@squirecam said in 1940 vs anniversary balance:
AA50 with 42 start and without NO’s is the most balanced version. Bids are usually a single unit.
If you want balance, don’t use the tech rules unless you want to add too much of an element of luck, IMHO.
@Argothair said in Balanced Mod [Anniversary 41]:
In my personal vocabulary, I consistently use the following definitions:
“Ship” includes TT, SS, DD, CA, CV, BB.
“Warship” includes only SS, DD, CA, CV, BB.That said, for this variant’s NOs it is not very important to distinguish between different kinds of ships, so if you want to just say that the list is always “warship” for simplicity, that’s fine with me.
Therefor we can replace any reference to ‘ship’ with ‘warship’. Basically, transports don’t count
I guess this means subs are a little more important since they do have the capability to negate several National Objectives: Every Russian, 2 Japanese, 3 UK, 1 Italian and 1 American
I’m happy to play either side! I cut the cake, so you get to pick your slice. :-)
OK, as my moniker implies, axis_roll !
So I will take the bad guys…
I have a mild preference for low luck and no tech allowed so that we can more quickly arrive at a sense of where the game is unbalanced, but I certainly don’t insist on it. We can use a slightly tweaked version of your rules for low luck bombing, too – just add +1 to the damage table.
Yes, we’ll need to agree on that chart. I believe it was
Chicago Rules
1D6 = Damage
1 = 1
2,3 = 2
4,5 = 3
6 = 4
This game
1D6 = Damage
1 = 2
2,3 = 3
4,5 = 4
6 = 5
@Xlome_00 said in Operation Sea Lion - Is it possible for 1941?:
He used all available aircraft, Cruiser bombardment and a Tank + Infantry on the transport after knocking out my destroyer in SZ 6 with his subs.
Sorry to say, but your opponent had made an illegal move.
The cruiser would not be available for an offshore into UK. This is because the cruiser would have to conduct a combat move into SZ6 AFTER the subs have already conducted combat (clearing SZ6). The cruiser can only be involved in clearing SZ6.
@taamvan said in 1940 vs anniversary balance:
also the 41 setup is really easy for allies to win–UK buys 4 fighters UK1 and flies to Russia UK2.
I don’t see why this is such a ‘winning’ move…
Sure I get that this helps to cover any Russian thrust against Germany. But a German player worth his own salt will keep this incursion from ever causing Germany from Falling, especially before Japan wins the game from pressure on Russia from out east
@Argothair said in Balanced Mod [Anniversary 41]:
Oh, and @axis_roll? Start when you like! It’s Germany’s turn; you have my email. :-)
Wanted to run these by another member of our playing group first, just to ensure there is nothing too glaring (besides the Axis opportunities I see :dark_sunglasses: )
Then the Blitzkrieg will begin!
@Xlome_00 said in Operation Sea Lion - Is it possible for 1941?:
I thought you could pick which naval units you want to participate in each battle. So if for instance those subs would’ve NOT taken out the destroyer, than the Sealion invasion using the Cruiser would not have been able to take place…
Is there really a rule where you can’t partition which naval units take part in each phase of the battles?
I thought I explained the reasoning behind why the cruiser can’t just sit and wait to do his offshore, because he would be moving into a battle after the conduct combat phase has occurred.
If the cruiser goes into SZ6 during combat movement, he is involved in the battle in that Sea Zone because it is occupied with enemy forces. He can not do both, fight the navy in SZ6 AND then offshore.
So a short answer to your question is, no, the navy can’t pick and choose what units fight which battle (ships vs offshore). You enter the SZ, you battle the enemy naval forces, no splitting your attack.
@squirecam said in 1940 vs anniversary balance:
More $ doesn’t make the game better.
Well, more money to spend DOES give each side more strategic options, so in that sense, I have disagree with your contention that it doesn’t improve the game.
I think the issue with NO’s is that the extra money may benefit one side (axis) more than the other.
I forgot one more question. The black sea is open, correct?
The Dardenelles is not closed. True?
I’m looking at Norway/Finland/Karelia, and with the NO it’s worth more than all of Africa put together. I’m looking at the Caucasus, and with the NO it’s worth more than all of Siberia put together, including the Urals and Novosibirsk. How come people’s strategies don’t reflect that? What am I missing?
Yes sir, Norway/Findland/Karelia can be lucrative territories for either side. However, those are almost impossible for Germany to hold (1941 scenario) very long, especially if UK moves into SZ3.
