Actually, I have a set of house rules I am planning to test that has the Med closed if you don’t own Gibraltar and Algeria and you cannot pass through the English Channel unless you own France and England (you can enter it and then leave it next round, you just cannot go straight through.)
It’s part of a larger set of rules. I’m prettying it up right now, making the graphics nice, incorporating things, etc. I’ll post them if I ever get them done, seems I don’t have time to do much of anything I want to do lately, just things I have to do.
Anyway,
I really don’t think the interceptors are that big of an issue. If you are playing without technologies, then the AA gun alone is a good deterrent to SBR runs (over 6 rounds you should lose a bomber and you should have done 21 IPC in damage, only a 9 IPC gain. If you used the bomber to assist in a ground battle each round, then you’d expect to kill 4 infantry for a damage total of 12 IPC in lost enemy units without losing the bomber, a gain of 12 IPC. Superior to the 9 IPC gain from SBR campaigns with that bomber.)
If you are playing with technology, Improved Factories and Radar are enough to destroy the benefit of SBR campaigns. (You lose a bomber every 3 rounds and only do 10.5 IPC in damage (possibly 21 IPC if you have H. Bombers))
Radar = 1 Bomber lost every 3 Rounds. Cost: 12 IPC
Bomber = 3.5 IPC damage each round, 3 rounds. Benefit: 10.5 IPC
Net: -1.5 IPC, not a good tactic usually.
Improved Factories = 1 Bomber lost every 6 Rounds. Cost: 12 IPC
Bomber = 3.5 IPC damage each round, 6 rounds. Benefit: 21 IPC
Net: 9 IPC - 21/2 (reduced repair cost) = -1.5 IPC, not a good tactic usually
Improved Factories + Radar = 1 Bomber lost every 3 Rounds. Cost: 12 IPC
Bomber = 3.5 IPC damage each round, 3 rounds. Benefit: 10.5 IPC
Net: 12 IPC (Cost) - 10.5/2 (Benefit reduced by Factory tech) = -6.75 IPC, can’t say that’s ever going to be a good tactic.
This is why I don’t think bombers are really broken in Anniversary, not if technologies are played with. At least, statistically they are not broken, given the randomness of the dice, you might experience a game where you see bombers performing overly well, but theoretically, you should see games where they under perform just as much.