The Indestructible Neutral Colored Units: Why??


  • Why is it so important that ICs not be destroyed? Or AA Guns for that matter.

    Why can’t you tear down your own factory?  :? The Russians did and moved them East while the Germans were threatening them. And an AA Gun - your telling me a soldier can’t stick some dynamite down the barrel and blow it up? What are these things made of, some rare grey/white alloy from space can’t be hurt?

    We use a house rule where you can remove any IC or AA Gun during non-combat movement that you have controlled since the beginning of your turn. You can also remove an IC if bombing damage was done to it that you don’t want to pay for. Simple and logical.

    Some might say ICs represent many different buildings. OK - so do the other plastic pieces. This rule goes so against common logic and the general principles of unit interaction in the game I don’t see how it can continue long in future editions. I saw in Alpha 3 rules that at least AA Guns will be destructible.

  • Customizer

    Yeah, you are right. Having ICs and AA guns be indestructible doesn’t make a lot of common sense. However, I think part of it is to represent the spoils of capturing certain territories, and to make the original owner want to defend that territory a little better.
    For the Attacker, you fought hard to win this territory, so now you get a new IC to pump out units right here rather than having to truck them in from your capital.
    For the Defender, you have to defend this territory a little harder or your enemy will have an IC much closer to your capital.

    At least in the Global 1940 rules when Major ICs are captured, they are reduced to Minor ICs which represents the lesser capacity available to an invading force. Example: A German factory wouldn’t produce as much for the Americans as it would for the Germans.
    Some games do have “scorched earth” rules, like The War Game: World War II, where you can remove factories under imminent attack. I think it costs you 1 infantry unit in that territory (i.e. if you have 3 infantry defending, you can use one to destroy the factory and leave 2 to defend the territory). I’m sure there are others, I’m just not familiar with them.
    Plus, you can always make a house rule allowing for the destruction of ICs to keep them out of enemy hands. Of course, that could be a double-edged sword. Say the invader’s attack goes horribly wrong. Now you have to either purchase a new IC there or simply do without.


  • Such a simple thing we havent thought about till now!

    Maybe, when you SBR a IC and your dice cound up to a XX# then it is destroyed, or if it is bombed to max twice it is destroyed.

    In the alpha 3 rules AA guns are destroyed as hits

  • Liaison TripleA '11 '10

    I think part of it is to represent the spoils of capturing certain territories, and to make the original owner want to defend that territory a little better.

    This is it.

    It’s a bit arbitrary… but some places just have natural advantages, and the game allows you to capture them.


  • I’ve been thinking of playing a game where you can only build IC’s on original owned territories. Whenever you capture a territory (wich doesn’t originaly belong to you) with an IC on it, that IC is destroyed. This way the German advance into Russia might be a little bit more difficult and would give it more of a historical feel to it (as supply lines back then were a major issue too).

    I have yet to try it out tho.

  • '12

    @Rhey:

    I’ve been thinking of playing a game where you can only build IC’s on original owned territories. Whenever you capture a territory (wich doesn’t originaly belong to you) with an IC on it, that IC is destroyed. This way the German advance into Russia might be a little bit more difficult and would give it more of a historical feel to it (as supply lines back then were a major issue too).

    I have yet to try it out tho.

    It may hurt the Russians in the long run.  May I suggest, that when captured, a factory is given full 6 damage.  The captor can’t use it (as a variant to your house rule), so they won’t fix it, but at least the Russians only have to pay to repair, rather than replace it when and if they retake it.  Heavily damaging a facory on capture also reflects the heavy fighting in the cities that contain them.  Or maybe just do the 6 damage thing and allow the captor to use it if they fix it (perhaps they should be seen as reforming destroyed units there, as opposed to making new builds).  Whatever route you try, I’d be curious to hear how it goes.


  • @Rhey:

    I’ve been thinking of playing a game where you can only build IC’s on original owned territories. Whenever you capture a territory (wich doesn’t originaly belong to you) with an IC on it, that IC is destroyed. This way the German advance into Russia might be a little bit more difficult and would give it more of a historical feel to it (as supply lines back then were a major issue too).

    I have yet to try it out tho.

    ya, we ALWAYS play with the can only build in your own starting territories rule in our games eitherway.  Never done the destroy enemy ICs when captured, would be more like put them into fully damaged state and unrepairable till the person who built them repairs them is what we do… supply lines make the game much fun, specially in the bigger maps.

  • TripleA

    @moralecheck:

    It may hurt the Russians in the long run.  May I suggest, that when captured, a factory is given full 6 damage.  The captor can’t use it (as a variant to your house rule), so they won’t fix it, but at least the Russians only have to pay to repair, rather than replace it when and if they retake it.  Heavily damaging a facory on capture also reflects the heavy fighting in the cities that contain them.  Or maybe just do the 6 damage thing and allow the captor to use it if they fix it (perhaps they should be seen as reforming destroyed units there, as opposed to making new builds).  Whatever route you try, I’d be curious to hear how it goes.

    That was my first thought also. Even in the old games where ICs didn’t take damage, you could make a house rule stating that ICs, upon capture, take damage equal to half the territory value (rounded up). I also like the new dynamic of A&A 1942 2nd Ed. where AAs where specific to that nation.


  • we have a house rule that captured majors turn into fully damaged minors and captured minors are destroyed.
    i have also seen rules that when you capture IC you role a D20 for major and D6 for minor to determine how much damage it received during the battle.

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