IAAPA presents: “Snapshots in Time”

May 31, 2004

Rewstr is strutting about once again as cock of the watch in 1^st place. Facil no longer shares the top perch but is firmly sitting in 2^nd place with HoganS in 3^rd. Nieles is in 4^th place with Spud and GroeFaZ tied for 5^th. Congratulations to all those members who recorded a promotion this month!

GEN - Glorfindel and AbuMulch

COL - explosive and TheTrain

CAP - AFC_Gunner, Danyred and VonManstein

LT - MacTabar

MSGT - Iron_Cross

SGT - Mithrandir and Altmanf

CPL - JnMLasater, Mezza, TN_VOL and AFAandA

Interview with an Einstein

Well as I said in my recent post, I am ready and willing to take requests for snapshots, and our outspoken LAB rule man Mithrandir made a request for some comments from that infamous character Einstein. Well true to my word, I grabbed the first Long Range Heavy Bomber out of Sydney and within what seemed like hours, but was actually a minute I had touched down in the good ole US of A. Another minute passed, which was quickly followed by another minute, and within minutes I had tracked down the good professor in his AA laboratory. The professor slipped out of his lab coat and we settled down for some good old chat about that game we all hate to love and love to hate - Axis and Allies. The following is the transcript from the interview, enjoy and learn!

Daninja: Well, first of all, thanks Einstein for taking the time out from your busy game schedule to answer a few questions for the members. Let’s cut to the chase. How long have you actually been playing AA?

Einstein: I have been playing the game since 1987.

Daninja: And what are some of your memories of your first games?

Einstein: Well 24-hour marathons, lots of debates over rules, trying to get a feel for the probabilities, trying to figure out some rules of thumb for battle calculations.

Daninja: What are your favourite AA strategies?

Einstein: I like the high tech stuff: air power, navies, and weapons development. Infantry slugfests bore me.

Daninja: With over 400 games completed, we all want to know how you find the time to play so many games.

Einstein: I am now officially semi-retired (i.e., laid off from my day job J)

Daninja: Is there any truth in the rumour that you have over 20 game boards set up?

Einstein: I have had as many as 27 boards set up at once, but right now only 16. Never played with map utilities, they did not make them for Macs when I started playing by email, so I just picked up extra copies of the game on eBay.

Daninja: What was your most memorable game?

Einstein: Usually the one I just completed. In this case the one I just completed (#11690) will probably stick with me for awhile, it ran to 40 turns and ended with a Two Capitals victory for the Axis, Japan holding both London and Washington! Look for the exciting gamelog in the near future!

Daninja: What was the worst game you ever had?

Einstein: Huh! There are so many to choose from J. The one that pops into my mind immediately is one I resigned years ago as soon as I realized my opponent didn't really know how to play and I did not have the time or patience to teach him. Another game lingered for over a year, my opponent was floundering, then in month 13 (while still not reaching turn 10) he pulled some fast tech and upset my applecart. Yet a third game was bogged down in truly ridiculous rules quibbles. But what do we really mean by "worst game?" Is it (A) a game we believe we should have won, but didn't? (B) a game that became an unpleasant clash of personalities? (C) a game where the board errors and sending errors and rolling errors and rules squabbles became overwhelming? or (D) a game that is intense and exciting but which your opponent gives up (forfeits) as soon as it looks like he is going to lose? I think the worst kind of game is (D), a close 2nd is (C), then (B) and lastly (A). Which is not to say that some games don't fall into multiple categories! My favourite example of type (A) are the games where a single AA gun hits 2 out of 3, sometimes even 3 out of 3, turning a decisive battle that was almost a certain winner into a decisive defeat. This has happened to me twice that I can remember in IAAPA. In one early face-to-face game, I actually lost 6 out of 6 aircraft in one battle to one AA gun!

Daninja: What frustrates you the most about the game?

