Saturday 6 November 2010

Axis & Allies Global 1940

Friday 5 Nov 2010 was Deepavali, a public holiday in Malaysia. Instead of lazing at home or wasting our youth at shopping centres, Allen, Heng, Wong and I spent a productive work-like 9-to-5 day at Allen's place, playing for the first time Axis & Allies Global 1940 (AAG40), which combines Axis & Allies Pacific 1940 (AAP40) and Axis & Allies Europe 1940 (AAE40) into one monster of a game. I have played half a game of AAP40 once, but have not even played AAE40 by itself. Here's how our game went.

We all reached Allen's place before 9am, all having already eaten breakfast. They have even printed out the reference sheets that I sent just a day ago. I had originally planned to arrive slightly earlier to set up the game, but Heng and Wong arrived very soon after I did, and we ended up all setting up the game together. Setup plus a quick overview of the rules took us an hour, I think about 40mins for setup, 20mins for rules.

Note: Sorry that some of the photos are blurry. Many were taken in a hurry while playing.

The starting setup. We had to play on the floor because the game board was just too big.

From the point of view of the Germans. Lots of U-boats (submarines) in the Atlantic ready to sink merchant ships (reduce income of the Allies). France is moderately well defended, but everyone knows it will fall to the Germans soon.

In AAG40, Russia and USA are initially not at war, and may only join the action in Round 4, unless provoked, by being attacked, or USA may also enter war if Japan attacks UK or ANZAC. This is one of the key differences between the 1940 series and previous A&A games. You start at an earlier point in history.

Heng and Allen contemplating the board. Heng played Germany and Italy, Allen played Japan. Wong played Russia, France and China. I played UK, ANZAC and USA. We decided on the country groupings up front, and then randomly assigned the players.

France had just fallen to the Germans. A French destroyer and a British cruiser have been sunk off the coast of Denmark. Heng didn't attack the my two British battleships.

After Japan's first turn. Allen pushed inland into China. He also interrupted the Burma Road on the left. Keeping the Burma Road open is important for the Chinese because it gives a bonus $6 and also allows China to build artillery. Normally China can only build infantry. Japan bought two minor factories on its first turn, and at the end of its turn, placed them in Kiangsu and Manchuria.

Japan attacked Russia early. All those planes were attacking Amur. In hindsight, Wong (Russia) probably should have moved his two stacks of infantry up from Buryatia and Sakha.

UK quickly claimed Sumatra and Java. In AAG40, the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) can be claimed by the British or ANZAC and will generate income for them. If Japan enters them, it is an act of war against UK/ANZAC. However Japan can attack French Indochina without provoking UK, ANZAC or USA.

The British Royal Navy had sunk the German fleet off the coast of Denmark, taking revenge for the small fleet lost earlier. I wished I could enter the Baltic sea to sink that lonely German transport. In AAG40, to go past certain straits or canals, your side must control one or two specific territories next to the straits or canals. In this case, Denmark for the Danish Strait. For the Suez Canal, you need both Egypt and Trans-Jordan. For the Strait for Gibraltar, you need Gibraltar.

The two British battleships were tilted to one side to show that they had taken damage and needed repairs.

Egypt fell easily to the Italians. I didn't put up a good enough fight. I had evacuated Alexandria to stall for time. My ships in the Mediterranean ran away via the Suez Canal early, and eventually went to fight in the Pacific arena. My ships near Gibraltar never entered the Mediterranean. They had gone north to fight the German fleet. So when the Italians did an amphibious landing to attack Egypt, they could do shore bombardment. I didn't have any warships to distract their warships.

that caramel truck at the centre is a mechanised infantry, a new unit type introduced in the 1940 series. Cost $4, attack 1, defend 2, move 2.

USA couldn't fight yet, and on its first turn it amassed its units in Hawaii, while building more in San Francisco. All my early builds were dedicated to the Pacific theatre.

In the 1940 series there is now a new type of plane, the medium sized tactical bomber. Cost $11, attack 3, defend 3, move 6, and attack becomes 4 when paired with a fighter or a tank. It's cheaper than a bomber and more expensive than a fighter. You can think of it as getting a cheaper bomber with better defense, though shorter range. Pretty decent.

China (light green) counter-attacked in order to reopen the Burma Road.

