Hello there.

So I recently decided to get Axis and Allies 1942 Second Edition.

I have run into two problems. One is my cat, Plato, running around the board. Thank god he didn't eat any of the pieces yet.
The second is the rules. So here it goes:

1. Is the IPC counter on the top equal to the IPCs I have currently, or how many I receive each turn?
2. In combat, if the attacker is outnumbered by defenders, what do the leftover defenders do?
3. Can one attack with both air and land forces from the same territory against the same territory? (I have 3 tanks and a bomber in France. I plan on attacking Italy. Do I attack with everything as a whole, or first tanks, then bombers?)
4. Can units on the same team stand in one province and attack together? (I have 3 british troops in Finland and two Soviet troops as well. Do the Soviets attack with the British or first Soviets, then British?)
5. If we have 4 people playing, how do you consider splitting up the powers? (they are Germany, US, USSR, UK, and Japan).

1. You do not keep IPCs. They all go away at the end of the turn, so spend em when you have them. The counter on the board represents how much you get per turn.

2. It isn't like risk. Everybody involved in the attack or defense is still rolling. You roll until they have no units left or attackers retreat. Not sure if this answers your question.

3. Yes, in fact your air forces stay at that territory until the noncombat phase and then you move them using remaining moves to a territory you didn't take this turn. You attack all at once. Just know, that all combat MOVES are done in one phase, then you carry out the combat in the next phase. You don't move then attack, you make moves for all your attacks, then you handle the conclusions.

4. Allied pieces can defend spaces together, but they cannot attack together. You either attack with soviets on the Soviet turn, or attack with British in British turn. If Germany attacked that territory, soviets and British defend together!

5. I'd split the 4th player as Britain and US or Soviet and Britain. Britain is a roadblock, the way I've found it to be. So it's kinda boring to play it alone. Also, you don't want the guy playing the axis to feel like he is isolated or hated by the group. That said, if he is completely fine with it, you could go ahead and make 1 guy Germany and Japan. I personally recommend Brit+Soviets.

Once you understand the way the combat works, you pretty much got the game down. From that point, that's where people add special things to make it more interesting.

I personally have trouble with IPC concepts though.

Thanks.

Disclaimer: I have only played Axis and Allies 1941, so I have no clue if my questions are only due to my ignorance of the version differences.

I thought you could "stockpile" IPCs, so if I get 13 IPCs a turn, and I don't build on my first turn, I get 13 more and have a total of 26 IPCs "saved up". Also, I recently played a 4 person game where I was the Axis, and it was incredibly fun, but I think playing 3v1 is only a good idea if you have somebody who can take the mindset of being against everybody, then let it go after the game. I somewhat like the 4th person having USA+Soviets, especially with less experienced players. I find that Britain has the most power to influence both the European and Pacific theaters of the war, and teaming Britain with Soviets often leads to a complete focus on Germany, leaving the USA and Japan isolated, while Britain + USA often leads to a focus on Japan, leading to a Europe with an extraordinarily defensive Britain. Either way, the game devolves into two 1v1s, which is less fun. Of course, if the people you're playing with have a good understanding of the game's strategy, most splits end up being fine. To sum up that complicated jumble of thoughts up: here's a tldr

TL;DR: inexperienced players tend to play as if their two countries were one country. When Britain (a flexible Ally) is played as if it was part of a less flexible ally (USA or USSR), the game becomes two boring 1v1s. With more experienced players, this is not a problem.

Yeah I'm not sure how it works exactly. Still, i find that the best way is just to spend all your IPCs