Source: LH 8/3/09
how I Plan on designing this French-German-Soviet triangle. It’s based on pure simplicity. Situation – On round one turn one…Germany invades what’s left of the French and British armies in France. Dunkerque has already occurred. This fact is represented by an unusually small British land force present on Great Britain at the start of the game. The results of the attack and drive on Paris can possibly end up being a quick affair, as it was historically. If necessary a second round of turns may be required. Don’t get this wrong…I’m not sticking in some token French fall-guy force in France. France having one of the largest armies in Europe in 1940 will be well represented in terms of number of combat units on the map. The Germans will attack France with what appears to be a comparatively same size force as that of the French. The difference between the two armies will quickly become as clear to you as it became clear to the allies high command. The German combination of tanks and dive bombers (combined arms) will be shockingly effective what with those Stukas ability to roll 4’s when matched up with tanks. Mechanized infantry, based way back in Germany will suddenly and unexpectedly begin assisting with this new kind of war in this new kind of game… Blitzkrieg ! With the fall of Paris Germany receives captured French IPCs. These will come in handy soon enough.
If a second round of attack is required against France then this will prove to be benificial for the Soviets. You see they (the Russians) will in no position to either defend or attack in any meaningful way. The Germans, at the same time, will also be in no position to attack Russia. As for the Russians the game set up reflects the results of their fiasco in Finland. Stalin’s purging of the army and simple old out dated military doctrine. The German military disposition on their Eastern border will reflect the friendly status that existed between Russia and Germany when these black and red fascist were good buddies. Again, this is not to say that the Russians are not well represented on the board. They are, but when the time comes it will be clear that they suffer from too many places to defend and too dispersed an army to go on the offensive against Germany. As a Russian player you can certainly attack if you want to but it would be pure suicide. In effect, Russia will spend its first 2 or 3 turns purchasing and position its armies. Each turn that goes by the Russians get stronger and a good Russian player will skillfully be busy preparing for this inevitable German on slot. How and what the German and Russian players do during these critical opening turns will set the tone for what will look and feel like Barbarossa June 22, 1941. The player making the best moves, having the best luck, and making the best decisions on how and where to place new units as well as existing units will determine the eventual out come of the “Patriotic War”.
Allow me to keep some secrets from you. So I’ll not get into details. I’m not here to tell you how to do this or that. I simply want to give you insights into my design approach. There is nothing contrived or overly scripted here. Players, based on what is given to them at the start of the game will follow their natural instincts based on the historically simulated military balance of power of the time. It’s simple – the longer it takes for France to fall (and with dice being so key – who really knows how long that will take), the more time Russian has to prepare/. Here’s another twist that many of you will toy with… does Germany move on Russia immediately or does Germany try to conduct an Operation Sea Lion after the fall of France. You as the German player will have to figure that out. My job is make the board look and feel like it did historically, at least initially. After that you can mess it up all you want. :wink: When you look at the English Channel and contemplate an attack on this island nation, you will see exactly what the Germans saw… a totally depleted British land force. The only thing that stands between you and capturing London is the RAF… Good luck, you’re going to need it. If the allies end up owing so much to so few then you as the German player will suddenly have a more powerful Russian force on your door step than you would have otherwise, but what the hell - you need some Lebensraum.
The north/south dividing lines runs through India.
Multiple victory conditions – Nope, not VPs only. This must be one of those misunderstanding that everyone is always talking about. I never said that.
The fact is, Japan loses the game only by be occupied. Japan wins the game by acquiring 6 of the 8 VCs on the board.
No VP per round…
Sub stalling… As in Anniversary you can either pass through a sub or attack it if you have a DD.
There are convoy zones. They are a bit different from any prior system. I’ll be talking about them in time.
There are fighter escorts and interceptors during bombing raids.
Surprise… there is no surprise. The game starts 19 months before the historical Pearl Harbor date. The Japanese would have to sneak up realllllly slow for that to happen. With the game starting in 1940 there is not even a fleet based at Pearl yet. That didn’t happen until I think some time in May ’41. Nonetheless, at some point there probably will be an attack on Pear Harbor. The US has to, for strategical and logical reasons, move their fleet to Hawaii. Now all you have to do is find somebody to play with that has no knowledge of the fact that there was a Pearl Harbor attack. Boy, will they be surprised!
As for Tech… Weapon technology will only occur in the uber game (combined Europe and Pacific.
Of course there will be kamikazes – how could you have any fun if there weren’t any kamikazes… It’s a laugh a minute…
Cruisers and Battleships can bombard… The number of ships capable of bombarding cannot exceed the number of ground units attacking. I guess you want unlimited bombardment, right?
Aaah NAs… I don’t know yet. They don’t appear in the Pacific game – that’s for sure. Perhaps they will be in the uber game. Yeah, I think they will. I haven’t crossed that bridge yet.
IPC’s at large. Nope
Split IPCs in the combined game - this will be the case.
There will be limited builds per factory… Actually there will be two types (or sizes) of factories. Major – can produce 10 units per turn minus any damage they have received. Minor – can build 3 units per turn minus damage. Factories (Industrial Complexes) cannot be built on islands (Japan and Australian exceptions). You will not be building many Major factories – they cost 30 IPCs each. Minor ICs cost 12. They each have their own AA gun defense systems built in. A minor IC can only be build on a territory with an IPC offering of 2 or more… a major requires 3 or more.
Italy is a powerhouse in AAE40…
(LH: 8/12/09)
Canada is: A recognized commonwealth. They are controlled by the British player and contribute to the UK player’s economy. There is a frame work here that with a few house rules could make Canada a complete self standing power. As they are presented in this up coming game they would prove to be too small a power to provide a single dedicated player an interesting game experience.
Tactical Bombers: No.
Mechanized infantry over infantry: No
In both cases these new units have their place and provide different benefits and issues. It would be pretty poor game design to add a new unit only to undermine an existing one. I hope that in time these new units establish there rightful place in the unit line up.
regarding neutrals in AAE40:
What I did:
A territory on the map is either controlled and contributing to one power or the other. If not, they are either neutral, neutral and pro- Axis or neutral and pro ally.
Finland – Presently Finland is being carried as Germany territory for purposes of German IPC income and starting positions. Technically I know this is technically not correct. I don’t want any automatic status changes based on Barbarossa. If I did it this way Finland would require a special rule. Not actually neutral and not actually occupied it would require a special status on the map. I’m not interested in going there with this game. Talk me out of it if you like.
Hungary – Presented as a German controlled territory.
Romania – Presented as a German controlled territory.
Bulgaria – Presently as pro- Axis neutral
Slovakia or Slovakia/Hungary is presented as a German controlled territory
Siam – Presently as a Japanese controlled territory.
As much as I recognize the impact and importance of Partisans I’m not ready to introduce them into the game rules. It certainly could be done but I think they are not in scale with the scope of this game system.
LH 8/20/09
