Future possible A&A spin-offs

[Yardstick]

We all know by now that if D-Day proves to be a successful franchise, there will be a spate of other 'single-battle' A&A games produced. I think that now is a good a time as any to start discussing what battles folks would like to see in print as an A&A spin-off.

To get the obvious ones out of the way:

(1) El Alamein
(2) Stalingrad
(3) Guadalcanal
(4) Battle of Britain
(5) Operation Torch
(6) Battle of the Bulge
(7) Operation Husky (Invasion of Italy)
(8) Iwo Jima and/or Okinawa
(9) Battle of the Atlantic

I would like to hear about what battles people are most interested in and why they think they would be interesting to play out in A&A format.

[Thoes426]

Well I think the following should be made as well:
(10) Midway - turning point in Pacific

(11) Kursk - biggest tank battle of war

just my humble thoughts.

Thoes426

[pellulo]

Hi, how about #12 Battle Of Imphala (B.I.C. Theather of War). Thanks, Pellulo

[xxstefanx]

First off all the next A&A should be a "world" game again: WWI !!!!!!!!!(whichever title!)

Considering the games should also sell well my vote goes for one of the prominent ones:
Stalingrad, Battle of Britain, El Alamein, Kursk, Midway or Battle of Bulge

Despite I will certainly go with all of them I think I will prefer the African game. So I vote for El Alamein.

xxstefanx

[elbowmaster]

agreement to above !!

already thinking new games even before d-day is out...the more the better...how about interchanging cards with each new version !!

i still wish AH would consider making specialized units for the techs...would love some rockets / me262's etc...

-cheers

-elbowmaster

[mac224-2]

Probably, it will have to be at least partly American battle. Preferably an American victory. And one that almost everybody knows about, even the soccer mom buying a game for her son. They do have to sell games and the biggest market is the USA.

That eliminates some of your suggestion. A&A is a game system that won't work well for naval and air battles. I also think another sea invasion would be redundant, at least as an immediate follow-up. So that leaves:

(6) Battle of the Bulge

But Lord that has been done to death!

My choices:

1. Anzio to Rome (starting with the Anzio bridghead already in place, US must first DEFEND)

2. Across the Rhine (Race for the Rhine bridges, & operation varsity)

3. Patton vs Rommel (the entire Tunisian campaign, really)

4. A Bridge Too Far (operation Market-Garden)

All these are well-known battles/campaigns, though a notch less than D-Day. I think they would all make excellent games, with either side having a chance for victory.

Avalon Hill, I release rights to these ideas. Take one and run with it. <G>

Doug

Originally posted by Young Wittgenstein:
We all know by now that if D-Day proves to be a successful franchise, there will be a spate of other 'single-battle' A&A games produced. I think that now is a good a time as any to start discussing what battles folks would like to see in print as an A&A spin-off.

To get the obvious ones out of the way:

(1) El Alamein
(2) Stalingrad
(3) Guadalcanal
(4) Battle of Britain
(5) Operation Torch
(6) Battle of the Bulge
(7) Operation Husky (Invasion of Italy)
(8) Iwo Jima and/or Okinawa
(9) Battle of the Atlantic

I would like to hear about what battles people are most interested in and why they think they would be interesting to play out in A&A format.

[playa1]

Cast my vote for Axis and Allies- Midway, why?
1. Turning point in the Pacific
2. It is the opposite of D-day (land battle with some air), Midway (sea battle with air units).
3. Involves the U.S. which means it would sell.

I think this is the only one that would work well as far as a marketing standpoint, but then again what do I know? I just believe that the other battles would be a stretch and hard to sell- maybe. :cool:
A WWI variant might sell well.

[Rommell12]

I would prefer more full scale wars with the A&A system:

1. 2nd Punic War
2. 100 Years War
2. WWI
3. Alternate World Cold War Game

[Rogue Warrior]

To have the Axis & Allies designation, a game must involve the Axis and the Allies. Therefore, a WWI game, or Punic Wars, etc. while fascinating in themselves, could not use the A&A name, ast that refers to a specific period of combat (WWII).

