Couldn't agree more. The right balance of information without being lost in details, humor without being obnoxious. Just very very well done! Can't wait for part 2
yes the production quality is insane. editing is so tight, wonderful arrows and callouts on the screen. all that effort in the video editing software really shows. i think that's why these videos are getting soooo many views. even if you aren't into A&A very much, the quality of the commentary and the pacing draws you in...
for the record i barely care about A&A played a few time in high school. just found these videos and they're getting me into it. but have tried some other A&A videos and nothing is as good as these. so you're gonna have to keep making more... !
This is a masterclass in how to present material like this. Superb job. Really looking forward to the final video and hope the success means more this style in the future (I am sure its a ton of work!)
You are very kind. Thank you for watching! We will be making more videos in this style after this series concludes and I get a nap. Thanks for the support!
This gives me a new strategy: The Sunrise Surprise. Step 1 - Become a morning person. Step 2 - Play in the morning. Step 3 - Play against non-morning people. Since I play Revised with my 10 year old, who wakes up and is ready to face the day at 6am, there might be something to this. My partner already has Step 1 down pat!
P.S. The EDITING of this episode in particular was FANTASTIC!! The way you “layered” in the Opponents comments on EVERY move was perfectly done. Bravo!!!
Easily the strongest German play you guys have faced so far. Constant pressure, not over extending and some interesting moves with the fighters. Looking forward to part 2 👍
While this German player did well, honestly it had more to do with Gary’s insane and cataclysmic rolling. Vegas should hire him as a cooler. I would have taken the dice away from him for the rest of the game.
John and Adam were a lot of fun to play with and great as we made these videos. So glad you enjoyed the series! Working on more of them now. Thanks for watching!
Awesome video series guys. It really brings me back to playing A&A and Fortress America with my brothers and friends. Amazing quality video and coverage and huge props to John and Adam for participating. Great job avoiding spoilers during the video. Everyone involved A+++
I also want to highlight that its very satisfying to see older asymetric games like this find life with new setup and bidding rules, especially with some recent asymetric games also finding success.
im calling it right now: gary rolls hot to close the game. Also, im glad that the videos in this series are getting so many views because gary and his team deserve the validation. You can tell a lot of work goes into making them by how polished and entertaining they are
I'm hoping it's getting really close here. The fact he is recreating the board state is crazy. Plus it makes more sense in my brain than trying to recreate it in say the online game.
I think Gary will blow an easy roll on the final turn by somehow rolling zeros and will have a meltdown and Gary will comfort him and their friendship deepens.
Gary, I appreciate the effort you put into these videos! I don't have much means to play Axis & Allies in-person and it's hard to find _clear_ videos of board game play online. Your work to recreate the board and the moves with clear pictures and helpful graphics, as well as the commentary from the participants, makes these videos feel like I'm in the gameroom with the group. Your videos are easy to follow and it's entertaining to hear everyone's thoughts and strategies. Hope you got a dice-rolling participation trophy for this one! 🎲🏆
This has been so entertaining to watch, as someone who loves A&A but doesn’t get to play much, it’s great getting to watch some high level play! Also as a Canadian, seeing the Infantry and Tank from Canada fail in the France invasion was incredibly historically accurate with the failed invasion of Dieppe!
You guys really should have banned Gary from rolling dice after the second disaster. Brutal brutal luck I think getting your opponents to be in this video is an absolute stroke of GENIUS. I'm so glad they agreed to come talk with you guys and give us secondary insight of every move. This game could still go both ways, I'm so excited to see how this pans out.
So well done. Happy you stretched the finals out into two videos, if for no other reason than that it gives us one more video to enjoy. This series has been amazing. One of the things I think you have glossed over a bit in your videos and in your live show responses to questions on how to execute on or counter the "Thorpe Thump" is how the Thorpe Thump is a strategy that leaves open many tactical options depending on specific battle outcomes. Games 3 & 4 really have demonstrated this so far: the differences in Sea Zone 37, Borneo, Wake and Okinawa vs. Solomon & New Guinea, how and where the bomber forces are used, and the resulting build choices have resulted in very different tactical paths ... but look like they are leading to a similar strategic outcome - at least in the Pacific. Very much looking forward to Part 2!!
