Hello all,

I’ve been working on creating some custom reference cards for the 1940 games.  My goal was to create a single set of references that could be used for Pacific, Europe, or Global.  I also wanted the cards to fit the motif of the game, so they wouldn’t stand out as obviously being an add-in.  I designed these to fit on cards measuring 5"x7" or less, so that the cards would fit into the storage boxes that I use for my pieces.

So far I’ve created setup card and politics cards, which I’m intending to be two sides of the same card.  I’m working on finishing up some general reference charts and national objective cards.

Here are the results of my labor so far.  http://www.mediafire.com/folder/6xmoz7a93pgff/A%26A40_Reference_Cards

As you’ll see, these references should work for all three versions of the game, although it might require you to ignore information that doesn’t pertain to a particular version.  Where required, I’ve explicitly annotated where information is different between versions.

My plan is to get these printed onto 5x7 cards at boardgamesmaker.com.  If you’re interested, here’s the link to their custom cards: https://www.boardgamesmaker.com/print/fi-8977.html

Thoughts and suggestions are welcome.  The remaining cards will follow soon.

My general German strategy is a G1 purchase of 4 transports.  This forces UK to spend resources shoring up its homeland.  I might be able to capture Britain G2 if I catch the British player with their pants down, but more commonly I wind up using the transports to attack Novgorod on G3.

I take France and Normandy G1, along with crippling the British navy in the Atlantic.  I like to attack the Canadian fleet with a couple subs, since that prevents Britain from bringing those Canadian units as reinforcements, and the subs do some convoy disruption as well.  I also usually attack the two fleets in SZ 110 and 111.

I then follow up with an attack on the Soviets on G2.  My goal is to capture Leningrad on G3, which is usually pretty doable.  From there, it’s a forceful push to Moscow.

My Italian strategy is somewhat dependent on what UK does on their first turn, by my overall goal is to capture Egypt and push into the Middle East to gain the bonus IPCs from controlling that region.  If the UK doesn’t devote a lot of resources defending Africa, I like to build an IC in Egypt to solidify control of Africa and the Middle East without requiring a navy.

I also try to maintain control of Gibraltar, but this can be difficult once the US gets in the war, since they can dump troops directly from the US into Gibraltar.  If the US decides to focus its efforts on the Mediterranean, I usually find it turns into a game of delaying the US until Germany can capture Moscow.  If the US turns its efforts to Germany, Italy can usually take over Africa and build itself a significant industrial base.

That’s my 2 cents, anyway.  I’ve won several games with the Axis using the strategy.  The biggest thing that can go wrong with it is if the British player has a hot dice hand on G1 and wipes out a lot of your air force.  It’s possible to come back from that, but it makes things decidedly more challenging, since you don’t have the extra firepower against the Soviets, and it is more difficult to suppress the British and keep them from building a navy.

I’ve added some general reference cards to the link above.  These will be 2-sided, using the same printing link above.

Back of reference card

National Objective cards can be found here:  http://www.mediafire.com/?sgz3gr48qxs6l

Most of these are designed to be printed two-sided, so that you can flip the card over to indicate that you have accomplished the objective.

I will print these on 2.25x3.5 cards: https://www.boardgamesmaker.com/print/bridge-size-blank-card-4332.html

The finished product showed up in the mail today.  Boardgamesmaker did a fantastic job.  These turned out really well.  The cards are thin, but have a durable plastic feel to them.  The reference charts are 5"x7", so shouldn’t take up a lot of table space.

I also had them print me some additional Italy and Germany control makers, as well as some task force markers and cards.  The whole setup ran me about $50, including shipping.  Probably not the cheapest option, but I’m quite happy with the product.  If you’re looking for something similar, the links to my source files, and the respective links to the products at boardgamesmaker.com are in the thread above.

Reference charts

Setup/Politics charts

Thank you. That was the conclusion we reached, and the airbase ended up, rather uselessly, on the West Indies.

We had an interesting situation come up in a game today. UK’s capital was under German control, and the US had re-captured Gibraltar from Italy, thereby claiming control of it. During the US Purchase Units phase, the US bought an airbase, intending to place it on Gibraltar. During the same US turn, the US liberated the UK. There was then some debate about what happens to the yet-unbuilt airbase.

