• Here’s an idea for your review. Give each country abilities to allocate spending in diplomacy, research, and intelligence. Cards could be made like this for each country and placed on the table:

    Chips can then be purchased and put in each circle. The chips in the diplomacy circle represent the number of diplomats you have. The chips in the reseach circle represent the number of scientists you have. The chips in the intelligence circle represent the number of spies you have.

    DIPLOMACY - Choose a neutral territory to negotiate with. Roll one die for each diplomat you intend to use to influence that territory to join your side in the war. Any sixes you get mean a possible breakthrough. Any one of your opponents may then try to roll an equal or greater number of sixes for his diplomats to block the breakthrough. This circle could also be used to do such things as negotiate a separate peace with a country.

    RESEARCH - Roll one die for each scientist you have. Every six is a potential breakthrough. One of your opponents can then roll for his spies to try to sabotage the breakthrough. An equal or greater number of sixes rolled stops the breakthrough.

    INTELLIGENCE - Your spies have the option of doing one of two things during your turn.

    1. Kill your opponent’s diplomats, scientists, or spies. Roll one die for each spy you have. Any sixes rolled potentially kills an enemy diplomat, scientist, or spy of your choice. Your opponent may roll for his spies too - any sixes rolled blocks the action.
    2. Steal your opponent’s research breakthroughs. Each six rolled potentially allows you to steal one breakthrough. Your opponent gets to roll one die for each of his spies. Each six rolled blocks this action.
    • With this system you could do possible things with spies like blow up an opponent’s ship or assassinate an important leader, causing a morale drop and economic penalty. The system is only limited by your creativity.

    This idea was gametested with mixed reviews - some thought it took too much attention and resources from actually fighting battles. I suppose this could be fixed by adding income.

  • Customizer

    I like some of these ideas but I think you would almost have to create your own variant of A&A for them to have a full effect on gameplay. I’ve thought of similar ideas myself but was not really sure if they were worth while in a traditional game of A&A.

  • Sponsor

    I have seen elements of this game mechanic for research in past threads, but you have enough original parts to make it seem fresh again. What you have is a skeleton of an idea that still draws a lot of questions and loop holes, the obvious being… how much are chips? which opponent has the right to block breakthroughs, and is there a maximum amount of chips for one field.

    My idea long ago was to have 3 types of facilities for purchase and each turn you received a die roll for each facility you own, a Laboratory, a Training Academy, and a government agency. Each facility had its own chart of 6 breakthroughs which stopped the nonsense of paratroopers and war bonds being categorized as a “technology”. Of course some of these ideas came from someone else’s idea of a laboratory facility.

    I’t really hard to evaluate ideas like this because they are so raw in their delivery. I appreciate your open ended approach letting the user expand the mechanic with what ever they can imagine, but one thing I have come to understand about house rules is… if the creator leaves them open to modification, someone will try to sell you a truck load of crazy and the idea burns to ashes. If you finish the rules, solidify the angles, and close the loop holes… I would present it to my group.

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