New Production Facilities

Here is 11 of n for discussion of my Classic House Rules

The following are my thoughts on an optional rules section for my Classic House Rules. These rules, and its associated new initial setup, are far removed from the Classic Axis and Allies you may be familiar with. But with the right group I think that this would be a great time. In the mean time, I strategize and theorize.

In this post, I’ll be discussing what I think Axis & Allies units should cost and why. I think that flying units and naval units are too expensive for a game about a war that involved death from above and death from the sea. Now, I’m not arguing that every unit should have the same price. Different units have different abilities and these abilities should come at different costs. But I believe that flying units should have their prices reduced by 1/3rd and naval units should have their prices cut in half.

First, let’s talk about the way things are now. Currently, the base units in Classic Axis & Allies have these costs and abilities (IC is Industrial Complex):

Unit      ATK DEF Move Cost  Unit      ATK DEF Move Cost
Infantry    1    2    1      3    Bomber      4  4    6    15
Tank        3    2    2      5    Sub          2  2    2      8
AA Gun    0    *    1      5    Trans        0  1    2      8
IC            0    0    0    15    Carrier      1  3    2    18
Fighter    3    4    4    12    Battleship  4  4    2    24

To this list, I recommend reducing the price of fighters and ICs to 10, carriers to 16, and battleships to 20. This will help with the extreme range in prices at the top end of things. This will give us the following:

Unit      ATK DEF Move Cost
IC            0  0      0    10
Fighter      3  4      4    10
Carrier      1  3      2    16
Battleship  4  4      2    20

And to the above units I suggest adding the following new units:

Unit            ATK DEF Move Cost  Unit          ATK DEF Move Cost
Paratrooper  1*    2    1*    4    Special F’s  3*  3*    2*    8
Arm. Cav.    2      1      2    4    Cargo Plane 0    0      6    10
Trooper      2      3      1    5    Cruiser        3    3      2    12
Heavy Art’y 2      3      1    6

All of this together gives us the following unit list:

Unit          ATK DEF Move Cost  Unit          ATK DEF Move Cost
Infantry        1    2    1      3    Fighter        3    4      4      10
Paratrooper  1*  2    1*    4    Cargo Plane 0    0      6      10
Arm. Cav.      2  1    2      4    Bomber      4    4      6      15
Tank            3  2      2      5    Sub            2    2      2        8
Trooper        2  3    1      5      Trans          0    1      2      8
Heavy Art’y  2  3    1      6      Cruiser      3    3      2      12
Special F’s  3*  3*  2*      8    Carrier        1    3      2      16
AA Gun        0    *    1      5    Battleship  4    4      2      20
IC              0    0    0      10

What I am suggesting is a unilateral price cut of 1/3rd on flying units and 1/2 on naval units. Ground unit and IC’s would stay the same price. They would then look like this:

Unit          ATK DEF Move Cost  Unit          ATK DEF Move Cost
Infantry        1    2    1      3    Fighter        3    4      4      7
Paratrooper  1*  2    1*    4    Cargo Plane 0    0      6      7
Arm. Cav.      2  1    2      4    Bomber      4    4      6      10
Tank            3  2      2      5    Sub            2    2      2        4
Trooper        2  3    1      5      Trans          0    1      2        4
Heavy Art’y  2  3    1      6      Cruiser      3    3      2        6
Special F’s  3*  3*  2*      8    Carrier        1    3      2      8
AA Gun        0    *    1      5    Battleship  4    4      2      10
IC              0    0    0      10

I find these prices to be more in line with the way I want to play Axis & Allies: lean, mean, and deadly. I want to be able to crash fleet on fleet, to soar into the air and take the fight to the enemy, without destroying the treasury or throwing them all away without replacement. Some of the most exciting fights in Axis & Allies are when that fleet is coming, whether it’s the Japanese fleet coming to take the Pacific, or the US Fleet coming to take the Pacific back, or the British fleet looking to avenge France.

But along with reduced prices come increased problems for the Axis. As it is, the Axis powers are under the gun to expand before the Allies can mount a credible defense of their holdings. When fighters, submarines, and transports are at all time low prices the job of the Allies - to bend but not break and to build up the forces to take the fight to the Axis - becomes all that much easier. This in turn makes the job of the Axis - to take as much territory as possible before the Allies come to take it all back - all the harder.

What to do about this question of balance? My suggestion: give the Axis a proportionally more air and sea power at the start of the game. This will allow the Axis to strike all the harder before the Allies start walking things back. So, half again more flying units and double the fleet for the Axis? How much are we actually talking about?

