Hey, what a beautiful and giant map is this?
That was the comment of my wife, absolutely neutral or better known for condeming any kind of wargames that I like to play so much (unfortunately for her I own all five Axis & Allies games from Milton Bradley and Avalon Hill
)
Probably I am the first from Europe or Germany to have bought the game in Spring 2006. And like many others I think 1.000 bucks is a lot of money to spend for a single game (even though the map and the more than 1.000 pieces you get are well worth the money). But with so many gaming pieces already at hand (I had already spiced up my games with dozens of GHQ tanks and handpainted soldiers from Revell, Italeri and Hat) I easily figured out, that the map itself would do it for me. The 245 $ I paid included the map, all necessary charts, game manual, control marker (flags), 56 handmade and unpainted fortresses (balsa wood) that Mike made upon my request (they look even great when playing A&A D-Day!) and the shipping to Germany.
After studying the rules several evenings I had the time to set up all the units on the map last weekend.
Some people might be interested to know how to cover all the necessary units. And this game has more than 1.000 pieces if you order the Deluxe edition. Therefore I can tell you how I did it:
Infantry: normally no problem if you own at least two or three A&A games. French, chinese and italian units can be covered by above mentioned companies or by painting (i.e. some blue british units for France, some light grey painted soldiers for italy etc.) A good reference is the plasticsoldierreview.com website.
Armor: Tanks from the MB edition could be used as light (US, Russian) or medium (Germany) tanks, the nation specific tanks from A&A Europe, Pacific or revised could be used as medium (UK) or heavy (Germany) tanks. Still there is a problem for those countries with light, medium and heavy armor (like US and Russia). This can best be covered with pewter tanks from Skytrex or GHQ (a detailed list of units comes up with the map, so you can see where to order what units).
Artillery can be covered with A&A pieces, my AT guns are Table Tactics (from A&A Central Powers) Artillery pieces (machine gun pieces from the same product could be used as well. AA guns are A&A pieces (only if you have two or three copies of it). Katjushas are a must buy from Skytrex or GHQ.
Air units could be covered from A&A MB edition (bombers, fighters) or A&A AH editions (Stukas, Sturmoviks, heavy bombers for UK and US). Jet fighters are available with the Table Tactics A&A Accessories or you order ME 262s from Brookhurst (for US residents) or straight at tumblingdiceuk.com (for UK and Europe residents). Same is true for the biplanes (Italy, UK and Russia) that canīt be covered with other pieces.
Ships can be covered with MB and AH pieces as well. If you have Table Tactics Accessories itīs even easier, but not necessary at all.
Battleships are nation-specific pieces from AH, cruisers are MB battleships (or AH destroyers), destroyers are AH pieces (or Table Tactics cruisers), transports and subs can be covered by MB and/or AH pieces. Fleet Carriers (can carry 2 planes) are nation specific from AH, Aircraft (for Germany, UK and Italy) and Escort Carriers (US and Japan) can carry one plane each and are those MB carriers.
Depending on how many and what kind of Axis & Allies games you have, pieces for WW2 The struggle for Europe and Asia can be covered more or less with plastic pieces already at hand. Some pieces however must be covered otherwise. To play the game properly, you need an additional 50 bucks for game pieces (some Tanks, Katyushas, biplanes, ME 262 and V2s at least) that you canīt cover with plastic miniatures from MB or AH.
Hope that helps to decide in favour of the game. The map (both quality, colours and the huge number of territories and sea zones on it) is superb! I can definitely give it an AAA rating!
I am looking forward to playing the first game in the oncoming weeks, once the last playing pieces that I ordered are here (and painted). See you then in the After action reports section of this forum!
Greetings from Christoph in Germany