[sjcool]

The Battle of the Bulge is my personal favorite, but I think an Eastern Front A&A game would be tops! The trouble is it would probably be a two player style game. :(

[aku_djinn]

In my opinion and eastern front game would be awesome and in the Pacific, Guadalcanal/Solomons becuase it was a campaign that had it all, air, land and sea... Battleships firing point blank range, submarines, banzai charges, massive air battles. It was one of the campaigns the United States and Allies could really have lost. It would make a fascinating Axis and Allies game if done properly. The "introductory" Avalon Hill wargamer really isn't so "introductory". I'd love to see this as an Axis and Allies game next.

[Krieghund]

Originally posted by Rommel12
I would prefer more full scale wars with the A&A system:

1. 2nd Punic War
2. 100 Years War
2. WWI
3. Alternate World Cold War Game Actually, Imp Games has a game called East and West that uses an A&A-style system and deals with WW-III between NATO and the Soviet Bloc.

[gamecubedude00]

actually, A&AD (shivers due to remembering the pain and suffering due to a certain unmentionable game...) is more of a theatre, even though its main concept is raiding beaches and taking objective cities. what i would like to see is...
1) Italian Theatre, starting off with Sicily partially conquered and German forces slowly reinforcing and holding defensive positions to slow the assualt of Allied troops. Naval units could be used to show the landings on eastern Italy. BTW, operation husky was the invasion of Sicily, not Italy.

2)North African Theatre, with continually dwindling supplies for Axis making Rommel's strategy of going full steam ahead while the coals were still hot noticeable in gameplay, along with the desperation of the German forces and the weak Italian troops.

3)Burma Theatre. My grandpa was in this theatre, flying supplies in to British forces (hey, someone had to do it). This could also include Japan's struggle in China.

4)Pacific Island Hopping Campaign: Well, it might not work too well, but it would be interesting.

5)Eastern Front, an obvious one. German and Russian forces duking it out, oh boy. Noticeable T-34 strength until the end of the war and diminishing German air power along with objective cities such as Kursk, Stalingrad, Leningrad, Berlin, Warsaw, Moscow, etc. would make this an interesting game. Starting just before the initiation of German attacks would give the German player a chance to take it all before the Russians started to get down and dirty.

just thoughts.

[CommC]

I cast my vote for the Guadalcanal/Solomons campaign... including land, sea and air forces. The map should stretch from Bribane and Noumea to Rabaul and Truk in the north. Perhaps some new units should be introduced... the cargo ship, torpedo bombers, dive bombers. A supply system could be introduced where arriving supply ships could deposit "supply IPCs" needed to conduct combat. etc etc.

I hereby volunteer to work on the development team as a consultant for very reasonable terms... errr free.

[NMRALPH]

Hello:
I like the idea of a spin off but I think battle of the bulge may be alittle to much for the AA game system. You got to remeber with that battle the Germans faced the weather, a time table and the road system that was so narrow the couldn't move armored divisions very well.
I quess what I am saying I think it would be very hard to develope a easy AA style game for that battle without removing some of the things that made the battle so exciting.

Nick

[Clausewitz]

While voting for a Stalingrad game on the AAR forum I suggested the use of card buildings to create a 3D battlescape of the city. To develop the idea further I would like to suggest
STALINGRAD STRATEGO - a fusion of two very different AH games.
By placing pieces behind building you create hidden sniper positions and create a more intense type of combat as forces pick their way through the ruined city. I could even suggest a three level board with a underground/cellar level, a street level and an upper floor level in surviving buildings.
The idea of a map that physically changes as artillery fire levels apartment blocks is perhaps a little ambitious, but think how cool this could be if properly implemented. The city contained a tractor/tank factory to spawn new units and a brewery to fight over.
Overall I feel that a game set in a single city would provide a completely new dimension for Axis and Allies.

[Autarch]

It's time for a naval oriented A&A game and I vote for a Solomons game introducing FOUR new units:

CRUISERS New Orleans, Takao
LIGHT CARRIERS Ryujo
MEDIUM BOMBERS B-25, Beaufighter, Nell
FLYING BOATS PBY, Emily

The map would cover the same area as in FLAT TOP (Port Morseby to Ndeni, Esprito Santo to Rabaul) and reintroduce the concepts from A&AP of convoy boxes/lanes and air and sea bases as the focus of the conflict.

