League Global 1940 2nd edition non-ranked Team Tournament

[crockett36]

@Stucifer said in League Global 1940 2nd edition non-ranked Team Tournament:

I have picked @mikawagunichi’s brain quite a bit and played live with him. @crockett36 fancy playing this team round with me?

Yes, of course!

[gamerman01]

You are now paired up on the signup sheet.
We have 6 so far and will not start until we have at least 8.

I’ll wait a little longer before I try recruiting.

[gamerman01]

Posted siren’s call on League discussion thread just now

[gamerman01]

While waiting for 2 more participants, I’d like you to consider my proposed starting setup for a 2v2

Allies are further handicapped by lack of coordination.
Not that we are trying for a perfectly balanced game, it’s about the fun, not the end result so much.

In a 1v1, players tend to bid between 40 and 60 IPCs to add to the board for the Allies.

Slow down the Japs, make it a little more realistic, maybe
I think we can take off

fighter removed from Okinawa,
tactical removed from Japan

Add
Infantry to Chahar
Infantry to Anhwe
Infantry to Hopei
Infantry to India

And Europe handicap

Add
DD to 101
Infantry to Egypt
DD to 91
DD to 110
Transport to SAF (71)
Infantry to Ukraine
Infantry to Russia
Fighter to East Poland - Germany destroyed 2000 planes in a single day, June 22, 1941. The game starts in 1940.

That’s 83 if you’re counting, but not where any player would put a 83 bid, so is not as powerful as a discretionary strategic 83 but strong enough to reasonably balance the sides.

[gamerman01]

Here’s how AI synthesized my setup ideas, just for fun

🛡 G40 2v2 Variant: Coordinated Resistance

A historical balance tweak for two-player teams in Axis & Allies Global 1940

📜 Purpose

This variant addresses inherent coordination challenges in Allied 2v2 team formats. Since Germany and Japan benefit from more focused strategic alignment, this proposal introduces modest unit boosts for the Allies to reflect historical deployments, improve survivability, and sustain competitive pacing.

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🎲 Setup Adjustments

Each change adheres to the “1 unit per territory/zone” guideline.

🌊 Pacific Theater

Nation	Territory/Zone	Unit Change	Historical Rationale
China	Szechwan	+1 AA	Simulate Flying
China	Hunan	+1 AA	tiger devastation of
China	Shensi	+1 AA	Japanese air
China	Chahar	+1 infantry	Represents local resistance and rearguard
China	Anhwe	+1 infantry	Delays Axis advance toward central China
China	Hopei	+1 infantry	Strengthens northern front line
UK (Pacific)	India	+1 infantry	Helps sustain Burma Road defense

🌍 Europe Theater

Nation	Territory/Zone	Unit Change	Historical Rationale
UK	SZ 101	+1 destroyer	Bolsters Atlantic convoy defense
UK	Egypt	+1 infantry	Reinforces defense against Italy
UK	SZ 91	+1 destroyer	Slows Italian fleet mobility
UK	SZ 110	+1 destroyer	Adds protection vs German naval threat
UK	SZ 71 (S. Africa)	+1 transport	Enhances reach into East Africa / India
USSR	Ukraine	+1 infantry	Bolsters defense on Dnieper front
USSR	Russia (Moscow)	+1 infantry	Strategic depth for capital defense
USSR	East Poland	+1 fighter	Reflects pre-Barbarossa Soviet air presence

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🧠 Gameplay Rationale

• Historical Anchoring: Each unit placement references plausible pre-June 1940 deployments or logistical positioning.
• Balance Correction: Enhances Allied survivability without nullifying Axis initiative.
• Team Dynamics: Supports distributed Allied coordination across two players, mitigating decision friction.

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📝 Submission Notes

This variant was inspired by recurring imbalances in competitive 2v2 matchups and aligns with existing tournament bid frameworks (40–60 IPCs typical). It’s designed to remain compatible with official rules, requiring only setup tweaks rather than structural overhaul.

[Booper]

@gamerman01

Very cool concept. I had always just thought we’d do the tried and tested bidding for Allies, but open to new ideas. How were you envisioning sides be chosen, coin flip? Or do we run it 2x, each team plays 2 games swapping sides the 2nd time?

My initial thought on the setup, is subtracting the 2 planes from Japan may have a bigger impact than anticipated. Japan usually just needs to buy Carriers to defend the Pacific, but lacking the planes will be costlier early on.

[crockett36]

I love it. Doesn’t wreck the initial Allied disaster. Yet strengthens operation ricochet.

[crockett36]

The current bid system is stale, historically inaccurate and spoils the brilliance of Larry’s set.

I have issues with Larry’s set up. Japan is really on a 41 war footing. Germany should be completely concentrated on taking France and not ending up in a 4 year stalemate. France could be strengthened with 6 more infantry, 1 fighter, 1 anti-aircraft. 93 with a sub.

I love what you did Gamerman01!

The other possibility 10 more infantry for Russia, 6 more China. 6 more Britian (2 in London, Africa, Asia).

[gamerman01]

Thanks guys!! Means a lot

I’d say coin flip unless one side objects, then they could bid starting off that set up I put out there, but it’s not a very competitive little tournament so coin flip is encouraged.

