IAAPA presents:  “Snapshots in Time”

 

August 31, 2004

 

General Facil continues to lead the IAAPA charge, with the Rewstr in 2nd place. HoganS is in 3rd place having peeled the Spud back to 4th. Nemo is close behind in 5th whilst w0nderd0g in 6th place is snapping at Nemo’s caudal fin. Nieles has left the building!

 

Congratulations to the following members for their promotions this month.

 

GEN**** - HoganS

GEN*** - w0nderd0g, Byrons_Brigade

MAJ – Iron_Cross, strategicspock, Danyred

LT - Randzork

MSGT – hardcore, alien66_2000

SGT – McDLT

CPL – blackpedro, Evil1, Eustice, VonSchneekloth

 

Untouchables to keep your eyes on this month are blackpedro, DuplexDrive, bloomboy30, Bdy1952 and jt05065.

 

War Trivia: As I was compiling the snaps it dawned on me that 65 years ago, September 1st 1939, WW2 began with the invasion of Poland. The first shot of the war was actually fired by the German battleship Schleswig Holstein at 4:47am from its position within Danzig Harbour, at a Polish troop barracks. The first allied shot of the war was from a 6 inch gun emplacement guarding the entrance to Port Phillip Bay in Melbourne, Australia. What’s more it was a warning shot across the bows of the Australian coaster Woniora, which failed to stop for an inspection. By a remarkable coincidence this same gun emplacement fired the first shot in WW1, but this time at a German ship attempting to leave Australian waters. So be careful when visiting Australia, those dudes in the shore batteries have itchy trigger fingers.

 

Interview with the AA God

 

After finishing up with the Rewstr, I was thinking about our next interview. Well, since I was already in the USA (you know, Gods own country); I decided to track down “The Creator”. He must be here somewhere. I began my search in the telephone book…well surprise surprise – not listed. I decided to go to the top and called the President on the hotline. Well, yes… I could interview the Creator, but there were to be some conditions. I was directed to a train station and instructed to board a certain train and get off at a particular station. The 3 minute dash from the station to a nominated public telephone booth was tough, and it took all my years of training in Ninjutsu to persuade that old lady to hang up. The phone rang, and I was given further instructions. By now it was raining and I found myself in the dark and seedy dock area of a small fishing port. Suddenly a large black car pulled up and the door opened. The driver, who looked a bit like Raist but wearing more clothing than normal, placed a blindfold on me and off we went. After about half an hour we stopped and I was led from the car into a house. I was instructed to be seated and the blindfold was removed. My eyes began to adjust to the light…there in front of me across a large table was The Creator… Larry Harris. An original MB Axis and Allies game board was all set up ready for play.

 

Larry Harris: Good evening Dan, I believe it’s my move.

Daninja:  Oh my god, I mean Larry, yes… it’s your turn J

 

Daninja: Well first of all on behalf of all the members of IAAPA, thanks for granting this interview Larry, ah where are we by the way?

Larry Harris: Just North of Boston. Not far from the world famous fishing town of Gloucester Massachusetts. To be more precise – Hamilton Mass, the birth place of General Patton.

 

Daninja: Wow and do you live here with your family?

Larry Harris: I never knew my family… My mother being a sea turtle dropped me off on a sandy beach in the form of an egg. I’ll never forget that mad dash I made to the water on the day I hatched. A lot of my brothers and sisters didn’t make it. Talk about childhood psychological damage… you try running through a gauntlet of hungry birds the first day of your life J

 

Daninja: Yeah well, there are a few of your relatives playing in our club J…so how old are you?

Larry Harris: In dog years, I’m… 392 years old

 

Daninja: So…8 infantry for Russia J, why is that not surprising.

Larry Harris: Is there any other first turn purchase for Russia J

 

Daninja: OK - what was your motivation for creating axis and allies?

Larry Harris: I think my primary motivation was to make money J. There were of course more lofty motivations as well. I have a love of History and I’m especially interested in the history of World War II. I also thought the world could use a well designed large game that did not require a Master’s degree to learn how to play J.

