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[+]
How do I join a game?
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AWBW has several ways for you to quickly find a game to play in:
Live League / Live Queue: Entering the queue for live games is a quick way to find real-time matches against other players. Both rated (Live League) and casual, unrated (Live Queue) modes are available. Players in queue are automatically paired together, and can play a real-time game, usually lasting between 1-2 hours. This is a great way to immediately jump into a game that you can finish in a single sitting.
Global League: Global League is the best way of finding competitive matches against opponents of similar skill. Like Live League, these games are rated, and will also affect your official rating and win-loss record displayed on your profile page. However, Global League games are asynchronous, meaning they are played with more lenient timer settings, and are usually played over the course of several days in many sittings.
Public Games: The public games list contains games created by other users; they can contain a variety of modes and formats, so be sure to carefully read the settings and comments before joining. The games here are available for anyone to join.
The public games list also contains 'Z-Games'. These are script-generated matches with names starting with 'Z - ', listed at the bottom of the page. These games will have various settings for CO bans, unit bans, whether Fog of War is enabled, and so on. Similar to Global League, they are all asynchronous, though with slightly faster settings.
When you try to join an open match, the site will prompt you to choose your CO and country for the match. After you have joined the match, the match will appear on Your Games page, where you can then switch your CO, country, or starting position (if available).
When the game has started, simply click on the game name to be redirected to the game page, where you can make your moves once it is your turn.
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How do I create my own game?
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The most direct method is to click Create Game on the menu. Then follow the steps below:
Step 1: Select a map...
Search All Maps (recommended): Use the Search Maps page to select any specific map preferences you'd like. Once you've chosen your preferences, click the '[Search]' box at the bottom, and sort through the outputted maps for a map you like. Then click '[Create Game]' under Options. This takes you to the page for creating the game.
Your Maps: If you have created any maps on the site using the Map Editor, you will be able to pick one out from here. If you haven't created any maps yet, this area will be blank.
Search a Category: This is meant more as a tool for experienced AWBW users who knows what map they're looking for. But by choosing a category and then a map from the list, you can quickly load up any map. However, for new users, it is recommended that you use the Search All Maps feature to make it easier to pick out an appropriate map.
... or load existing settings.
You can also load up pre-made settings to make creating a game go much faster. For this, there are two options:
Your Settings: If you have saved any personal settings while creating a game, this is where they will be found so that you can pre-load them again any time. If you haven't saved any settings, this area will be blank.
Global League Settings: This is a list of settings currently used for Standard (STD), Fog (FOG), and High Funds (HF) games in the Global League, the premier competitive scene on AWBW. Using any of these will instantly load up settings for a League-approved map with balanced settings, and is typically one of the best ways to find a balanced one-on-one match. However, if you want to see the map before loading it up, it's usually recommended to use the Search All Maps feature instead.
Step 2: Enter the basic game information
Game Name: Self-explanatory. All waiting games are listed alphabetically.
Game Password: If you want your game to be accessible only by your friends, type a password here (you can invite them using the Invite Players button on Your Games page). Otherwise, if you want anyone to be able to join, leave this field blank.
Comment: If you have any extra information to add about your game, simply post it here.
Change Map: If you changed your mind about the map or the pre-loaded settings, clicking this option will take you back to the earlier page to select a new map. Note: All other settings will be preserved if you load in a new map.
Rec'd Settings: Short for Recommended Settings, these are settings used for official competitions such as the Global League, or created by the map creator themselves. If you've yet to pick any options for your game and you're relatively new to AWBW, it may be a good idea to choose one of these settings if available to make the process easier.
All Settings: This lists all available pre-loaded settings that can be chosen for the map in question. Be careful to check the settings carefully when using another player's settings!
Step 3: Select the game settings
See the next section for a detailed explanation of the available game settings.
