Posts made by ColonelKurtz

To Flashman: Yes, A-H may attack Italy in Round 2. Italy sides with Allied Powers and does not need to declare war. Correct on no rail movement into combat. Historical accuracy aside, rails in Africa probably will make no difference; we will have to play that out and see.
To Chacmool: No need to alter the sequence, really. We wanted to keep the changes to a bare minimum.
To Oddbjoern: Play it and see if the changes make it a more difficult challenge, equalizing advantages. We haven’t played with Africa impassable, but it sounds like a possible option.

I am new at posting but I have hammered out a good way of balancing the game so that CP players have a 50% chance of winning, with minimal changes from the original rules and setup:
1. Switzerland is always impassable
2. Britain can only build 4 units on India
3. Italy is neutral First Round
4. Both sides use railroads for all internal movements. Railroads (with unlimited transport distance) are assumed to exist wherever territories connect friendly uncontested territories. The Central Powers have the Interior Lines strategic advantage of shuttling troops from Front to Front, but the Allied Powers are able to transport reinforcements to the Fronts when they arrive from Britain or USA.

This works; we have played it out and it is the balance that the game needs, in my opinion.

We are still playing A&A 1914 with more enthusiasm than any other game.
After getting frustrated with the original rules and the tournament rules, we experimented with a Railroad Rule and found that the game moved much quicker and was more enjoyable. We are now able to complete games, with experienced players, in one day.
We now use a set of 7 Optional Rules [A.Swiss Neutrality, B.Russian Revolution, C.Italy Neutral First Round, D.Railroads, E.Rail Into Battle, F.Railroads in Africa, and G.4 Units Building Limit in India].
The perfect game, in my opinion, uses Options A,C,D,F, and G. Playing with Options B and E give an advantage to CP.
Likelihood of CP victory has just about evened out with these options, and everyone is really enjoying the challenge.

Notes on Optional Rules we use:
A. Swiss Neutrality: Switzerland is always impassable to all players.
B. Russian Revolution: As explained in the Original Rules; We give this as an option but prefer to play without a Revolution.
C. Italy Neutral First Round: Italy can build, but can’t be attacked and can’t attack for the First Round.
D. Railroads: No land unit is restricted in the number of spaces it can move as long as the move is over friendly, connected territory. Thus,(for example) Ottomans can move a force from Constantinople through A-H and into Munich on one move, if Serbia or Albania are in CP control. No one can use the rails into a battle, out of or into a contested Territory, or in conjunction with a transport movement.
E. Rail Into Battle: Modifies Option D, giving a big advantage to CP. Allows rails to take units into and out of contested territories or straight into an attack.
F. Railroads In Africa: Extends Option D into Africa
G. Four Units Building Limit In India: In all fairness, this should be a standard rule.