@AndrewAAGamer I just played my first game today, veteran’s day, 2024. My A&A group that plays mostly Blood Bath rules tried it out at our local friendly games store (The Portal, Manchester, CT) and by the end of the game I bought a copy from the store before heading home. Everything you said about this game was 100% accurate. I have to admit that I was hesitant to try it because of the lower game piece count vs G40 or Bloodbath. I was worried it would be like the 1942 edition and very shallow. I was wrong.
The scope and scale of the game makes the piece count justified because the real emphasis is logistics and supply which is fascinating from a gameplay perspective. It was my first game; I played the Operation Torch version in a 3-player game as the US/Free French. The other two players had 2-3 games under their belt and were introducing me to it.
The tug of war of logistics and supply were refreshing compared to base/advanced versions of other A&A games. The rules looked crunchy to me before sitting in front of the set up board, but when I was there in person with the game it came intuitively to me despite being very different from every other A&A game.
It felt very balanced and as the allies player I was constantly thinking of axis moves that I could do in the next play-through that would alter the game dynamic from what we did this game. The new units were unique and fun, the logistical aspect of the game added an element of forethought that adds to the strategic dynamic I wasn’t expecting.
After discovering the Bloodbath version of G40 I thought that I would not ever play a version of A&A that could compete for my attention, this one has hands down. It’s fun and easy with a depth that makes it’s replay value significant.
Bottom line, I’m looking forward to playing it many more times. 9.5/10 (yes, the jeeps are too small!).