They were successful. When placing new troops, the new troops were placed in the newly recaptured territory to defend the Burma Road. This is an exception unique for China. Normally you are not allowed to build units at newly captured factories. However China doesn't use factories. New units can be placed anywhere.

All the above happened in Round 1 of the game, and it took us slightly more than 2 hours.

This was round Round 3. Germany finally attacked Russia, pushing towards Archangel in the north, and also attacking south. The Germans had been efficient in gathering support (i.e. free infantry) from pro-Axis neutral countries. This is a new concept in the 1940 series. You can enter a friendly neutral country (i.e. pro- your side) during non-combat move, and it becomes your territory, not only giving you a one-time infantry bonus, but also long-term income. Finland in the north, and Bulgaria in the south, were both pro-Axis, and both had been claimed by the Germans.

Egypt had fallen to the Italians. UK had built some units at the minor factory in South Africa. They were now trudging slowly north.

Japan interrupted Burma Road again. Look at that stack of 8 Japanese fighters and 5 tactical bombers in southern China. There are more further north next to Mongolia. The Japanese has so many planes! They do seem to be short on infantry (but then they are cheap), and transports. Allen didn't buy transports early and opted to build 2 minor factories on the Asian mainland on his first turn.

The British troops (biege) had slowly advanced to Burma and Shan State. ANZAC (grey) had sent their fighters to South East Asia. Some British ships from the Mediterranean had reached West India. They would eventually combine with the Indian Ocean fleet to fight the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). This was Turn 2. Hong Kong had not fallen because the Japanese had not attacked yet.

USA continued to amass a big fleet and a big air force in Hawaii. Some of these planes had flown all the way from New York. The Americans wanted to put more focus on the Japanese.

The Italians were unstoppable in Africa.

This was Round 3. Japan had attacked UK and USA, so USA could start attacking now. Hong Kong fell swiftly, and the Philippines too. Learning from my earlier game of AAP40 with Han, I had vacated the Filipino bomber and fighter earlier. The Japanese had built some transports by now. The Imperial Japanese Navy were split into two groups, one defending the homeland and the other in South East Asia.

The Japanese/Russian front had been very quiet after the first skirmish. Japan was planning to advance towards Moscow via China and not Siberia.

A British fleet had assembled in India, preparing to take on the IJN.

Off the coast of UK, the British fleet had been wiped out by the German air force, with heavy losses on the German side too. Germany then rebuilt their navy, and they gained naval superiority. The British only had a few destroyers offering token resistance. With Operation Sealion being a real threat, UK had to stock up on homeland defense.

One new concept introduced in AAG40 is that the British European funds and British Pacific funds are tracked separately. Money for one arena can only be used for purchasing units in the same arena. This means less flexibility, but one advantage is if a British capital falls, you will only lose part of your money. The other arena is not affected. Calcutta is the British capital in the Pacific arena.

The first major movement of the US Pacific fleet was to go north to the Aleutian Islands. My bombers would be in range of the Sea of Japan there, and if I later recaptured the Soviet Far East from Japan, they could be based there and could be used to strategic bomb Japan.

In the following round, the US Pacific fleet struck at the IJN off the Japanese homeland. Three fighters in Japan scrambled to help defend.

The Japanese were outnumbered and had poorer die rolls than the Americans, and thus lost the battle. I made a mistake here. A damaged aircraft carrier should not have been able to carry planes. I should probably have lost an additional plane and carrier. Sorry Allen... (he played Japan)

US eventually captured the Soviet Far East. Those transports were quite safe because no Japanese planes or ships were in range. The Aleutian Islands had a very busy temporary airport.

Start of round five. That Aton box cover on the right was one of our dice trays.

The world map at the start of Round 5, the final round that we played. I had to leave around 5pm, so we agreed to stop after finishing Round 5. On the left, some Americans had just landed in North Africa. In the UK, the Germans had attempted Operation Sealion twice, the first time successfully capturing Scotland (but it was later recaptured by the British), and the second time failing to capture England. UK had 4 fighters defending, which helped tremendously. However UK didn't have the money to build a fleet to repel the German navy. It needed USA to help in the European theatre. It was in bad shape economically because its income from Africa had been taken away by Italy. Italy was undoubtly the most successful power.

