I forgot air units get two dice in convoy raiding, good reminder haha
[AA50/Anniversary] "G40 Lite" Setup with France, ANZAC, Canada, Aligned Neutrals, and Map Modernizations
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ANZAC-ification!
This modular overlay for G40 Lite adds ANZAC as a potentially playable power, giving them three extra IPC to play with for a total of 10:
- ANZAC roundels and a recolor for Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and the Solomons.
- New Zealand boosted to 2 IPCs.
- Northern Territory boosted to 2 IPCs
- Western Australia boosted to 1 IPC
Preview:
Full overlay download (17MB):
https://www.mediafire.com/view/64s28ot0aw7tusu/G40_Lite_ANZAC.png/fileAnalysis and initial thoughts on mechanics/impact:
- Removes 7 IPCs from the UK income, reducing total purchasing power but focusing their colonial spend on India and S. Afr.
- Pulls any extant South Pacific UK units out of their control/turn, weakening them overall as they can no longer attack in concert.
- Forces some direct Australian investment by the Allies, while also…
- Limiting the direct Australian investment by the Allies to the ANZAC income— no more Bombers or fully loaded Carriers dropping into the South Pacific out of nowhere.
- Forces both sides to may a modicum of attention to the South Pacific, which previously could be (and usually is) tacitly ignored by both sides via mutual neglect.
- Adds 3 IPCs to the Allies total income (more money is is fun!) but also siphons it off into a minor power which have a greatly diluted effect on the game due to the principle of concentration of force.
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Playtesting notes…
It’s turn 4 and Game 1 is already turning into a rout in favor of the Axis. Starting Conditions:- Setup mirrored G40.2 as closely as possible on this new board with no bid for the Allies, which should give the game a solid pro-axis tilt.
- My (8yo) son took the Axis with his usual handicap:
– Germany +10 IPC/turn and1 free infantry to be placed in any controlled territory each turn
– Japan same as Germany
– Italy same as Germany/Japan but only +5 IPC/turn
Rules for game 1:
3. US starts with 0 IPC, half income until turn 3 or attacked per the above, but also gain half income as one-time bonus when attacked *(we changed this on the fly as their position looks utterly desperate). I wanted their full income as a bonus, but was voted down.
4. USSR as above (starts with half income until turn 3 or USSR is attacked). He attacked me turn 2.
5. We used G40 AAA rules (5 IPC instead of 6, taken as casualties, roll 1@1 up to 3x for each AAA unit, etc.)
6. Battleships repair at the beginning of your turn (instead of at the end). Damaged BB fight at -2/-2.
7. One non-Capital originally-owned TT per turn can be “Developed” at a cost of 5 IPC. Development raises the effective IPC Value of a TT by 1, including for the purpose of placing units there. Only one TT per turn can be Developed, and a TT may only have one Development in it at a time. If the territory is captured, any Development there is destroyed. In our game India was Developed by the UK on turn 1.Current state: It’s the end of UK4.
Japan is making 40 IPC, has 7(!) carriers in the pacific and is halfway across China and Russia. He neglected the money islands until just last turn and has not threatened India (where UK made an immediate, huge investment), but has a ~200 IPC fleet at Hawaii that dwarfs the US pacific fleet by 2:1.
Germany has 10+ fighters and 40+ infantry on the Eastern Front. G and R are trading Caucasus. R hoping to hold Moscow with UK help (UK invading Scandanavia and coming down from Karelia & up from Iran).
UK is still the income leader (not for long with Japan taking DEI) which has allowed them to fight well on two fronts. They just sunk both the German and Italian navies… but my son rolls ridiculously well (which I publicly decry but secretly enjoy) and both uk fleets (India–>Med and England–>Baltic) took significant losses and may be wiped out in retaliation next turn. They’ve been stymied in Western Europe by a huge luftwaffe and a large German naval investment in the baltic (2 carriers?!) and had to resort to Norway.
