World in War: Axis and Allies revisited

Time for some game reviews and session reports.

I am not really a big fan of Axis and Allies but I have seen some very positive review on spielfrieks, which also influenced my decision to buy Antiquity. The system of World in War: Combined Arms 1939-1945 seems innovative enough for the big money it costs. Three weeks ago I received the big parcel from Delayed Reactions including World in War and a couple of other games I bought. Surely I must give them a try, so I brought them to the last two saturday gatherings at Poly University of Hong Kong.

It turns out I have keen instincts judging games. In the last two weeks we have played 4 games. The first three were more like a mess, but with a more sensible opponent, the fourth was a blast.

In was a 2-player game. In that game I was playing Germany with the suggested variant of an extra Western Powers submarine. My opponent decided very early that France cannot be defended, and would instead carry out a sea blockade on every port his ships could reach. The game ended at turn 4 (or perhaps it was turn 5) because it was already midnight with a dozen hungry eyes watching us play. When we pack the game, Germany had about 19 production points and Allied around 15. I already had control of the whole central-western Europe and is pushing towards Russia, but the supply lines are long and I had no control of the sea. I probably cannot attack fast enough before UK could regroup and dump units in western Europe in the future turns.

The outcome was surprisingly close to real history. Western powers occupying the sea while German troops are roaming freely in Europe. I should have built more submarines to break out of the blockade and Russia was harder to defeat than expected. How would the game have played out? God knows. I only know that I would persuade most of my A&A friends to try this game.

The gameplay is very dynamic; one must constantly adjust strategies and tactics in order to gain the upper edge. There had been many A&A websites with discussions and articles on A&A strategies. I wonder if there are web sites focussing on strategy for this game? Please let me know if you have found any.