In the Middle East the Italians had a small army, and they had gained the support of pro-Axis Iraq. The Russians had presence in the Middle East too, having gained support from the pro-Allies Persians. China was now completely overrun by the Japanese. Japan was coming at Russia from the backdoor. Japan was also eyeing Calcutta. They still had a huge air force, but one difficulty was the shortage of ground troops, and the distance to Calcutta. Half the Japanese navy was gone, and the other half was about to clash with the British Indian fleet. The small ANZAC fleet, which had been so painstakingly built up, was utterly destroyed by the IJN off the coast of Papua New Guinea. The freshly built (and now rather lonely) aircraft carrier had to run away to Adelaide to keep itself out of range of the IJN.

A closer look at the Pacific arena. Hey Allen (Japan), you had a damaged carrier carrying a fighter too! So, fair enough ya, we applied the wrong rule consistently.

A closer look at Europe. The Germans had just attacked and captured Archangel, a very important city. They still had a huge stack of tanks left after the battle. The Germans were now building lots of infantry. The Italians were so rich that they had been building bombers. UK was rather helpless, and the only thing it could think of was to build bombers to bomb German factories.

Supported by its massive air force, Japan recaptured the southern Chinese provinces and French Indochina. The British was looking a little shaky now in South East Asia, and would need to churn out more defenders quickly in India. Well, at least I had recaptured Sabah (then known as North Borneo), my homestate, where I would be born many years after the end of World War II.

The Italians didn't give the Americans any time to rest after landing in North Africa. With the help of its bombers, Italy completely wiped out the first wave of US troops.

Africa was firmly under Italian rule. We ran out of Italian markers and had to use German markers flipped upside down. Julius Caesar would have been proud.

End of Round 5. We played in a bit of a hurry and didn't do all our purchases. We mostly did the fighting. USA had a medium sized navy in the Atlantic now, but the Italian navy supported by their bombers would be a big threat. Plus there was still the German navy to contend with. Thing were not looking so good for the Allies in Europe. Losing Archangel was a big blow to Russia. Now it had to try to hold out against the next German assault, likely to be against Moscow.

In the Pacific theatre, the British India fleet had destroyed the other half of the IJN, off the coast of Philippines. Japan had built 8 destroyers to try to fight off the US fleet camping outside Tokyo Bay, but that didn't work. Then again, we played the carrier rule wrong, so if we had played right, I (USA) might have lost the second sea battle in the Sea of Japan. Japan still had a huge airforce in China. It still had 2 factories from which it could churn out land units to threaten India and Russia. USA was not quite ready to invade Japan yet. Not enough transports and land troops, and also it had not maintained a supply of warships to deploy to the Pacific arena. So although Japan was now humbled due to the loss of its navy, it was not going to fall any time soon.

My thoughts after this marathon 8-hour game session is: I had a wonderful time, but I am actually not keen to play AAG40 again. The problem I have with it is its ROI - Return on Investment. Given the A&A game system, I feel playing AAG40 is too much time and effort spent for the amount of enjoyment gained. The game is too long. I don't have any problem with any specific element changed in or added to the 1940 series games. However all these things add up and make the game longer than I like. In A&A there is a lot of "work" - buying stuff, calculating money, moving troops, rolling dice to resolve battles etc. To play A&A well, you need a longer-term perspective. It is an economic game. You need a strong economy to build troops to fight. You often need to plan quite a number of turns in advance, making sure you buy the right unit types to send to the right fronts. There is long-term strategy, and it is important. However, there is a lot of work involved in executing your long-term strategy. That's how the system is.

To complete a full AAG40 game will probably take 12 - 16 hours, likely longer if all players play well. In that amount of time, I'd rather have played 4 games of Indonesia, or Die Macher, or separate AAP40 and AAE40 games, maybe even do a marathon of Axis & Allies Battle of the Bulge, Axis & Allies Guadalcanal and Axis & Allies Anniversary Edition (AA50). In 12 hours I can probably play 5 games of Through the Ages. Not to say that AAG40 is not fun. Just that there's too much effort you need to invest. If I want to play a global A&A game, I'll play AA50. It's not that much more complex than A&A Revised (2004), and I think it also isn't that much more complex than A&A Spring 1942 (the current more mass market version of the global A&A game).