Standard setup for Germany gives 5 fighters and 1 bomber, 2 submarines, 2 transports, 0 carriers, and 1 battleship.

Standard setup for Japan gives 5 fighters and 1 bombers, 1 submarines, 2 transports, 1 carrier, and 2 battleships.

This gives both powers a total of 5+5=10 fighters and 1+1=2 bombers, 2+1=3 submarines, 2+2=4 transports, 0+1=1 carrier, and 1+2=3 battleships combined for the Axis powers.

Add to that the 4 cruisers (2 to Germany, 2 to Japan) and the 3 additional transports (1 to Germany, 2 to Japan) given out in the setup to account for additional naval forces not currently accounted for. (The Allies get 6 cruisers and 3 additional transports added to their navies at the start.) No extra fighters or bombers handed out yet.

This gives us a total Axis air and sea force of 10 fighters and 2 bombers; 3 submarines, 7 transports, 4 cruisers, 1 carrier, and 3 battleships combined for the Axis powers. Half again more fighters and bombers would yield 15 fighters and 3 bombers. Double the fleet would yield 6 submarines, 14 transports, 8 cruisers, 2 carriers, and 6 battleships. I would divy up this expanded force into Germany: 8 fighters, 2 bombers, 4 submarines, 6 transports, 3 cruisers, 0 carriers, and 2 battleships; and Japan: 7 fighters, 1 bomber, 2 submarines, 8 transports, 5 cruisers, 2 carriers, and 4 battleships

This would be a massive force, dwarfing the Allies in the sky and at sea. But with new battleships and new bombers for 10 IPCs each, new fighters for 7 IPCs, and new submarines and transports for 4 IPCs, would even this massive force be enough? I don’t know, yet.

Both the known unbalancing effects of much cheaper air and sea units and the massive additional forces given to the Axis to balance out those cheaper planes and ships are well outside of normal Axis & Allies play. All of the above is why these rules and setups are optional. But after I get some results with these rules, I’ll update this post with some data.

-Midnight_Reaper

Here is 6 of n for discussion of my Classic House Rules

Here are my rules for possible weapons technology in the Milton Bradley edition of A&A. These rules are optional. I have expanded the possible technology choices from six possible technologies across air, industry, and sea to 16 possible technologies across air, ground, industry, and sea. These technologies are also divided into tier one and tier two technologies. Tier two technologies tend to be more potent but you must successfully research its associated tier one technology before you can start research on the tier two tech. See the chart below for more details.

My Post 5 (New Research Rules - Outsmart your Enemies) has my revised rules for researching technology, giving options for both rolling randomly and for those who know what they want (directed research). Post 5 explains how to research your technologies, this post (Post 6) explains what you get when your research pays off. If you like these technologies but just want to roll randomly for technology (rejecting the directed research from Post 5) that is just fine. Use the random research rules below and ignore the directed research rules.

Random Research

When rolling for successful random research results, first roll for the technology catagory for your result. Results: 1 player’s choice, 2 for flying, 3 for ground, 4 for industry, 5 for naval, 6 for re-roll. If a player already has all four technologies in a determined catagory, re-roll your result. Once a catagory has been determined, the player will roll again: 1-3 for top row, 4-6 for bottom row. Then, see what technologies are available to the player. If both the tier one and tier two result for a row in a catagory have already been researched, then the player will receive the appropriate tier of technology from the remaining row. If a player has no successful research in the determined catagory the player will get the tier one result that corresponds with the row they have rolled. If a player has successful tier one research already in the determined catagory and row, then the player will recieve the tier two research result for that catagory and row.

Example: The player of Germany is successful in gaining a random research result. Germany already has the flying technology Rocket Power. Player rolls for catagory and gets 2 - more flying tech for Germany. Now, Germany rolls for which row will yield technology this attempt. If Germany rolls 1-3, it will receive Jet Power, due to already having Rocket Power. If Germany rolls 4-6, it will receive Long Range Aircraft and be eligible to research Heavy Aircraft next turn.

Directed Research

When conducting directed research, use the following to decide on your next project. From the start of the game, all eight tier one research results are available for research. After a player successfully researches a tier one result, on their next turn the player may start research on the associated tier two result. Research can be spread out or directed in one catagory - if all a player wants are the flying technologies, then that player can research all of the flying tech’s one after the other and need not research anything else. The only check on research is the need to have the appropriate tier one research in hand before starting to research a tier two technology.