Einstein: Well, D-C-B-A are all frustrating in that order. I am also not usually fond of playing against "Montys" but at least they are predictable. I guess I am saying that infantry stacks, at least when taken to extremes, can be frustrating. And of course there is the ever-popular dice server! J

Daninja: OK, you have been around awhile, what frustrates you about the club?

Einstein: I would like to see the diceserver revamped (simplified), the gamefinish form revamped, and there's something not quite right about the automatic rank calculations: I never got my GEN** rank although I'm 99.99% sure I earned it. But I think all these things will be addressed in due time.

Daninja: I read somewhere that you were related to the Tech Roller? Is there any truth to this rumour?

Einstein: Descended from the same great-great grandparents on my father's side. J

Daninja: The boards are awash with comments about Einstein’s unconventional tactics. Are there any of these tactics that have worked for you?

Einstein: One of my favourites is attacking 1 infantry with 1 infantry: it actually works about 25% of the time! Massive air raids on small groups of ground troops is another tactic I have tried with great results, but the downside can be a game-breaking loss of airpower, so I try to stay away from that these days. I do have a new plan for the Axis that I just rolled out in 2004. It is working pretty well so far. It involves my favourite units: the Kriegsmarine, the Luftwaffe, and of course the Imperial Japanese Navy and Air Forces, spiced up with just a pinch of weapons development. Tasty!

Daninja: What about disasters? Ever tried something new and it backfired?

Einstein: Yes. Too many tech dice without enough results. Too many Industrial Complexes in Asia (this can be bad as either the Axis or the Allies!). Hitting Australia on Japan's first turn while ignoring the US Pacific Fleet. I could go on, but those are three of the biggies.

Daninja: Who do you prefer to play – axis or allies?

Einstein: The bad guys, of course.

Daninja: Any hot tips for the newbies?

Einstein: Play lots of games. Lose a lot. Don't worry about your rating or your ranking, just try to have fun. Keep at it and you will learn the tricks of the masters and maybe even come up with a few of your own. If I can rise to the top 30 list then anyone can!

Daninja: Well on behalf of the members I would like to say thanks for your time Einstein. Do you have any parting comments for us?

Einstein: Yes. Another Allied Capital falls. Guess which one! J

Attacker: 14 inf 1 ftr 4 bmb (attacker has Heavy Bombers)
Defender: 3 inf 1 arm 5 ftr 4 bmb AA gun

AA gun rolls: 6,6,3,4,4 ( 0 hits )

Attacker:
Infantry: 3,5,5,4,6,5,1*,1*,3,1*,3,1*,4,2 (4 hits)
Fighters: 2* (1 hits)
Bombers: 3*,3*,6,1*,3*,4*,2*,5,3*,1*,1*,2* (10 hits)
Total Attacker Hits: 15

Defender:
Infantry: 1*,3,6 (1 hits)
Armour: 4 (0 hits)
Fighters: 6,4*,3*,4*,3* (4 hits)
Bombers: 1*,5,4,3 (1 hits)
Total Defender Hits: 6

Einstein out J

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Well there you have it guys, many words of wisdom from the man with over 400 games to his credit. Now that I have had a taste of JET setting, watch out! Even as we go to press, I am considering my next target and it may just be you – so keep the beer cold and an eye out for the flying Kangaroo landing at an airfield near you!

Until next time!