Step 4: Select the CO and unit bans
CO Bans: This is where you can ban specific COs or even whole tiers of COs from being chosen for the game. (Please note that the top tier, Tier 0, is considered to be the 'broken' tier, and should always be banned if you plan on playing a serious match.)
Unit Bans: This is where you can ban specific units from being built in the game. (It is strongly recommended that you ban Black Bombs and Stealths, as Black Bombs are universally considered to be a game-breaking unit while Stealths can ruin certain maps.)
Lab Units: If there are Labs on the map, this is where you can choose units to be restricted from being built by anyone unless they have a Lab in their possession.
Step 5: Create the game
Create Game: The one you're looking for! Once you're all ready, click this to have your game be created and made open for other players to join. After creating, you can find your game on the Your Games page, or if it's a public game you can also find it on the Join Game page.
Reset: If you made a mistake or aren't happy with your selections, click this to revert everything to their default settings.
Step 6 (optional): Manage your saved user settings
Save Settings As: If you personally like how you arranged the settings and would like to save them for an easy set-up next time, simply give them a name for easy reference and click the 'Save' button.
Load Settings: Use this button to load in settings you have previously saved. Note that this will override any existing options you have selected, including the map, name, and password.
Delete Settings: Delete an existing setting. Be careful, as this cannot be undone!
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[+]
What are the available game settings?
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The available game settings are below:
Tags: Click this to enable all players to choose a pair of COs instead of just one CO. Please note that while this is based on the Tags system from Dual Strike, Tag CO bonuses and Tag Breaks are not enabled on the site.
Weather: Clear weather is standard play and highly recommended, rain and snow affects movement for all units, and random weather alternates wildly between clear, snowy, and rainy weather.
Fog: Turn this on to enable Fog of War and rely on the vision of your units to find the enemy force. If you don't want Fog, leave this off.
CO Powers: Leaving this on will enable day-to-day abilities, CO Powers, and Super CO Powers for all COs. If you turn this feature off, your chosen CO will be nothing more than your avatar for the game.
Funds Per Turn: The amount of funds you get per property. 1000 funds is for standard games, while 2000 funds is common for High-Funds games.
Starting Funds: The amount of funds you get at the beginning of a game. It's standard to leave this at 0.
Capture Limit: This sets the number of cities to be captured as a win condition.
Days Limit: This sets the number of turns a game can have before it is declared over. When the last player's turn ends on the day specified, the player with the most owned properties (including labs and towers) is declared the winner. The game ends in a draw if this value is tied.
Unit Limit: This sets the maximum number of units a player can have at once. No more units can be built (or spawned) once this limit is reached.
Initial Time: This sets the amount of time added to a player's timer at the start of the game. It can be set from 0 minutes to 30 days.
Increment: This sets the amount of time added to a player's timer at the beginning of each turn. It can be set from 1 minute to 14 days.
Max Turn Time: This sets the amount of time allowed for a single turn. Exceeding this limit results in automatic end turn. It can be set from 5 minutes to 21 days.
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How does the game timer work?
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AWBW uses a game timer similar to a chess clock.
Settings:
Initial Time: The amount of time added to a player's timer at the start of the game. It can be set from 0 minutes to 30 days.
Increment: The amount of time added to a player's timer at the beginning of each turn. It can be set from 0 minutes to 14 days.
Max Turn Time: The amount of time allowed for a single turn. Exceeding this limit results in automatic end turn. It can be set from 5 minutes to 21 days.
How It Works:
Your timer is the total amount of time you have for the game. It counts down while it is your turn, and pauses when you hit End Turn.
At the start of the game, your timer is set to Initial Time. At the start of each turn (including Turn 1), the Increment is added to your timer too.
If your timer runs out, you receive an automatic forfeit. Note: if the game uses Live settings (increment less than 1 hour), the timer running out results in an automatic end turn instead of a forfeit.
If a single turn takes longer than the Max Turn Time, you receive an automatic end turn. Note: You receive a forfeit instead if you have not taken an action that turn.