Research Results Chart

Theme - Tier 1 (Researched First) - Tier 2 (Unlocked After Tier 1 in Row)
Flying - Rocket Power - Jet Power
Flying - Long Range Aircraft - Heavy Aircraft
Ground - Faster Trucks - Pro-Active Defense
Ground - Quick Firing Cannons - Assault Cannons and Rifles
Industry - Reduce Waste - More Efficient Ways
Industry - Work Smarter - New Accounting
Naval - Better Naval Fuel - Super Subs
Naval - Post Treaty Ships - Bigger Holds

Research Results Explained

Flying Technologies
Row 1, Tier 1
Rocket Power – Allows use of Rockets (Range 3, 4 with Long Range Aircraft (LRA)) as per the rules in the main Rule Book. Leads to Jet Power.
Row 1, Tier 2
Jet Power – Requires Rocket Power. Converts Fighters into Jet Fighters (3x2/4x2/4, 6 with LRA). Jet Fighters’ increased speed allow for twice as many attempts to attack and defend as normal Fighters.
Row 2, Tier 1
Long Range Aircraft (LRA) – Increases aircraft and rocket ranges: Rockets 4, (Jet) Fighters 6, Cargo Planes 8 Bombers 8. Leads to Heavy Aircraft.
Row 2, Tier 2
Heavy Aircraft – Requires Long Range Aircraft. Converts Cargo Planes and Bombers to their Heavy versions: Heavy Cargo Planes and Heavy Bombers.
        Heavy Cargo Planes (A0/D0/M8/C12) may carry up to 2 Infantry, Paratroopers, or Troopers; or 1 AA Gun, Armor, Armored Cavalry, or Artillery. Only Paratroopers can attack in this way, all other units may only be moved as non-combat movement. Heavy Air Transports may reduce their load in order to travel further: Range 10 with 1 Infantry, Paratroopers, or Trooper; Range 12 when carrying nothing.
        Heavy Bomber (A(4x2)/D1/M8/C12) may attack by throwing three dice and taking the two desired results, which may be the loss of up to two enemy defenders. When Heavy Bombers do a Strategic Bombing Raid, damage done is equal to the top two of the three dice thrown, per Heavy Bomber. Heavy Bombers may reduce their load in order to travel further: Range 10 with 1 die of damage (throw two dice, select desired result); Range 12 when carrying nothing.

Ground Technologies
Row 1, Tier 1
Faster Trucks – Armor and Armored Cavalry now move at 3; AA Guns, Heavy Artillery, Infantry, and Troopers now move at 2. Paratroopers still only move at 1. Leads to Pro-Active Defense.
Row 1, Tier 2
Pro-Active Defense – Requires Faster Trucks. All ground units (EXCEPT AA Guns and Heavy Artillery) receive +1 to Defense.
Row 2, Tier 1
Quick Firing Cannons – AA Guns now defend, and Heavy Artillery now attack and defend, by throwing twice as many dice as formerly appropriate (two dice per AA Gun or Heavy Artillery). All hits landed by those dice hit appropriate units, up to the limit of appropriate enemy units in combat. Leads to Assault Cannons and Rifles.
Row 2, Tier 2
Assault Cannons and Rifles – Requires Quick Firing Cannons. All ground units (EXCEPT AA Guns and Heavy Artillery) receive +1 to Attack. This stacks with the +1 Paratroopers receive for Airborne Assaults.

Industry Technologies
Row 1, Tier 1
Reduce Waste (Better Factories) – Reduces the cost to produce Ground units: -1/2 IPC (round up) for Armored Cavalry, Infantry, and Paratroopers; -1 IPC for all others (AA Gun, Armor, Artillery, Troopers). Leads to More Efficient Ways.
Row 1, Tier 2
More Efficient Ways (Better Plants) – Requires Reduce Waste. Reduces cost to produce all Air units and Sea units by 2.
Row 2, Tier 1
Work Smarter (Increased Capacity) – Doubles placement limits on territories with new Industrial Complexes. (e.g. Build factory in India (worth 3 IPC), now you can place up to 6 units in India with Work Smarter.) Leads to New Accounting.
Row 2, Tier 2
New Accounting (Increased Resources) – Requires Work Smarter. Receive additional income for every territory that you have owned since the start of your turn – 1 additional IPC for every 2 IPC original value, rounded up.
Original IPC Value:  1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12
Additional Income:  1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 4,  5,  6