I may be a little biased by the fact that we did not finish our game, and did not even reach a point that one side could concede defeat. Overall the Axis did better, but reaching 14 victory cities was not exactly on the horizon yet. They had 10 - Berlin, Rome, Warsaw, Paris, Cairo, Archangel, Tokyo, Shanghai, Manila and Hong Kong. The next 4 would probably be Moscow, Stalingrad, London and Calcutta. The rest would be a little hard - Ottawa, Washington, San Francisco, Honolulu (no IJN), Sydney.

I wonder what's next in the A&A franchise. I hope it will be a battle specific game, like Axis & Allies Battle of the Bulge or Axis & Allies Guadalcanal. The A&A family is still my wonderful justification for playing with toy soldiers.

Heng, Wong and Allen saluting Hitler. Well, actually it should be Mussolini. Italy, played by Heng, was most successful.

48 comments:

Aik Yong said...

On the other hand, I felt that there was a real return on the time invested. I love that the Axis forces got to do a-historical stuff like launching Operation Sealion. And this has to do with AAG1940 starting in 1940 rather than the usual 1942.

I have not tried the 1941 scenario in AA:Anniversary but now I am tempted to, to see what the difference is.

My overall impression of the game is actually positive and I'm not sure the feeling is mutual on the Allies side as the Allies is more a 'reactionary' force that has to 'dance' to the Axis' tune and hope to get in a shot when there is a mistake.

Russia and US had to take awhile to start dishing out payback on the crushing defeats suffered by France and China. As we talked earlier, the Axis is actually a good force for beginners as it is more fun to be on the aggressive side.

I like how the two board interconnects mechanically and historically. There seem to be a minimal amount of crossover between the Pacific theater and the European theater. The three mega 6-infantry stack on Russia's backdoor really put paid to the usual Kill-Russia-First strategy.

Other than the odd British and French frigates departing to stop the IJN, there wasn't a misappropriate amount of crossovers.

That being said, I appreciate how each of the Axis and Allies side can be played separately by two players, one concentrating on the European theater and the other on the Pacific theater like we did in our game. I certainly couldn't see myself handling both theaters without significantly dragging the time even further.

It is true that A&A at it's heart is an economic game, or rather a game of logistics. That is why I am positive on the inclusion of naval bases in this game as it really allows the ships to catch up with the front line quite well. It also allows poses some interesting tactical situations where ships at a naval base can simultaneously threaten a wide range of targets but can get out of position easily after the strike.

Overall a hearty thumbs up and call me hardcore, but I like both theaters being played side by side! :P

Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成 said...

Indeed probably at least for the first half of the game the initiative is on the Axis side (true to history) and the Allies are in damage control mode most of the time. So indeed it's more fun to play as the Axis.

Actually I'd say my overall impression of AAG40 is positive too. I certainly had fun. My only problem is the length. That evening after our game and the following day my knee and ass were sore because of the full day of kneeling and squatting and sitting on the floor.

You mentioned a very good point - how useful naval bases are. Ships are indeed slow, and that additional move boosted by naval bases is very handy.

One thing none of us explored was building new naval or air bases.

Jasper said...

Hi Hiew, I really like reading your blog, it's my favourite place to go for game reviews. I can't wait until the newly released games at Essen reach you. Keep up the good work!

Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成 said...

Thank you Jasper. It may take some time for me to be able to try some of the latest Essen games though. Not many from this year's crop that I'm itching to buy, except for 7 Wonders, and even then I may not be ordering any games in the next few months (my self-imposed 2010 quota is used up). However I will likely be able to try London soon because a friend had pre-ordered that. I'm counting on him to order Inca Empire too. :-)

Cecrow said...

Just looking at the photos and hearing about the time scale, yeah, my gut reaction is same as yours: that's just too much for me. Sure looks impressive though.

Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成 said...

Cecrow,
Indeed it was a memorable experience. It certainly was cool to see the whole thing set up. I had fun. Just to make sure I don't give the wrong impression. Just that the fun:effort ratio was low, so whether I feel like playing AAG40 depends on whether I am in the mood to spend that much effort for that amount of fun.

Anonymous said...

Three of us here in the USA played only one turn of the global 1940. We all liked the game concepts, but I think playing the European, or Pacific versions alone is better. My other friends like thejoint world version.

I enjoyed your article and pics.