Excellent quality video and editing. I'm an "Old school" A&A player from the time the game first came out. At first I was confused about how far away from the meta both teams' strategies were. I was thinking to myself, "If they were playing A&A Online they would be getting trounced by every platinum and most gold level players ." (highest I have gotten to is #23 platinum). BUT THEN I noticed the 5hour timer constraint and it ALL made me fully understand the heavy plane/heavy tank strats and it all made sense. Now I will go back and watch the first three rounds and will subscribe. Thanks for the time put into this production.
Looking forward to the final video! It was fun to see you guys pitch Diplomacy. I haven't played it in decades. I remember the between turn negotiations took longer than the gameplay :))
I was already excited for this video, and then I find out that not only do we get a part two, but we also get to hear from your opponents!! What an incredible series this has been so far! This is quite possibly the best table top board game content I've ever seen on RU-vid, ever - this format works so well for these tournament games, and your writing and editing are amazing!
I'm not a huge fan of tabletop games. But I used to play this game when I was a kid. You obviously spent a significant amount of time on this and the presentation is great. I enjoyed these videos and would love to see more. It would be great to see some non-tournament/long play sessions! Anyways, thanks for doing this.
I'm glad you enjoyed them. We just returned from Gen Con, where we captured the histories 10 more A&A games, plus the finals for Acquire, RoboRally, and Diplomacy. We will be turning all all of them in videos like this one. We hope you'll tune in. Thanks for watching!
I have actually only played A&A once, but I still enjoy these videos immensely. Stumbled onto your first game and have kept up since. Looking forward to part 2!
Thank you so much Gary and Doug!!! Loving every bit of this series. So glad that John and Adam took part in this video. Very interesting hearing both sides react to the game. Please do more of these. You have earned my subscription and don't ever apologize for delays due to quality. I favor delays so the final product will be fantastic. Excited for part 2 and the future of your channel. Stellar work friends!!
I tried that strategy in our practice sessions, but it was never fast enough to stand up to pressure from both the US and UK forces. Not to say it isn't possible. I just never found a way to make it work. (I also tried a complex in Manilla on J1. No joy.) Thanks for watching!
Excited to watch this tonight. Love the breakdown of your matches. You're reigniting my desire to play this game. I'll be dusting off my anniversary edition soon.
Wow!! What an EPIC PENULTIMATE chapter to your 2023 A&A Championship tourney! This part was UNBELIEVABLY entertaining!😁 I literally watched and listened to each move then, rewound EACH section to watch and listen AGAIN for a deeper dive. The devil is DEFINITELY in the details and you 4 gentlemen played this match at a VERY high level! Bravo!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 You left it on the PERFECT cliff-hanger moment (of course!) with “90 mins left” in the match to keep us hanging with bated breath for the FINALE!! Omg!! 😱 Eeeeek!!! 😳 Will Gary EVER get a “decent” roll for the Allies in the most important match of them all? Will Japan be able to hold off the American advance? Can America capture a victory city with 1 LAND unit left?! Can the UK somehow help hold off the Nazi advance into the Asian Theater with MULTIPLE TANK Columns to help hold the American/UK line? I cannot wait to find out!!! Let’s make it HOT!!!! 🔥🔥🔥 #RenegadeStudios #LetsMakeItHot
As someone just getting into A&A thank you so much for these videos! Genuinely so entertaining to watch higher-level play presented in this way, you guys have nailed the format, it's so much fun to watch!!
Talk about a nail biter! Excellent presentation of the gameplay in this and the previous games leading up to it. I know these must be a lot of work to put together but thank you. I can't express how much I've enjoyed watching these games.
Wow, what a game, and a cliffhanger ending for part 1 haha, great work guys, thank you so much for this treat! I have a question for the axis players if I may. I did not understand the 2 transports 1 destroyer in SZ62. It was too big a target not to attempt with 2 UK bombers, especially if you consider axis sacrificed a CV and a fighter to take out 3 US transports later. Much safer would be 1BB + 1 DD on one SZ and 1 DD + 1 CV + 2 fighters on the other one. And 1 bonus question, why not attack Belarus too in G2? Thank you.
