IAAPA HERALD NEW
YEAR ISSUE 2010
Gentlemen, it is time for a new year and a lot of new
exciting tournaments and of course also a lot of new nasty rolls!
What can be better than to start the New Year with a
new A&A edition, the latest version is as many of you already know The A&A
50 years Anniversary Edition.
I have received some get going files and documents
from Spud. Those can be view at the very last chapter “AA50 – Get Going”.
We have also an update from our clubs President
PipPopsRaising11.
In this issue you will also get to know one of our
clubs best players JBELL in the Quarterly Profile.
We have also an interesting strategy chronicle from
Explosive, “How to waste one of the Allies successfully”.
And there will also be some interesting comments from
some tournament winners.
Happy New Year
Pelleplutt
QURATERLY
PROFILE
NAME: JBELL
RANK: GENERAL*
Hello James, welcome to this interview. Tell me a
little about yourself!
Hmmm the dreaded question. I know what sounds good for this site! I
was in the military
for one enlistment from 1991-1995 in San Diego, CA. There I learned
military strategy helpful- no scratch that part! I worked in a Technical
Publications Library for three years while in the US Navy.
I have been unemployed for a bit but I have a job starting right after the new
year! I will be in sales/customer service. My favorite work in the
past has been in quality assurance/auditing in the military and at a
collections agency.
Tell me about your hometown. What would you recommend
to see?
Cleveland, Oh. We do have one REAL sports
team (the Cavs) and you can watch "The King" Lebron James dunk on
some fool.
We have the Cleveland Clinic (a world class hospital
with an international patient base) where Robin Williams had heart surgery.
We have The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Of
course the Football Hall of Fame is in Canton, Oh which is about an hour
south of Cleveland. "The National Cleveland-Style Polka Hall of
Fame, located in Euclid, just east of Cleveland, chronicles the history of
Polka from the early part of the 20th century to the present."- Now that
is exciting stuff! There is the science and art museums which are top
notch as well as the zoo and other attractions.
Do you have any hobbies except A&A?
I love to play and watch tennis and football. I
was glad to see this summer I could still run and catch and play some coverage
after being out of the loop for years. Tennis is awesome to watch if you
PLAY it though. If you don't it isn't nearly as likely to enjoy watching
tennis.
I play some other computer games as well such as a
browser game called Travian and an online text based game called Everwar.
My girlfriend says I am cultured too and love to go to
concerts and various community functions. She also says I love the arts
and love music. LOL I do love to watch movies as well- from Christmas
Vacation (tis the season!) to the Saw movies. I have range!
How come you started to play A&A?
My brother who was KenBell on the site introduced me
to the game so it is all his fault. Although I should back up and mention
that this was before we started playing on the IAAPA site back when there was
no annual fee!
He was the top or near top player on and off for
years. Playing against him helps my game, as well as talking about
strategies and ideas.
What kind of experiences during all those years has made you a better
player?
Playing live against my brother has done that for
me. He was a top player but got sick of the tech requirement for all the
tournaments. Tech is so unbalancing for the 2nd edition.
I am still a work in progress and have lost too
many games based on boneheaded plays. Lately I have corrected that quite
a bit and I only point to one game I have lost lately where I was really
outplayed. I am really glad to be back as a one-star general.
Where do you think the bidding-equilibrium lies, or how many IPC:c has the
AXIS have to bid not giving the Allies a head-start?
That really varies but I imagine the standard deviation
is somewhere between 20-22? I do know with 24 bid you can do power Europe
and have a good advantage to take and hold Karelia so that is too high.
On the flip side 19 is certainly too low for 2nd edition.
Are there any typical errors that the lower ranked players make?
Trying to use a cookie cutter strategy throughout the
game. That goes by the wayside usually by turn 2 because statistically
you have some battles go well and others go poorly.
Of course the classic error is not seeing the economics
of the game. With there being 147 total IPCs that means you have to look
at being over 70 with the Axis consistently or you fall behind. You can
play and win with a long game as the Axis as long as you stay around that 73.5
IPCs average threshold I think.