Anonymous said...

guys!... i am going to do this. i have about 8-10 friends coming to my house this weekend to try the AAG1940!. we have scheduled to start set up at 0730 and the game to start between 0830 and 0900 then go till 2300ish. the wives are to bring separate cars to leave early!!! i invited the wifes to sit in the jaquzzi while we play. this way the kids are busy.

anyway... we are going to play as teams and help each other. there will be some new guys to the game so those of us who have done this before will be there to help.

any links to strategies? not sure that you axis guys were going to get it done. although it looks promising... dont the allies get a ton of resources...aka...usa?

did you not get your bonuses? i think if you alocate 12-16 hours you will really see the beauty of the global game. at least i am willing to find out. ha ha

thanks for the comments.
earlydawg

Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成 said...

earlydawg,
sounds like you've got a great session planned! have fun! you can find strategy articles on www.boardgamegeek.com, but in my opinion it's best to discover strategies by yourself.
overall the usa does have a lot of money, but the axis starts with good momentum - lots of troops poised to attack. so a&a global 1940 is similar to others in the series, in that the axis are trying to strike hard and fast before the allied economy tips the scales. if the axis can reach an equilibrium point, the allies will be in a touch position.

Vaansen said...

Hello all:

I loved reading your summary of the game - I've built a low table to hold my version of global, which I've set up and am ready to play my brother.

I think that the key to this game is it's epic... I don't think you can expect to complete a game in a single session. I was an avid play by e-mail A and A player and I think this game is ideal for PBM stuff; you need time to contemplate your moves and when you spread it over a month or so, the logistics (payment purchases, etc.) does not seem so bad...

It would be great if someone would come up with an asynchronous system (where you could log in, make your move, and then wait for your opponent to make his).

My point is, that in terms of the enjoyment of the game, you have to remember what this game is before you start: EPIC! For some, that's what we've been waiting for...

Thanks again. Looking forward to seeing more on your blog.

Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成 said...

Thanks Vaansen. You raised a good point. Indeed A&A 1940 Global would be very suitable as a PBEM game. The computer can help to take care of much of the tedium. Enjoying the game in small bites throughout a longer period as opposed to slogging through it spending one full day sitting around a table will likely be better. I once played some games of A&A Anniversary using a PBEM software TripleA, but I think now it has been removed. Those were good games.

Anonymous said...

Hello
I would like to know if you encountered any other problems then the lenght of the game or if you
have any other toughts about it. Is it balanced? I heard Axis where easier and almost always won.
Also I red on forums that the battle board had wrong values on it and that some faction were
missing pieces. Japan was short on tactical bomber.
Anyway, after reading the this review I really want to buy this game. I have the world revised edition
and i like it alot.
Thanks for the awesome blog,great article and pics
Anthony

Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成 said...

Hi Anthony, I don't exactly have a problem with length. It's the length in relation to the depth of the game, the enjoyment gained vs the time and effort required. Global 1940 felt like too much work for me and I think I'll prefer just pacific 1940 or Europe 1940, or anniversary edition (which is global). I have only played one game of global 1940 so I can't really comment on balance. I'd say do use the latest alpha+3 rules which the experts and the designer have been working hard on.

Components wise, the battle strip is a minor issue, since I don't use it. Re: Jap tac bombers I've written to hasbro and they've sent me extra.

Anonymous said...

Where does one purchase this board game? Is it available online or in certain stores? I cannot find it...
Isaac

Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成 said...

Try these links:
http://www.boardgameprices.com/game.aspx?id=411013
http://www.boardgameprices.com/game.aspx?id=454682

Or search on the internet.

Anonymous said...

I got the spring 1942 version and it has 11 different weapons not including AA guns. How many different weapons does Global 1940 have?

Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成 said...

Trying to recall off the top of my head:

1. Infantry
2. Tanks
3. Artillery
4. Motorised infantry
5. Fighters
6. Tactical bombers
7. Bombers
8. Submarines
9. Transports
10. Destroyers
11. Cruisers
12. Battleships
13. Aircraft carriers

I think that's it.

Anonymous said...

Are you planning to cotinue the game anytime?

Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成 said...

We won't be able to continue this particular game that we played, because we did not note down the game situation for us to be able to do so.