A real pleasure to watch! Having opponents close to your skill level really makes it a nail-biter, and despite certain blunders, both sides are putting up a strong fight. My personal take-away is: think twice about transport buys! Both the US and Japan blundered their entire turn’s purchases on unprotected transports. But then again, this is a friendly game- right? 😉
Gary, after watching this episode all the way through you have got me on the edge of my seat in excited anticipation of what will happen next. It is really fun to watch you recreate the play by play moves with the suspense and changing strategy. Adding the opponents insight into their thought process added additional depth which made me feel like I was there at the game watching this all play out. Thank you for putting this all together. I know this had to be time consuming to create this video but the end product is just fantastic. I think this series of videos will become a roll model for others to follow and will attract new interest in this game. Well done my friend!
I would love to see some form of team time control added to this format. Seems like the games max at 5 rounds. If there were incentive to play quickly--and I'm not sure what that would be, rules-wise--could add more action to the game overall.
I've been hooked to these videos. You two are a fantastic narrative compliment to each other. Thank you for posting these. Production quality is super. Editing is super. What a treat this series was. To put it in Hollywood terms, you guys "got it".
Gary, Doug: I haven’t seen Japan or USA build a factory in Asia in any of your games. Why not? It seems like that would allow IPCs to be used on air and land, instead of navy, in subsequent turns.
I tried that strategy in our practice sessions, but it was never fast enough to stand up to pressure from both the US and UK forces. Not to say it isn't possible. I just never found a way to make it work. (I also tried a complex in Manilla on J1. No joy.) Thanks for watching!
Axis has made some serious errors that will come back to bite them. Losing the two Japanese transports exposed to British air early was probably the worst mistake. They needed those boats for ferrying and, critically, to have a spare boat to block the sea zone around Okinawa to prevent the American fleet from setting up shop in Manila on Turn 3. Germany is no better. They had massive wins but have failed to capitalize. By that I mean they should push tanks forward to threaten stealing all of the undefended Russian territory behind Moscow and getting in range to foil British plans. Instead they consolidate and angle to attack Moscow, which is basically dithering in such a short game.
I am Cow. The author of the Japan playbook for global 1940. I played this board heavily when it first came out on steam and then took a long hiatus. I won tournaments on this board online and was rank 1 season 1 for Allies and rank 2 for season 2. This horrible gameplay made me play Axis and Allies again to see if things have digressed over the years. I am bouncing around in the top 10 for Allies. Overall online game play and strategies are much more refined and dialed to perfection. I been getting a run for my money, which is good to see. First two seasons I was blasting through everyone. My second tournament I had to win with the Axis because giving me Allies was a bad idea. I am doing my preferred strategy exclusively because the players know how to deal with standard Allies play - they aren't used to seeing green skies. So online the top 10 players are seasoned vets. Most of the names I recognize from when the game first came out. I don't know if live games can be considered world championships. Regional? maybe. City sure! Small state like Montana? Ok. Is this the Duo's tournament over discord? I would love to team up with Zhukov4 if I can find him online again. He is wacky sometimes. I like my partner being wacky and having fun.
Excellent quality videos from the bald guy.. I mean Gary. I will say having played other tournaments (flames of war, Star Wars legion) at gen con that the exhaustion factor is real. High stress, timed rounds, lots going on. It’s exhausting. Well done guys.
like the videos...interested to see what happens in part 2... japan missed a key play here on r3 - they should have used 3 fighters in sz62 to attack the us ground in iwo jima, and captured wake island, leaving their whole fleet there.. then USA would have no chance of taking any victory cities until r5... this would allow them to take fighters last in the battle... then they could focus on building bombers to kill transports seems like all the british luck went into the initial sea zone 37 attack for what its worth, I think 1sub, 1carrier, and 1 fighter is the best purchase in response to the super aggressive kjf strategy used. and the japan player should take out sea zone 53 on turn 1, so they are defending 2 'small' fleets, rather than 1 large fleet...
@@jessel3621 I disagree for an obvious kjf, like this strategy is, and also for r1. Japan's #1 job is to stall the us navy in a kjf, while germany takes moscow/india/uk... by almost exclusively buying navy/air for the first three rounds, the us army cannot advance to capture any islands. if the us decides to pivot and focus on germany, then Japan should buy transports on r2. given the allied focus on bomber purchases, a complex on shanghai is probably better than 2 transports. guarantees two units each turn, but japan doesn't need to defend sz 61 to get the units off japan. also allows navy to be placed in sz61, which can be useful too.