I think getting stuck on thinking "I need to take
Karelia" or "I need to take Africa" or "I need to
take the islands with Japan" or " I need to take or threaten Russia
with Japan or Germany" or "I need to reach magic 84 or roll
tech" can be problematic. Again, different games have different
situations. Most likely statistically even in an "even" rolling
game you can have some things go well and other things go poorly.
Adjusting is the key word and that is something the lower ranked players
sometimes lack.
I would lastly state that the lower ranked players
shouldn't get too cute with the bids. Know what you can handle to play
against and know what you are good at doing with your bids.
What is your opinion on SBR?
Statistically I have heard it is about even when you
look at the average 3.5 damage per raid and the one in six chance of being shot
down. That being said I try to find other things for my bomber to
accomplish but I am not scared of getting shot down- especially bombing Germany
or Russia.
What about the possibility to research for technology? Does it give the game
another dimension in a good way or is it just a lucky-roll for the “probably
losing” player?
I call it "hitting the lottery". I
understand some people favor it but I feel it takes away from the strategy of
the game and adds even more luck to it.
However, I think a good solution for the second
edition is to use fourth edition tech rules. Three hit and three rolls IB
for heavy bombers is ridiculously unbalancing, but fourth edition is not
that way. Everything else can stay the same! Maybe we can bring
that up the next time rules are discussed?...
I would like to see one no-tech tournament a year as a
variant. We have other variants so why not a no-tech tournament just once
a year? Those who want that can play in it and those that don't can chose
not to do it!
What is you comment on the bid “7inf in UKR”?
I do that bid sometimes. I try not to be too
predictable with my bids, but 7 Inf in Ukr also gives you a shot at having a
winning position straight out of the box. With some poor rolls or poor
strategy early on by the Allies you can take Karelia as Germany quickly and
march onto Russia or Magic "84".
What people sometimes forget is that this really frees
up JAPAN. As long as the Allies play it carefully and the rolls aren't too
wacky Germany won't be able to devastate the Allies straight out. BUT
Japan can get out of the box in a big hurry, because in order to defend against
that bid properly you have to bring those Eve Inf to Russia etc and head
towards Germany just to survive as the Allies.
Then you really can "go nuts" with
Japan. But again it depends on the rolls as well. You have quite a
bit of flexibility here as the Axis as well. You might be able to lurch pretty
quick or feign a lurch etc. Also you can do so much with Japan early on
with Africa, Asia, the Islands or whatever you wish to work on for Japan.
How shall we keep the interest for our A&A Club?
Trying some different things like the team play and
tournament with different bids. I would like to find a way to not
have an annual fee, which is how it was early on with the club. We lost a
lot of players charging that fee. Maybe with advertising or something?
How do you look at the possibility to arrange the
first Live World Championship in Axis and Allies?
Hmm that might be interesting. I know there is
an annual tournament for Axis & Allies in the United States right now, so I
don't see why there wouldn't be a world tournament. As far as live I
don't know if you mean on TV? I don't picture that happening!
Although there is that for other games such as poker and chess...
Do you have any strategy of your own ?
Well lately my strategy that seems to have worked best
for me is to just not screw-up and to look for opportunities that present
themselves. Again I think the key here is to try not to be too
predictable. What makes the game fun is when you have a strategy in mind
and then you are able to complete it and eventually win the game, overcoming
obstacles as they present themselves.
In a tech game don't wait too long to roll for
tech. I can't tell you how many times I have such a winning position
and my opponent hits like three big tech- heavies, industrial technology and rockets
but I am so far ahead it doesn't matter and doesn't even bother me.
And last and not least economically it depends on my
bid with axis and my opponents bid with Allies if he/she wins
the bid. If I lose the bid I try to stifle the Axis economically as long
as possible, understanding in your "average" rolling game the Axis
WILL get some push. But I try to keep them under 70 IPCs if
possible. Also, it depends what is "given" to me. If
Germany gives up Western Europe for me to take and hold they can keep Africa
all day long. Or if Japan is getting blasted in Asia I don't mind them
having Africa.