Cheers
Dan (Daninja)
IAAPA Herald

#	Prev	Rank	Player	Rating	Games played	Win-Loss	Ranking points
1	1t	GEN****	Rewstr	1433	153	112 - 29	152
2	1t	GEN*	Facil	1420	46	32 - 12	41
3	2	GEN****	HoganS	1415	77	50 - 24	62
4	5	GEN*	Nieles	1394	37	30 - 7	34
5t	3	GEN*	Spud	1387	140	88 - 47	55
5t	4	GEN*	GroeFaZ	1387	199	113 - 82	60
6	6	GEN*	Diecaster	1379	26	21 - 2	37
7	7	GEN*	Nemo	1372	98	67 - 29	76
8t	11t	GEN**	Starchild	1357	159	104 - 46	85
8t	10	GEN*	w0nderd0g	1357	28	23 - 5	34
9	11t	GEN**	Byrons_Brigade	1355	80	56 - 24	63
10	15t	GEN*	frogman10@	1353	118	74 - 43	50
11	12	CPT	halldorg@	1352	39	29 - 7	22
12	8	GEN*	Einstein	1347	403	133 - 265	-338
13t	20	CPT	ArAmesh	1346	32	22 - 10	23
13t	22t	GEN*	Glorfindel	1346	50	32 - 16	32
14t	13	MAJ	andrew_cowdery@	1341	23	18 - 4	27
14t	9	GEN*	Steiner	1341	62	43 - 19	19
15	17	COL	explosive	1340	24	22 - 2	28
16	14	COL	Elind	1339	19	16 - 3	28
17t	24	GEN*	AbuMulch	1337	84	48 - 26	35
17t	16t	GEN*	TELINTEL	1337	96	52 - 43	20
18	15t	GEN*	cnty9047@	1332	130	73 - 50	41
19	53t	COL	TheTrain	1324	95	53 - 42	20
20	21	COL	AATorpedo	1322	134	86 - 46	86
21	22t	COL	Stimpy	1320	116	70 - 43	39
22	23	SGT	WARSPITE	1319	28	19 - 8	5
23	25	CPT	Buzz	1316	41	25 - 15	19
24	26	COL	AbnRanger	1314	108	65 - 38	19
25	32	COL	BaronVonKardos	1312	86	53 - 32	29
26	29	COL	DeBruce	1311	105	41 - 53	-22
27	30	COL	Daninja	1306	38	24 - 14	32
28	31	MAJ	Einswine	1305	25	19 - 5	24
29	19	COL	GedeOne	1304	106	57 - 43	31
30t	39	MAJ	Sephorin@	1299	48	25 - 22	7
30t	33	MAJ	BlackWatch	1299	136	65 - 66	-17
31	18	MAJ	mcgoo98	1298	48	33 - 15	36
32	27	MAJ	Ralf31	1293	39	24 - 14	29
33	35	MAJ	Pericles	1290	30	20 - 6	30
34	36	MAJ	JohnPin569	1289	65	38 - 24	27
35t	41	CPT	strategicspock	1286	42	25 - 17	19
35t	37	MAJ	Novi	1286	43	27 - 14	30
36	38	MAJ	micwil	1284	96	51 - 34	28
37	34	MAJ	Raist	1281	145	98 - 42	124
38	49t	SGT	Mithrandir	1280	14	9 - 5	10
39	40	SGT	Nightwing	1278	24	14 - 10	8
40	51	MSGT	Iron_Cross	1275	32	23 - 9	6
41	46t	CPT	Boromir	1273	81	53 - 25	46
42	46t	SGT	Thenextone	1272	7	6 - 1	9
43	43	SGT	Jettman	1270	8	7 - 1	11
44	47t	CPT	thesithsoul	1267	59	38 - 21	37
45	44	LT	jclilegdon	1265	17	13 - 4	18
46	45	CPT	bobbysams@	1263	102	48 - 53	-21
47	53t	CPT	AFC_Gunner	1260	60	36 - 23	26
48t	28	CPT	Foo_Fighter	1258	72	46 - 26	21