Each player's timer is shown in the Players table. The game header shows the time remaining for the turn ( Turn), and the total time remaining for the player whose turn it is ( Total).
Pause Timer:
In the Game Menu, there is an option to  Pause Timer. If all non-eliminated players select this option, the game will be paused. While the game is paused, the Max Turn Time is automatically set to 7 days (unless it is already >7 days) and all player timers are frozen.
If the timer is paused, it can be resumed if all players select Resume Timer in the Game Menu. Once the timer is resumed, the player timers will continue to count down from their previous values, and the timer will work the same as before it was paused.
Vacation:
Setting vacation allows a player to exceed the Max Turn Time limit in their game. However, the player timers will continue to count down during their vacation, and no time is added to the timer when the player returns. If the turn clock runs out, the player receives an immediate automatic forfeit regardless of vacation status. Upon returning from vacation, the Max Turn Time limit is reset to the lesser of the Increment value or the Max Turn Time limit. See the "How does vacation work?" section for more details.
Examples:
1) Initial Time = 5 days; Increment = 3 days; Max Turn Time = 10 days;
On day 1, each player's turn clock is set to 8 days (5 days initial + 3 days increment). If player 1 takes 1 day for their first turn, their turn clock is set to 7 days + 3 days = 10 days for turn 2. If they take 1 day for their second turn, it is set to 9 days + 3 days = 12 days for turn 3. However, player 1 still only has 10 days max to take their third turn, due to the Max Turn Time limit.
2) Initial Time = Off; Increment = 3 days; Max Turn Time = 5 days;
Each player has 3 days per turn added to their clock, with no extra time given, and each individual turn can take a maximum of 5 days. This means a 2-player, 15-turn game will last a maximum of 90 days (3 days x 15 turns x 2 players).
3) Initial Time = 5 minutes; Increment = 1 minute; Max Turn Time = 10 minutes;
This is the fastest possible setting on AWBW. Each player gets 5 minutes initially and 1 additional minute per turn. No single turn can last more than 10 minutes. The maximum duration for a 2-player game with a Day Limit of 30 turns is 1 hour and 10 minutes ((5 minutes + 1 min x 30 turns) x 2 players).
4) Initial Time = 5 days; Increment = 3 days; Max Turn Time = 10 days;
On day 10, player 1's turn clock is at 12 days. Player 1 sets their vacation flag and returns after 11 days. Player 1's turn clock is now at 1 day, and the Max Turn Time limit is reset to 3 days. Therefore player 1 has 1 day to take their turn before automatic forfeit (and will gain 3 more days at the start of each of their next turns).
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Where can I see the games I'm in?
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The Your Games page on the menu contains a list of every game you're currently playing in. This is also where you can manage your games that are waiting to start, including changing your CO, country, or starting position in the game. It also shows games you've completed in the last 1 week.
Additionally, the Your Turn Games page will show you a list of any games where it is currently your turn.
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When will my game start?
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For any game that was created automatically (this includes Z-Games, Global League games, and tournament games), the game will start automatically once all players are ready. You can see the "Ready" status of all players in your game on Your Games page, next to their username. To set your own status as "Ready", simply click the white "GO" button.
For League and tournament games, the game will also start automatically after a certain interval if both players have not readied. This interval is equal to the boot interval setting for the game (for example, 4 days for Global League games).
For games created by a user, the game must be manually started by the game creator once all open spots have been filled. For your own games, the Start Button can also be found on Your Games page, under the Players list. If the game is a Team game, don't forget to Update Teams before starting the game!
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How do I know when it's my turn?
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You can opt in to receive notifications via Discord or Email when it is your turn in a game. To turn on notifications, simply go to your Settings page, then set 'Receive' and check the box for the type of notification you would like.
The Your Turn Games page will also show you a list of any games where it is currently your turn. A 1 next to the menu button indicates the number of games waiting for you to take your turn; if there is no number, there are no games waiting on you. The Your Turn Games page will also refresh automatically once per minute, so you can keep this page open in the background to be indirectly notified when it is your turn in a game.
