Thank you for your responses.
My friends and I have had the AAHE w/Italy map printed out and have played a few games on it already, and we really like having a third Axis player (even if Italy is weak economically). We have a few other questions/suggestions, and I couldn’t find an AARHE w/Italy thread, so I’ll try again here.
#1 Just to double-check on Neutrals. If Germany roll a “1” for Spain on G1, raising Spain to a 3, then you are saying that the Spanish troops are immediatly converted over to German troops without raising the diplomacy level to -5? If this is true, then with Spain starting at -2, Sweden starting at -2, and Turkey starting at -1, then what do the Allies have going for them in the way of neutrals? The ones with the largest armies and important positioning (especially Turkey with its control of the Black Sea) are all quite close to being swayed by the Axis.
#2 Tekky, you said, “Yes, nothing stops US from taking South America.” This is quite ridiculous for the Allies (the supposed good guys in a supposedly more historically accurate version of AAR) to be able to take and conquer neutral countries. Now Germany, of course, ignored neutrality for the most part (i.e. Belgium), so I would not be adverse to allowing the Axis powers to conquer neutral territories, and then if the Allies "liberated the territory later, then the Allies would receive the IPCs from that territory.
#3 What is the point of the neutral territory Eire (Ireland)? Maybe it should have a value of 1 IPC, and/or the sea zones around it could be adjusted a little bit to give it some use.
#4 After playing the game both ways, I have to say that allowing the Axis/Allies take their turms simultaneously doesn’t work that well in my opinion. Yes, the game does proceed a little faster, but it really seemed that the game lost quite a bit by having 3-way attacks by the Allies against Japan in Asia and by having an American Atlantic fleet attacking Europe with British land units every turn. My solution is to let Italy go first, but adjust the initial setup a titch so that Italy cannot reinforce Ukraine or W. Russia heavily to gaurd against R1’s attack against those 2 territories. Perhaps move the Italian fighter to Algeria so that it can’t reach Ukraine or other small changes. Taking away the 1-2 punch of US/Russsia by putting Italy in-between helps keep from having US/Russia’s turn be too powerful.
#5 Lend-Lease. When playing on The AARHE w/Italy map, it doesn’t make sense to say that the free 12 IPC/ turn given to the Allies for US has to be shipped to SZ4 for Russia or SZ34 for UK. We are playing that you can just take it to England which means that US can set up a relay of 4 Transports going to UK (2 in SZ8 and 2 at EUS switching places each turn). So far in our games, this hasn’t been a game breaker, because for the US to pull this off, they usually have had to give Japan a free rein in the Pacific (because you have to invest a lot of $ in an Atlantic fleet to protect the transports).
#6 This may have been addressed in another thread, but I read quite a few, and didn’t see it, so. In AARHE, you collect IPCs at the begining of your turn. I like this, but a lot of $ is now taken out of the game which used to be available to purchase more units/ technology. Also, with techs taking effect at the end of the turn, I like this also, but now you have 2 good reasons to not even try for techs. (You don’t have enough $, and it takes too long to get it.) I think that a change needs to be made in starting IPCs; there needs to be a way in-game to increase the # of IPCs you have availible (I wrote a post in House Rules); and/or tech die rolls should be cheaper. The following is a partial list that I am working on for technologies which shows one way that the tech dice price could be lowered. The number after the power’s abbreviation is the cost for 1 die to roll for the above tech. I have not added Italy to this list yet.
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Mechanized Infantry – Your Infantry are now Mechanized Infantry with +1 Movement and the ability to blitz.
USSR – 5 UK – 4 US – 3 GER – 4 JAP – 5
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Dug-In Defenders – Your Infantry/Artillery on your home territories (i.e. USSR on red territories) gain +1 Defense.
USSR – 4 UK – 4 US – 4 GER – 4 JAP – 4
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Heavy Artillery – Your Artillery are now Heavy Artillery with +1 Attack, +1 Movement (no Blitzing allowed though,) and the ability to combat (for attacking and/or defending, but only during the first round of combat) in adjacent areas with a -1 modifier.
USSR – 6 UK – 6 US – 6 GER – 5 JAP – 6
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Heavy Tanks – Your Tanks are now Heavy Tanks with +1 Attack.
USSR – 4 UK – 5 US – 5 GER – 4 JAP – 6
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Heavy Transports – Your Transports are now Heavy Transports with the ability to hold up to 2 Infantry +any 1 land unit or any 2 land units.
USSR – 6 UK – 4 US – 3 GER – 5 JAP – 4
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Super Subs – Your Submarines are now Super Subs with +1 Attack and +1 Defense.
USSR – 6 UK – 5 US – 4 GER – 3 JAP – 3
If you follow something like this, then you could just combine all of the technologies and NAs by making the usual NAs for a power cheaper for that power.
#7 Some possible solutions to Germany being a 20 would be to increase W. Europe and Vichy France both to 4 or 5 each and maybe E. Europe also then reduce Germany’s IPCvalue an equal amount. Maybe split Germany into N. Geermany (which would be the capital) and S. Germany. E. Germany/W. Germany might be a little more historically accurate especially when the Allies take W. Europe, but it would slow troops way down from crossing from one side to the other for Germany. Another one would be to make Berlin its own territory completely inside of Germany and give it its own IC (but no AA). Germany could be 15, and Berlin could be 5 (if no other changes were made). This option might be a little difficult because of map size, but it would increase Germany’s defenses by nullifying the amphibious assault which takes the capital. It makes sense too, because all of the other capitals which border sea zones are actually quite near the ocean, but Berlin is not.
#8 Maybe Vichy France should start with an IC so that Germany at least has the option to build in the Mediteranian if it wishes. I don’t think that this would give the Axis too much.
