The “Balanced” Mod developed by Regularkid, Adam514 and others, fixes several of the most annoying things about G40 2nd edition and adds several new, very fun things. I only played 3 1/2 rounds of it so far so certainly haven’t got the full taste, but it’s not too soon to recommend it to everyone. My houseruled game will be another mod/variation that will be available some day, but with this variation that is available now, I’m not in a hurry to complete it.
My favorite features:
If the Axis activate the Vichy France government, the Allies have a great opportunity to control some French territory without needing the Axis to take it first. The Axis get a quick boost of taking several French units out of the action early.
China, I think (only 3 1/2 rounds played) will be much more historical. The Burma road NO is appropriately knocked down, and a rule is added that makes it MUCH more costly for Japan to dominate the interior of China. Ever since 2008, AA50, China has been WAY too easy to dominate, which flies in the face of historical reality. Balanced mod addresses this.
Japan/Russia pact is significantly strengthened.
MARINES! Expensive of course, but 1 marine can jump on a cruiser or battleship, which adds many great options.
SEVERAL new NO’s, mostly for the Allies. Russia gets a significant boost, as well as the UK. USA and ANZAC get some significant, though smaller, boosts. No German subs in the Atlantic is a much needed addition to the game.
HOWEVER, I do caution, in my opinion too many NO’s were granted to the Allies and the game is now weighted fairly significantly toward the Allies, despite the name of “balanced” mod…… I’m sure some of the creators of the game would disagree with me. Play it yourself and you be the judge. Don’t tell your friend - just make sure you get the Allies
New NO’s in the Pacific for USA and Japan make nearly every island meaningful in the way of income.
Breakup of NO’s for Japan, UK, Russia to more, smaller ones, reduces the all or nothing dynamics of 2nd edition and benefits Russia and UK, especially, tremendously.
Oh, and last but not least, (another HUGE boost for the Allies…) you can only raid a capital’s IPC’s ONCE and from then on the IPC’s are destroyed (hello, liberation of Paris)
That’s a summary - you’ll want to check it out.