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Germany/Poland/East Poland geography improvement - border connections remain the same but territories and cities are much closer to actual locations.

ANZAC-ification!

This modular overlay for G40 Lite adds ANZAC as a potentially playable power, giving them three extra IPC to play with for a total of 10:

• ANZAC roundels and a recolor for Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and the Solomons.
• New Zealand boosted to 2 IPCs.
• Northern Territory boosted to 2 IPCs
• Western Australia boosted to 1 IPC

Preview:

Full overlay download (17MB):
https://www.mediafire.com/view/64s28ot0aw7tusu/G40_Lite_ANZAC.png/file

Analysis and initial thoughts on mechanics/impact:

• Removes 7 IPCs from the UK income, reducing total purchasing power but focusing their colonial spend on India and S. Afr.
• Pulls any extant South Pacific UK units out of their control/turn, weakening them overall as they can no longer attack in concert.
• Forces some direct Australian investment by the Allies, while also…
• Limiting the direct Australian investment by the Allies to the ANZAC income— no more Bombers or fully loaded Carriers dropping into the South Pacific out of nowhere.
• Forces both sides to may a modicum of attention to the South Pacific, which previously could be (and usually is) tacitly ignored by both sides via mutual neglect.
• Adds 3 IPCs to the Allies total income (more money is is fun!) but also siphons it off into a minor power which have a greatly diluted effect on the game due to the principle of concentration of force.

@TitusJames Everything looks awesome!

What are your Oil Rules? Have you checked out this thread, compiling the community’s Oil-related house rules over the decades?

Be sure to add your own, if you do!

I have long thought it too difficult to assault the Americas, with giant block territories too easily defended. If the Axis reach the mid Pacific or mid Atlantic unopposed, let’s strike some fear into those pond-hopping Yankees with some subdivision!

• Central US moved to left half of map
• Northwestern US (2) split off from [South]western US (10)
• British Columbia (1) split off from Western Canada (0):

• Central US moved to left half of map
• Central Canada (1) split off from Eastern Canada (1):

My son keeps buying Japanese Aircraft Carriers (why am I giving him such a huge handicap, again?) so I need more flight decks. But 7 (yes, 7!) Shinanos is more than anyone can bear. Thus, the addiction continues with a new Akagi, now with quasi historical markings that differentiate it somewhat from the Shinano deck:

Updated pdf with everything: Carrier_Decals_lilly_vodot_v6.pdf

Playtesting notes…
It’s turn 4 and Game 1 is already turning into a rout in favor of the Axis. Starting Conditions:

1. Setup mirrored G40.2 as closely as possible on this new board with no bid for the Allies, which should give the game a solid pro-axis tilt.
2. My (8yo) son took the Axis with his usual handicap:
   – Germany +10 IPC/turn and1 free infantry to be placed in any controlled territory each turn
   – Japan same as Germany
   – Italy same as Germany/Japan but only +5 IPC/turn

Rules for game 1:
3. US starts with 0 IPC, half income until turn 3 or attacked per the above, but also gain half income as one-time bonus when attacked *(we changed this on the fly as their position looks utterly desperate). I wanted their full income as a bonus, but was voted down.
4. USSR as above (starts with half income until turn 3 or USSR is attacked). He attacked me turn 2.
5. We used G40 AAA rules (5 IPC instead of 6, taken as casualties, roll 1@1 up to 3x for each AAA unit, etc.)
6. Battleships repair at the beginning of your turn (instead of at the end). Damaged BB fight at -2/-2.
7. One non-Capital originally-owned TT per turn can be “Developed” at a cost of 5 IPC. Development raises the effective IPC Value of a TT by 1, including for the purpose of placing units there. Only one TT per turn can be Developed, and a TT may only have one Development in it at a time. If the territory is captured, any Development there is destroyed. In our game India was Developed by the UK on turn 1.

Current state: It’s the end of UK4.

Japan is making 40 IPC, has 7(!) carriers in the pacific and is halfway across China and Russia. He neglected the money islands until just last turn and has not threatened India (where UK made an immediate, huge investment), but has a ~200 IPC fleet at Hawaii that dwarfs the US pacific fleet by 2:1.

Germany has 10+ fighters and 40+ infantry on the Eastern Front. G and R are trading Caucasus. R hoping to hold Moscow with UK help (UK invading Scandanavia and coming down from Karelia & up from Iran).

UK is still the income leader (not for long with Japan taking DEI) which has allowed them to fight well on two fronts. They just sunk both the German and Italian navies… but my son rolls ridiculously well (which I publicly decry but secretly enjoy) and both uk fleets (India–>Med and England–>Baltic) took significant losses and may be wiped out in retaliation next turn. They’ve been stymied in Western Europe by a huge luftwaffe and a large German naval investment in the baltic (2 carriers?!) and had to resort to Norway.

US only just lumbering into the war. Feels extremely underpowered with an income in only the high-30s and a roaring japan on the doorstep. We gave the US a half-income war bonus, but that’s 18IPCs of peanuts. I think that for this to work without a bid the US wants an income boost of at least 5 and perhaps a fat bonus when/if attacked as well.

ANZAC in the pacific has done exactly zero except to hold the Australian mainland and vaguely threaten Japan’s far south perimeter, which feels… right.

