The Kaufschtick Report

[Kaufschtick]

Well, I did my one and only contribution to WotC's Axis & Allies Miniatures: V2.0 Reboot today by picking up a starter for the maps. My overall impressions...

New scale: Had I not purchased $1800.00 dollars of the original scale, I would really like the new scale. The larger tanks are nice.

Improved Detail & Quality: The quality of this set seems to be on par with all of the other sets. From the starter, my Sherman has one star on one side of the turret only? The barrel is bent pointing down. I'll try the hot water treatment, I'm curious to see if the barrel will return to it's downward point. The WaS stuff all returned to it's original bent status after treating them in hot water.

Better Paint Jobs: Judging from just the starter, there is no improvement, just different colors. None of my starter set tanks had wash on the turrets, and they were a slightly lighter color than the chasis due to it. The Panzer III has brown paint sprayed up on top of the fenders from where they tried to paint in the tops of the treads. No markings or decals at all on this one.The soldiers had no improvement at all IMO. They were exactly like the originals.

The Stat Cards: No "rounded corners", and no difference in quality except that they are the full color type just like the original set one cards. Some of the sets had just different shades of gray, these are green for the Allies and gray for the Axis.

The Maps: I like the artwork on the Expanded maps better, but I think the quality is better with these maps. These look like they may hold up better. The artwork is not as good as the expanded maps. There is too much green in these maps and no contrasting colors. Even the ponds and rivers have a greenish hue to them. Again, the hills will be easy for newer players to miss at first. You have to really look for them in some cases, in others they come off looking like giant ant mounds; or pimples. Very odd looking. Only four total hexes of town/city exist from all four map sides. Swamps are also hard to pick out. No hedges or bluff hexside terrain at all. The new "bigger" Cromwell pretty well takes up one of the new 3' hexes, I'd hate to see the King Tiger, it must just barely fit in one of the 3' hexes.

Counters & Dice: The same paper thin wafer counters. Eight "larger sized" dice to go with the larger tanks!:p

The Rules: Back to the full color, nice quality rule booklettes and quick start guide.The Romanians, Australians and the Canadians failed to make the nationalities list in both places where they list them. The rule book still lists anti-tank guns as being very good against tanks, despite the fact that there is only one in this set of 60. No unit limits or deadly defensive fire are mentioned.

My Evaluation: With the exception of the bigger tanks, to borrow a quote from the Talking Heads...

(chops at forearm)"Same-as-it-ever-was...same as it ever was ...same as it ever was..."

[Lotus]

LOL! This is not my beautiful tank! This is not my beautiful plane!

Saturday I buy and try. :)

[axisarmyrules45]

I also am going to buy and try on Saturday. Hopefully, I have some luck and get a Spitfire and all axis tanks :)

[horacus]

I wish like to buy some first, but, I think that the review is no that inspirating...

[Kaufschtick]

Happy hunting lads!

I go tomorrow to trade in my jumbo sized T-34, Sherm, Cromwell & Pnzr III at my FLGS for some baby sized tanks!

I wish like to buy some first, but, I think that the review is no that inspirating...

Don't let me hold you up! Like I said, if I hadn't bought a buttload of the original stuff, I'd be good with the new set.

This set is just like all the rest of the sets, just bigger tanks with different colors. The maps had to go to 3' hexes because the tanks are so damm big, they wouldn't work on the 2' maps.

[Captain Morevo]

Ok, for all of us who DONT know...

WHAT is FLGS?

[Kaufschtick]

Ok, for all of us who DONT know...

WHAT is FLGS?

Serious?:confused:

[Captain Morevo]

Umm, yeah. Sorry, I'm relatively new here.

[Kaufschtick]

Ok, for all of us who DONT know...

WHAT is FLGS?

O.K.

To WotC it stands for: Forgot La Game Scale.

For the rest of us, it's: Favorite Local Game Store.

:D

[Captain Morevo]

AH! Ok, sorry, I assumed it was actually the name of a game store or something that people were assuming everyone knew about.

Right, well my FLGS will only be getting my business as long as they keep stocking 1.0 boosters.

[Richter von Manthofen]

Some also say its a Friendly Local Game Store - in opposite to LGS which means - I buy there only if the friendly one does not have stock ;)

Err kaufy - if you want to trade in your bigger scaled depraved err improved stuff I might be interested in them - Have a look at my trade list ....

[Khayman7]

O.K.

To WotC it stands for: Forgot La Game Scale.

For the rest of us, it's: Favorite Local Game Store.

:D

LOL
Your really going to trade it in for old stuff? You guys must play a lot more down south than we do up here...