From what we deduced, the rules demand the following:

1. Gibraltar immediately (during the US’s Combat Phase) returns to UK control.
2. The airbase may therefore not be placed on Gibraltar, as the US no longer controls it by the Mobilize New Units phase.
3. The US then MUST place the airbase on another territory they control during that Mobilize New Units phase. Because they have the ability to build the airbase (even if not where they originally intended to do so), the rules do not allow for receiving an IPC refund or deferring the building of the airbase.

Can I get an official ruling on whether the above conclusions are the correct interpretation of the rules?

@Soviet-Steamroller I’ve always found the Stalingrad strategy to be a difficult one, as it’s just too far from Germany’s industrial base. Couple that with the fact that the Soviets can reach both Ukraine and Stalingrad in one turn with mechs and tanks, and it seems like Germany just runs out of steam. They’re not able to effectively crush the Soviets before the US is knocking on their door. If Italy assists, that gives it a much better chance of success, but my Italian strategy is usually focused on Africa and the Middle East.

By contrast, Leningrad is much closer to Germany’s power base, and with transports in the Baltic, it’s generally a simple matter to capture and hold it, using it as an industrial base for the assault on Moscow. Because it takes the Soviets two turns minimum to reach it, it is nearly impossible for them to mount a counter-attack and take it back. Furthermore, the air base allows Germany to keep their air force in play to defend the homeland, while still menacing the majority of Soviet territory.

I also like to wait until G2 to declare war against the Soviets, just to keep Britain guessing. I can see why you’d go with a G1 attack on the Soviets, though, since as you say, it definitely puts them back on their heels. For my tastes, I just find it allows Britain much more freedom and clarity. Without any pressure against Britain’s capital, they can usually build enough navy/air force to make your life miserable.

Again, just my two cents.

@Young:

@TheMarshall:

Glad you like them.  Use them in good health!

Very nice work, some of the best looking cards I’ve seen.

High praise indeed, coming from you.  Thank you very much.

Glad you like them.  Use them in good health!

My general German strategy is a G1 purchase of 4 transports.  This forces UK to spend resources shoring up its homeland.  I might be able to capture Britain G2 if I catch the British player with their pants down, but more commonly I wind up using the transports to attack Novgorod on G3.

I take France and Normandy G1, along with crippling the British navy in the Atlantic.  I like to attack the Canadian fleet with a couple subs, since that prevents Britain from bringing those Canadian units as reinforcements, and the subs do some convoy disruption as well.  I also usually attack the two fleets in SZ 110 and 111.

I then follow up with an attack on the Soviets on G2.  My goal is to capture Leningrad on G3, which is usually pretty doable.  From there, it’s a forceful push to Moscow.

My Italian strategy is somewhat dependent on what UK does on their first turn, by my overall goal is to capture Egypt and push into the Middle East to gain the bonus IPCs from controlling that region.  If the UK doesn’t devote a lot of resources defending Africa, I like to build an IC in Egypt to solidify control of Africa and the Middle East without requiring a navy.

I also try to maintain control of Gibraltar, but this can be difficult once the US gets in the war, since they can dump troops directly from the US into Gibraltar.  If the US decides to focus its efforts on the Mediterranean, I usually find it turns into a game of delaying the US until Germany can capture Moscow.  If the US turns its efforts to Germany, Italy can usually take over Africa and build itself a significant industrial base.

That’s my 2 cents, anyway.  I’ve won several games with the Axis using the strategy.  The biggest thing that can go wrong with it is if the British player has a hot dice hand on G1 and wipes out a lot of your air force.  It’s possible to come back from that, but it makes things decidedly more challenging, since you don’t have the extra firepower against the Soviets, and it is more difficult to suppress the British and keep them from building a navy.

I must ask…  What situation has developed in your game where the answer to this question significantly impacts the outcome?

@Tjoek:

Really nice work! Would you be so kind to share to design files?

I added the source files to the folders above.  They are the ODG files, which can be opened with OpenOffice or LibreOffice.

@Tjoek:

@TheMarshall:

The Mediafire links are in the message above, but here they are again.

I think I didn’t express myself clearly. I was hoping you could share your original design file with seperate layers so I will be able to create translations into Dutch and create some other reference cards in the same style.

Ah, yes.  I understand now.

I created them using OpenOffice Draw.  Let me see about posting the source files.

The Mediafire links are in the message above, but here they are again.

NO Cards:  http://www.mediafire.com/?sgz3gr48qxs6l
Setup/Politics Charts:  http://www.mediafire.com/folder/6xmoz7a93pgff/A%26A40_Reference_Cards