@@petersamantharadisich6095 2 transports and a carrier is a good general build. If I knew for sure it was KJF, an IC in Manchuria and in the Philippines J1 is what I would do.
following your passions, brother, is and has been inspiring for all of us who have imagined these things our entire lives. and, this brings it to us. appreciate you, being you. god made you as you are
Loving learning this top level strategy and play-by-plays of top games from Baldy and Glasses. Great videos! Would you guys consider reviewing other players' games as well?
Been playing the game for 30 +years.the original handbook said to order more pieces.... Then nothing. Bought 2 more games for the extra pieces. So glad,the newer ones aren't nearly as good
To each, their own, but I find each game has their own flavor. I like the option to play a variety of different games depending on how the group is feeling, time available, and skills of the players. Thanks for watching!
Hi Gary, another great video, excited for part 2. A tiny remark, when moving bombers around, could you use a bit more of the numbered arrows 1-2-3-4-5 and land on 6? For the amateur player as myself, with an untrained eye, it took me 10 tries to figure out how you got that bomber from Western USA across the pacific into Yunnan, lol
i developed a game like this on roll20 that was supposed to be based on battleship but a tabletop game with more pieces and rules.. it ended up being a lot like the naval combat in this game and ive never played this game before.. i had a lot more planes on the carriers tho.. i called the game carrier group. i think people would really like it. like battleship but a little more complicated.
Always a nail-biter when playing this game between two knowledgeable teams. Since I learned about your channel a few days ago, and watched many games that have been played, I have noticed that purchasing industry is not something anyone has done. Is this because of a maximum of 5 turns in tournament play? Also, I want to know what a battle calculator is. I have never known the percentage chance of an outcome while playing. Finally, when this video first started playing, I saw the faces of your opponents, and it did not look like they were happy, so I assumed that you and Doug were the winners. However, the way Gary was rolling dice, I am not so certain now. I cannot wait for Part 2.
I'd say the normal tournament game is 6 rounds occasionally 7. 5 is low from my experience. So it is timed and not a turn limit. Industrial Complexes can be effective if used properly.
Really enjoy all your videos and they been pretty helpful. What would you change about the Allies Openings if you were playing the second edition instead of the Harris 3.0?
That is a tough question. For the game to be balanced, the Allies would need a bid in the 18-22 range. The placement of which could dramatically swing the game. (Add a UK Battleship to the fleet in Indian Ocean or 7 INF to Karelia) But... out of the box, for the Allies to have a chance... the Russians have to play more conservatively, the UK needs to either defend Calcutta 100% or get out of it, and the US has to play perfectly. It comes down to a race. Axis trying to get to Moscow before the Allies can reach Berlin or Tokyo. Thanks for watching!
Everyone has good/bad string of rolling once in awhile. My best while being my dads worst was I had two transports vs a battleship, cruiser and sub. We weren’t even gonna roll it but did for fun just to see. Lost one transport and took out the battleship, cruiser and sub
You guys bid up instead of bid down? My experience with bidding is, "allies 4" and if the other player wants allies he types 3 or takes the axis and I get 4. How do tournaments work for live game play? Some games can take a long time before reaching the VC conditions. Online games are faster than live games so it is played out to VC win or surrender.
I'm curious about nomenclature. You call this 2nd edition, but this seems to be what I would think of as the 3rd edition board (artillery etc). My understanding was that there was a cardboard version before the MB edition which was the first I played.
A very fair question. I suppose if you are counting all the versions of the game that use the entire world (rather than Europe/ Pacific/ local)... that would mean the 2012 release of 1942 "Second Edition" would actually be Sixth Edition. (Nova, 1984, 1986, Revised, 2009 (1942: World at War) and then 1942 Second Edition). So, yeah. I wouldn't look for a lot of logic in how these are named... but they are fun! Thanks for watching!