What I see happening is Germany gets strong enough to trade Karelia (conquer but not enough to hold against a Russian counter attack). This can be useful because it is $7 IPCs, just don’t let the allies bleed you dry.
Regarding Caucasus, you may be correct in it’s value to the Axis. However, it is a bit of a long path for Japanese units to get into position to help the Germans squeeze Stalingrad. Those long supply lines can be expensive due to overhead like expensive transports or ICs (no to mention the time it takes to get there). Also, if the allies have gained control of the Med/Africa, Japan will have to fight through those units in Persia to get there, or face a combination of allied units defending. In other words, it’s not easy for the allies to get combined defensive forces in the $1 Russian territories, especially not ground units, so Japan has an ‘easier’ path to Russia that way.
@Panzerboy0191 said in Should I buy this version?:
I really enjoy playing with the national advantages in revised, does this game have any? Thank you guys!
There are no OOB National Advantages like in Revised, but our Chicago Rules {for AA50-41} has some that you might want to incorporate. Send me a PM with your email if you’d like a copy.
BTW, I love the map changes in AA50 over classic, 2nd and Revised. We loved revised with the community developed house rules set AARe (Enhanced). No OOB AA game, in my humble, somewhat limited experience, has ever been balanced. In other words, with a little tweaking, the games can be balanced, and have other possible strategies other than the usual Race for Berlin/Moscow.
Good gaming!
@Argothair said in Balanced Mod [Anniversary 41]:
Third draft based on feedback from everyone and playtests with @axis_roll – thank you for commenting!
- Operation Torch – 3 IPCs if USA has land units in both Morocco and Libya
Need to update this USA NO still
@argothair said in India Complex for UK - usually a bad idea?:
@taamvan I think this says more about the weakness of the tournament design than about the game as a whole. How can you be expected to generate interesting results after only five turns of play?
One idea to make the Short time frame of that tournament more palatable to a better game is to utilize dice averaging. Less dice to roll and less wild dice outcomes to skew the results.
Ah dice rolls, the ultimate Love/Hate relationship. Having thrown them bones for A&A outcomes for 33+ years, here’s my observation: Dice suck!
Wild outcomes DO HAPPEN, in real life, not only just via an online application or computer dice simulator, in person too! We hate them so much, we’ve long ago implemented playing games via low luck rules. Yes, this does change the game a bit since there will be a guaranteed number of hits, plus potentially, 1 more hit. Does this hurt the game, IMHO, no it does not. Low Luck does what it’s supposed to do, eliminate the wild outlier results.
Is this perfect? No. Is such a perfect battle outcome decision process possible? Probably not. There will be some variance in a game where dice are involved.
Sure, you could totally eliminate the dice (ala NO luck), but that would be so boring, IMHO. Low Luck meets the need of eliminating excessive variance, while still offering some variance.
@Trusty-Sapper
Wow, you’ve responded to my reply from a year ago, on a very old thread. I checked my PM’s and I was able to send Bass my most recent version of AARe.
I do agree with you Trusty, that “National Advantages plus bid makes every game a strategic puzzle”
Don’t forget the targeted tech rolls too. No chance to develop super subs when my scientist were working on long range!
I was a bit upset when it was only a short 5 years after Revised was released (and we fine-tuned Enhanced) that AA50 (Anniversary came out). Everyone ran for the new release and Revised was left to rot.
@Argothair said in Alternate dice rules:
It’s a hard problem. …
If you let players use LL when they really care about the battle, and force them to roll regular dice the rest of the time, then that keeps the game moving at a reasonable speed without leaving you feeling like you lost the whole game because the dice went against you in one crucial battle.
Sure, if you save one of your precious 3 LL dice chips for that key battle, you might not have such remorse.
Also, what if the game goes 15 rounds? Is 3 really enough? Perhaps start with 3 and get an additional LL battle every 3rd round?
Allot comes down to a players level of comfort when allowing randomness into the game. Some players love the gamble, the long shot, the chance that we might still have a shot to win with some luck on our side in this last ditch effort.
Other players might become dismayed when the above scenario happens to them after all their well executed plans have them at a 99% chance of winning and feel that the dice has stolen their victory.
This is a grey area, there is no right or wrong when it comes to what is the proper level of randomness in a game of A&A?
@vodot said in [Various] The Colonial Outpost (an enhanced Allied IC bid):
Not going to lie I really want to see if this makes a Russian
Bearing StraitSea of Okhotsk navy a thing.
ONLY if somehow an USA fleet sails to the Sea of Okhostk first, then Russia adds 2 ships to that navy.
Keep dreaming though…