2017 League General Discussion Thread

[Karl7]

@Adam514:

@Karl7:

Hmm, I’d say the Chinese guerrillas are the one thing that could be paired back.  It is a super pain in the ass for Japan and ties up a ton of units beyond reason– 12 terr=36IPCs of inf to keep it quelled.

If getting rid of that it is undesirable, maybe you could give the Axis 1 more NO out of the gate?  I know that’s like adding more weight to balance the foundering ship. But maybe give Germany a +5 for Romania or something?  Romania was far more important IMO than Norway.

Also, for fun, give Axis +5 for control of London.  Getting rid of that NO was insane.  Does anyone doubt that capturing London would have been one of the greatest Axis achievements ever?   Larry obviously understood its importance in that its capture rescinds the US,USSR diplomatic restrictions. So why then take away the NO?   Defeating the UK should be a monumental achievement of allied shattering consequence!

You may want to reread the NOs regarding London  :wink:.

Oh, did I overlook something?

[Karl7]

HA!

Shows you how well I can read!

:mrgreen:

[simon33]

@Gamerman01:

You think one of the reasons people are happy with the mod is the Chinese guerilla fighters?  I doubt it  :-)

Hardly.

People are happy with the mod because they are finding it pretty close to balanced. A major contributor to the balance is the weakening of Japan by the institution of the guerrilla fighters. No one really likes that instrument yet they are happy with what it achieves.

@variance:

What if ungarrisoned Chinese territories become Chinese at the start of China’s turn, but no infantry on them.

I think that would be better although it won’t work if there is an AA gun or a plane on that territory.

@Adam514:

Without the North Africa NO US is basically the same as vanilla US for half the match.

It contributes to making the Med interesting since usually Axis leaves the French North African territories alone. Now there’s something more to consider.

That only works if Vichy has never been in effect.

[simon33]

Hold on, I’ve just checked and if Vichy is not effect, USA only has to land one inf on Morocco to claim the NO.

[oysteilo]

This is how it should be:

Germany stays as OOB (can include london OR Egypt for  +5)
Soviet Union: Please remove the lend lease, it is so poor. Add +3 for novgorod and + 3 for ukraine. I would also like to see +3 for Iraq or add +3 for no allied units. The archangel should be +5
Japan: OOB
USA: OOB + BM
British: OOB + both sub objectives
Italy: OOB + all 3 med islands +3
Anzac: OOB + the gilbert objective

[oysteilo]

@oysteilo:

This is how it should be:

Germany stays as OOB (can include london OR Egypt for  +5)
Soviet Union: Please remove the lend lease, it is so poor. Add +3 for novgorod and + 3 for ukraine. I would also like to see +3 for Iraq or add +3 for no allied units. The archangel should be +5
Japan: OOB
USA: OOB + BM
British: OOB + both sub objectives
Italy: OOB + all 3 med islands +3
Anzac: OOB + the gilbert objective

not play tested though……  :-D :-D :-D

[farmboy]

Rule question. A destroyer is attacked by subs. Fighters scramble in defense. The attacker hits the lone destroyer. In the next round where there are only fighters present for the defender and subs for the attacker, is the attacker deemed to have won (and so stuck in the new sea zone) or can they still retreat?

[JDOW]

You cannot retreat in that case as there are not units left that can fight the subs.

Even in case a TT would be left in the sz, you could also not be able to retreat, similar to not being able to retreat against a AA only in a ground battle.

[JDOW]

This is btw one of the thing tripleA allows which is against the rules.

[farmboy]

thanks JDOW!

[JDOW]

Your are welcome.

Btw: What I guess is funny. Lets assume the subs would have come a long with a TT trying an amphibious assault. I guess in that case the TT would be forced to retreat and so are the subs.

[simon33]

@JDOW:

This is btw one of the thing tripleA allows which is against the rules.

It doesn’t allow it in the latest pre release. Unfortunately, this fix doesn’t handle the strange exception where if transports are left fighting transports, a retreat is allowed.

[aequitas-et-veritas]

@Karl7:

If getting rid of that it is undesirable, maybe you could give the Axis 1 more NO out of the gate?  I know that’s like adding more weight to balance the foundering ship. But maybe give Germany a +5 for Romania or something?  Romania was far more important IMO than Norway.

