German map of AA50 (1941) for printing

This is the last one of these I’ll be doing for now (check out my Europe 1941, Europe 1942, and Pacific 1942 games).

Using the 1941 map (the simple version) I turned almost all territories on the western half of the board neutral, removing Germany from the game, as well as decreasing the incomes of the US, the UK, and the Soviet Union.

The Soviet Union, with no capital, cannot build units or collect income, but still has a turn and can use the Siberian infantry in combat as usual. It is recommended that the Soviet player also control another Allied power.

In order to win, the Allies have to capture Tokyo and hold it until the end of the Japanese player’s next turn. The Japanese win by controlling 17 IPCs worth of territory and holding it for a complete round of play (they do not need to be the same territory).

All other rules stay the same.

Let me know if you would like to play this with me!

Axis and Allies Pacific on 1941 map.tsvg

@Skyian_Leader:

Any tips on game/map design? Like things to avoid doing? I might just need to finish up the map and post a photo of it so you experts can actually see it, instead of general assumptions.

The best advice on this will come from the board’s various map-making people, like Imperious Leader.  I’ve never made wargaming maps, but here are a few thoughts for whatever they’re worth.

I personally prefer area-movement maps (like in most of the A&A games) over squares and hexes.  They look more natural to me and better suited (in my opinion) to games that operate at the global/strategic level.  This is due to the fact that, at that level, things like combat and movement and the depiction of the military forces involved occur at a very high level of abstraction – so it doesn’t seem like a good fit to combine this abstraction with the kind of fine-scale movement tracking that hexes offer.  Hexes, to me, only work well for large-scale actions when tracking is a central game element, such as in hunt-the-Bismarck type games.  On another point, I find it annoying that hexes only allow straight-line movement in six of the eight main compass directions.  Hexes are better than squares in that regard (since squares only allow straight-line movement in four directons), but they still don’t permit movement in one of the two diagonal axes.

One idea you might want to consider, on the issue of map zone size adequacy, is to use a split-representation system along the lines of the “task force markers” that were used in the original A&A Pacific game.  In such a system, the plastic sculpts corresponding to a particular group of forces are placed off the game map (on a side table) rather than on the map, along with a small numbered identifying marker.  A corresponding marker is placed on the map to mark the position of the force group.  That way, the map sections only need to be big enough to accommodate these small markers rather than a pile of sculpts, and you only need to move the markers from position to position rather than the sculpts.

As a further refinement, you can even use this system (if you’re so inclined) to introduce partial blinding into the game.  This involves keeping your map markers face-down until they make contact with enemy markers (which are also face down).  Before the markers make contact (at which point they are both turned face up), each side knows the composition of the enemy’s various forces (seen via the groups of off-the-board sculpts) and the position of the enemy’s various forces (seen via the map markers), but remains unaware of which group of sculpts corresponds to which map marker. This makes possible the element of surprise, which is absent in a conventional A&A game in which you can always see every detail of the enemy’s forces.  The old Stratego game works a bit like that, in the sense that you know what pieces the enemy has and you know where on the board the enemy has pieces, but you don’t know the specific unit type of each piece until you make contact with it.

Probably Confederate infantry attire would strongly resemble British or French kit, to include either the Adrian, or, even more likely, the Brodie helmet.

One imagines that the Union would take its cues from the Germans, or, even more likely, the Russians, meaning either no helmet, or else some version of the stahlhlem. It’s also possible that one might see a distinctive steel hat more akin to the M1, or even a kind of “stovepipe” or “top hat” in steel.

I’m trying hard to think up certain National Advantages. Perhaps Confederate cavalry would be able to execute a kind of blitzkrieg. Would it be likely that a nation without much native automobile production, but having to cover a long border with a relatively small standing army, would develop a heavy emphasis on motorization?

As early as Bull Run, both armies were learning the military value of railroads.

Try out this variant on that map

http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=22563.0

I got a little greedy with this poll.  I voted for 8 pieces.  All 4 aircraft types are a must, plus the V-1 and V-2 rockets.  The Atlantic Wall gun emplacements seem like an interesting idea.  That would make it harder for the Allies to get back into Europe.

How about the Railway Gun?  You could make a piece like the monsterous Gustav 800mm gun.  What a cool piece that would be.  I wonder how you would actually deploy it in the game and what kind of values you would give it (movement, cost, attack, defense).  Perhaps it wouldn’t be a combat piece, but something more special like SBRs.  What a gun!  800mm is about 31.5 inches in diameter.  The massive guns on the Iowa class battleships are 16 inches.  Well, a piece like this may not be feasable, but an interesting idea nonetheless.

I love maps made out of actual maps.  Nice work crusaderiv!  +1  (now 7)

Ok have correct map and 1939 rules with AA50 rules. its set up.I have set up chart. just want to know if you can direct me to the setup chart  so i have correct one. and there is no Dutch troops on Java, and rest of islands except destroyer and transport in sea zone 38 and the troops in Mongolia are not Dutch. if not i’ll get different army for that.