Scheduling a session of AAG40 will always be a challenge, especially if you want to get a big group together, since it a full day affair. At the moment I have not made specific plans to play AAG40 again, but I'm hoping to play AAP40 or AAE40, in particular AAE40 which I have not played before as a separate game.

Anonymous said...

There are many versions of axis and allies. Which is your favourite?

Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成 said...

My current favourite is Axis & Allies Anniversary Edition, which is unfortunately out of print. But I think the Spring 1942 edition is probably a good alternative, unless you want a 6-player game. I have not played AAP40 or AAE40 enough to decide how much I like them. After one play of AAG40, I prefer the anniversary edition. Another A&A game that I quite enjoyed is Guadalcanal. I really should put more effort in playing them more.

hoog_mark said...

Hiew! Great work on the photos. How did you make those game piece holders for each of the players to hold all the small game pieces? Again, great work! And some day I will try the global game. I just got AA42.

Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成 said...

I assume you are referring to the white inserts that I have in the black trays. The black trays come with the game. The white inserts were made using just paper, cut and folded using a file that I found at www.boardgamegeek.com. Another gamer made that file, which I found to be very useful. I could spilt each tray into 6 compartments which helped a lot in keeping my units organised.

Zach Kaiser said...

Hey I just wanted to know where you got the game. I am an avid Axis and Allies player and this is the one game I could not find do you know where I could buy it?

Zach Kaiser said...

Hey I just wanted to know where you got this game because I have been searching for it forever. I am a huge axis and allies fan and wanted to know how you found it? Let me know my email is kaiserzack@gmail.com

Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成 said...

Hi Zack, I don't remember exactly from where I bought AAP1940 or AAE1940. But I think one was bought from a USA based online retailer, and one was from boardgamecafe.net, a Malaysian online retailer. Both were bought quite some time ago, and I think they may be out of print by now. Try searching at www.boardgameprices.com to see if you can find any online retailers still having them in stock. Good luck.

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Anonymous said...

Why not try downloading axis and allies? I played against the computer and it took me only 2-3 hours.

Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成 said...

Download A&A? You mean there is a computer version A&A 1940 Global? I didn't know there is one.

Anonymous said...

Sure. The computer version is called triplea. Not only do they have most of the board games, they also have games that haven't even been published yet. The link is: http://triplea.sourceforge.net/mywiki/Installing. Have fun.

Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成 said...

Ah thanks! I have played TripleA before, but I used it to play PBEM against a friend. I have forgotten that it has AI.

Anonymous said...

Can tactical bombers do a strategic bombing?

Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成 said...

Nope, tactical bombers cannot do strategic bombing runs. They can only be used in normal battles. A tactical bomber fights better (attacks on 4 instead of 3) when paired with a fighter or a tank. It can also land on a carrier.

Anonymous said...

actually tac bombers can strategic bomb air and naval bases.

Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成 said...

Thanks for pointing out. Indeed tactical bombers can bomb air and naval bases as part of strategic bombing raids. I don't remember whether they can do so in the first version of the rules, but they indeed can in the current ALPHA3, i.e. Second Edition rules.

Josh Owens said...

Greeting from Georgia, USA. I enjoyed reading through your blog; the move by move telling was fun to follow.

I have not played global before, in fact I just learned that it exist. I am, however, a quite a fan of Axis and Allies and my brothers and sister and I are currently playing a game of the original A&A which we started during Thanksgiving and hope to finish before the end of the Christmas season.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I enjoyed your blog, and hopefully I will have an opportunity to play global some time in the future...perhaps with fivie to seven players.


Best wishes to you in Malaysia,


Josh Owens

Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成 said...

Thank you Josh. An alternative way to play Axis & Allies 1940 Global is to use the Triple A software. Search for it on Google. You will need to download the specific A&A1940 scenarios in addition to the Triple A software. I think they are called World War II Global, or World War II Global Alpha 3 Balanced Mod. There are some minor changes and limitations in the scenario in Triple A, so make sure you read the game notes before you start playing.

Rules for A&A1940 can be found here:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=ah/downloads
You need to read both the A&A1940 Pacific and A&A1940 Europe rulebooks, but 80% of them overlap, so it's just reading one rulebook plus scanning the other one and taking note of the additions.