This is a super interesting game but is also showing why the Victory Territories used at WBC for so many years was a superior scoring system. You really had to fight everywhere. How Caucasus isn’t a VT in a tournament blows my mind - fully aware none of the participants made the rules. WBC - Revised was used. The determination of who wins a game will be based upon the control of Victory Territories (VTs). The Victory City method of determining a winner will NOT be used. Each side controls 12 Victory Territories at the beginning of the game. The Victory Territories are listed below. AXIS POWERS GERMANY Germany Western Europe Southern Europe Eastern Europe Ukraine SSR Norway JAPAN Japan Manchuria French Indochina Philippine Islands East Indies Borneo ALLIED POWERS USSR Russia Caucasus Archangel Novosibirsk UK United Kingdom India Anglo-Egypt Australia USA Eastern US Western US Hawaiian Islands Sinkiang If a player holds 18 (or more) VTs for a full round of game play (from the end of a country’s turn to the beginning of that same country’s next turn.), then that player automatically wins. In the event of a VT tie at the end of the game, whichever side increased its IPC total is the winner. If the game is still tied after reviewing the IPC totals, then the GM will make a determination of the winner based upon the game situation at the time the game ended. If a player chooses to concede before the game has reached the 18 VT automatic win threshold or the game time limit (4.5 hrs), a default score of 19 VTs and +30 IPCs will be awarded to the winner. I would add and I think that Doug mentioned in an early vid is that all games should last ‘at least’ so many rounds and I think 5-6 should be the number depending on the venue’s time restraints.
I was watching WWE podcasts and this came up somehow - I’d never ever have searched for something like this lol but I like history and this was kinda neat
OMG!! I would have loved to play for the championships as it is my all-time favorite game!! I still feel that I am still very good at the game. I have not played in ages. I can hold on my own!! :)
@@BoardGameNation, I live in Vietnam, tho. :( We can play online, but I forgot the site. :( I ptefer to play against one person and 2nd Edition. Do you have Facebook?? You can find me by my gaming name and picture. I have two.
I think you are thinking of Axis and Allies 1942 Online. It is available through Steam. You can find us on Facebook at Facebook.com/BoardGameNation. Hope to see you there!
Hello, again. I would like to ask a question, if I may here... I've heard that this year, since it's the 40th anniversary of our beloved game, the WC will be the AA50 at Gen Con. Are you guys going to participate in it? And, if so, are we going to see another series like this one (the 1942.2 WC 2023) for the AA50? Thanks and best regards!
Gary, Doug and your honourable opponents. I've enjoyed the series, thank you so much for the videos. I'm an old school A&A player - I play the version on your top shelf Gary, behind you. I never got into the newer versions, as I enjoyed the game as is, and did not see a reason to spend the $ on a different version. Having said that, I am just wondering, assuming you guys have played the older version, which one you like better, and why? All the best!
I prefer the newer versions. Long explanation short is I find them more balanced and nuanced. This would be a great question to do a deep dive in on the livestream. Maybe you should join and ask it.
Hey. Very good video. Btw, in the next one when they is a guy up in a corner talking could you have a flag of the nations they playing? that would be helpful so people have it easier knowing who is playing who
The exciting part about the KJF is that it is never really declawed. We've seen a few examples of how it has played out previously with different elements not always coming to bare. In this one UK's power projection in the pacific sea is heavily diminished, but on the flip side the American presence is incredibly strong. To deter further all in engagements I would've loved to see more German fighters make their way to the Japanese coast, specially seeing how dominant Germany is on the main-land. Alternatively, something that seems to be extremely rare, is invading London. I understand that the second England notices Germany build a lot of transports they could just plop down 10 infantry, but if the move was a bit more subtle or perhaps pre-empted by air units strafing the area + a raid there is some interesting prospects. Specially considering how much IPC UK typically invests in India. This would also take a lot of the heat off of Japan if done at a slightly earlier stage. All in all, I have a feeling that to counter KJF, you need to apply much more force in fringe victory cities. UK+US will alwaaaaays be able to bring in more IPC value than Japan by itself, specially if Russia is allowed to flank. So Germany succeeding against Russia is key, but if you pair that success with a heavy push into London You've got yourself 3 victory cities for losing 2 in Japan assuming Japan can invest heavily into Tokyo.