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How does the game interface work?
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AWBW's interface is purely point and click, and the game is contained entirely within the browser. There is nothing you have to download or install. If you've played an Advance Wars game, you'll intuitively figure out a lot of how the interface works by treating your mouse cursor like the cursor from the games. Clicking on one of your owned empty bases, for example, brings up the build menu for all ground units.
However, prior experience can't explain everything about how AWBW works, so here's a few details you might miss while playing AWBW for the first time.
Game Board:
Your mouse cursor (or finger on touchscreen devices) effectively functions like the cursor in an Advance Wars title, and clicking on the board is equivalent to pressing the A Button. Clicking on one of your bases, airports, or ports will let you select between all available ground, air, and naval units to build, respectively (note that banned units are not shown, while lab units are shown with strikethrough).
Clicking on one of your ready units will "select" it. From there, you can move your unit to a specified location, using the mouse to draw out the exact path you would like to take, if you so desire. Clicking on an empty tile or property will allow you to issue a command to go to that location and issue either a wait, capture, or attack command as necessary. You can also issue attack commands directly onto enemy units in range without needing to first move the unit to the necessary square.
To take back a selection, simply click on the game board in a different location, and the game will treat that as if you pressed the B Button. You can also click and hold on enemy units or allied units that have taken their action. Each time you click, the display will cycle through that unit's available movement, range of attack, and vision (in Fog of War).
Player Overview Box:
Depending on the size of your monitor, these will be located either to the side of or beneath the main game board itself, and will provide a lot of useful information freely available to you. This includes:
The country each player is using
The CO each player is using (hover over the portrait for a brief summary of any day-to-day abilities)
The amount of time left on each player's clock
Each player's available funds (disabled for opponents in Fog of War)
The amount of charge built up on each player's CO meter (hover to see the value for charge available and needed for CO Powers)
The three numbers to the right of the primary box are, in order from top to bottom:
Unit count
Unit value, factoring in remaining HP left
Daily income
Game Menu:
The bar beneath the game header contains various options and tools. From left to right:
Coordinates: The [x,y] coordinate position of the cursor on the game board.
Zoom: Increase (+) or decrease (-) the current zoom level that the game board is displayed at. This can be varied from 0.5x to 2.9x. The value to the right shows the current zoom level.
Menu:
- Resign: Click this option to forfeit the match. You will be prompted to input your account password to confirm.
- Set Draw: Click Set Draw to offer a draw to the opponent. If the opponent accepts by clicking Set Draw themselves, the match will end in a draw.
- Info: Works the same as the Info option from the original games. This shows all the settings of the current match.
- View: Your display settings. The options are:
- Gridlines: Toggle gridlines on or off. Turning gridlines on can be helpful for differentiating tiles.
- CO Theme: This determines the theme of the CO portraits used in matches. The available options are AW1, AW2, and AWDS.
- Game Theme: This determines the sprite designs used for buildings and units. The available options are AW1, AW2, and Animated, which is an animated version of the AW2 sprites.
- Terrain: This determines the tileset used for maps. The available options are Default, Classic, Desert and Days of Ruin. Default displays the tileset the creator of a map selected for it, the other options override it. Classic displays AW1 or AW2, depending on your AWBW Theme.
- Shoals: Select Classic to use the original shoal designs, or Custom to use custom shoal images added to AWBW to help seamlessly display shoals with surrounding terrain (recommended).
- Animations: Turning animations on will display animations of units while moving across the map.
- Stats: Click this option to view basic game stats, including the funds, kills, and deaths for each player.
- Vision: Available in Fog of War games only. You can Grant Vision to players who you have added as friends, enabling them to see the game with your team's vision. You can also remove players who you have granted vision. Only grant vision to players who you trust!