Naval Technologies
Row 1, Tier 1
Better Naval Fuel (Faster Ships) – All ships now move at 3. Leads to Super Subs.
Row 1, Tier 2
Super Subs – Requires Better Naval Fuel. Converts all Submarines to Super Submarines (SSK). SSKs attack and defend at 3. Aircraft can only attack SSKs for 1 round, after which time SSKs are considered to be submerged and not attackable by aircraft. SSKs that are submerged may continue to attack or defend against ships in the same battle as the SSKs or may choose to break off contact and withdraw from battle.
Super Submarines (SSK) (A3/D3/M3/C8)
Row 2, Tier 1
Post Treaty Ships (Better Ships) – Converts Battleships (BB) and Cruisers (CA) into Heavy Battleships (BBB) and Battle Cruisers (CC). BBBs use 2 dice each for attack and defense and take 3 hits to kill. CCs attack at 4 and defend at 4 and take 2 hits to kill (essentially, CAs become BBs). Leads to Bigger Holds.
Heavy Battleship (BBB) (A4(x2)/D4(x2)/M2/C20/AAA value of 1 vs. 3 planes/3 Hit Ship)
Battle Cruiser (CC) (A4/D4/M2/C12/AAA value of 1 vs. 2 planes/2 Hit Ship)
Row 2, Tier 2
Bigger Holds (Bigger Ships) – Requires Post Treaty Ships. Converts Aircraft Carriers (CV) and Transports (AKA) into Large Carriers (CVB) and Large Transports (AKB). CVBs attack at 1, defend at 4, and take 3 hits to kill. CVBs can carry 3 Fighters or 1 Bomber. AKBs have no attack, defend at 2, and take 2 hits to kill. AKBs can carry 5 foot units, 2 mech units, or 1 mech and 3 foot units.
Large Carrier (CVB) (A1/D4/M2/C16/3 Hit Ship) (Carry 3 Fighters or 1 Bomber)
Large Transport (AKB) (A0/D2/M2/C8/2 Hit Ship) (Carry 5 foot or 2 mech or 1 mech and 3 foot)

And these are my technology results. After reviewing them again, they are perhaps set a tad high. (You get a +1, and you get a +1, and you…) As I suspect others will agree with me on this, so I’m going to do another post (Post 6a: New Research Tech for Classic, at a Lower Dose) with some down-powered technologies to comment on.

-Midnight_Reaper

On Tanks.

Some players will for sure claim that if the opponent choose your casualties, nobody will buy Tanks any more, never again. The land battles will look like they did in the MB Classic games, with huge infantry stacks only. So how do we fix this, and I for sure don’t want to mess with the units cost or combat values. A Tanks should always cost 6 IPC, move 2 spaces, attack on 3 or less,  defend on 3 or less, and of course be able to Blitz. The only way to make rational players keep buying Tanks is to give them one more ability, and again from the A&A 1914 game with established and playtested rules.

An attacking Tank can absorb one extra hit. So it takes 2 hits to kill a tank.

This would be very strong if Tanks was chosen last as casualties, but perfect when chosen first. Tanks are actually the fodder that break through the enemy line, and make a hole in the line that the follow up infantry can exploit. Tanks that survived a real battle got so worn down that they would need months of repair before they could be used again. A Tank should be a hard hitting one round only unit. A Tank need a lot of fuel, supply and maintenance to work, and is really expensive to keep running. But in combined operations with aircrafts, like Tactical Bombers, they really put a lot of harm to the enemy. Tanks win battles. But they get used doing so. Infantry on the other hand live of the land and is cheap, and they can go on and go on forever, but they don’t have a strong punch.

So if you want to win a battle, you need air superiority, this is true for both attacker and defender.
If you want to successfully attack a territory, you also need Tanks and Tacs in Combined operation that gives a heavy punch to the defending stack. Since attacking Tanks will also absorb one extra hit, this first round will be devastating. We must assume that Tanks are taken first as casualties, so the next rounds are likely to be infantry fighting. And in that case, attacking infantry need matching artillery if they want to be hard hitting. And as always, artillery will be targeted in artillery duels, so in the latest rounds only infantry and aircrafts will survive. Just like in the real world.

Just to say again, that I like this solution for G40.

In the tripleA edit mode it only take a few moments.

Just enable edit mode
edit the “territory ownership” of Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina and Chile to USA
click the neutral infantry and remove them, then “add units.” The default is American, since you already changed ownership.
then “Change PUs” of America from 52 to 60 ipcs.

Easy. It’s also fun to watch how the AI tries to make use of the new loot and the new units haha
:-D

OH MY GOD! It’s a whole family of GIANTS! RUN everybody, RUN!

I used to prefer this idea but this new idea not only does that, it has other advantages as well.

I think that radar is a little weak. Perhaps make it a minor tech? Or make radar activate always active AA guns. That would be scary.

Look you just tell me what you want and ill make a custom map (from my AA50) just for you to print off.

thats fair enough. But just don’t ask for all kinds of changes. I can make a few new territories and some changes, but i wont be making or drawing major modifications.