Rookie players: best team

Can’t really go wrong with USSR or USA, all you need to know is how to stack (well, in USA’s case, you also need to know how to build transports)

:lol:

The main problem with Japan is that you have to know how to expand quickly enough (without overruning ourself), and this requires a lot of experience. Also, the game rides on Japan. If they make one error, then chances are that the Axis have lost. A large problem is why I didn’t like UK (and this was my first game) was I had to watch my Empire go up in flames – not a pretty sight. Plus everything I build was quickly sunk by the Luftwaffe. I like USA, because it is straight forward (I can go for either Japan or Germany) and they do contribute a lot midgame (by T2 you could already be in Africa). Plus the starting income is just right for beginners.

Yeah, the key word here is “starting income”. Whereas Japan has physical “room for mistakes”, US has financial “room”. US also has time, although not much because he has to help out his buddies before they get squooshed. He doesn’t have to make a game-winning move on his first turn though. Plus, a lot of firstime players have it ingrained in their head that they don’t want to be the “bad guys”, so it’s easier to convince them to take US.

:lol:

I think it really depends on the specifics–how experienced are the other players and how willing is the new guy to take advice from the others before getting frustrated he “can’t make his own decisions”. If the rest of the players are of moderate experience, and the new guy is willing to take some direction from his teammates, he/she should be able to have a pretty good game with just about any power (except Germany–that takes a lot of experience against good players). For instance it is very easy for inexperienced USA players to “turtle” and just keep building and building with no results, but with a little coaching, a newbie will learn to make attacks quickly. Japan would be a good country to play for this kind of game because the other players would probably enjoy the surprising moves such a newbie might make as Japan, and it might be good for everybody’s skills.

If on the other hand, the other players are very experienced and there is a newbie, the situation will be more difficult. The newbie will require a lot of direction and might get frustrated with everyone “telling him what to do”. In this case I’ll go out on a limb and suggest he/she play USSR–although USSR starts 1st, so they might need a “dry run” to see how the game is played. The overall concept of USSR (though not necessarily the execution) is easy to learn–protect your territory, exploit weaknesses–and USSR usually requires a lot of help from his/her Allies anyway, so it might be easier to get the newbie to go along.

Above all its important for all players to remember it’s just a game, and give the newbie a firm grasp of the rules, and a good understanding of basic strategy. Giving the newbie a couple of breaks the first game might help to make it more fun (like maybe a free tech). Remember that a new guy is just starting to play and might not want to play again if the game is no fun and people are unsportsmanlike, which’d be a real shame 'cuz A & A is really cool! :wink:

Ozone27

“Any major mistake by any country can lose the game. Japan has more wiggle room than you give them credit for. I think more of the Axis game relies on Germany not doing something dumb. As long as Japan moves forward, it will be okay.”

The problem is that the Allies can be allowed to make errors without playing their game too much in Jeopardy. However, one wrong move by the Axis can be compounded.

“can’t make his own decisions”.

Yeah, this is a problem. You want to give the new player advice, but not so much as to actually play his moves for him (which can happen).

“except Germany–that takes a lot of experience against good players”

I agree, giving Germany to a new player is a big no-no, unless they’re naturals.

“Japan would be a good country to play for this kind of game because the other players would probably enjoy the surprising moves such a newbie might make as Japan, and it might be good for everybody’s skills.”

Japan might be a good selection if the new player has played other strategy games before (Risk, RTS or Turned Based on computer), and has some idea ahead of time how to play A&A. It’s surprising how learning A&A can be a springboard to learning other games because the principles and concepts you learn can easily be applied to any other situations. However, a player completely new to the game might feel a little too “overwhelming” with all the options.

“For instance it is very easy for inexperienced USA players to “turtle” and just keep building and building with no results, but with a little coaching, a newbie will learn to make attacks quickly.”

True, a lot of moderate players will complain that USA goes too slow. How, USA can be very much involved in the game. Their number one goal is not to plan and liberate Western Europe (requiring lots of time and IPCs), but Africa. Africa is the perfect battleground. Given some support from UK, USA can made dramatic sweeps through Africa and liberate the from the oppression of the Nazis. And I bet many history buffs new to this game will enjoy this sense of “historical realism.”

Also, what I like about giving start players USA is that they actually feel like their presence is felt. Whereas USSR MUST hold out against German and Japanese attacks and Japan MUST conquer Asia as quickly and with as little causalities as possible, USA’s moves are more like the icing on the cake. Here you have the beleaguered Allies trying desperately to prevent an Axis Victory, then USA arrives just in the nick of time to relieve the Allies’ woes. The feeling of having done this is incredible, especially if it’s a climatic event like the D-Day invasion. "There stands Jackson like a Stonewall; rally 'round the Virginians! :wink:

“Remember that a new guy is just starting to play and might not want to play again if the game is no fun and people are unsportsmanlike, which’d be a real shame 'cuz A & A is really cool!”

#1 When Introducing a New Player, play for fun. :roll: That way the new guy doesn’t feel lost or feels like he’s holding the rest of the team back.

I also think Japan or USA would be best for the above stated reasons.

Hey, chiefman21, you sure have provided enough neat posts to go ahead and register in. Before you get any more interested in this site, go ahead and assign yourself a seat you can call your own.

:)

@chiefman21:

I want to know which country is the best for a beginner (easier than the otherrs0
) thanks"!

To me that’s a complicated question to answer accurately. I’d agree with those that say USSR and USA have a sort of lesser complicated adjenda to fulfill, but I think any new player should make a full attempt to understand all 5 forces as best they can as soon as they can. Each has it’s own character to operate, their own drawbacks, strengths, weakness, advantages, and each has a job it’s expected to do that it’s parters are expecting of it. A new player might not understand this and make the mistake of paying too much attention to the only things that matter to his country and not enough to the game as a whole, effectively learning nothing.

It’s like nobody can learn to be a pro at any one country without learning how to play the other countries just about as well, the way I see it.

The notion is to give a new player a country more difficult to mess up, but the new player should not be nearly as concerned with winning as they should be at paying attention to the flow of what is going on with the other countries.

I guess what I’m trying to say is there is no part of the game that is ‘unimportant’. What is important is that the player be made to understand all the goings on. Try to follow up all your comments that begin with “what you should do is…” with endings that sound like "and you should do that because… if you know what I mean. It’s like trying to teach someone to be a quarterback when they don’t really know what a lineman does. To learn to play football, toying with all positions is a good idea.

Which leads to an interesting thing when my friends play. We don’t “call an army” or pick who is which country. We split into teams and pretty much work each side as a collective mind. That way, we could have as many as 300 players, really. We just huddle, decide and exceute. It is a lot stronger and a more interesting game that way too, since there’s no ally telling the other, “aw man, if you do that, you’ll cost us the game.”

:wink:

Well I can agree with you on Japan if you want to play the Axis, but when I was sent to play England (and this was actually my first game), I was sent back home with a stinging defeat. The main problem, is that even with US support, chances are that England is going to have the socks knocked off them. I went to Africa, I lost. I built a navy, lost that to the Luftwaffe. I tried building an IC in India and the Japanese managed to take that over. By the end of the third round, I had almost lost all my territories in Africa and SE Asia. For the rest of the game, I mainly sent forces to Russia to help them defend against Germany – not very fun.