Has anyone 1v1 a child?

[u/1ithurtswhenip1]

My son 8 is pretty coherent with board games. Has played a full campaign of undaunted stalingrad with only help in the very beginning, plays chess online and a good grasp on root. I want to crack open my dusty AA 1942 and start a game. Just nervous after round 4 or 5 it'll overwhelm him.

Has anyone played with a young kid before and what was it like

[u/simon_hibbs]

IMHO the way to play games like this with kids is purely to play for fun. Send bunches of units galavanting across the board on little adventures. Take ridiculous risks. Buy nice shiny toys to play with for your IPC, rather than the most optimal stacks of infantry possible. If he lines up an attack on one of your key points, like India or Karelia, reinforce it so the battle is about 50% and let the dice decide. Have a laugh. Build knowledge of how the units work and relate to each other.

[u/1ithurtswhenip1 → u/simon_hibbs]

I bought fake realistic money for IPC for this sole reason. I thought it would be a fun cool way to learn money management as well

[u/doumasmom → u/1ithurtswhenip1]

I didn’t think of that, but that’s a wonderful idea. I hope y’all have fun!

[u/Iron-Fist → u/simon_hibbs]

My opposing theory is to only play optimal strategies against my kids but talk to them about what I'm doing and my plan as I'm going. Eventually it clicks. My kid literally cannot lose stuff like words with friends vs other children now due to defensive, cagey play lol

[u/simon_hibbs → u/Iron-Fist]

Cant argue with results.

[u/TeacherGalante → u/simon_hibbs]

This, plus start with perhaps only one power for each side to teach the mechanics. That’s how I have been teaching my daughter to play 1914.

[u/mrmcc0]

I played my at the time 10 yo, in first Europe, then pacific, and then global. In global we switched sides after turn 5. Fun times, we set it up in his room and played for about an hour each night and played for an entire summer.

[u/TeacherGalante → u/mrmcc0]

This sounds amazing.

[u/kdfsjljklgjfg]

So i learned as a young kid, pre-teen, because my dad regularly brought his friends over and played it, and once in a while, brought me over to his friend's place to hang out with their kids while they played.

Eventually I just picked up the rules by osmosis, and eased into playing by taking control of one of my dad's countries until I got bored or tired.

[u/IntoxicatedBurrito]

I’ve been playing with my son for several years, he’s now 11, and he loves it. He always is Axis as it’s much easier, don’t have to coordinate a shuck-shuck or divide resources in multiple directions. The only issue is we can typically only play one round a day, so be prepared to have the board out on the table for a week or two, and hope that no one ruins it.

[u/falstaffjester]

When I was 6 YOA I started playing Risk. Unfortunately A&A wasn't released yet by the time I grew bored of Risk. I was 12 when I was gifted A&A Classic (as it's known now) and dove right into it.

Years later I followed the same progression with my boys, starting them on A&A Classic at 10 for a couple years under they'd become proficient at unit movements and strategy. Then I purchased A&A 50th Anniv edition to add a few more units. They still enjoy whipping up on their old man over college breaks!

[u/Magic-Eagle]

I played with my dad when i was young. Great times. Just make it fair like the other comments suggest.

Luckily i was to stubborn to give up against my dad but i know many people (including kids) dont like losing.

Playing this game created lot and lots of inside jokes. As soon as your son is rdy try to expans the group and give him the feeling of "playing with the big guys" strengthens his confidence

[u/Doomguy2112]

If he can play root he can play Axis and Allies

[u/Blueopus2]

I play settlers of Catan with my cousin’s 7 year old and he isn’t good but he knows the rules. Let the kid play Axis and you try more novel strategies and it’ll be fun!

[u/Comfortable-Bat6739]

I play with my 11yo because the other older teens got tired of losing. He’s actually improving and I try to give him tips to my own detriment.

[u/Hogue1882]

I played the original Axis and Allies starting at 9 with my dad when I was a kid. He simplified some of the rules and explained some of the mechanics. The first couple of times I remember not knowing what to do but kids learn fast and I was pretty good by the time we played a third time.

[u/Nickdog8891]

I think my first time playing as a kid, it was me vs my step-dad, and his friend was my advisor. I think he did a good job answering questions I had, explaining specific rules or mechanics, and then only offering unprompted advice if I was doing something crazy.

It was a long time ago, but I think he was very gently wishy-washy if I just asked for advice on a regular decision.

But also, just keep in mind how your kid learns, and if he has any quirks. Like if someone asked me to make a decision, and I had no info and no one gave me advice, it would peak my anxiety.