 

Daninja: What’s this! Ukraine taken without loss L

Larry Harris: Well, you shouldn’t have invaded Poland J

 

Daninja: Hmm, well besides being the creator, do you have any other professional interests?

Larry Harris: No… well, I always wanted to be an Astronaut or a Navy Seal. By the way, I was a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division. I’ll always be very proud of that.

 

Daninja: That is something to be proud of… hey Baltic fleet sunk without loss L, give me a look at those dice…

Larry Harris:  Eee J

 

Daninja: Do you still have the prototype of the original Axis & Allies game?

Larry Harris: Yes, I do. It’s dated 1978 – I suppose most of your members were not even born yet. You know you’re getting up there in years when you start getting blank stares from people when you ask them what they were doing when Kennedy got shot.

 

Daninja: Besides our current game, do you get to play AA anymore?

Larry Harris: I don’t get to play Axis & Allies much anymore. When I do play people keep asking me rule questions and I usually don’t know the answers. They also think I must know all kinds of tricks and winning strategies, I don’t. On the other hand there was a time, for each of my games that I was, without restrictions, the best player in the world. That lasted until I taught someone else how to play J.

 

Daninja: Are you surprised that the game has been so successful?

Larry Harris: I’m both surprised and honored that Axis & Allies has been in print for over 20 years. This is a wonderful achievement for a game designer. I’m very proud of this fact.

 

Daninja: In your considered opinion, do you think there were any major problems with the original 2nd Edition game?

Larry Harris: Any problems with the 2nd Edition game… no the game was perfect J. If there were any problems it was with those people that couldn’t tell the difference between my intent and the way the rules were written. Of course there were some problems. Submarines come to mind. Submarines have always been a pain in the you know what. Submarines have caused more ink to flow than any other aspect of this game. I sometimes wish I had not included them. But what would Axis & Allies be without Subs?

 

Daninja: I have 5 copies of the original game, how many do you have J?

Larry Harris: I used to have lots of copies of the game. I think I might have 4 or 5 copies now. One thing I do have is the first Axis & Allies game that came down the assembly line at Milton Bradley back on September 5th 1984. It of course still remains unopened. I’m going to sell it on E-bay when I get desperate for money. That could be any day now.

 

Daninja: That’s exciting Larry, I am envious… hey, is that the board game over there on the mantelpiece?

Larry Harris: Why yes, I believe it is J

 

Daninja: Yes…the UK fleet sleeps with the fishes! General Rommel cleans up in Egypt. What do you think Larry? Are you worried now?

Larry Harris: Well Dan, you’re not the first person to try and beat me at my own game J

 

Daninja: Our club generally focuses on the original 2nd Edition game rule set, with the occasional variant being played. Do you think the PBEM clubs are one of the reasons why the game has been so successful?

Larry Harris: I think PBEM is really a positive experience. I’ve done it once or twice and remember it to have been great fun. Is this one of the reasons why the game has grown in recent years….?  No. There are just more and more people getting exposure to the game(s) as time goes by. If you think about it, there are at least 2 generations of Axis & Allies players out there. I often hear statements like – “My Dad taught me how to play.”  Or, “I’m teaching my son how to play”.

 

Daninja: Hey, you can’t land your fighter there!

Larry Harris: Oops, sorry J

 

Daninja: When I purchased the CD version of the game, it opened up a whole new world of AA for me, I used to play against my sons and it was quite funny to listen to them doing “Larry Harris impersonations” J. Do you think the CD version has had an impact on the popularity of the game?

Larry Harris: What is a Larry Harris impersonation…? I suppose you mean something like “this AI is going to steamroll you right out of the game?” Boy do I regret ever having said that. I was assured that the AI in that game was state of the art. It turned out to be a miserable failure. I deeply regret that. Anyhow, to answer your question… Yes, the CD version probably had a greater impact. It reached out to a larger population of new and younger players. The new Axis & Allies RTS – coming out in November, is going to have an even bigger impact. And this time I can assure you, the AI is the state of the art and the game is simply beautiful.