US only just lumbering into the war. Feels extremely underpowered with an income in only the high-30s and a roaring japan on the doorstep. We gave the US a half-income war bonus, but that’s 18IPCs of peanuts. I think that for this to work without a bid the US wants an income boost of at least 5 and perhaps a fat bonus when/if attacked as well.
ANZAC in the pacific has done exactly zero except to hold the Australian mainland and vaguely threaten Japan’s far south perimeter, which feels… right.
Vichy vs Free France has been a back and forth, feels very good. At the start the map split 50/50 (expected) but the navy split in the Axis favor with two defections, a couple scuttles, and only a single destroyer joining the Free French.
Italy ignored the European Neutrals and made a big push into Africa instead, quickly swept the UK out of Cairo but have not yet been able to cross Suez (UK holds mideast). The combined Free French and British have also been able to hold them at FEA and Rhodesia while pushing Vichy out of lower Africa. LOVING how Africa has played out so far in this game with landings and battles on both sides up and down the African coast.
Currently the Axis have 12 VCs to the Allies 9 (Rio still Neutral), and halfway though turn 4 are almost in a state of Minor Victory according to my revised victory city chart:
I think the game is playing OK, and it’s always hard to account for the handicap & skill effects of having an 8yo at the helm-- although, if I can brag on my son a bit, he does his own Punch, Count, and Skew calculations before every major attack.
I’ll be curious to see how hopeless the US situation is. If my son’s Japanese can take US territory on the west coast, I think some kind of adjustment is warranted even with his handicaps.
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Start of Germany 6 - Moscow has fallen (for good). Paris has been liberated but will be re-taken.
The US fleet was trapped in the north Pacific and then suicided into the Japanese armada. Gave my son a brief and ultimately futile lesson about blockers as mine were at first mocked, then explained, then admired… and summarily swept away.
At the end of J5 he ended up with 4 carriers and a wounded Battleship off the coast of Southwestern US, but no surviving destroyers within 4 Sea Zones… so on US5, instead of staffing transports headed for Germany, I built 7 subs underneath his carriers out of spite and a desire to educate >:)
Italy has been pushed nearly out of Africa and is turtling.
Japan has been pushed almost completely out of China, has 6-7 IPCs in Russia, and is outrageously strong at sea.
UK has remained very strong, which has been extremely fun and unusual.
French/free french struggle was good, although Vichy did not take much action.
ANZAC cat and mouse game with Japan feels great, could see them being a pest for a Japan that goes hard into china/russia/mainland IC.
Russia pathetically weak with no hope of survival, adjustments needed. Maybe start with half income and a 1-turn income delay instead of 3.
US very weak, unable to defend coastline against determined Japan even with 100% pacific investment. adjustments needed. With a slow start and half income with no NOs for help they needs more money on the board, also probably a significant bonus once at war. Not sure how to pull that off in a middleweight map.
Allied surrender looms.
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V vodot referenced this topic on
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Oh, Canada! Here are some overlays that add Canada as a playable Major Power.
For expediency, have Canada be controlled by the ANZAC player, moving together and sharing a turn but remaining separate in every other way (capitals, treasuries, purchasing, placement, etc.).
Similar to adding ANZAC, this has the effect of reducing the British paycheck by 5 and adding 3 IPC to the Allies overall… while also shunting it off into a relatively ineffectual power, again due to concentration of force mechanics.
Creating minor powers like this forces (and limits) investment into a particular area.
Need some roundels? Print these on 4x6 photo paper and stick 'em on extra roundels you have lying around:
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@vodot Is there a setup yet or no? If so where is it? If you do not have one yet I would be happy helping creating one.
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@vodot Have you printed this off yet or made it a actual board yet or no?
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I posted the link to the latest full map file in the OP, but for myself no, no full printout or board yet. Just printing out the overlays and sticking them atop a normal anniversary map like this while we playtest:
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@vodot Is this the board state setup or no?