If I have the Axis it varies, but I like to take
enough of Asia to threaten if I have a power Europe bid but still throw some
stuff into Africa and/or take some islands. With Japan it is
important to get to 40-45 IPCs and more if possible with Germany still
doing their 28-30 (assuming not an Africa bid). I want to look at finding
a permanent or semi-permanent advantage in enough spots economically with
Japan. Whether that be Africa, Asia and some combination of islands.
STRATEGY CORNER
Written by Explosive
Waste the Brits and
stop the Axis technology advantage in the 2nd edition.
Background: When the game is balanced and it is time
for the scientists to determine the winner as the Axis have a big advantage in
Japan's major income. If there are enough infantries at the front, Japan can
roll more dice than the U.S. which tend to be Allies best option. And, if
getting HB at the same time, Axis has the advantage of the possibility of
bombing the US economy to zero, while US have more difficulties to do the same
with Japans. How can we do to avoid this?
Normally, by attacking both sides (about four areas)
and build a large army as cheap as possible and buy technology. Japan is now
the main enemy, but Germany must be held back. Let U.S. have their whole army
in Leningrad (except two infantries that goes to Moscow to strike at one of the
Japanese regions) to threaten Germany with the support of the British troops. Let
then Russia have all their devices against Japan's main army.
Russia can now build about seven infantries each round
and attacking only a Japanese territory. Japan has to buy enough infantries to
reinforce t ex Sinkiang for three rounds (the time it takes to get there from
Tokyo) or be prepared to retreat back to the Pacific coast with a ruined
economy.
If we sacrifice the Brits who can take Ukraine cheap, and
one of the Russian regions that are not emptied by the United States or Russia (maybe
with 4 infantries and air support against 1-2 Japanese defenders). Also
reinforce some Russian-controlled areas with British infantries, up to 2-3
infantries per territories.
In order to keep up the income, now Japan must attack something
like three areas defended by
3 infantries each. If Japan wants to have good odds of winning these battles,
these attacks will cost them 9 infantries.
We have now reached an economical situation with 6
British infantries and maybe 0-2 US infantries and Russia at 7 infantries. Japan
need to waste s lot of ipcs on troops to keep up with Russia.
This means that U.S can roll equal amount of tech
rolls or even greater that Japan. Well at least for a short amount of time.
Of course, this strategy does not work in every situation
and sometimes our opponent will come with surprises, but at the times when Russia
and U.S is strong, this may be worth a try. If U.S. is clearly weaker than the
British, change the task and let the British army be the guard of Germany while
letting the poor Americans be the cannon fodder.
Do you have ideas to improve this strategy or a completely
different way to delay the Japanese scientists, please your ideas on our
bulletin board page.
WINNERS CIRCLE
- TOURNAMET COMMENTS
2009 Masters Invitational Finals
Written by SPUD
Spud was looking for revenge
against explosive. Despite winning their last 2nd edition matchup, Spud was
still 2-4 vs. explosive lifetime. Also, explosive was creeping up on Spud in
the Tourney Player of the Year standings so Spud needed to teach explosive a
lesson.
Explosive took the bid with 21
and spread his 7 inf through Africa (4 inf Libya), Europe (1 inf EEurope), and
Asia (1 inf both Man and Kwang). Spud
decided to play a bit conservative on R1, hitting Ukraine with 8 inf, 1 tnk, 1
ft (keeping 2 tnks back for counterstrikes) and clearing the Baltic Sea.
Ukraine was taken handily with 5 inf, 1 tnk and explosive could see that the
Russians were ready.
G1 was a small disaster. 2 inf
were lost from the Afrika Korps, and both UK battleships survived. This was
apparently explosive's new strategy (his semi final game saw him face 5 UK
battleships) and in the end did not seem so crazy as the UK bbs were relatively
useless .. but that is a later story. Given the situation in Europe the Germans
retreated out of EEurope and cuddled together in Berlin. It wasn't until G4
that they were able to move back in, but that had given the allies enough
flexibility to keep the Japanese subdued in Asia.
