A&A Variant that adds a twist to the game

This is essential for balance; it hardly effects the Allies but enables the CPs to counter Allied sea transport.

If a turn is a year that Berlin-Munich service needs a rocket up the boiler. More than anything, this issue demonstrates the lack of play testing for this game.

I would give America Shipyards and Russia Improved Artillery. I really don’t think Germany or Japan need anything. They have so many territories, which equates to too much income. It should be easier for the Allies and I worry it will not be.

From my previosu thread:

Start date May 1917

The first Russian Revolution has occurred, but really makes little difference to the military situation. So continue using RR rules as normal.

America is at war, so we’ll assume that Germany has already declared USW.

Territorial changes are surprisingly few; I’d say they were:

Assume all aligned neutrals have been activated.

The only non-aligned neutrals violated are:

Persia: contested Turkey & Russia/Britain

Greece: contested Britain/France & Germany(Greeks)

Other tts not under original control:

Picardy & Lorraine: contested France & Germany (BEF in Picardy)

Belgium: German occupied

Poland: German occupied

Livonia & Belarus: contested Russia & Germany

Romania: contested Russia & Austria

Serbia: Austrian occupied

Albania: contested Italy & Austria

Togoland & Kamerun: French occupied

SW Africa: British occupied

Galicia: contested Austria & Russia

Mesopotamia & Trans-Jordan: contested Turkey & Britain (poss Russians in Armenia?)

America gets its draft of X infantry, but only the regular 20 IPCs to spend.

Tanks are available, probably only B & F have any just yet.

Fighters should be up to 3-3 by this stage.

Bombers should just be coming on line for both sides.

Edit: Or possibly consider July 1st 1917 as the start date: in something of an A&A tradition the game begins with a Russian great summer offensive:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerensky_Offensive

This seems like a very interesting system, I’m definitely going to explore this concept with my buddy next time we get a chance. I remember I once tried to play Classic with my friend Oddie using a full fog of war secret move concept. Basically we tried simultaneous phases (ie. all nations purchase at once, then all nations move at once etc.) Roughly modeled things on Risk II’s system (the old cd game by Microprose of the classic RISK boardgame) for “Same Time” Risk.

We used a screen for each player (similar to the old Dungeon Masters screen, a tri-fold that stands upright.) Purchase was planned, written down, and then hidden behind the screen, not revealed until placement. Movement was written down on an index card and kept secret until both players had recorded all their moves. Same thing for Non combat. It was very important in this case to enforce strict separation of game phases, and to write down everything, which was rather involved.

For combat we always rolled the “border clashes” first, so if both players tried to move across the same border (territory to territory) then that combat was always rolled first and both sides as if their units were “attackers.” After border clashes was the normal combat phase for all players, at the same time, with standard attack and defense. Going basically from the left of the board to the right in order.

It was not a terribly successful approach on game balance, since the game is balanced for tbs, but it was fun for a trial. The main issue we had was trying to find a way to take a TBS game, and make it into a “Same Time” game, this necessitates a completely collapsed turn order and more money HRs to work. And after my buddy moved, I just never had anyone around who was motivated enough to try and figure this stuff out.

Trying to do a Same Time Classic game was also the first one where I ever tried to include variable income bonus rolls, and set bonuses to starting cash. Since the turn order advantage was nonexistent, it was necessary to introduce more money for the game to work on a practical level. Basically finding that if you double the starting cash values for each player, and then randomize bonuses thereafter to about double normal income per round, it gave nations enough money to each to basically counterbalance the effect of trying to do all phases at the same time for each nation. (Since everyone is throwing units everywhere, and since the destroyed TUV in round 1 could then be replaced, later in the game, instead of being lost irreparably in the first round.) It was fun, but required a lot of rethinking, in terms of the basics of how the game operates. The "Same Time idea always seemed a better solution for me than a collapsed TBS order that has all Allies going at once, and then all Axis. Same time had it so that all the purchases, moves, combats and placements occurred at the same time for all Nations.

The ideas CWOMarc is suggesting seem like they might offer something similar in the way of secrecy, but without requiring the full “Same Time” dynamic, where everyone does the same phase at once. I’m intrigued to try it out.

As for the cards, I tried my Income bonus rules again last monday, and again I am convinced that Global can support this fairly well. I have yet to introduce the rest of the gamephases into the card game, but feel confident that given the right set up, Axis and Allies can support a random draw mechanic. Just need to keep drafting and testing until I get the right mix

Unfortunately leaving it for a week isn’t an option.  We could take pictures and reset it, but the players tend to change based on who is available.

I like the grand battle idea, we may give that a whirl.

Here is the Dark Grey Minor Set with a Panzer III of each color in front.
Axis minors-250.jpg

Attached are the D12 Unit Rules and National Advantages I use for a 1941 set up of HBG’s 1939 MAP.

National Advantages are a combination of good ideas from this forum over the years.

Unit Stats Global Map D12.xls

I want to make a short game where germany has all the techs and the allies have to kill them both before time runs out… or the allies lose.