48t	47t	MSGT	Hess	1258	20	12 - 7	12
49	58	CPT	Danyred	1257	118	64 - 53	1
50	67t	CPT	VonManstein	1256	87	33 - 53	-66
51	42	SGT	Sunburn	1252	26	17 - 9	6
52t	47t	CPT	Hoquista	1251	97	41 - 51	-8
52t	49t	CPT	Kieranbren	1251	80	38 - 42	-5
53t	50	LT	KyleCBaker	1243	46	22 - 21	-3
53t	52	CPL	Darkhorse	1243	18	11 - 7	-1
54t	53t	CPL	Blackdog	1241	14	9 - 5	7
54t	53t	CPL	wargeneral	1241	16	7 - 9	-6
55t	55	CPL	NecOne	1237	5	4 - 1	4
55t	48	LT	kaizen	1237	65	37 - 28	14
55t	54	LT	MolotovCocktail	1237	60	33 - 26	25
56	56	MSGT	xpfc_wintergreen	1236	10	8 - 2	12
57t	80t	CPL	JnMLasater	1233	10	5 - 3	1
57t	57	LT	Wehrmachter	1233	132	58 - 70	-76
58t	73t	PVT	wharfrat	1230	8	5 - 3	2
58t	60t	CPL	Jingikan	1230	6	4 - 2	4
58t	60t	PVT	labour	1230	4	2 - 2	-2
58t	60t	CPL	MagixTactix	1230	11	5 - 5	0
59	61	SGT	PMC	1229	14	9 - 5	10
60t	62	PVT	Dermensch	1228	4	3 - 1	3
60t	59	LT	PipPopsRising11	1228	46	19 - 27	-9
61	63t	LT	leone@	1227	55	26 - 26	1
62	67t	LT	MacTabar	1226	128	59 - 66	-6
63	65	PVT	Doughboy	1225	9	4 - 5	-3
64t	63t	SGT	ChrisTheCat	1220	15	9 - 6	8
64t	64	MSGT	cruzybeerzman	1220	33	14 - 17	-6
65	68	SGT	Hamar	1219	21	11 - 10	-4
66	69	SGT	Arminius	1218	25	10 - 13	-3
67	67t	PVT	jjbigc	1217	9	5 - 4	0
68	71	CPL	airship	1212	14	7 - 7	-3
69	72	PVT	blackjack	1211	2	1 - 1	-1
70	82	CPL	mezza	1209	10	4 - 4	1
71t	77t	PVT	Ugluk	1208	9	5 - 4	1
71t	70	MSGT	SwordPlay	1208	34	17 - 17	10
72	73t	CPL	Winters	1207	11	5 - 6	-5
73t	74t	PVT	Unibrow_Bomber	1205	8	3 - 5	-4
73t	74t	PVT	Quasimodo	1205	3	2 - 1	1
74	75t	PVT	obiwan	1203	3	1 - 2	-1
75t	76t	CPL	Laser	1201	13	5 - 8	0
75t	76t	SGT	hardcore	1201	26	10 - 14	-18
76	77t	MSGT	roboprep	1200	102	56 - 42	19
77t	78t	PVT	axsplr2	1199	7	3 - 4	-3
77t	78t	MSGT	reddwarf@	1199	59	30 - 25	8
78t		PVT	allerton	1198	2	0 - 1	-1
78t	79t	PVT	AgentSmith	1198	1	0 - 1	-2
78t		PVT	ManchuWarrior	1198	1	0 - 1	-2
79	66	CPL	McDLT	1197	16	8 - 8	-5
80t		PVT	Evil1	1196	5	2 - 2	-2
80t	98t	PVT	fluffhead	1196	9	4 - 5	-3
80t	80t	PVT	high_roller	1196	5	1 - 3	-4
81	81	MSGT	krwalker	1193	50	26 - 24	-19
82	75t	PVT	Sahara_Dunebuggy	1192	3	1 - 2	-2
83t	87	CPL	Grahilah	1191	16	5 - 11	-16
83t	74t	CPL	Randzork	1191	18	8 - 10	-5
83t	84	SGT	wlc	1191	21	8 - 12	-8
84t	74t	PVT	Pharoh642	1190	3	1 - 2	-3