By G5, the British were into
Africa and the Germans decided to withdraw to the east. The Japanese moved to
support them, so the British came down from Caucasus to trap the axis forces in
Persia. The Japanese were given the temptation of hitting the UK forces in
Syria (and all the RAF). They took the unintentional bait, wiping out the Brits
but weakening their position in Asia.
Unfortunately, the momentum was
short lived, as lazy allied attackers and ferocious axis defense took away
Spud's advantage. The inevitable tech rolls came into play in US 9. Spud hit
2/2 on his first attempt, getting SS and Jets. Three turns, and 7 dice later,
HBs were discovered by the US. This was
not as great an advantage as one might expect, as the Japanese quickly overtook
the US in tech by achieving all 6 of them. And Japan with LRA, IT, and HB is
almost unstoppable, especially without a Japanese IC in range the US HBs.
So the allies had to act quick.
First, the AA gunners in London were given priority training and managed to
shoot down the first two Japanese HBs they faced. (luckily the Japanese did not
realize they needed to fly in from the west, not the east, to avoid the AA
gunners until it was too late). next, they pushed Japan back and set up for an
attack on the Imperial Japanese Navy. The first attack did not go so well, but
a second crack one round later was successful. Without a navy, and faced with
massive US HB buildups the axis surrendered.
2009 AAR SPRING
Written by Explosive
The most amazing game here came in semifinal were I
was up against Fatlander, who are most famous for his
Hard-striking-German-playing-style. He had my Russians under pressure from
start and I had to go for a Pacific strategy with USA.
At one point Germany was up to 45 % chance to take
Moscow and the west half of US Navy get killed before I managed to build a safe
industry at any strong Island, the battle felt lost but the east fleet got
reinforced and managed to create a safety-bridge from Alaska to Far east. This
together with same British stumbling up through Africa got Japan under hard
pressure and with no real help Germany slowly fell back. This was a game were
one inf, more or less, could have changed the outcome.
In the final Russia had a great start followed by a
German disaster and already before UK 1 the game was in Allied hands. However,
it was the final and Axis made its best try and fall with honor.
An interesting thought is that both these games was
won with a USA that goes "all in" for the Pacific. A strategy that I
have never seen a loss with. Very useful if the circumstances are right after
UKs first turn.
Message from
the President
Written by
PipPopsRising11
With 2009 behind us, here is a brief recap of a few
items to note.
I would also like to take this time to publicly thank
the members of the IAAPA government who have volunteered their time and
quietly/consistently ensured the continued function of this great club.
2010 Highlights ……….1.Work will continue on improving
minor member interface issues with our website/roller. 2. Continued progress toward steadily
integrating AA50 into the IAAPA. 3. Hosting of annual elections.
TOURNAMENT
SCHEDULE 2010.
This year we will run eleven individual official
tournaments they are all played as single elimination style and all give the
same "tournament player of the year" ( TPOY ) points. It is our goal
to have the first AA50 axis & allies tournament in December, if less then
16 players there will be no TPOY.
Rounds are played in two months (not slug fest). Turns are supposed to be done
in daily basis, at least every third day. When this is not possible please
inform your opponent. Games that not are finish in time will be adjucated of
experienced members. Games that not reach USA 7 are not adjucated so if your opponent
disappears please inform the tournament director for that tourney.
So sign up, play and have fun! Who will be the twenty-third member to win an
IAAPA tournament?
2010 SPRING CLASSIC start January, tournament director Komp
Feel the history, this was the first tournament in the oldest and best AA club
IAAPA. Also use to be one of the biggest events.
2010 SLUG FEST start February, tournament director Komp
A chance to play a tournament for you that need a little more time. Here each
round is three months and turns are expected to be made every third and at the
most fifth day.
2010 AAR SPRING CLASSIC start mars, tournament director Explosive
AAR Spring classic was 2007 a main event, the first IAAPA tournament ever. We
still do not know who will win that, do you have what it takes to make it this
year. For us that are newbie’s there are rules help at our great BBS pages.