@Booper You are not the first to tell me that Japan needs every single plane they start with so you are in very good company! (I mean in times past, not others commenting on this tournament setup)

If I don’t take away those planes, I’d be adding about 20 more to the Allies, albeit not necessarily in the most strategic spots. Some people hate the idea of taking anything off the board for starting setups, I understand.

I am not one of those people. But if you’d like to propose an alternative to two less Japanese planes (they have like 19 + 2 bombers?!) I did put this out there for ideas.

Thank you for being patient, guys, we’ll get 2 more and then could start. I’m not in the arm-twisting phase yet. Feel free to recruit.

[crockett36]

@gamerman01 i’m from Allied headquarters so take the planes

[gamerman01]

I wanted to take more.

[Jacob16]

Hey I’m not too sure whats going on here but I would be willing to play in any team games! I do not have any teammates right now though.

[gamerman01]

OK, I can add you to the sign up and if you’re in, we only need 1 more

Don’t worry about a pairing, you’ll get it

Although we could start and the one side of the bracket just wait,
Let’s wait for the 8th for more options for making teams

[gamerman01]

Oysteilo and mikawagunichi are not paired yet, and we’ll have one more player before we start, so 3 possibilities for each of you

[Booper]

@gamerman01 said in League Global 1940 2nd edition non-ranked Team Tournament:

Thanks guys!! Means a lot

I’d say coin flip unless one side objects, then they could bid starting off that set up I put out there, but it’s not a very competitive little tournament so coin flip is encouraged.

@Booper You are not the first to tell me that Japan needs every single plane they start with so you are in very good company! (I mean in times past, not others commenting on this tournament setup)

If I don’t take away those planes, I’d be adding about 20 more to the Allies, albeit not necessarily in the most strategic spots. Some people hate the idea of taking anything off the board for starting setups, I understand.

I am not one of those people. But if you’d like to propose an alternative to two less Japanese planes (they have like 19 + 2 bombers?!) I did put this out there for ideas.

How about giving China a tac, instead of taking the 2 planes away from Japan. I think this would be (A) more historically accurate, as there were enough Flying Tigers to fill an aircraft carrier (represented in game by 2 planes), (B) give China more offensive options (planes fight in 2 separate battles or together), and © be something never before played in OOB!

Just a thought - open to feedback as well.

[gamerman01]

Fascinating idea,

When I looked at the flying tigers years ago, the thing is they didn’t find in coordination with Chinese infantry, they were more strategic bombers going after bases and such.

Looking it up again now,
Mission and Combat Role
The Flying Tigers were tasked with:

• Defending Chinese cities from Japanese air raids, especially Kunming and Chongqing.
• Escorting supply convoys along the Burma Road.
• Engaging Japanese aircraft in tactical air battles using hit-and-run diving attacks, exploiting the P-40’s speed and durability.

Combat Achievements

• First combat: December 20, 1941, over Kunming—downed 9 Japanese bombers.
• Total enemy aircraft destroyed: 296 in just seven months of combat.
• Losses: Only 14 AVG pilots were lost in combat during that period.

Looks like they kicked butt, but they weren’t used in coordination with Chinese ground forces and their targets weren’t Japanese ground units.
Looks like I could make an argument to take the flying tigers off the board, and another Japanese fighter along with it?!

You can tell an American designed A&A sometimes lol

[Booper]

@gamerman01

How about this alternative - sprinkle 4 AA guns for China - say in Szechuan, Yunnan, Hunan, and Shensi.

This could result in some J1 losses of Japanese planes, and we wouldn’t need to take away the Japanese fighters.

For some reason my preference is not to subtract from the initial setup, but to add to it.

Just brainstorming some ideas here. Fun discussion!

[oysteilo]

I think @gamerman01 suggested set up favours allies. Seems that way, but i also thought a bid was required for axis in BM3/4 when it first came out. Gamerman01 knows what he is talking about so lets just go with his set up. I encourage that, but all discussions are fun and ood to read,

[Booper]

@oysteilo

Yes, I agree that it appears to favor allies as well. Was going to suggest we solicit feedback from some of the top players, like the finalists of OOB for the last few years.

This could be the beginnings of a very nice “standard” OOB setup that @crockett36 has been advocating for over the years.

[gamerman01]

<sigh> you are among the vast majority of players, booper, I am the weird one.

I will fully adopt your idea to do 4 Chinese AA and leave the Japanese planes alone. I’m not sure you said this, but that kind of simulates the tigers’ effect, and we’ll just let Larry have his purple planes.

You guys make me feel great. Yes it favors the Allies on purpose, because in team play the Allies suffer a bit from coordination between players, like all A&A games.

Nice standard setup?! I’m flattered. I know I didn’t put in as much thought and it’s not as sophisticated as @AndrewAAGamer so I just want to say right now it’s not on that level.
But I’m very pleased Andrew independently has similar ideas to me as to strengthening India and China since the Axis are favored in the game and therefore we can be more historical/realistic in that way.
Always remembering that there are real limits to making A&A historical but that when you could go two different ways, why not lean historical