84t	90t	PVT	Brincobi	1190	3	1 - 2	-3
84t	85	MSGT	sploos	1190	31	14 - 17	1
85	86	PVT	Bridger	1189	1	0 - 1	-2
86	95	PVT	Radioactive_Man	1187	6	2 - 4	-3
87	83	PVT	rubberband	1186	9	3 - 6	-9
88t	89t	PVT	evYl	1183	2	0 - 2	-4
88t	89t	PVT	yamamoto	1183	1	0 - 1	-2
88t	89t	PVT	rsnegin	1183	1	0 - 1	-2
89t	90t	PVT	von_Clausewitz	1182	2	0 - 2	-3
89t	90t	SGT	kamikazikid	1182	20	8 - 12	-8
89t	88	PVT	Eustice	1182	5	2 - 3	-4
89t	102	MSGT	PSU_SigEp	1182	56	26 - 29	3
90	91	PVT	Varminter	1180	1	0 - 1	-2
91t	92	PVT	pops	1179	2	0 - 2	-4
91t	98t	MSGT	spinboldak	1179	71	30 - 38	-40
92t	107	CPL	DECRO	1176	14	6 - 8	-6
92t	94	PVT	yed	1176	2	0 - 2	-4
93	93	CPL	viking63	1175	13	5 - 8	-9
94	96	PVT	tehApprentice	1174	4	1 - 3	-5
95	97t	PVT	ProvenGuilt	1173	2	0 - 2	-4
96	106t	CPL	TN_VOL	1172	12	4 - 7	-7
97	99	CPL	Sveinung	1171	19	8 - 11	-14
98	101t	SGT	Spitfire	1169	20	7 - 13	-14
99	110	CPL	Benaiah	1168	15	7 - 8	-4
100		PVT	KrazyCaley	1167	3	0 - 2	-4
101t	103t	PVT	PurpleHeart	1166	2	0 - 2	-4
101t	103t	PVT	plummerfan	1166	8	1 - 6	-11
102t	104t	PVT	canuck	1165	2	0 - 2	-4
102t	104t	CPL	enrico_russo	1165	10	2 - 7	-11
102t	104t	PVT	huddaddy	1165	8	2 - 5	-7
103	106t	SGT	OldGlory	1163	22	9 - 13	-10
104t	108t	CPL	Martok	1160	19	9 - 10	-7
104t	108t	PVT	Spidey	1160	2	0 - 2	-4
105	105	PVT	Red_Cloud	1155	5	1 - 4	-6
106t	109t	MSGT	Leothelop	1153	51	13 - 36	-39
106t	117	PVT	Achillus	1153	8	1 - 7	-13
107	101t	CPL	uphigh	1152	17	6 - 11	-7
108	111	PVT	Tickertracker	1150	3	0 - 3	-6
109	112t	MSGT	Sohoa	1149	99	39 - 56	-23
110t	114t	CPL	McHaggis	1146	17	3 - 11	-16
110t	76t	PVT	ex_stream	1146	8	2 - 6	-9
111t	116	CPL	PantherGuderian	1143	11	3 - 8	-5
111t	112t	SGT	baldguy	1143	25	8 - 16	-23
112t	118	CPL	Tigger_The_Tyrant	1140	10	3 - 7	-10
112t	78t	SGT	altmanf	1140	22	10 - 12	-6
113	114t	CPL	Wrec_It	1133	19	6 - 12	-13
114	113	MSGT	Amgor	1125	136	60 - 75	-25
115	119	PVT	Ramius	1124	5	0 - 5	-10
116	97t	CPL	AFAandA	1123	10	1 - 6	-10
117	120	CPL	Atreides	1120	12	3 - 9	-14
118	121	CPL	DIGING_IN	1111	18	4 - 14	-24
119	123	CPL	slaughter	1103	17	3 - 14	-22
120	122	MSGT	ShenFung	1102	45	10 - 35	-29
121	126	MSGT	gudmanmod	1101	175	39 - 136	-193
122	127	MSGT	Galen99	1100	35	8 - 27	-43
123	124	SGT	alien66_2000	1099	26	5 - 20	-31
124	125	SGT	Ori	1097	23	3 - 20	-31