Research and Development - Is this a thing?


  • Wondering what the standard is in player vs. player match-ups for the R&D rules. Are people allowed to use R&D but it’s just not worth the cost since you get a random upgrade (if any)? Or is the rule that R&D is not allowed?

  • Customizer

    I think the R&D rules are allowed in any game. It depends on who you are playing with. Some people just don’t like to mess with them. Usually it is like you said, they don’t want to spend the money on a chance that they may get a breakthrough that they could actually use.
    Plus you might not even get a breakthrough so that is money wasted. Some people play with some sort of tokens (I use the research tokens from the Anniversary game) so you buy them and if you don’t get a breakthrough, you can keep them for following rounds and try again until you get a breakthrough, so at least the money you spent isn’t totally wasted. Even then, the tech roll is still random so you are not sure which tech you can get.
    Some people have made house rules regarding techs.
    One idea is to give every major nation a free tech roll every turn. How many dice depends on how much the power is making:
    0-25 = 0 dice
    26-50 = 1 dice
    51-75 = 2 dice
    76+ = 3 dice
    This way the tech will still be random but most everyone gets a chance. Your game could have quite a few techs in play.
    Another idea is to use a tech tree. Certain techs become automatically available on certain rounds. Usually when you use this method, it also includes special pricing for the new units involved.
    For Example: Say Jet Fighters becomes available round 6. You might price Jet Fighters at 12 IPCs. So, players could still get regular fighters at 10 IPCs or get Jets at 12 IPCs. Also, this fixes the problem of when the Jet Fighters tech goes into effect, all the existing fighters don’t automatically become jets. Some people had a problem with that.
    One more idea is to simply assign certain techs to certain countries and that is it for the techs. You don’t try for any other techs for that game.
    Usually when you use this system, the techs go as follows:
    Germany = Jet Fighters
    Soviet Union = Advanced Artillery or Improved Mechanized Infantry
    Japan = Improved Shipyards or Super Submarines
    United States = Heavy Bombers or Long Range Aircraft
    United Kingdom = Radar
    Italy = Improved Shipyards or Increased Factory Production

    Generally, techs aren’t given to ANZAC, France or China. UK Pacific shares whatever UK London gets.

    So, it’s up to you and whomever you play with if you want to use techs or not. If you do, I hope these ideas help you.


  • Awesome, thanks!

  • Sponsor

    Actually the Research and Development phase is an optional game element that all players participating must agree to include, or exclude before the game begins.

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