Pause/Resume Timer: If all players opt to pause the timer, the player clock will be paused. Once the timer has been paused, all players must press resume to resume the timer.
Messages: This is where you can send messages to other players involved in the match.
Log: Only available after Replay has been selected. This will display a box below the game board that lists all actions taken for the selected turn.
Damage Calculator: This can be used to calculate damage values for units in the game. Note that on a desktop, you can hold the 'A' or 'D' key while clicking a unit to automatically set it as the Attacker or Defender, respectively.
Move Planner: This loads the current game into the Move Planner, which allows you to simulate an active AWBW game and plan your moves.
Replay: Open the replay viewer. Use the < or > buttons to scroll through individual actions or turns (in Fog of War, this will only show units visible to you). Click the X to close the replay viewer and return to the game.
Follow:
- Toggle On/Off: Click this to follow or unfollow a match. All games you are following are visible on the Following page of the site menu, and will notify you whenever a new action is taken in the game.
- The number next to the star indicates the number of people following the match.
- The number next to the eye indicates the number of people actively viewing the match currently.
Select Next Unit: If it is your turn, clicking this will select the next unmoved unit or empty base you control on the map.
Tag CO: Only available for tag games. Select this to switch to the Tag CO. Note that this will end your turn immediately!
End Turn: End your current turn. You will then be prompted to confirm.
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How long do games usually last?
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AWBW is designed for asynchronous play with the 'mail chess' concept in mind, where all players of a match take their turns whenever they are available to do so. This means it's not necessary to finish a game in one sitting. Additionally, the players you'll meet and challenge can come from anywhere in the world, so it's not always possible to complete a match in real time as you could in the original Advance Wars games.
For asynchronous games, activity level varies by player, and many players will only take a couple turns each day, so you can expect most typical one-on-one matches to take several days, or even weeks. A common practice on AWBW is to play several matches concurrently to compensate for the slower pace of each individual game. However, real-time games (like those found in the Live League or Live Queue), will move much faster, often finishing in less than 2 hours.
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How does vacation work?
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If you will be away from the site for a few days, setting the Vacation flag allows you to avoid being penalized by the Max Turn Time in your current games. To go on vacation, go to your Settings page, check the Vacation box, then click Update.
While on vacation, your Total Remaining Time (shown next to your name in the player box) is not paused by the vacation flag and will continue to count down as normal. This means you will immediately receive a forfeit if it reaches 00:00:00 during your vacation. However, you will not receive an automatic end turn for exceeding the Max Turn Time. In other words, vacation allows you to extend the length of your current turn, but only if you have enough total time banked. This means that it's important to ensure that you have enough time on your game timer to accommodate your vacation.
If you do not have enough time on your timer to avoid forfeiting, the only option is to request that your opponent pause the timer until your vacation ends. If your timer is paused and the vacation flag is set, you will not forfeit any games in which the timer reaches 00:00:00 until your vacation has ended.
Vacation can last up to 2 weeks. Once you set vacation, you cannot set it again for 6 weeks from when your last vacation started.
In addition, setting the vacation flag will prevent Global League games from being made for you, and automated Tournament games will not be started (note that Global League games that have already been made will still auto-start!).
Vacations can be ended in 3 ways:
Unchecking the vacation box on your Settings page
Exceeding the 2 week maximum vacation limit
Taking an action in any game. This includes moving a unit, activating a CO power, ending your turn, etc. If you take an action in one game, your vacation will end for ALL games. Note that viewing a game, using the move planner, using the replay, editing design maps, etc. will not end your vacation.
When you end your vacation, if the Max Turn Time is lower than the Increment for the game, the Max Turn Timer will be reset to the lesser value of the Increment or Max Turn Time.
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Can I watch other people's games?
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Yes, you can spectate any game that you are not playing in (note that for Fog of War you can not view the game unless a player has granted vision to you). To view another player's game, simply click on the game name (for example, from the player's profile). You can also find a list of all ongoing games on the View Active page, as well as a list of all recently completed games on the View Completed page.