[Khayman7]

O.K.

To WotC it stands for: Forgot La Game Scale.

For the rest of us, it's: Favorite Local Game Store.

:D

LOL
Your really going to trade it in for old stuff? You guys must play a lot more down south than we do up here...I might go to my FLGS if nothing is going on tonight and try to play using my ver1 with anyone that might have actually got ver2 up there.

[Kaufschtick]

LOL
Your really going to trade it in for old stuff? You guys must play a lot more down south than we do up here...

No, the games being smothered by WotC for me.

We have two scales now.

Two sets of rules, expanded and regular.

Two different kinds of maps.

Some units now have two different costs and stat cards.

To me, WotC just did an incredibly poor job of rolling out the game to begin with. Now, the focus of the game is...well, who knows.

Improved quality and paint jobs? Come on, it's the same old stuff only bigger; bottom line, end of discussion.

Instead of providing the improvements and corrections they feel are needed...no, they sell them instead! Now there is company support for ya!:D These guys talk a lot of nonsense if you ask me. The enjoyment of this game has been snuffed out for me.

They could have done a lot better by just posting the stat card changes on here and letting everyone know that they really, no really this time, are going to straighten out the scale and quality issues.

As far as I'm concerned, the game is fractured on the scale issue and it's players now divided.

I'll be looking for just soldiers, planes and AT guns or stuff that fits in with my old stuff from now on.

The stuff that has been goofed up with this game from the onset has been quite a bit plain, basic, business 101 kind of stuff. Horses in jeeps, snipers and mortars shooting down airplanes, sword wielding soldiers chasing tanks around, Me-109s sold as Spitfires, mis-scaled pieces, intentionally mis-costed units...and now after five previous sets, a total change in direction with a change in scale, a change in maps, bigger sets with smaller boosters...blah, blah blah.

They have their eye on your wallet more than on what they're doing.;)

[Cruizin2000]

I broke down and bought some of the "new" stuff. Well, just two CORRECTED Spitfires which will be promptly inserted into the original base as they should've been.:rolleyes:

I find it interesting that people have to wait until May/2008 for 2.0 Set II. 7 more months?

Kaufy, you should've just got some pics of those new maps and made them 3D - save some hard earned cash.

C2K

[Kaufschtick]

I broke down and bought some of the "new" stuff. Well, just two CORRECTED Spitfires which will be promptly inserted into the original base as they should've been.:rolleyes:

I find it interesting that people have to wait until May/2008 for 2.0 Set II. 7 more months?

Kaufy, you should've just got some pics of those new maps and made them 3D - save some hard earned cash.

C2K


Yeah, I wanted to check out the new rule book to see if the special unit limits and leathal defensive fire were going to be standard or not, which they aren't. Hero's are free to run amuck again, I guess.

[Lotus]

Kaufy & C2K: When we get together next, don't worry. I've got plenty of V1.0 and I don't plan on getting rid of it. There are still certain units I'll be looking for in V1.0 even as I collect 2.0.

This spring I'm going to get to work converting part of my detached garage into a project shop/gaming emporium. :D (cigars will be ok there) Big plywood table in the plans, btw.

[Marshal Ney]

I'll be looking for just soldiers, planes and AT guns or stuff that fits in with my old stuff from now on.

The stuff that has been goofed up with this game from the onset has been quite a bit plain, basic, business 101 kind of stuff. Horses in jeeps, snipers and mortars shooting down airplanes, sword wielding soldiers chasing tanks around, Me-109s sold as Spitfires, mis-scaled pieces, intentionally mis-costed units...and now after five previous sets, a total change in direction with a change in scale, a change in maps, bigger sets with smaller boosters...blah, blah blah.

They have their eye on your wallet more than on what they're doing.;)

Why are you still playing?...Curious really since you seem so dissatisfied.

[Muenchausen]

I think he's dissatisfied with the new version, like many of us are. He's just more vocal.

[Kaufschtick]

Why are you still playing?...Curious really since you seem so dissatisfied.

There is a fairly good game in there when you get past all of the SNAFUs. I've watched and seen it in all of the sets so far, and I have come to expect a certain amount of SNAFUs in each set.

I've been able to live with all of the SNAFUs up to now; not that it doesn't get old after a while, mind you. After hearing for the third or fourth time how they're going to fix things in the next set, or they're working on the issues now and so on.

If there wasn't such a good concept game here, this game would have been done in by now.