2010 MASTERS start may, tournament director Explosive
This tourney is by invitation only. Invites will go out and the 16 highest
ranked players to join on will battle for one of the most coveted crowns in
IAAPA. If any of the invited not sign up the offer goes to 17th and so on. This
tournament is seeded.
2010 COMBAT PRO start may, tournament director Komp
For all of them who did not qualify for masters. Tired of get your butt kicked
of a general all tournaments? Here is your chance, no top ranked guys only nice
people ;O)
2010 SUMMER OPEN start July, tournament director Komp
The highlight of the summer!
2010 AAR SUMMER OPEN start august, tournament director Explosive
Still not tried this wonderful new edition? Now you have the chance, help will
be available.
2010 NAVY CHALLANGE start September, tournament director Pelleplutt. This has
been the Army challenge that now with all the interesting fleets’ changes name.
Want to see new amazing situations but still use our good old fashion 2nd
edition rules? Do not miss this event. The prices in bidding are adjusted so
there is an outlet on air and navy units, after the bidding are done everything
are the same as usual.
2010 FALL CLASSIC start October, tournament director Komp
Have been played sense 1995. Still going strong as one of the most popular
events.
2010 AAR FALL CLASSIC start November, tournament director Explosive
Last tournament of the year, here you will find all the top players that
fighting to get that last "tournament player of the year"
points...are you going to be one of them ? Join this event and fight for the
honor.
2010 AA50 Take place in this historic event and be the first AA50 champion.
2010 ITSL TEAM Start date not set but will be right after the 2009 final.
tournament director Pelleplutt
Team tournament for three member’s team. Se your team win and lose during the
year. With skill and some luck you end up as top two teams and play the final. The
only IAAPA games were members can assist each other with "good"
advices.
AA50 -
GET STARTED
Contribution by Spud
A. How to Install the AA50 Modules for ABattleMap
This assumes you already have a copy of ABattleMap installed. If not,
please download and install before using these instructions.
Step 1. Download the file AA50_ABattleMap_Modules.zip from the IAAPA
website downloads area.
Step 2. Unzip the modules into the BattleMap folder on your computer.
This is the folder that contains the program ABattleMap.exe. After extraction,
you should see two new folders called A50.gim and A51.gim. These contain the
files for both the 1941 and 1942 scenarios for AA50.
Step 3. Open ABattleMap. Click New on the top left side of the program.
There should now be the option of starting a new AA50 1941 or AA50 1942
scenario game.
And that is all there is to it.
B. How
to Use the IAAPA AAR Dice Roller to Play AA50
Some members have expressed an
interest in bringing AA50 to IAAPA. While there is an AA50 module for
Battlemap, we do not currently have a dice roller to handle AA50 and we will
likely not have one for some time. However it is very playable using the 4th
edition roller. I will be listing the problems we encounter and proposed
solutions below for anyone interested in trying the game for themselves. I
would suggest that you use the Variants database for all AA50 games.
So, here are the issues so far:
1. Some players make negative bids;
the roller cannot handle negative bids and treats them as positive
Solution: if you make a negative bid, make a comment in the unit
placement box that the bid is negative.
2. There is no Italy in the drop
down Country box
Solution: use Japan for the Italy turn, with the notation in the
comments box that it is Italy, not Japan. And list the turn number as I1, I2,
I3 (this works until turn 10 anyways).
3. Rolling tech..you need to (a) determine which chart you wish to pick from,
and (b) roll for the specific tech if achieved.
Solution: roll tech by selecting HBs as desired tech. If a 6 is
rolled, then roll another tech die to determine what you achieved. Make sure to
mention (in the comment box) from which tech chart you are rolling..otherwise,
chart 1 is default.
4. Different Techs.
Solutions:
(a) for advanced artillery, just adjust the dice so that the first 2
inf roll at a "2" or less
(b) for war bonds, just roll a SBR as the last combat and use that for your
additional ipcs (make sure to add a note in the comment box that you are
rolling war bonds)
(c) for jets, just roll bmbs
(d) radar works the same as it does for AAR
(e) HBs already roll 2 dice, just use both rather than picking the best die.