 

Daninja: Well, I am certainly looking forward to it…yes, yes, yes, Hawaii sea zone taken with 2 battleships, 2 fighters and an aircraft carrier J. That must hurt Larry?

Larry Harris: Hmm, we shall see J

 

Daninja: I have only recently purchased the A&A Revised game, and it looks great to me. I know there have been some critics, but are you happy with how it has turned out?

Larry Harris: I had problems with a couple of things in the Revised game. Some of the National Advantages were not quite where I wanted them to be. There were also a few other problems too. All in all Wizards of the Coast and especially Mike Selinker did a spectacular job with the Revised game.

 

Daninja: And what about the Larry Harris Tournament Rules. Do you think they are now OK or will there be further revisions?

Larry Harris: The Larry Harris Tournament Rules were born out of necessity. There were some inconsistencies in the rule book that needed to be cleared up. Also after a couple of months web discussions, with participations of hundreds if not thousands of players, more rule and game mechanic issues came to the surface. I wanted to address these problems and make the necessary changes. I think that using the feedback from the web is just a good idea. I could make the rule changes a lot faster than Wizards could. So along with the help of some really outstanding people from various clubs we wrote the Larry Harris’ Tournament Rules. They included Mike Selinker, Attila, Borginvader, Raist, Blackwatch, Carico, Optorch, Nathan, Zab and Panther.

 

Daninja: Ouch, my German fleet sunk in the Mediterranean and the African campaign stalled – hmm, that was not nice Larry J

Larry Harris: J 

 

Daninja: It’s interesting that the war in the Pacific was very important to us down in the Land of Oz and there is no doubt we certainly have the US to thank for helping to keep the Japanese out of Australia. Do you think the revised game represents a better historical setting to the pacific campaign?

Larry Harris: Yes. I think the revised game, especially in the Pacific, represents a better historical setting. The IPC value changes alone better represent the historical setting. Case in point – the East Indies had an IPC value of 2 and now has a value of 4. This better reflects the natural resources; oil, tin, rubber and so on, that were so vital and directed the Japanese conquest.

 

Daninja: What about the European campaign?

Larry Harris: The big change there of course is the additional Sea zone between the U.S. and continental Europe.  I also love the new Russian/German starting positions.  It really captures that “20 miles from Moscow” feeling.

 

Daninja: So what’s next? What other projects do you have in the pipeline?

Larry Harris: There is nothing officially in the pipeline at this time. That does not mean anything at this point. I could get a call anytime to begin designing for the next A&A game. I do hope to continue to do Axis & Allies battle games. I’d love to do a Battle of the Bulge game and/or Guadalcanal or Midway. Axis & Allies will continue to grow and will be around for a long long time.

 

Daninja: Do you have any final words of wisdom you would like to pass onto our members?

Larry Harris: Yeah… it is very much better to roll low numbers rather than high numbers when playing Axis & Allies. Sounds like something Confucius would say.    How would he put it? Man who roll low …

 

Daninja: Hey, what’s this? Weapons Development for Russia, Larry rolls one dice and……achieves Industrial Technology – arrh

Larry Harris:  Sorry Dan, but that’s war, you could concede you know J

 

Daninja: No no, I shall fight on, we still have a few tricks up our sleeve, we shall never surrender, we shall fight them on the beaches and...

Larry Harris: Yeah yeah, roll the dice…

 

Daninja: Well thank you for this interview Larry, we look forward to many more years of new and exciting Axis and Allies games. On behalf of all Axis and Allies fans we are deeply indebted to you for creating this wonderful game.

