So have played approximately a dozen games of World at War now (including all versions up to 114) and think it my favourite A&A game to date. That said, I have only played a couple of games of Global, and only the old version that is very much broken.

World at War manages to 'localize' the various conflicts. The sheer size of the map translates to very little cross theatre action (no Japanese planes defending Germany for instance).

My initial thoughts on the multiple capitol system were 'well, if one of the major capitols falls, its over anyway.' nothing could be further from the truth. if as axis you take, say, moscow, you *must* still maintain the initiative (assuming the allies are at all competant) for that 90 ipc boost won't automatically translate to victory. russia will be back in the game in two turns, and you have until then to prove you can take another allied capitol.

the duo japans are awesome. allowing the pacific theatre the 1-2 punch flavour was a brilliant innovation. the dynamics of two major powers acting separately but in concert is of considerable more interest than one monolithic superjapan.

the 'you cannot be strong everywhere' balance was nicely achieved. probably even more important than perfectly even objective chances for both sides, is making sure that one basic strat must come at the opportunity cost of another basic strat. given that there are so many possibilities in WAW, that was no easy task. so well done on that.

as for the overall balance I don't really know. its a reasonable game with a chance for both axis or allies, regardless of which side can be called objectively advantaged. its massive complexity should allow the superior player to win even at an objective disadvantage.

bravo!

I like the sheer size of the map and the complexities of the different theaters. However, I am still struggling to come up with ideas for Italy. I am having trouble figuring out how to deal with the British concentration of forces by Ethiopia. Is it worth it for Italy to hold on to Ethiopia? Should it move forces? I am so stumped on that one. But I love the map and really love that Thailand is involved in this map!

It's my favorite map too, I attempt to play it almost every day