I wonder what it would have been like if...(fade to dream sequence...:D )

...someone was "heads up" enough to fix the horses in jeeps, mortars and snipers being able to shoot at planes, before it went out in the rules

...someone had playtested the Heros before releasing them

...someone had playtested the spotters

...someone had checked the quality on the pieces before they pre-viewed the Spitfire

...someone had really looked at what 5 defense soldiers were going to do to the game

...someone had looked into finding out whether potential buyers of this game would want whacky costed pieces and would want to have "fun" finding out which pieces were put in as intentional junk

...someone would have costed the pieces using better judgement before having to resort to selling the revised pieces

...someone had really thought out and set the game scale so that this present fuss would have never even occurred

(return from dream sequence...:D )Oh, wait a minute...sorry about that. I kinda dozed off into a daydream there...sorry.

What were you asking me again? Oh yeah, why do I even bothering playing the game then...

How about this: How much money have you spent on the first five sets?
Are you going to upsize all of your previous pieces or are you going to mix scales? If you're not going to mix scales, how much money do you figure it will cost you to up size? Or are you going to just start all over from scratch as two totally different games?

I'm not trying to be a wiseguy either, these are questions we all have to face and decide because of the decisions made by the folks running this show at WotC.

[Photoner Hawkwind]

Why are you still playing?...Curious really since you seem so dissatisfied.

We all still are great fans of WWII miniature games and we all still enjoy playing version one even with it's flaws that we wished had been fixed instead of have WOTC pull a Games Workshop on us.:mad:

[FiberGlassHazard]

Because there were many GOOD things about the game initially, before the remarketing. Truely, WotC is at the mercy of Hasbro, in the end... but we want to see a triumph of gaming to emerge... one that all of us know that A&A could be.

[Photoner Hawkwind]

I broke down and bought some of the "new" stuff. Well, just two CORRECTED Spitfires which will be promptly inserted into the original base as they should've been.:rolleyes:

I find it interesting that people have to wait until May/2008 for 2.0 Set II. 7 more months?

Kaufy, you should've just got some pics of those new maps and made them 3D - save some hard earned cash.

C2K


Someone said the planes are larger too. Are they? Are your Spitfires the same size as the old messerschmidt? Can you post any comparison pics? Anything is appreciated. Because my money is staying in my wallet.

[Marshal Ney]

How about this: How much money have you spent on the first five sets? Are you going to upsize all of your previous pieces or are you going to mix scales? If you're not going to mix scales, how much money do you figure it will cost you to up size? Or are you going to just start all over from scratch as two totally different games?

I see where you are coming from.

Initially, I thought as you do...very unhappy about the reinvention of the wheel, very dissatisfied with much that was released.

One day, though, I had a moment of clarity...I Love The Game. It is far from perfect...I'll grant you that. I still love it, blemishes and all.

To answer all of your questions above: I've spent way too much already, I will continue to spend way too much, upgrading specific units will cost way too much, and I will maintain two sets...V1.0 and V2.0...again I'll be spending way too much money...AND I'll enjoy every minute of it...Isn't Capitalism Great :-)

[Kaufschtick]

I see where you are coming from.

Initially, I thought as you do...very unhappy about the reinvention of the wheel, very dissatisfied with much that was released.

One day, though, I had a moment of clarity...I Love The Game. It is far from perfect...I'll grant you that. I still love it, blemishes and all.

To answer all of your questions above: I've spent way too much already, I will continue to spend way too much, upgrading specific units will cost way too much, and I will maintain two sets...V1.0 and V2.0...again I'll be spending way too much money...Isn't Capitalism Great :-)

You bet!:) Good luck to you brother, the games too expensive for me to maintain two different games. If I'm spending that kind of money, I want to be able to use all of the pieces in question, not "what set to play tonight" kind of thing.

I can't go the re-buy route either, not at these prices, anyway.The thought of rebuying the same stuff I've been spending too much money on over the last year and a half, over the next year and a half is a "no can do" with me.

Of course, had they picked this scale to begin with or stayed with the scale they were going for from the begining, this wouldn't be an issue.:)

[Photoner Hawkwind]

I see where you are coming from.

Initially, I thought as you do...very unhappy about the reinvention of the wheel, very dissatisfied with much that was released.

One day, though, I had a moment of clarity...I Love The Game. It is far from perfect...I'll grant you that. I still love it, blemishes and all.

