So you don’t really think that Japan has too much potential for growth, rather you think that the US should be making more. Well in that case I do agree with you. Some time back I thought that the US just made too much and once they came into the war, the Axis were doomed. Since then I have a few more games played and am starting to see that the US doesn’t really make nearly enough to compete with a strong Japan and Germany player.
Also, I have been watching a lot of WW2 documentaries and while there are historians that say the Allies winning WW2 was no sure thing and “It could have gone either way”, I am thinking that this is not really true. Once the US was fully committed to the war against the Axis with their humongous material and industrial capabilities, there was just no way the Axis could compete with that. Both Germany’s and Japan’s resources were very finite and they didn’t protect them well either (like the US submarine campaign on Japanese shipping). Add to that the Axis military blunders – Japan throwing away some of their best troops in “Banzai” charges or losing their seasoned pilots in fruitless attacks. As for Germany, well Hitler made any number of blunders that wasted troops and equipment but didn’t achieve their objectives.
Granted, a lot of the stuff I watch may very well be slanted toward the Allies, after all it’s the victors that write the history books, right? Still, it just seems to me like the Axis cause was really doomed from the start.
As for the US income in the game, if you wanted to properly represent the way US industry affected the war, perhaps the US should be making more like 100 IPCs or so per turn. Let’s see, Eastern US could be bumped up to 30. Central US to 20 and Western US to 25. Okay, there is 75 IPCs right there. Now add Alaska (2), Hawaii (1), Philippines (2), Mexico (2), SE Mexico (1), Central America (1) and West Indies (1) for another 10 IPCs. Now the US has 85 IPCs per turn. Now come the NOs:
$10 = US control of E US, C US and W US.
$5 = US control of Alaska, Aleutians, Hawaii, Johnston Island and Line Islands
$5 = US control of Mexico, SE Mexico, Central America and West Indies
$5 = US control of Philippines
$5 = At least 1 US land unit in Paris (France).
Okay, so at wartime the US could be making $115 IPCs per round. However, the “One land unit in Paris” probably won’t happen for a while and Japan will probably take the Philippines and keep it for several rounds. So that knocks a wartime USA down to $105 IPCs per round. I think that would better represent how much they put into the conflict.
However, if you are still not satisfied, you could always add some wartime NOs to boost the US income. One of my favorite HR NOs is to give the US $1 per island for all the little Pacific Islands: Midway, Wake, Guam, Marshalls, Carolines, Palau, Marianas, Iwo Jima, Okinawa and Formosa. This gives the potential for another $10 to the US, $3 of which they get already.
Or you could increase the amount given for each of those islands. And there are others that you could come up with. Perhaps a few for the Atlantic side, like $5 for US presence in the Med or North Africa. You could come up with some pretty neat ideas and you could also just get ridiculous about it and have the US making all kinds of stupid money, in which case the Axis really would be doomed from the start.
Hey, here’s an idea. Have the US make such a ridiculous amount of money that there is simply no way the Axis would be able to hold out against them, much less overcome them, but say the US can not enter the war until round 6. See if the Axis can beat the other Allies and win the war before the US enters and trounces them both.
Okay, so the beginning setup would be the same and the US would still make their territory money and can spend it however they wish to build up their forces before entering the war on round 6. The US can not enter the war until round 6 no matter what (London falls, Axis occupation of a territory in North America (basically Canada), Japan attacks UK/ANZAC in Pacific, etc.). Also, the Axis are not allowed to attack any US units or territories with 2 exceptions: Japan is allowed to attack Guam and the Philippines and the US can not immediately attack Japan for doing so. The US must still wait until round 6 to enter the war. Guam and Philippines are the ONLY US territories that can be attacked before round 6. As such, the US is limited to what units are on those territories and adjacent sea zones at startup and are not allowed to add new units to those territories or their adjacent sea zones.
For any other US territory, the US may place whatever new units they like during the first 6 rounds of buildup time.
ROUND 6
On this round, the US is allowed to enter the war. They may declare war on any or all Axis powers.
US Income: Once US is in the war, All Territory values double for US Original territories only. If US conquers Axis territories, they are worth face value. Only Original US territories are double in value. ALSO, this double value is only for the US. If Axis captures a US territory, it is only face value to the Axis power. Once US or an Ally liberates that territory, it becomes double worth again to the US.
The US will also benefit from the following NOs:
$10 = US control of EUS, CUS and WUS.
$10 = US control of Alaska, Aleutians, Hawaii, Johnston, Line Island, Mexico, SE Mexico, Central America and West Indies.
$5 = US control of Philippines
$5 = One US Land unit in Paris.
$5 = for at least 1 US surface warship in the Mediterranean.
$5 = for at least 3 or more US bombers in London.
$2 = for each Axis territory under US control.
$5 = for each Axis Victory City under US control.
$10 = for each Axis Capital under US control.
$3 = for each Axis Capital under Allied control.
Techs: The US will get 2 free tech tokens each round starting with round 1. They may roll for tech starting round 1. If a 6 is rolled, then tech tokens go back to bank and US rolls for tech. If no 6 is rolled, then US keeps tech tokens for next round (so the US will then have 4 tech tokens to roll for). They will keep adding up until a breakthrough is achieved, at which point the tech tokens go back to the bank and the US starts again next round at 2 per turn.
Also, it is possible for the US to get more than one breakthrough in one turn, but they can never get more than two per turn no matter how many 6s are rolled. If the US does get 2 6s on the same turn, each breakthrough must be on a different breakthrough chart. In other words, the US can NOT get two breakthroughs on the same chart on the same turn.
Along with all other nations, the US may also purchase further tech tokens for 5 IPCs each and add them to their freebies.
Does all of this sound overwhelmingly, even unfairly in favor of the US? GOOD! It’s supposed to. The US is supposed to be this overwhelming, unstoppable juggernaut coming to wipe the nasty Axis forces from the face of the earth.
The object of the game is to see if the Axis can win the game before the US comes in and cleans their clocks.
With Germany, it should be roughly the same challenge in obtaining victory cities since the only US VC is Washington and Germany never gets that one anyway. For Japan, it will be very strict as Sydney now becomes an absolute must. Japan only has 6 available VCs to get for the win (which is why I allowed the Philippines to be attacked before round 6).
Do you think the Axis can win by round 6? Actually, even though the US can attack on round 6, it may take them a couple of rounds to really be able to start hurting the Axis on either side, so in a way the Axis have until about round 8 or so to pull off a win.
Of course, you could be variable with this too. If it seems the Axis can easily pull off a win in this time, then bump the US entry to round 5 or even round 4. If it seems like there is simply no way the Axis could win in 6-8 rounds, you could even delay US entry a round or two.
As with most games, there will come a point where the US has so much stuff all over the board that there is no way for an Axis victory. Then it will just be for the glee of the US player methodically wiping out the last of the Axis forces. Hey Axis, don’t complain. You had 6 rounds to beat up on the poor Russians, Chinese, Brits and French so now it’s your turn for the beating.
You know, when I started mentioning this idea it was more or less as a joke. But as I kept typing and ideas kept popping into my head, now it seems like a fun variant I might have to try out soon.