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@vodot Thats awesome! I plan to print out a number of your changes for my copy of the game. How do you scale all of your printouts?
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@FranceNeedsMorePower said :
@vodot Is this the board state setup or no?
This was close to the endstate for our first playtest. This is the end of I6, Allies conceded after J7.
@TitusJames said :
@vodot Thats awesome! I plan to print out a number of your changes for my copy of the game. Do How do you scale all of your printouts?
Almost all of them should be able to be printed exactly as posted to the forums here - at 400 DPI (dots per inch). This would match the original game board as shown above. If your map is larger than the OOB board, you would have to scale the printouts yourself to match. The OOB board is 24 x 46in, so your printouts should be scaled by whatever the ratio is of the dimensions of your map to those of the original board.
For example, I printed Tjoek’s AA50 map files out at 300DPI, producing final printed dimensions of 32in x 61.33in. That’s a ratio of 4:3 compared to the OOB board, so if you were trying to match my overlays to that printout you would need to scale your prints up by that same ratio (4/3 or 1.33x ). In this case, that would mean printing the overlays at 300 DPI (fewer dots per inch = more “inches per dot”), rather than their native 400 DPI.
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@FranceNeedsMorePower
Here’s what we started with. I tried to meld in the G40.2 setup, combining and splunching unit groups where needed:
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@vodot Nice!
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@FranceNeedsMorePower I haven’t put this on triplea, but @Argothair has created a similar 1941/2 map based off of my overlays, find that here: https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/post/1771557.
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previous pics were missing the German naval setup, this one should be better (yes, that’s a sub in SZ 8):
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@vodot Looks nice!
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Communist China!
Have fun coming up with rules for this one, it’s a brain burner. Best I can do off the top of my head: One simple version, one muuuuch crazier version:
Simple Version:
8.0 Communist China:
8.1 Communist China (CC) is a controlled Pro-Allied Minor power, moving with and controlled by the Soviet Union.
8.2 At the end of the Soviet Union’s turn, place 1 additional CC infantry in one CC Territory, up to a maximum of 3. If no CC Territory exists with less than three Infantry, place one Artillery unit in any CC Territory instead, again up to a maximum of three.Crazy Version:
8.0 Communist China & the Comintern Alliance:
8.1 If Communist China (CC) is included in the game, then the Soviet Union and CC become a third, separate Alliance called “The Comintern”:- 8.1.1 The Comintern no longer wins and loses with the Allies.
- 8.1.2 Comintern units may no longer share territories or Sea Zones with Allied powers, and vice-versa.
- 8.1.3 Combat between the Comintern and the Allies (and the Axis) is possible.
- 8.1.4 Whenever the Comintern attacks a Neutral Territory, there is no ‘re-alignment’ roll for other Neutrals.
- 8.1.5 The Comintern wins the game if a round ends with the Soviet Union and/or CC in control of 6 or more victory cities, including every USSR home Victory city.
8.2 Communist China (CC) is a Minor Comintern Power controlled by and moving with the Soviet Union.
8.3 All Comintern-controlled Territories in China become CC-controlled.
8.3 At the end of each Soviet turn, CC places one infantry plus one additional infantry for every two original Chinese territories they control, rounding down. Place the infantry units in any CC Territory.
8.4 If any CC territory borders a Soviet-controlled TT, the CC may place one of the above infantry units as an artillery unit instead, placing it in any CC territory connected in an unbroken chain of Comintern territories to that Soviet territory.
8.5 If there are no communist forces remaining on the board at the end of the Soviet turn, place no CC reinforcements. Instead select an original Chinese territory adjacent to a Soviet territory, and roll a d6. On a 3 or less, Place one CC infantry and one CC artillery in that territory; combat will ensue here as applicable in later turns.Roundels (print @ 4x6in):
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@vodot Love the roundels!
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