You also have the ability to follow other users' games that you would like to track over time. Simply click the '[+]' button to follow the game. Then you can view the list of games you are following on your Following page. A  icon will appear next to any game that has been updated since you last viewed it.
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Can I watch the replay of completed games?
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If a game has been completed within the last 1 week, the replay is publicly viewable by clicking the "Replay" button while on the game page. This allows you to view the replay for the game action-by-action or turn-by-turn.
However, all replays are deleted from AWBW after 1 week to preserve storage space. If you want to save the replay of a game before it is deleted, you can click Download on the Replay page to download a local copy of the replay. To view the saved replay, use the Upload Replay tool to load the replay back onto AWBW. This will allow you to view the replay for 48 hours. If you need more time, simply upload the replay again.
Note: The limit on upload file size is 2 MB. Therefore long replays of games with multiple players or on large maps might not be possible to upload after saving.
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Are there competitions I can play in?
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AWBW has three main options for competitive play currently:
The first is the Global League, where players compete in a ladder format to move up on the leaderboards. You can read the Rules and Info page for more information. The Global League is great for consistently finding competitive games on balanced maps against players of similar skill, and there are three modes available to play: Standard, Fog of War, and High Funds. Note that these games are created with lenient timer settings, and are intended to be played over the course of multiple days in several sittings.
The second competitive format is the Live League. Like the Global League, players compete in rated games in a ladder format in three modes: Standard, Fog of War, and High Funds. However, unlike Global League, the Live League has strict timer settings intended for real-time games that are finished in a single sitting. This is a great way to quickly find a competitive game that will be concluded within 1-2 hours.
The third regular source of competition is tournaments. You can visit the Tournaments page for a list of ongoing and completed tournaments. Currently the only hosted tournaments are the events in the AWBW Legends Tournaments Series, which holds a single elimination tournament approximately every 2 months, rotating between standard, fog of war, high funds, and one-off gimmick themes. These tournaments are available for any to join who has completed at least 25 games on AWBW.
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Are there resources for improving my gameplay?
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The Basic Strategy Guide is a must-read for all new players. If you are unfamiliar with Advance Wars itself, it's highly recommended to play through the Field Training in the Advance Wars 1 Campaign, as well, as it will provide valuable information on the units and mechanics of AWBW.
For people familiar with the rules and mechanics looking for strategy tips and tricks, the Discord chat is the best place to learn, with many, many different pinned resources and knowledgable people available to offer advice.
There are also a number of AWBW content creators who produce videos and streams that can be incredibly helpful for players attempting to improve their gameplay. It's highly recommended to check out the #featured_content channel on the Discord chat, where creators will regularly post new videos.
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How can I change the displayed armies for players in-game?
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AWBW has a feature that allows you to change the displayed army of any player in a game. To do this, simply click on the country logo next to the desired player's name on the game page, and then select the country you'd like them to be displayed as. Your selections for each game will be saved, so you don't need to set your preferences each time you view the game.
In addition, you can set default armies for you and your opponent to appear as (or for Player 1 and Player 2, if you are not in the game). To do this, go to your Settings page, select your desired options, and check "Enable Default Colors". Note that these defaults will be overridden if you make a different selection while in-game.
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Can I play against an AI on AWBW?
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No, AWBW only offers player vs. player matches. However, it is actually recommended that you play against humans rather than AI to start with. Advance Wars is a deceptively deep game that is most rewarding when you're playing against another human on even odds, rather than against an AI that needs the odds to be strongly in their favor to have a chance. Additionally, playing against AI can actually be considered to be unhelpful and even counter-productive to play against people, because the usual habits that are successful against the AI on the cartridge games can set you back against human players.
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Why are all CO's based on their AW2 versions?
