1914 map tweaks

[Flashman]

The idea is that the VCs are two spaces apart, joint capitals excepted. For example, if Germany captures Warsaw it becomes a lot easier to move forces into eastern Europe (i.e. from Berlin to Warsaw by 2 space train move). Verdun performs a similar role in the west. These provide major targets to fight over, rather than a simple one space at a time slog towards the enemy capital.

The VCs are primarily goals for the Central Powers; the number they hold after any given turn determines how well they’re doing at that stage, and can determine a “winner” for a game that has to stop there.

The few CP home VCs are really to make them guard against silly mistakes; if the Allies start capturing and holding places like Cologne and Budapest they’ve pretty much won already. But its the number held by the CP that determines success, not the greatest number overall.

I prefer this over Larry’s “economic victory” because it can reflect the fact that the CPs are in essence the “attacking” alliance in the early game; under EV its a virtually certain CP win, allowing them to just take a few objectives and then defend them until time runs out. Under VCs, they have to keep attacking.

[Chacmool]

Why is it a fact that the CPs were the “attacking alliance”? The Entente wanted to conquer CP-tts even more than CPs wanted French/Russian soil.

Biggest joke of the game is that it gives the impression that even AH is the aggresor against Italy, wtf?!

First soldiers that crossed the borders in 1914 were Russians. Russia made the first attacks in East Prussia and in Galicia.

Same in the west where french frontierguards entered the Sundgau before the German Mobilization was even finished.

France wanted to regain Elsass-Lothringen and wasnt expecting that the Germans overrun Belgium and its fortificatians as quick as they did. (GE had no other choice to do so, Belgium was not THAT neutral and was willing to allow the french and british army a march through while in the east 1.2 Million Russian soldiers marched towards Berlin/Vienna)

As LH would say, this is not WWII…

I prefer to have a 12 Round game with more historical rules (Mobilization of Minor Powers, Italy/USA in special (later) Rounds)

If CPs don´t manage to take over Paris or London they´re doomed. fact. Like in the real war. These are the only VCs for the CPs together with Rome or Petrograd/Moscow. Do you believe there would have been a rightful peace under other circumstances for example if CPs hold Verdun, Warzawa, Venice and Kiev? No way. Only thing here is to give GE a better Starting Set up (for example 4 Inf for Kiel, 3 Art for Hannover and esp. some more for Ruhr) and let them play this game against time with some kind of a chance untill US is feelable on the western front. The CPs have no time to waste because the 4 countries are economically outclassed against the rest of the world.

I am more interested in your rules regarding the two Capital Cities of Russia, the Russian Revolution and reds vs whites.
What do you think of the possibility of Mexico invading the US?
Even USW and Askari needs to be talked about. Which tts in Africa should have an Askari sign? I was thinking about placing one Inf. per turn for every Round of play. (like the other Inf worth 3 IPC otherwise BE produces Askari in Egypt and attacks OE with this “cheap” Inf.)

[Chacmool]

I am not clompletely done with my german game map. (still have to work on Africa and Mid-East)

Made a connection of Petrograd and Belarus.

2 new tts for AH.

[Chacmool]

**Possible Starting IPCs:

OE (13):
Constantinople 3
Smyrna 2
Ankara 2
Armeinia 1
Mesopotamia 2
Syrian Dessert 1
Trans Jordan 1
Hejaz 1

Aligned:
Bulgaria 4
Kufra 1

Italy (17):
Rome 3
Piedmont 3
Venice 2
Toscana 2
Naples 2
Sicily 1
Tripolis 1
Cyr 1
Somalia 1
Eritrea 1

Russia (29):
Finland 2
Karelia 1
Petrograd 2
Livonia 2
Poland 3
Belarus 2
Moscow 4
Ural 1
Ukraine 3
Sevastopol 2
Don 2
Volga 2
Caucasus 2
Kazakhstan 1

Aligned:
Romania 3
Serbia 3

Germany (38):
Berlin 6
Hannover 3
Prussia 4
Silesia 4
Ruhr 6
Kiel 4
Munich 4
Alsace 3
Kamerun 1
Togo 1
East Afr 1
South West Afr 1

Aligned
Mexico 3

USA (42):

Washington 37
Texas 5

Aligned
Liberia 1

Austria (26):

Vienna 6
Budapest 6 (4 if Transylvania 2)
Tirol 3
Triest 4
Bohemia 4
Galicia 3

Britain (33)

London 6
Canada 4
Scotland 2
Ireland 1
Yorkshire 2
Wales 3
Egypt 2
Marmorica 1
Sudan 1
Darfur 1
Br. East Africa 1
Rhodesia 1
South Africa 1
Gold Coast 1
Nigeria 1
India 4

Aligned:
Portugal 2
Greece 2
Arabia 1

France (25)
Picardy 2
Lorraine 2
Paris 6
Brest 2
Bordeaux 2
Marseille 2
Burgundy 2
French Marocco 1
Algeria 1
Tunesia 1
Senegal 1
Ivory Coast 1
Madagascar 1
French Aequatorial 1

Aligned
Belgium 3

Neutrals (only changes):
Switzerland 6
Albania 1
Spain 6**

[Flashman]

New thought:

Constantinople:

As it stands, an Allied fleet could sail from SZ 19 to SZ 20 and invade Armenia; or from SZ21 to invade Greece. This seems wrong; somehow the Ottoman capital should block this movement.