Vichy vs Free France has been a back and forth, feels very good. At the start the map split 50/50 (expected) but the navy split in the Axis favor with two defections, a couple scuttles, and only a single destroyer joining the Free French.

Italy ignored the European Neutrals and made a big push into Africa instead, quickly swept the UK out of Cairo but have not yet been able to cross Suez (UK holds mideast). The combined Free French and British have also been able to hold them at FEA and Rhodesia while pushing Vichy out of lower Africa. LOVING how Africa has played out so far in this game with landings and battles on both sides up and down the African coast.

Currently the Axis have 12 VCs to the Allies 9 (Rio still Neutral), and halfway though turn 4 are almost in a state of Minor Victory according to my revised victory city chart:

I think the game is playing OK, and it’s always hard to account for the handicap & skill effects of having an 8yo at the helm-- although, if I can brag on my son a bit, he does his own Punch, Count, and Skew calculations before every major attack.

I’ll be curious to see how hopeless the US situation is. If my son’s Japanese can take US territory on the west coast, I think some kind of adjustment is warranted even with his handicaps.

@Pvt_Griff siiiick

@Argothair can’t wait to check it out!

Start of Germany 6 - Moscow has fallen (for good). Paris has been liberated but will be re-taken.

The US fleet was trapped in the north Pacific and then suicided into the Japanese armada. Gave my son a brief and ultimately futile lesson about blockers as mine were at first mocked, then explained, then admired… and summarily swept away.

At the end of J5 he ended up with 4 carriers and a wounded Battleship off the coast of Southwestern US, but no surviving destroyers within 4 Sea Zones… so on US5, instead of staffing transports headed for Germany, I built 7 subs underneath his carriers out of spite and a desire to educate >:)

Italy has been pushed nearly out of Africa and is turtling.

Japan has been pushed almost completely out of China, has 6-7 IPCs in Russia, and is outrageously strong at sea.

UK has remained very strong, which has been extremely fun and unusual.

French/free french struggle was good, although Vichy did not take much action.

ANZAC cat and mouse game with Japan feels great, could see them being a pest for a Japan that goes hard into china/russia/mainland IC.

Russia pathetically weak with no hope of survival, adjustments needed. Maybe start with half income and a 1-turn income delay instead of 3.

US very weak, unable to defend coastline against determined Japan even with 100% pacific investment. adjustments needed. With a slow start and half income with no NOs for help they needs more money on the board, also probably a significant bonus once at war. Not sure how to pull that off in a middleweight map.

Allied surrender looms.

@Argothair Can you post some pics of the map, setup, unit mix?

Oh, Canada! Here are some overlays that add Canada as a playable Major Power.

For expediency, have Canada be controlled by the ANZAC player, moving together and sharing a turn but remaining separate in every other way (capitals, treasuries, purchasing, placement, etc.).

Similar to adding ANZAC, this has the effect of reducing the British paycheck by 5 and adding 3 IPC to the Allies overall… while also shunting it off into a relatively ineffectual power, again due to concentration of force mechanics.

Creating minor powers like this forces (and limits) investment into a particular area.

Need some roundels? Print these on 4x6 photo paper and stick 'em on extra roundels you have lying around:

@Argothair said in [AA50/Anniversary] Modular Map Overlays - Splitting Australia, the Balkans, and Sea Zones; adding Cairo, Malaya, Singapore, Rio, Cape Town, Recruitment Centers and tons more!:

…Flying Tiger drop-off zones are marked with symbols on the map.

man that flying tiger rule slaps! I need to integrate something like that into the G40 lite rules…

@FranceNeedsMorePower

I posted the link to the latest full map file in the OP, but for myself no, no full printout or board yet. Just printing out the overlays and sticking them atop a normal anniversary map like this while we playtest:

previous pics were missing the German naval setup, this one should be better (yes, that’s a sub in SZ 8):

@Titus I noticed that I had picked up the art, mobi charts, and IPC trackers again. Also, Jehol’s conflicting coloration bugs me :P I will have to strip all that back out at some point. If I can get to it I’ll generate a clean version with no RCs for you.

@Marco-Luti, once you download the file, you need to tell the printer what dimensions you want to print it in by using “page setup” or some similar feature. Tjoek’s map files are super dense and easily support being blown up to twice the size of the OOB map or more.

At 400DPI, Tjoek’s files should printout at the size of the OOB map.

At 300DPI, you will get a +33.3% dimension boost, close to what you’re looking for.

At 200DPI, you will get a +100% dimension boost.

…and so on. Here’s another thread where I talk about printing (in this case it’s my overlays, but the info still applies)

DM me if you want to share specifics of what you’re looking for.

@Titus said:

…I should spend my time just playing instead!

If only you knew the power of the dark side [of modifying endlessly a game you only rarely have the opportunity to play]… Can’t wait to hear your postgame notes!

Addition of Anhwei (1) split off from Suiyuan (1) and Jehol Recolor (previous upload had Jehol and other Japanese-occupied Chinese TTs colored orange like Tjoek’s source img):

@Titus When you cut out the overlay, just cut off the 2 :)

@Titus I think ‘scenario’ setups like this are awesome. They have an asymmetrical impact— double transport cap is a big swing in favor of the allies— but for players who get bogged down into static openings I think mixing it up is good :)

Can you link a pdf of the cards?