Should we make better rules for invadable neutrals? (1940)

@SuperbattleshipYamato I like the ideas/rules you mentioned. I will follow through on triple a.

@All-Encompassing-Goose

How’s the map going?

I am not a Axis & Allies player, but I play a lot with Conquest of Nerath. I like this zombie version.
I believe that can be improved.
These are my house rules
Deadnapper convoys revised . Add to existing rule: Shore zombie bombardment In a amphibious assault your transport can fire once against zombies: score an hit . Its attack value is (3).

Strong Neutrals: When a zombie card create an outbreak in a neutral territory add 6 zombie in 2 IPC territories (Turkey and Spain )and 3 in the other (1 IPC value) territories -(“call us neutral not zombies !”)

Zombie apocalypse revised (not so easy allies victory ).The side that controlls the greates number of zombie-free territories wins. In case of tie who controll the greatest IPC value of zombie-free territories win.
Different set up every game . Starting purchase : place everywhere pieces on the game board in territories/sea zones (example I have not text this )
add 4 IPC Russia
add 3 IPC Germany
and 6 IPC UK
add 8 IPC Japan. /
add - IPC to US
I try also to use Nerath deployment rules:

Moving New Pieces: Once you have placed your new pieces,they can immediately move from the space where you placed them to any friendly space they can reach with their Move. Doing this lets you position new troops to defend against enemy counterattack. New Warships carrying new land pieces can immediately move, carrying those pieces, and unload them in a friendly land space. However, you cannot move an existing Warship that you placed new land pieces on. Enemy Sea Spaces: You cannot place your new Warships and Storm Elementals in enemy sea spaces, even though they can move after you place them

If you have 14/16 Ipc to spent you can immediately reinforce a new conquered territory by boat or make a land invasion more easy.
It seems that this variant helps more the Allies
What you think about gameplay(forget realism,you are playing with zombie ;-) ) ?

@knp, 3D6 heavies have never been popular. Back in the early nineties we played off and on with them. It’s one of those things where if you have them, you love them if you don’t, well life is hell. I like the 2D6 and seems like most players can live with them especially on the Global scale and sheer number of units on the board.

Personally I liked it better when SBR came out of the player’s bank. People really hate that one and democracy usually rules most of the time when you have a regular group. I understand why people hated that one, however I liked it. It’s one of the things I like about disrupting convoys.

Honestly I love HBG, you can now add a lot of stuff to the game especially when it comes to tech. SPA and TDs are a must.

Anyway your thoughts on mech blitzing and both dice counting for heavies was spot on.

@KimRYoung:

How about making Sicily important!!

One of the major campaigns of the war is simply not a part of this game whatsoever. It should either be worth some IPCs or at least of value as an NO to the allies. Pretty ridiculeous that there is no reason to invade an island that was of historic importance.

same could be said for the Solomons too!

Kim

Couldn’t agree more +1

@BJCard:

Well, the Russians will likely have few artillery and tanks, so if Germany attacked the Russian stack with all its air (5 Fighters, 5 Tac Bombers, 2 Str Bombers) they could kill all the armor in the first round, greatly diminishing the Russian’s defensive capability (or if the Russians were on offence, the German air could kill its armor AND artillery, effectively neutering the attack and dooming Russia).

With the US- Japan starts with 11 Fighters, 8 Tac Bombers, and 2 Str Bombers, a much bigger Navy than the US with its measly 5 Fighters, 1 Tac Bomber, and 1 Str Bomber.  And that’s if the US doesn’t send any aircraft to London.  Just in aircraft alone, the US would need 149 IPCs to achieve parity- or the first 3 full purchases (if Japan did a J3).  No cheap DD/SS fodder- no new carriers (Japan has 3 to the US’s 1).  Japan will always have air superiority and thus always target high value ships (BBs/CVs) first.

I’m not sure where you get that the Allies have the advantage in Global 1940- all the bids are to the Allies (go look at the games being PBF), and many times the bid isn’t even enough.

If you wanted to use the air supremacy rules, it could be good, but you’d have to change the entire setup to reflect the power aircraft now have.

The obvious Allied counter would be to prioritize aircraft production, like in the real war (see: Battle of Britain, Battle of Midway, Battle of Kursk), which isn’t as daunting as your projections would indicate.

Because planes can’t land in newly-conquered territories, each side could use their air units to cherry-pick the other fellow’s best offensive units on their respective turns, resulting in a mutual neutering until somebody finally broke through.

It would be a bloodbath in the sky for the first few rounds, but the Allies have the economic clout to pull off air superiority in the long run… and with this targeting prize, air superiority would really mean something worth fighting for, for a change.

@Daedelus:

Maybe this would unbalance the game, but Franco’s Spain had been a close ally of Germany in the 1930’s and this could represent Germany’s constant nagging to repay the favor.
[…]
Thoughts?

It could be an interesting game option.  Historically, though, Hitler did try nagging Franco but got nowhere with him, for instance in the discussions over the projected Operation Felix (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Felix).

well it is KISS.

just have defenders fire first in every round and remove loses then attackers fire.

for more realism…

You can also limit the number of units landing each round limited by the IPC value… so in france you can land 6 units 1st round, 12 second, 18 third.

The attackers cant get all the pieces on the beach in one load.

also cost the attacking player one IPC for each land unit used for this purpose. ( this is not a picnic son)

Another thing is to roll a die for sea conditions. 1-3 you can land, 4-6 you cant. Its not like "hey lets invade today… hows the weather?.. why do you ask?.. isn’t it enough that we just decide we are gonna land 1 million men today with no care in the world?.. To me this is asinine that they don’t have something in the rules to cover this.