So why not move the SZ border to lie between the two halfs of the tt, much as Egypt controls the Suez canal:

[Chacmool]

Like it. With this new arranged SZ Constantinople (Gallipoli) is also easier to attack by the MEF.

Will Smyrna keep the port or should the sign be moved to (Western-)Constantinople ?

[Flashman]

Mmmm, I still think Turkey should have minefields either side of the straits, so keep the base. But perhaps place it in Constantinople (i.e. Gallipoli), so the Allies cannot take Smyrna by land and thus avoid dealing with the mines during an AA on the capital.

Also mocked up a division of Greece, solving the alignment problem. This gives us pro-Allied Macedonia (which had been part of Greece for less than a year), and pro-German Greece. Or if you prefer Salonika & Athens.

An “activation” of one part automatically counter-activates the other; e.g. if the Allies land a unit in Macedonia, activating it for the Allies, then southern Greece automatically joins the CPs and places units without the need for the CPs to move a unit there.

But, as you say, we can go on subdividing areas forever, and you may consider this to be a move too far.

Incidentally, don’t you find it a help to have mines printed on the map?

[Chacmool]

I use tiny wooden dices in red and blue for naval mines which can be removed when the naval base is captured.

At least when we include Macedonia, we have to think about Montenegro too.

Was there real fighting between pro royalist army and the pro-Entente Macedonian units?

Could you give me some IPC-Points I could use for the Map? (1-8, 37)

What do you think about Mexico, attacking Texas and getting some Infantry every Round they manage to survive? How strong should it be? IF the Mexicans agreed to the German offer, would it have the US keep away from Europe for some Rounds/months?

[Flashman]

Since the USA might come under threat, what about dividing it up a little more?

[Flashman]

The most obvious anomaly with this map remains that of the original: Berlin is still closer to Moscow than it is to Paris (assuming you go through the most plausible route).

How does reducing Russian tts to the same physical size of French/German areas effect the game?

Is it fatal, as it means Germany/Austria have no chance of defeating Russia in time?

Can this problem not be solved by the implementation of

a) rapid (unlimited) rail movement between important centres allowing reinforcements of distant fronts

and

b) use of political collapse rules including casualty factors (that is Germany can defeat Russia without having to occupy Moscow, or come anywhere near it; the Allies can defeat Germany without having to occupy a single foot of German home soil?

[Chacmool]

Like you suggested I have changed the US tts. I also made Germany feldgrau (for your own palette r:77 g:93 b:83)

was it intentional that you changed the border of SZ 8,9 at Picardie?

possible IPC Points for Minors and Neutrals:

Spain 4
Switzerland 4
Bulgaria 4 aligned to OE
Sweden 4 (3)
Norway 4 (3)
Mexico 3 (4)
Romania 3 aligned to RU
Serbia 3 aligned to RU
Albania 1
Macedonia 1 aligned to BE
Greece 1
Portugal 2 aligned to BE
Abyssina 1
Belgium 3 aligned to FR
Netherlands 2
Denmark 2
South Arabia 1 aligned to BE
Persia 1
Afghanistan 1
Kufra 1 aligned to OE
Liberia 1 aligned to US

I am still not sure about Sweden, Norway and Mexico as you can see…

Any suggestions?

[Flashman]

few changes:

Yes, the SZ 8/9 border is deliberate; I don’t want the Americans offloading straight into Picardy - historically they offloaded at Brest. Cough.

Added another West Russian tt.

Did you decide against the change to Constantinople & sea zones?

[13Foxtrot]

Flashy,
Barindo doesn’t like it, but Norway land locks the northern part of Finland. Check out any map of Finland. This prevents silly Brit invasions.

13F

[Flashman]

I chose to use a “4 corners” solution because I didn’t like units moving straight from Norway to Karelia.
Alternatively there could be an impassable arctic region up there.

[Chacmool]

Latest version of my German Game Map

Can´t wait to get it printed in XXL…

[Flashman]

Nice.

Just in case you didn’t pick up on it, my suggestion for dividing Greece was that the southern part was essentially pro-German (with its German monarch), while Makedonia (with its pro-Allied President) is pro-British.

In case you have an interest in Ancients, I’ve started a thread on HGD about a possible new version of Conquest of the Empire, recently mooted by Larius:

http://www.harrisgamedesign.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=18463

Your comments on the map posted there would be welcome.

[Chacmool]

Thank you Flash, at the moment I am spending all my freetime on this WW1 map but I will look for it in the future.

[Chacmool]

Added Cuba, Gallipoli, Anatolia and Spain as a 9th power (which maybe gets activated when Portugal declares war on the Central Powers or if Mexico overruns Texas)

As miniatures I am hoping for HBG which will bring out a set of neutrals soon, but for now I was thinkinking about painting Austrian or Italian units red.

Which ones would fit better?

Still not sure about the seize of Baltikum/Ukraine…

[Flashman]

Not sure about Spain as a power, but then Turkey is questionable.

If you do, give Spain a small navy and a naval base at Cadiz (Andalusia).

[Chacmool]

Did it !

What do you mean when you say small navy? Two cruiser and one transport?

This new seazone changes a lot esp. for US trying to move troops to Italy…

Round 1 will often see Austria moving its navy to SZ 17 to block France getting their colonial troops to the westernfront

I like this new setting very much!