Larry Harris: It’s been a pleasure, now roll the dice and get away from my mantelpiece J

 

Well, there you have it folks! We finally finished our game with Larry giving me a thorough beating. I quickly high tailed it out of the USA. Hmm, I wonder if Larry will notice that empty space on his mantelpiece J

 

 

Cheers
Dan (Daninja)
IAAPA Herald

 

 

#

Prev

Rank
Player

Rating

Games played

Win-Loss

Ranking points

1

1

GEN****

Facil

1482

51

37 - 12

47

2

2

GEN****

Rewstr

1428

155

113 - 30

152

3

4

GEN****

HoganS

1406

81

53 - 25

66

4

3

GEN*

Spud

1387

147

93 - 49

58

5

7

GEN*

Nemo

1384

106

72 - 31

86

6

9

GEN***

w0nderd0g

1383

31

26 - 5

42

7

6

GEN*

Diecaster

1379

26

21 - 2

37

8

16

GEN***

Byrons_Brigade

1377

87

62 - 25

70

9

8

GEN*

Explosive

1372

29

27 - 2

34

10

18

GEN*

cnty9047@

1368

133

76 - 50

44

11

11

GEN**

Glorfindel

1366

51

33 - 16

36

12

13

GEN*

mcgoo98

1362

58

40 - 18

45

13

12

GEN*

AbuMulch

1357

85

49 - 26

37

14

14

CPT

halldorg@

1352

39

29 - 7

22

15

15t

CPT

ArAmesh

1346

32

22 - 10

23

16

24t

MAJ

Iron_Cross

1342

46

35 - 11

14

17

17

MAJ

andrew_cowdery@

1341

23

18 - 4

27

18t

19t

COL

Elind

1339

19

16 - 3

28

18t

10

GEN*

GroeFaZ

1339

207

116 - 87

55

19

20

GEN*

TELINTEL

1337

96

52 - 43

20

20

21

GEN*

Daninja

1336

41

27 - 14

38

21

22t

GEN*

frogman10@

1335

120

75 - 44

53

22

23

GEN*

Starchild

1330

171

112 - 50

86

23t

29

COL

Sephorin@

1326

52

28 - 23

13

23t

22t

GEN*

AATorpedo

1326

138

88 - 48

91

24t

15t

COL

TheTrain

1324

106

61 - 45

38

24t

28

COL

GedeOne

1324

112

61 - 45

41

24t

19t

COL

Steiner

1324

65

44 - 21

18

25

25

COL

Stimpy

1320

116

70 - 43

39

26

26

CPT

Buzz

1316

41

25 - 15

19

27

27

MSGT

Mithrandir

1309

18

12 - 6

15

28t

30

COL

BlackWatch

1303

139

67 - 67

-17

28t

33

MAJ

strategicspock

1303

45

28 - 17

25

28t

35

MSGT

WARSPITE

1303

34

23 - 11

7

29

31

COL

DeBruce

1301

108

42 - 55

-21

30

32

CPT

Einswine

1298

26

19 - 6

23

31t

24t

MAJ

AbnRanger

1294

117

70 - 42

20

31t

40

MAJ

Raist

1294

157

107 - 44

139

32

34

MAJ

Ralf31

1293

39

24 - 14

29

33

37

MAJ

JohnPin569

1289

65

38 - 24

27

34

38

MAJ

Novi

1286

43

27 - 14

30

35

39

MAJ

micwil

1284

97

51 - 34

28

36

41

SGT

Nightwing

1278

24

14 - 10

8

37

60

MAJ

Danyred

1277

137

74 - 61

-2

38

45t

CPL

JnMLasater

1274

13

8 - 3

4

39

44

CPT

Boromir

1273

81

53 - 25

46

40t

49t

CPT

bobbysams@

1271

103

49 - 53

-18

40t

45t

CPT

kaizen

1271

73

43 - 30

18

41

45t

SGT

jettman

1270

8

7 - 1

11

42

46

CPT

BaronVonKardos

1268

93

55 - 37

29

43

47

SGT

Thenextone

1267

8

6 - 2

9

44

42

CPT

Foo_Fighter

1266

77

49 - 28

21

45