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AWBW is based on AW2, as this was the most current version of AW at the time the site was created. Although extra content has been added from AWDS, the gameplay and CO characteristics follow their AW2 mechanics wherever possible. This means that the COs from AW2 use the versions from that game, rather than AWDS. One notable exception to this rule is Sturm, who uses an amalgamation of the Versus Mode version of Sturm from AW1, the COP from AW1, and the SCOP from AW2.
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[+]
Does AWBW have features from Days of Ruin?
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There are no features from Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (DoR) on AWBW. The gameplay, COs, and units from Days of Ruin are vastly different in functionality compared to AW1, AW2, and AWDS, which AWBW is based on. Implementing them all into the same game setting would require changes to either the AW1, 2, and DS COs to fit the DoR COs, or vice versa, which would drastically alter the changed group's functionality/effectiveness.
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Why does one player have a predeployed infantry?
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In a turn-based strategy game like Advance Wars, there are inherent advantages to moving first. This concept is usually referred to as the 'First Turn Advantage', commonly abbreviated to FTA. While this was never important when playing against the AI, human players are more skilled at capitalizing on this advantage, and therefore it must be countered in some way for fair player-vs-player gameplay. On many maps, a predeployed infantry for the second player is the tried-and-true way to counter FTA, but countering FTA isn't always that simple. For more information on FTA, it is highly recommended to watch the tutorial video: "Game Interface: First Turn Advantage".
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Why are so many COs banned in some games?
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While each CO has their own strengths and weaknesses, not all COs are created equal, and some may become stronger or weaker depending on the style of map being played. As a result, certain COs will naturally be more desirable choices and others will rarely see any use. When some of the stronger choices are banned, this provides the opportunity for weaker COs to be viable, which helps keep games fresh by offering a variety of different CO choices and specialties to employ and defend against. When done correctly, there will be multiple available COs that are equivalently good choices on any given game.
CO ban lists may be set automatically for balance purposes in official games or be based on personal preference in more casual, user-generated games. The CO Tier List is a great resource on relative CO strength within the context of typical 1v1 AWBW matches.
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What does the 'Broken 5' refer to?
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Over the course of AWBW's history, some COs have proven time and time again that they are a cut above the rest. Colin, Grit, Hachi, Kanbei, and Sensei, collectively referred to as the Broken 5, are such COs who have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to defeat any non-broken CO handily except in cases of significant player skill disparity. They've been deemed by the community to be overpowered as a result, and are banned in most matches you'll find on AWBW. It's also important to note that, while they're all considered broken, there is still a great deal of variation in strength between them, which can make it difficult to organize balanced, competitive matches without them being banned.
Other COs can also end up in this category depending on the circumstances. For example, Sturm is frequently banned due to his movement bonuses that let him gain an early, irreversible positioning and funding advantage. Similarly, Javier is considered to be broken if he owns two or more comm. towers due to his Kanbei-like stats without the drawback of increased deployment costs.
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Why are Black Bombs and Stealths banned?
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Simply put, Black Bombs are extremely effective units and, if left unbanned, they dominate gameplay and undermine strategic considerations in competitive matches.
This is primarily due to the fact that they allow the user to deal high amounts of damage without charging the enemy power bar and they are hard to defend against. A key tactic in AWBW is using more sturdy or expendable units to defend your more valuable and vulnerable units, and black bombs counter this strategy extremely well by allowing walls to be broken very easily, dealing or facilitating critical, game-deciding levels of damage in a single turn. Generally, any time a single unit has this great of an impact on the outcome of a match it causes balance and gameplay issues and the unit is banned as a result.
Like Black Bombs, Stealths are sometimes banned to prevent them from dominating the game. Stealths walk a fine line between being a high-priced, tactical unit and an overpowered, game-determining unit, and this can depend heavily on the map. Stealths are inherently powerful units due to the fact that they can hide like subs, making them invisible to the enemy and counterable only by fighters and other stealths. However, unlike subs, stealths have the advantage of traversing almost any terrain and attacking almost any unit in the game for respectable damage. In some cases, such as where opposing airports are too far away from each other, it can be nearly impossible to counter a stealth, and they are banned as a result.