A word of caution: A&A1940 is more complex and much longer than regular A&A. I assume you are playing the 1986 version (Milton Bradley Game Master series). One easily accessible way to play is the A&A Spring 1942 edition. This is the updated and improved version of the A&A global game. There have been quite a number of tweaks that significantly improve the game since the 1986 edition.

Have fun!

bigozt said...

Hi Hiew, i really enjoyed your blog. It is a key reference for old AnA players like me to get updated on the game since the MB edition - my board is modified heavily for the 'World At War' 3rd party supplement unfortunately. For reasons of space, time and family (my kids will put the pieces all over the house!), the physical game is beyond me, and i can only oogle at your pics (n play Triple A)!

Regards
Yong, Singapore

Anonymous said...

Hi
Regards from Argentine.
For shortening the game try this :
Unlimited naval movement as long as you have a free naval route to travel.
Ad Naval interception rules : when you cross a naval zone with enemy ships as neighbours they can try to intercept: throw a d6 : 4-6 succeded. +1 on dice if interceptor have airplanes .
Also. I eliminated the combat a non combat move . You have one move of your troops . Like naval, as much as you can move land units without fight movement is unlimited . I balanced the game giving mech and airplanes a free shot ONLY in the first round of combat . After that normal combat rounds as per rules .
One last home rule : empty ocupied territories can create a partisan unit . throw a d6 for each ocupied terrytory: 5-6 a partisant unit is created . It deniend de IPC value until destroyed. Try this
Cheers . Alejandro Ojeda

Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成 said...

Hi Alejandro! Those sound like quite drastic changes. How do they change the dynamics of the game? I like the idea of unlimited sea movement.

Anonymous said...

Hi Hiew . Simple . The troops reach the battlefront in a more realistic way if the have a clear path.
The naval warfare became more unpredictible, spoting the enemy is the key . If you concentrate your fleet in one sea zone you lose control of your oceans . What it could be a e mail to contact you ? Google me Alejandro Ojeda Wargame and probably you will have a better idea of me .

Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成 said...

Indeed I can see countries and continents with long beaches becoming more vulnerable. This is quite an interesting twist.

I have a Gmail account and my user ID is my full name in one word (without the Chinese characters of course).

Anonymous said...

I tested several times . With this tweaks you can simulate the power of naval warfare , and it make blitz more dangerous because the free shoots .
Just the FIRST Roun in LAND combatd the steps are
:1 AA fire (defender only )
2 Air first strikes (Both Sides)
3 Mech units
4 The rest

Steps 1, 2 , 3 are automtic kills , oponet choose what is the casualty as per rules but they CANNOT return fire.

Next round if atacker keep pushing the combat follows as rules

Naval Warfare . Allways check for detection including active attacks when the active player try to invade a ocupied zone . If check fails the task force stops the move in the previous sea zone .
The ckeck is : 6 Dice: 4-6 enemy detected. Modifier : add +1 if the active spoter is air naval force.
Pasive Player can try to stop active naval movement including subs trying to stop it . First select how many ships will try to do so . Second use de D6 test . If succeded an unnespected naval combat became . The active task force is stooped no matter the naval combat result.
You well se how fast is going this .Im sending an e mail now
Is morning here . Alejandro

Anonymous said...

we are on game 25 (about 16 full global) in kansas city, kansas usa and love your pic

Janet Nicol said...

Hi I want to purchase about 30 miniature battle ships and 8 miniature container ships to play a highly interactive game with children in an educational context. Can anyone direct me to where I may purchase these? Thanks
Janet

Hiew Chok Sien 邱卓成 said...

Janet, try this site:
http://www.historicalboardgaming.com/

AxisAndAllies1940 said...

Thanks for sharing. My son and I just got 1940 Europe and have played two full games now. Game 1 took 10 turns, game 2 took 9 turns. The allies won game 1, the axis won game 2...even though America had 5 technologies. My son spent 45 IPCs over the course of the game and got 9 rolls total....he got 5 sixes. Got heavy bombers as one of his technologies but Germany still took over Russia while the Allies failed to take Germany on that same turn....which ended up making the Axis victorious.

Warmonger said...

I like your post. Very in-depth pictures. I have played this version a few times, but like you said, it is so long. One point I would like to make though is how you let the Italians get away with Africa. As the British, you should have sunk the Italian fleet early by bringing air units from Britain. That is the reason the Italians were unstoppable.
Like your posts, Warmonger