AA50 Game Play Review

@Admiral_Thrawn:

Played my first game Wednesday. We played the '41 scenerio. What a blast! This game is great and the best of the A&A line. We had 4 players for our game. I played the Allies and the other 3 the Axis. The two more competent players played Germany and Japan the newer guy played Italy. In the Pacific it was very hard to match the IJN but in the end the Japs lost most of their fleet in a puric victory against the US. I was able to contain Japan from penetrating to far into China or USSR. Double factory build on UK 1 and I was able to stop any invasion of Australia and build a massive army up in India that destroyed the Japs. In the ETO the Russian Campaign was mostly a stalemate while the UK and US whipped the Africa Korps in North Africa. Italy’s fleet was sent to the deep and the bombing of Rome and Berlin commenced. The Allies finaly invaded into France which repulsed an Italian counter attack. The Germans could have probably defeated the Allies in France the next round but after this the Axis gave up the ghost.

I loved the new rules for bombardment! Your men get to fire back before they die so it is not so insanely powerful. The new rules for transports is much improved. The National Objectives are really fun and challenging. Trying to accomplish all of yours and stopping your opponents from getting theirs adds so much to the game. Now you have other tasks to accomplish! I was the only one to try for tech and I failed! The system is improved though. The components to the game are impressive. The thing that needs more work is the Battle of the Atlantic. Well done in AAE but, nearly an impossibility in AA50.

So you managed a two IC build for the UK on turn one.  Did you put them in India and Australia?  I assume that the Japanese player was concentrating on the US.  How did China work for you as well?

Yes, I built a factory in India and Australia. The Japs went for Australia first but I was able to delay them with two of my destroyers so that Aussies could build two infantry before they could get there. Added to the already 3 you have plus the artillery, the AA gun, and an American fighter and bomber that landed there. Since he was after the Aussies this gave time for the Indian Factory to build 3 Armor plus the 3 infantry, 1 Artillery, and AA gun that are already there. I was going to send my South African troops to help in Egypt but, by this time the Axis was already losing in North Africa and I sent them to India. I considered building a factory in Canada to avoid the German Air power when I built 1 or two ships near the UK when my fleet was in the Med. In the end I didn’t but it would have been nice to have. There should be the ability to build in all of these areas from the beginning. Looking at the '42 scenerio it looks very hard to build a factory in India without losing it right away.