5. Different units rolling different
values.
Solutions:
(a) carriers..adjust the rolls after each round based on new defense values
("2" instead of "3))
(b) destroyers..same as carrier ("2" instead of "3" for
attack and defend)
(c) cruisers..use destroyers in the roller for cruisers. If there are both units
in a battle, make a note of which dice (first, second etc) are destroyers and
which are cruisers. If no note is made, the default will be destroyers roll
first, then cruisers.
(d) subs..same as carrier ("1" instead of "2" on defense)
(e) transports..as they have no attack or defense capabilities, do not enter
them in the roller.
6. Casualties of shore bombardment
can fire back,
Solution: use bmb = bb and ftr = crz for first round of amphib
assault, then remove them for round 2.
Those are
all the issues we have identified to date. Feel free to add to the list if
anyone else tries to play AA50 on the AAR roller.
C. Difference
between AA50 and AAR/2nd
This documents outlines the main differences between AA50 and the
previous versions of A&A (2nd Edition and AAR). It is may not be completely
inclusive, and does not cover the obvious differences (new nations, order of
play) or the optional National Objectives
1. Weapons Technology
·
you
may buy as many tech "tokens" (ie dice) as you want, but you can only
achieve 1 tech per turn.
·
if
your tech rolls are unsuccessful, the tokens carry over to subsequent turns
until you are successful
·
you
must decide, prior to rolling, which one of the two tech charts you would like
to use should your roll be successful. You cannot choose your tech, only the
tech chart.
·
successful
techs become active immediately
2. SBR and Rocket Damage
·
total
damage is limited to 2x the production value of the IC
·
damage
repair (payment) is optional. So, if you do not want to place any units on a
damaged IC you can leave it damaged.
·
damage
limits unit placement at the damaged IC. As an example, if the IC in Germany
(which has a production capacity of 6) receives 6 ipcs of damage, then no units
can be placed there (6 - 6 = 0). If 1 ipc is paid to repair damage (leaving 5
ipcs damage remaining), then 1 unit can be placed there (6-5 = 1)
3. Unit Differences
i.
AA
Guns
· only the AA guns
located in the territory under attack fire (ie guns flown over en route to the
embattled territory do not fire).
· cost 6 ipcs
ii.
Subs
· subs defend on a
roll of 1 rather than 2.
· cost 6 ipcs instead
of 8 ipcs
· defending subs have
the option of submerging before the attacker rolls any dice (unless an
attacking destroyer is present).
· air units cannot
attack subs unless there is a destroyer present.
iii.
Transports
· cost 7 ipcs
· trns have no
attacking or defensive capabilities
· they must be taken
as the last casualty in sea battles.
· they do not impede
the movement of hostile subs or surface naval vessels
iv.
Aircraft
carriers
· cost 14 ipcs
· defend at a 2
instead of a 3
v.
Destroyers
· cost 8 ipcs
· attack and defend at
2 instead of 3
vi.
Bombers
· cost 12 ipcs
vii.
Battleships
· cost 20 ipcs
viii.
Cruisers
· cost 12 ipcs
· attack and defend on
3
4. Shore bombardment
·
both
battleships and cruiser have bombardment capabilities
·
you
are allowed only 1 shot per offloading land unit, regardless of how many
battleships and cruisers are present. For example, if you have 3 battleships
but are unloading only 1 inf into battle, only 1 battleship gets to fire. If
you unload 3 inf, you get 3 shots. If you unload 4 inf, you still only get 3
shots.
·
defending
casualties get to fire back.
5. Amphibious Assaults
·
if
an amphibious assault involves units that arrived by sea as well as units that
traveled by land, the seaborne units may not retreat but overland units may
retreat at any time as per normal retreat rules.
·
air
units may also retreat from amphibious assaults, but must all do so at the same
time and at the same time as the retreating land based unit.