48

LT

jclilegdon

1265

17

13 - 4

18

46

49t

CPT

AFC_Gunner

1263

61

37 - 23

27

47

62

CPL

jjbigc

1261

16

10 - 6

6

48t

50

MSGT

Hess

1258

20

12 - 7

12

48t

43

CPT

thesithsoul

1258

64

40 - 24

35

49

52

LT

Wehrmachter

1249

134

60 - 70

-74

50

53

LT

Kieranbren

1248

82

39 - 43

-6

51

54

CPL

Pharoh642

1246

7

5 - 2

4

52

61

MSGT

xpfc_wintergreen

1245

15

10 - 5

12

53

55t

SGT

Sunburn

1244

27

17 - 10

5

54t

58

LT

KyleCBaker

1239

47

22 - 22

-5

54t

68

LT

Randzork

1239

37

20 - 17

5

55

56

CPL

wharfrat

1238

16

10 - 6

3

56

59

CPL

NecOne

1237

5

4 - 1

4

57t

64t

LT

leone@

1236

57

28 - 26

4

57t

73

CPL

blackpedro

1236

5

5 - 0

7

58

51

SGT

Hamar

1234

25

13 - 12

-2

59

55t

LT

hoquista

1231

100

41 - 54

-11

60t

63t

CPL

Jingikan

1230

6

4 - 2

4

60t

63t

PVT

labour

1230

4

2 - 2

-2

60t

63t

CPL

MagixTactix

1230

11

5 - 5

0

61

64t

SGT

PMC

1229

14

9 - 5

10

62

65

PVT

Dermensch

1228

4

3 - 1

3

63

66

LT

krwalker

1227

67

34 - 32

-26

64

67

PVT

Doughboy

1225

9

4 - 5

-3

65t

69t

MSGT

PipPopsRising11

1223

47

19 - 28

-10

65t

69t

MSGT

MolotovCocktail

1223

61

33 - 27

23

66

78t

PVT

DuplexDrive

1221

2

2 - 0

3

67t

71t

SGT

ChrisTheCat

1220

15

9 - 6

8

67t

71t

MSGT

roboprep

1220

103

57 - 42

20

68

72

SGT

Arminius

1218

25

10 - 13

-3

69

78t

MSGT

MacTabar

1216

130

60 - 67

-6

70t

 

PVT

bloomboy30

1215

1

1 - 0

1

70t

84

CPL

mezza

1215

13

6 - 5

2

71

70t

MSGT

VonManstein

1214

92

33 - 58

-76

72

96t

PVT

Brakethru

1213

5

2 - 2

-2

73

75

CPL

airship

1212

14

7 - 7

-3

74

 

PVT

Bdy1952

1210

1

1 - 0

1

75t

76t

PVT

Ugluk

1208

9

5 - 4

1

75t

76t

MSGT

SwordPlay

1208

34

17 - 17

10

75t

 

PVT

jt0565

1208

1

1 - 0

1

76t

77t

CPL

Winters

1207

11

5 - 6

-5

76t

70t

MSGT

hardcore

1207

30

12 - 16

-19

77t

79t

PVT

Unibrow_Bomber

1205

8

3 - 5

-4

77t

79t

PVT

Quasimodo

1205

3

2 - 1

1

78

80

PVT

obiwan

1203

3

1 - 2

-1

79

81t

CPL

Laser

1201

13

5 - 8

0

80

71t

PVT

blackjack

1200

4

2 - 2

-1

81t

82t

PVT

axsplr2

1199

7

3 - 4

-3

81t

97t

SGT

McDLT

1199

20

10 - 10

-7

81t

82t

MSGT

reddwarf@

1199

59

30 - 25

8

82t

83t

PVT

AgentSmith

1198

1

0 - 1

-2

82t

83t

PVT

ManchuWarrior

1198

1

0 - 1

-2

83t

85t

PVT

fluffhead

1196

9

4 - 5

-3

83t

85t

PVT

high_roller

1196

5

1 - 3

-4

84t

112

MSGT

spinboldak

1194

78

32 - 43

-48

84t

101t

SGT

uphigh

1194

21

9 - 12

-4

85t

74

PVT

Crocodile

1193

9

5 - 3

1

85t

81t

CPL

TN_VOL

1193

15

6 - 8

-5

86

77t

PVT

Hippie

1192

2

1 - 1

0

87

87

SGT

wlc

1191

21

8 - 12

-8

88

88

PVT

Bridger

1189

1

0 - 1

-2

89

89

MSGT

sploos

1188

34

14 - 18

0

90t

 

