From: "David S. Bieksza" <bieksza@aplcomm.jhuapl.edu>
Subject: Re: Anzio

On Mon, 11 May 1998, An-Jen Tai wrote:

> Could someone give me a summary of what the differences were, other than the
> rulebook, among the four editions of Anzio?

I had the first and second editions spread out last night, and here's 
what I noticed:

- map:  No change (unfortunately!).

- counters:  The major change was a different color scheme.  For example, 
in the first ed. the Wehrmacht units were pink, Luftwaffe red, and SS 
white on black.  (I believe _Anzio_ established the convention of SS 
counters being black.)  In the second ed. the respective colors were 
gray-green, medium blue, and (still) black.
	There was also some minor changes to the counters themselves.  
For instance, the second ed. put the stacking size on the counter, so you 
no longer had to memorize that.  Furthermore, the stacking number was in 
one location on the counter for a full-strength unit and in a different 
location for a reduced-strength unit.

- playing aids:  The first ed. had a bunch, most notably a time card and
Allied/Axis order of battle cards that were close to the size of the box
itself.  The second ed. also had a bunch, but uniformly 8-1/2 by 11-inch
in size.  The main improvement in the second ed. was cards on which the 
substitute counters could be organized for quick access -- I drew up my 
own organization sheets to retain my sanity playing the first ed.

- box:  The first ed. had a deep box with counter trays while the second 
ed. had a shallow box with no trays.  The box top for the first ed. 
featured a bizarre drawing of Mussolini's face framed by an outline map 
of Italy while the second ed. featured a line drawing of a landing 
craft.  AFAIK the only change in later editions (apart from the rules) 
was a new box cover illustration.

For the edification of newer grognards, the second ed. of _Anzio_ was
published as part of a short-lived mail-order-only line offered by Avalon
Hill.  The idea at that time was that the mail order line would consist of
less-popular titles, e.g. second editions (IIRC one of the other titles in
this line was the second ed. of _Chancellorsville_) ... but one can't help
wonder if SPI's successful mail order business had some influence. 

-------
Dave Bieksza                 bieksza@aplcomm.jhuapl.edu 
-------
Where monsters rampage, I'm there to take them down ...
Where treasure glitters, I'm there to claim it ...
Where an enemy rises to face me, victory will be mine!
                              - Lina Inverse, "Slayers"