I envision this being more of a campaign covering all the major battles, where periodically each side would get additional ships and planes (no ICs or production) to continue the conflict toward whatever goal the players choose with additional forces being awarded when those goals are achieved.

As in A&AD, some rule changes would be needed, mainly to make naval combat more of a slugfest than bloodbath.

A.

[patronium]

How about a new version of A&A Europe that starts before the outbreak of war, with Germany, France, Britain, the US, The Soviet Union and Italy all as playable nations. It could start in 1936 with the Spanish Civil War, and could simulate the politics and diplomacy leading up to the war, giving players the opportunity to forge alliances, treaties, and interfere with non-playable neutral countries through attempted coups and assasinations and such. Every game would be a new and different experience. I know I'd buy it.

[Drewcooter]

I think they should definitely do a sea battle next, in order to not get in a rut.

(1) Either Midway or Coral Sea, both would be great.

If going for a land battle next then:

(2) Kursk- The straw that broke the back of the German Army and by far the largest tank battle in History. German tank strength was 2500-3000 and the Soviets had 3000 tanks. A total of 6000 tanks and 4000 combat aircraft took part in this battle. The Germans retreated from that battle with only a few hundred tanks. I think it would be good for the US market, maybe help some people realize how much of WWII was settled on the Eastern Front. This battle marked the end of German offensives in the East and was followed immediately by a huge Soviet Offensive. Probably the most important land battle of the war.

[Zero Pilot]

I'd vote for Guadalcanal/Solomons or possibly Midway. Nothing I like more than an intense land/sea battle. I can really picture either as a focused D-Day style game. ~ZP

[mac224-2]

The problem with any TACTICAL naval oriented game is you almost must have some form of hidden movement. Otherwise it will turn into simply a game of land warfare played on blue spaces instead of green. If there is a hidden movement system suitable for a novice to wargames, I have yet to see it.

mac

[series]

I personally would love to see a Stalingrad Axis and Allies game.

[Gorak]

Guadalcanal sounds REALLY REALLY cool to me. If I had a choice it would be Guadalcanal. Midway would be my second choice.

[sjcool]

Does anyone know if Avalon Hill will give any hints about those other Axis & Allies games comming out?

[Yardstick]

You folks have had some great ideas so far!

I agree with the overwhelming majority of you that a Solomons campaign A&A would be excellent; a very tight contest with strategy enough to please the most demanding player.

Some responses:

NMRALPH--with the new D-Day card system, I don't think that there would be any trouble to account for weather effects and the operation's timetable in a Battle of the Bulge game. The map (and the new stacking rules) could be used to reflect the single-file traffic jam in the Ardennes.

Autarch--your new units sound cool. What are their stats? I.e., cost/defense/attack/movement? What special abilities, if any, do they have that other existing units don't?

mac2--secret naval moves are very easy to do with your task force markers from A&AP and A&A Revised. Check out this optional rule I designed:

Radio Silence: At the beginning of any turn in which you have no Task Force [TF] markers in play, you may take any number of naval units from one sea zone from the board [put them on a TF coaster beside the board] and replace them with 3 Task Force markers. TF markers move like normal naval units, and can be moved in different directions. A TF marker leaves play when you are forced through attack, defense, or transport operations, to reveal what units are actually signified by the TF marker. At that point, you may choose all, some, or no units from the TF coaster and replace the TF marker on the board with the number and type of units you have chosen. (If you're not concerned about using real TF markers, then you can represent task forces with pieces of paper and thus greatly increase the number of task forces on the board: but at a certain point you have to cut it off, or every naval unit would have its own TF marker just so that it could be 'more than one place at a time'.)

P.S.: I like what I hear people saying about a Kursk game, too. However, I'd like someone to describe some specific mechanics for that game that would set it apart from, say, A&A Europe (other than just the map and initial set-up).