So if the Alpha setup becomes standard…...

Yep. Global has issues.

I wish the allies had more NOs and japan too, but it would make things more complicated. Maybe just nix a germany or italy NO.

Nice detail Jerc, I will need some time to read it, but I will get back to you with my 2 cents.

@Cmdr:

Spend 6 IPC to take out the Russian NO, Wrath.  A submarine in SZ 125 takes away the objective as well as a destroyer does.  It also requires the allies to send a destroyer to go kill it, instead of using only planes.

A submarine isnt a war ship according to our definition of the rules but I wont argue about that. The price of 8 ipc is still worth it.

Russia was buffed in Alpha 2 because many Axis players blew their strength on England, dedicating all of their power to taking it out and thus, not having enough to hit Russia with.  Now that England is no longer a prized posession, but more of a “well, I need one more VC to win, and it is underdefended” move, Russia is getting really easy to take out.

Dont care if russia is buffed, Germany is so much more buffed with their extra planes and units, thats why I find that theather a bit balanced.

Looking ONLY at the game board for the first 3 rounds (bringing you to Germany Round 4, Purchase New Units) one can see that the Axis are more than double Russia’s strength with more than double their income.  That means England and India need to be focused on sending reinforcements to Russia to prevent them from falling (and thus, negating the need to block SZ 125).  With the NonAggression arrangement being virtually nullified, there is no reason not to invade early and heavy with Japan and more reason TOO do it, to remove even more IPC from the Russians. 
So yes, Wrath, I agree, Barbarossa is probably the better avenue and makes Victory more assured, not assured, but more than attempting Sea Lion.    I don’t see Russia ever getting their Objectives (any of them).

If you go after russia on round 4 as germany you are to late imho, you are better off attacking round 2 (with a fake attack on yugoslavia) or on r3.

It is an interesting idea, but your explanation points to why your solution may not work.

Here is the jist of your suggestion, I think.

The USA has lots of CVs and BBs because they can afford it.  They are using them to soak hits because they have so many, so lets add a modest repair cost to stop that.

Here are my thoughts:

The problem is that the USA is the only power in the game (most of the time) that will shrug off the repair costs.  So you may actually make things worse for Japan in particular who would be much more affected by paying those costs.

Also your suggestion that a 1 IPC will deter a player from willingly taking hits from their capital ships right away is a bit confusing.  The next cheapest option is to lose a 6 IPC sub.  So a 1 IPC cost isn’t really going to change things.  But as was pointed out earlier, Naval bases are quite pricey as is and the need to pull back a damaged fleet is still a bit of a deterrent.  I think I’m OK with the rules as is.

Thanks for trying them out, and PLEASE help me correct the errors that you find!  Just post them here or on BGG and I’ll upload new versions as soon as they are fixed.

Also, I like the idea of adding in a sheet or two summarizing some of the rules changes to submarines, SBR, etc.  I plan on doing this.  Have any suggestions of things that should be covered, let me know.

Also, keep in mind the NO descriptions are meant to be reminders, not an exhaustive description.  They should be helpful but may not explain everything needed due to space constraints.  However, if you are finding any of them misleading then let me know.

EDIT:  Ok I did a check and found a couple major errors, my sincere apologies to anyone who printed these!  I have taken down the file and submitted a new one that I believe is 100% accurate, its waiting for approval.

EDIT:  February 3, ok new files have been approved and are available at the link above.

Hi, was wondering if anybody had the alpha 2 setup pics anywhere??

Many thanks

@calvinhobbesliker:

Can fighters from Scotland reach  Gib? it looks to be 5 spaces away.

Calvin it’s actually 3-4 spaces away!  I haden’t even considered adding the Scot fig to al Taranto battlbe…  yikes… ait may not be as favorable for Italy as I think… need to play this out again tonight.

And keep in mind that alpha is not the final setup. Larry has expressed doubts that something is wrong with alpha and is waiting for someone to “break” the alpha setup. Hopefully, at the end of all this, we will get a setup that is as balanced as possible