I like the idea. I would even consider a: Roll 1d6 for income if Axis holds Romania one time and this will be the Income NO for the rest of the game.
Historically Division Brandenburg (the German opposite of the MI5 or SAS) won the battle over the oilfileds in Ploesti.
But a regular +5 NO will do the Job i guess.

[gamerman01]

@simon33:

Hold on, I’ve just checked and if Vichy is not effect, USA only has to land one inf on Morocco to claim the NO.

Exactly

[Gargantua]

This could be it’s own sticky, coupled with JDOW’s post about re-activations?  I think the Health of the League and the Game is important; even if I have never been the most active player myself.

I compiled some stat’s from 2013+  to give an indication of where we are and where we are headed.

Assumptions:
-I did not include tournaments, playoff games, or just regular games played.

LEAGUE HEALTH
2013- 577 Games Played over 68 Players
2014- 520 Games Played over 79 Players
2015- 461 Games Played over 84 Players
2016- 387 Games Played over 88 Players
2017- 339 Games Played over 57 Players  (400 Games projected).

Notes:
-Strangely, it seems that as the player base increases, the games played decreases.
-I think the league is healthy enough with 60ish players; but I do think we need to keep that number there or increase it

Areas of opportunity:
-Email/contact inactive League Players; or whole A&A.org membership
-Advertise the league on the main splash of the site, or somehow on the forum ads (Most people dont realize there is a league)
-Plant a Flag on the TripleA Play Live Online chatroom.  (Make a Game room with a message to join the league!)
-Encourage Online/Live League Play to engage more players.
-Ask Veqryn if he would code an alert or message into TripleA to advertise A&A.org’s League!
-Review the regular play board games section, and encourage people to play in the League from there!
-Give a bonus point or two, for playing against someone in their first game? (IE you have recruited someone new, win or lose)
-Make a bad a55 league poster, or logo, to share around via email, internet, or at events like Origins/Gencon/TG6Con.
-Recruit/select one or two League Promoters/advocates; who will literally prod people in these areas to join the league.

[Gargantua]

-League History should also be updated; or displayed on the League Standings Chart; on a new tab
-Oh, and could we create/collect some cool Trophies or prizes somehow?

[gamerman01]

@Gargantua:

LEAGUE HEALTH
2013- 577 Games Played over 68 Players
2014- 520 Games Played over 79 Players
2015- 461 Games Played over 84 Players
2016- 387 Games Played over 88 Players
2017- 339 Games Played over 57 Players   (400 Games projected).

Heh, you missed all the balanced mod games of 2016
2016 - 648 games played
2017 on pace for about 420, which would be the lowest. 
We’ve been playing basically the same game for 5 years.  The upspike in 2016 is probably due to the balanced mod

[gamerman01]

@Gargantua:

-League History should also be updated; or displayed on the League Standings Chart; on a new tab

The league standings chart is the league history since 2013.  It has the same information.

-Oh, and could we create/collect some cool Trophies or prizes somehow?

Sure, if we have someone volunteer.  For the past year or two I’ve been the lone volunteer.  The sole league moderator for questions and disputes, and have recorded all of the results.  I’m busy enough with that - just ask my poor long-suffering opponents.  I’ve never heard anyone ask to do anything since I’ve been in charge.  :-P

[Gargantua]

@Gamerman01:

@Gargantua:

-League History should also be updated; or displayed on the League Standings Chart; on a new tab

The league standings chart is the league history since 2013.  It has the same information.

-Oh, and could we create/collect some cool Trophies or prizes somehow?

Sure, if we have someone volunteer.  For the past year or two I’ve been the lone volunteer.  The sole league moderator for questions and disputes, and have recorded all of the results.  I’m busy enough with that - just ask my poor long-suffering opponents.  I’ve never heard anyone ask to do anything since I’ve been in charge.  :-P

Just give me the POWER and I’ll assist with prize collecting, promoting, and dispute resolution.

[variance]

On the topic of league health, I don;t know how to quantify this, but my impression is that there are still some very top player and some pretty lowly players, but the “middle class” seem to be disappearing.  Its no fun for the lower player to just get beat senseless by very senior players.