I prefer the 1940.1 map.)

The rulebooks can be downloaded for free from here:

http://avalonhill.wizards.com/rules

1940.2 has a greater diversity of unique sculpt models, but functionally the only major change sculpt-wise is the introduction of the AAA unit as a sculpt.

The design of the mini poker chips has been modified in 1940.2, but that’s just a cosmetic difference.

I’ve attached a picture providing more info.

@zooooma:

I have been know to experiment with Operation Hollywood against an unprepared America players - so BC could make a difference.  Did LH ever express his motivation for the change?

Beats me.  The “Axis & Allies Pacific 1940, 2nd Edition, FAQ November 24, 2014 Errata” sheet simply says “The Map: Western Canada should have a Canadian emblem. It is originally controlled by the United Kingdom.”  It doesn’t say why the territories themselves were reconfigured.

China can only build Infantry and Artillery
From the Pacific Rule book page 10

China may spend IPCs only to purchase infantry units
(with one exception, see below) and does not use industrial
complexes. New Chinese units can be mobilized on any
Chinese territory that is controlled by China

The exception that is if the entire Burma Road (India, Burma, Yunnan, Szechwan) are controlled by the Allies at the beginning of China’s turn, they may build artillery.

In other words, no Chinese AA guns needed

@zooooma:

One last question before I order pieces - are the 1942 2nd edition Artillery & AAA pieces size compatible with Global?  Some of them are a little cheaper.

The sculpts are the same size, but when I was taking the photographs for my sculpt identification charts…

http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=31982.0

…I noticed some slight design differences between some of the sculpts introduced in Global 1940 2nd ed and some of the sculpts introduced in 1942 2nd ed.  Just from memory, a few examples would be: differences in the barrel design of the Soviet AAA gun (specifically in the muzzle brake) and in the breech of the German artillery unit.  Noticeable close-up, but not when you’re playing with the pieces on the game table.  I think of them as “collector’s variants” rather than as different units.

@zooooma:

My problem right now is that HBG is out of stock for some of the pieces I need.  If money weren’t tight right now I’d just buy what they have and get the rest later.  As it is, I’m hard pressed to shell out for high end pieces is I still have to improvise for the rest - that’s exactly what I’m paying to avoid.

One cost calculation that you might try doing, to make sure that you’ve fully explored both options, is the following one:

a) Calculate how much it would cost you to obtain the desired individual AAA pieces from HBG (and anything else you might need to perform the upgrade you’re aiming for, if applicable).

b) See how much it would cost you to pick up a copy of the 1942 2nd edition game from either your local hobby store (or from a less expensive online supplier, if applicable) and use its AAA units.

If b) turns out to be cheaper than a), forget about going the individual-piece route.  This is an issue that’s come up before in other threads: people asking “what are all the individual pieces I need to buy from HBG to upgrade game X to game Y?”, on the assumption that it’s invariably cheaper to cobble together an imitation of game Y from assorted components than it is to simply buy game Y in the first place.  Depending on the circumstances, that’s not necessarily the case.

@CWO:

the assumption that it’s invariably cheaper to cobble together an imitation of game Y from assorted components than it is to simply buy game Y in the first place.  Depending on the circumstances, that’s not necessarily the case.Â

Unless it’s 50th Anniversary Edition A&A… it’s always cheaper to cobble together Anniversary then to buy it (unless someone who is legally insane is selling it cheap).

@zooooma:

I had 2 copies of AA50.  When Global 1940 was announced I figured that would kill the “grail game” status of AA50, so I quickly traded it for some other games before it dropped of in value.

I think I called that one wrong!

A friend of mine once told me that if he had kept (rather than discarding) all the now-classic comic books he had collected as a kid in the 1950s, and had sold the collection thirty years later, he would have made enough money to put his nephew through college.

I collect said comics, and while that sounds true for the 8.0-10.0 quality comics (eg Batman #92 ~$400-$1200), that is not what the quality will be after having been read 10-15 times then unbagged for 60 years.

A 6.0 is worth about $120-$150 for the better issues, so maybe community college.  This is the best quality issue I have, I’ve found 2 in my lifetime.

A 1.0 is worth $20ish.

The 42.2 edition is worth playing, anyway.  One suggestion that Black Elk made was to put all your units in a tackle organizer.  All units of the same type get put in the same cell regardless of color.    This is easier than transporting the bulky, boxed games into gencon on the shuttle bus (or even maneuvering around the trays and boxes at a crowded home table), and its actually quite easy to find the pieces you need without digging through piles of units.    In your case, you could customize what’s in the organizer so that you have exactly what you need for your G40 setups, and put all that other crap (boxes, play aids, sub-boxes) away.

the game is only like $42 on amazon, its a bargain whether you need the pieces or not.

@taamvan:

The 42.2 edition is worth playing, anyway. One suggestion that Black Elk made was to put all your units in a tackle organizer. All units of the same type get put in the same cell regardless of color. This is easier than transporting the bulky, boxed games into gencon on the shuttle bus (or even maneuvering around the trays and boxes at a crowded home table), and its actually quite easy to find the pieces you need without digging through piles of units. In your case, you could customize what’s in the organizer so that you have exactly what you need for your G40 setups, and put all that other crap (boxes, play aids, sub-boxes) away.

Ya, I went to the hardware store and purchased five 13-bin screw organizers (using 9-bins, since I didn’t use all the optional dividers) to hold the five national units of 1942.2… that way they are neatly organized and each player gets his own bin he can keep next to him for use (the main drawback of “all nations tanks in one bin” is that you got to pass that bin around to every player, or have one guy as “the bank” of units… I still prefer the “to each his own” bin concept). For some extra looks, I made some custom flag stickers to mark the nations of each bin. Of course, I also hate chits, so I added a ton of extra units to each nation (about 70 infantry per nation, 30 tanks per nation, etc, etc).

(actually this is an older picture attached, I filled up the bins with more units since the picture was taken… lolz)

@zooooma:

@Wolfshanze:

Unless it’s 50th Anniversary Edition A&A… it’s always cheaper to cobble together Anniversary then to buy it (unless someone who is legally insane is selling it cheap).

But here would one acquire the board?
I have AA50, so it’s just a curious question.

As I mentioned previously (maybe it was another thread), you can cobble together a 50th A&A edition by having the units from either Global or from 1942.2 + buying Chinese and Italian units from HBG… the rules you can download and print the PDF file… as for the map/board? There is a 50th A&A printable board file here on the forums you can download and print.

@zooooma:

@taamvan:

The 42.2 edition is worth playing, anyway…

…the game is only like $42 on amazon, its a bargain whether you need the pieces or not.

I have no doubt 1942 2nd is worth playing. The question is when?

I only know a few A&Aers, and we all have limited time…

You just answered your own question. For a lot of people (maybe most of the people) who play 1942.2… the reason they play 1942.2 is the very reason you mentioned… “we all have limited time”… for people with work, kids, family and other time commitments, not everyone in the world has the time it takes to play 1940 Global… yes, it’s a GREAT GAME… I totally get that people love and play Global… but dang… it’s not for those with little time to spare. The time commitment for Global is pretty huge compared to a lot of other games. While 1942.2 is surely not as epic or deep as Global, it does do one thing a lot better than Global… not eat up as much of your time.

If you have the time and the friends willing for the commitment of Global, by all means play Global… but if you’re looking for a shorter afternoon so you can go out with the family and get other things done… maybe there’s a place for 1942.2 on your schedule… it won’t eat up as much time as Global.