To answer all of your questions above: I've spent way too much already, I will continue to spend way too much, upgrading specific units will cost way too much, and I will maintain two sets...V1.0 and V2.0...again I'll be spending way too much money...AND I'll enjoy every minute of it...Isn't Capitalism Great :-)

Good Luck and WOTC will luv ya for it. Hope it works out. Someone mentioned you might want to use some FOW units to sub for anything not in this set that WOTC made in version 1.0

[Marshal Ney]

Good Luck and WOTC will luv ya for it. Hope it works out. Someone mentioned you might want to use some FOW units to sub for anything not in this set that WOTC made in version 1.0

Hadn't really given it much thought to be honest. I like the look of the FOW pieces, but I am not much of a painter...wish I were. One of the things I think was the genius of this game...you can play miniatures at a reasonable investment without having to spend so much time painting the pieces.

Also, the rules are really simple, unlike FOW.

Plus, you think AAM is costly...check out the prices on the pieces for FOW...YIKES!!!.

Oooops...I diverge again...I am beginning to feel like I should submit an application to WOTC for AAM Poster Boy :-)

[Kaufschtick]

Hadn't really given it much thought to be honest. I like the look of the FOW pieces, but I am not much of a painter...wish I were. One of the things I think was the genius of this game...you can play miniatures at a reasonable investment without having to spend so much time painting the pieces.

Also, the rules are really simple, unlike FOW.

Plus, you think AAM is costly...check out the prices on the pieces for FOW...YIKES!!!.

Oooops...I diverge again...I am beginning to feel like I should submit an application to WOTC for AAM Poster Boy :-)

All very good points. Time is the driving issue for most of us, and the biggest strength and attraction of this game. The game saves you time buy not having to paint (if you don't want to, I consider the game as partially painted pieces, I do the detail and decal work myself) and it is easily playable in one evening and easy to learn. All time issues, and that is a direct reflection of the times we all live in these days.

The day somebody figures out the "time issue" and pairs that up with a high quality game with high quality components, they're going to make some serious money. WotC has it figured out, but they just haven't solved the problem of the quality components. Also, they must be used to marketing to kiddie gamers as they don't seem to understand the target market at all for this kind of game.

I'm sure though, that there are other companies out there watching, and have figured out the problems that have hung up WotC.

[Pasalades]

You bet!:) Good luck to you brother, the games too expensive for me to maintain two different games. If I'm spending that kind of money, I want to be able to use all of the pieces in question, not "what set to play tonight" kind of thing.

I can't go the re-buy route either, not at these prices, anyway.The thought of rebuying the same stuff I've been spending too much money on over the last year and a half, over the next year and a half is a "no can do" with me.

Of course, had they picked this scale to begin with or stayed with the scale they were going for from the begining, this wouldn't be an issue.:)

I sold my old vehicles over the spring and summer and folded that into 6 cases of 1939-1945. It seemed to work out for me. Frankly though, I wish I could have sold before the prices went south on the secondary market, but I still came away ok.

[Cruizin2000]

Someone said the planes are larger too. Are they? Are your Spitfires the same size as the old messerschmidt? Can you post any comparison pics? Anything is appreciated. Because my money is staying in my wallet.

They should be "landing" this Weds or Thurs and I'll give you my report once they're here. I don't blame you about keeping your money in your wallet. We long timers here are pretty smart guys.;)

C2K

[Cruizin2000]

All very good points. Time is the driving issue for most of us, and the biggest strength and attraction of this game. The game saves you time buy not having to paint (if you don't want to, I consider the game as partially painted pieces, I do the detail and decal work myself) and it is easily playable in one evening and easy to learn. All time issues, and that is a direct reflection of the times we all live in these days.

The day somebody figures out the "time issue" and pairs that up with a high quality game with high quality components, they're going to make some serious money. WotC has it figured out, but they just haven't solved the problem of the quality components. Also, they must be used to marketing to kiddie gamers as they don't seem to understand the target market at all for this kind of game.

I'm sure though, that there are other companies out there watching, and have figured out the problems that have hung up WotC.


Keep your eyes and ears open concerning Fantasy Flight's new WWII skirmish offering with the World Tank Museum pieces.;)

C2K

[Kaufschtick]

I sold my old vehicles over the spring and summer and folded that into 6 cases of 1939-1945. It seemed to work out for me. Frankly though, I wish I could have sold before the prices went south on the secondary market, but I still came away ok.

One issue I have, that I feel is pretty low down about WotC, is how they went about clearing out the old stock.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who noticed that WotC announced it's "price reduction" on the old set pieces before they announced the scale change.

They knew full well that once they announced the scale change, their existing stock would more than likely fall to zero. So they had a "customer appreciation" sale to clear out their stock before they dropped the scale change bomb. Smacks of unethical business practices to me...but it's all water under the bridge now.