I am in Maui right now with an iPad I don’t understand how to use at a Starbucks with free wifi.  This is last day of ten day vacation.  I brought copy of 1914 to look at in spare time.  I wrote up 2 essays on navy and rails issues and can’t figure out how to post them as I wrote them up as emails. I will figure this out when I get back to mainland I guess.

Anyway, concerning rails i think new units arriving anywhere in home country as a mobilization center duplicates history as rail use and should be incorporated.

I also think that moving a group of six units from one non contested location to another in Europe only in the movement phase as movement for those units involved constitutes the actual scale of use for all historical use contestants. Except the Germans who actually used it more and better.  The Austro Hungarians and Russians made hilarious mistakes in their rail use.  I think this would also be a way to show a German strength compared to the other powers by adding an attrition die roll to this type of strategic move varying as to quality of nationality moving.

I want to sign up for Flash fan club.

I think that he is a political laxative that gets things moving in the right direction in this game discussion forum. Some sort of strategic rail move is required especially to counteract the two opposite side of board arrival capability and sea movement of the UK.  However, this type of strategic move should favor Germany at expense of Russia and Austro Hungary as both of these nations had major internal problems compared to Germany.  In other words, they screwed up their rail moves in real life constantly and consistently while the Germans starred at it.

One could get a rules download, get different colored pieces that look similar from other AAA games and hand them out as tryout games to newbies with excellent map, piece containers, game box and odd looking but functional pieces.  If one is feeling benevolent, throw in some dice. :)

What if planes and artillery arrive in Berlin as normal production; but German infantry can arrive anywhere in any one, and only one, particular province that is uncontested and Germanic national territory with a clear path of uncontested Germanic national territories connecting to an uncontested German controlled Berlin?  That would look like mobilization.  The same could be true for France in a like manner.

What if at the start of the next German turn after the Russian Revolution, half the German infantry rounded down in each Russian province were immediately removed from the board; placed aside for placement in one and only one existing contested battle on another front connected by uncontested German controlled territories to an uncontested German controlled Berlin as a surprise anywhere starting next turn; not turn of removal?  That would represent stosstrupen and rail getting the Germans out of Russia.  Give the stosstruppen a little bonus for spice like additional air strafing for all that show up.  That would help make the point of my german helmet hard to polish again.

Austria Hungary rail capacity and the Russian rail capacity broke down during this war.  The Germans starred with their system.  Italy did not star in their rail system and the Turks rails system was incomplete and a mess.  That was history.

I am sure this needs some modifications to make it work as I have not looked at it from all paranoid points of view.  Any suggestions?

I expect someone not to like this as rail movement is heresy in Axis and Allies; but IMHO this game needs it.