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What happens if one player has multiple HQs?
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On AWBW, you are able to create maps in which a player owns more than one HQ. In this circumstance, losing any HQ results in a loss for the player, resulting in the same effects as losing your HQ normally would (such as transfer of properties to the capturing player).
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How do labs work on AWBW?
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The primary function of labs are for restricting access to lab units (designated during game creation). If a unit is set as a lab unit, it can only be built by players who own a lab. Note that losing a lab will cause you to lose the ability to build lab units until you capture another lab.
Labs can also function as the player's HQ if there are no HQs on the map. The primary differences between labs and HQs are that labs do not provide income or repairs while HQs do and, more importantly, players are not eliminated until they don't own any labs. Losing any HQ results in a loss, while losing ALL labs will result in a loss (but only if there are no HQs).
On maps with HQs, labs are only for lab units. If there are HQs on the map and no lab units set, then labs are purely decorative.
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Why can't I build from my (air)port / What are ghost units?
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Units that do not have an HQ affiliated with them on the map will disappear when a game is started on that map, and become what is known as a ghost unit. Ghost units prevent producing units on those tiles, meaning that you cannot build units from ghosted properties, and Sensei's CO powers will not spawn footsoldiers there. These properties provide income and can be used for repairs, just not building units.
In-game you can always tell which tiles are ghosted by hovering over them with your mouse - a  icon signifies the tile is ghosted. Ports are often ghosted to not only allow resupplying, but also to create a sort of makeshift bridge that both sea and land units can traverse.
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Why is there a landlocked port on this map?
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A port which is landlocked by shoals is intended to be used only for transport units, namely Landers and Black Boats. This allows for more complex land unit gameplay in situations where Battleships or other naval units may be too powerful. Note that a strong ranged unit such as a Battleship or Carrier can still be built as a stationary "turret" if the player so wishes.
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How do black tiles on maps work?
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These black tiles, called "teleport tiles", are the only terrain type on AWBW that does not appear in the main series games. Although AWBW does not accept custom features, teleport tiles were originally a glitch that existed for many years on the site, and now have been turned into a supported feature. Teleport tiles are a zero-cost movement tile that any movement type can move through; however, units cannot stop or be dropped onto them, and it is not possible to see units while they are moving across them. Units traveling over chains of teleport tiles will appear to jump from the first tile to the last in the chain, thus giving them their name.
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Does AWBW have any unique game mechanics?
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The act of loading or unloading a transport unit in AWBW is free and does not take away the transport's ability to act for the turn. This means that a transport unit that has already acted can still load or unload units at any time during the turn. While originally unintended, this bug has now been turned into a supported feature.
Also, while most of the site aims to emulate AW2 as closely as possible, all CO and Super CO Powers will give that player's units +10% attack and +10% defense that turn (as in AW1 and AWDS), as opposed to just giving +10% defense as in AW2.
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How do matches with Tags enabled work?
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Tags are loosely based on the mechanic from Advance Wars: Dual Strike. In a tag match, players select two CO's to be used during the game. Each player has one lead CO and one backup CO. Only the lead CO's day to day abilities affect the game, and only the lead CO can use CO powers. One important difference from the AWDS exists on AWBW: when "tag" their CO, they do not get a Tag Break (second turn). Instead, tagging a CO will immediately end turn and swap the lead and backup CO's.
Note that power charge is not evenly distributed to the lead and backup CO's. Instead, the lead CO receives normal power charge, and the backup CO receives half of the normal power charge. During CO powers, neither the lead nor backup CO receives power charge until the power ends or the lead CO is tagged out. This means that if you tag your CO while the power is active, any effects of the power will no longer be present.
During game creation, CO bans can be individually set for the lead CO slot and the backup CO slot.
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