CPL

Sabre

1187

10

4 - 5

-3

90t

90

PVT

Radioactive_Man

1187

6

2 - 4

-3

91

92

CPL

Evil1

1185

10

3 - 4

-5

92t

93t

PVT

evYl

1183

2

0 - 2

-4

92t

98

MSGT

PSU_SigEp

1183

61

27 - 33

-1

92t

93t

PVT

rsnegin

1183

1

0 - 1

-2

93

95

PVT

allerton

1181

3

0 - 2

-3

94t

96t

PVT

leno

1180

1

0 - 1

-2

94t

96t

PVT

Varminter

1180

1

0 - 1

-2

95t

83t

PVT

Wasp

1179

6

1 - 3

-3

95t

97t

SGT

kamikazikid

1179

21

8 - 13

-10

96

94t

PVT

pops

1178

4

1 - 3

-3

97t

 

PVT

Heinzehlers

1176

2

0 - 2

-4

97t

100

PVT

Sahara_Dunebuggy

1176

5

1 - 4

-5

98t

101t

PVT

tehApprentice

1174

4

1 - 3

-5

98t

101t

CPL

DECRO

1174

15

6 - 9

-7

99t

86

MSGT

cruzybeerzman

1173

39

15 - 22

-11

99t

102

PVT

ProvenGuilt

1173

2

0 - 2

-4

100

103

CPL

Sveinung

1171

19

8 - 11

-14

101

104

PVT

Brincobi

1170

4

1 - 3

-4

102

105

SGT

Spitfire

1169

20

7 - 13

-14

103

91

PVT

me109

1168

3

0 - 3

-6

104

125t

MSGT

Amgor

1167

144

63 - 79

-29

105

106

PVT

Deltasocrates

1166

3

0 - 3

-6

106t

107t

CPL

enrico_russo

1165

10

2 - 7

-11

106t

107t

PVT

huddaddy

1165

8

2 - 5

-7

107t

101t

CPL

Benaiah

1164

18

8 - 10

-5

107t

108

MSGT

Leothelop

1164

52

14 - 37

-40

108

117

PVT

KrazyCaley

1162

5

1 - 3

-5

109

111t

CPL

Martok

1160

19

9 - 10

-7

110

109

MSGT

Sohoa

1159

104

40 - 60

-26

111

76t

MSGT

altmanf

1158

34

15 - 18

-9

112

113

CPL

AFAandA

1155

16

4 - 9

-10

113

119

CPL

McHaggis

1151

19

4 - 12

-17

114

116t

PVT

Tickertracker

1150

3

0 - 3

-6

115

114t

CPL

Eustice

1148

11

3 - 8

-10

116

118

PVT

plummerfan

1147

9

1 - 7

-12

117t

120

CPL

PantherGuderian

1143

11

3 - 8

-5

117t

116t

CPL

Achillus

1143

14

3 - 11

-19

118

118t

CPL

rubberband

1141

16

4 - 12

-20

119

123t

CPL

slaughter

1140

19

5 - 14

-19

120t

121

MSGT

alien66_2000

1121

31

7 - 23

-34

120t

128

MSGT

gudmanmod

1121

182

41 - 140

-196

120t

125t

CPL

ex_stream

1121

11

2 - 9

-15

121

126

PVT

Red_Cloud

1118

7

1 - 6

-10

122

123t

MSGT

baldguy

1117

32

9 - 22

-33

123

127

PVT

Ramius

1116

6

0 - 6

-12

124

124

CPL

VonSchneekloth

1112

10

0 - 10

-19

125

114t

MSGT

Galen99

1110

46

12 - 33

-45

126

115

MSGT

Einstein

1105

428

138 - 286

-369

127

129

SGT

Ori

1097

23

3 - 20

-31

128t

130t

SGT

DIGING_IN

1087

21

4 - 17

-30

128t

130t

MSGT

ShenFung

1087

48

10 - 37

-31