The A&A Europe 1999 ed had a Special cash advance rule that I liked a lot. The Bank made a one-time disbursement of 12 IPC, that the players could spend or save as they wished. Lets take this one step further by making it hidden.
This rule could be used in all A&A games, but since it probably skew the balance, it is not fit for tournament play, but could be fun in casual f2f games in your basement if you are fed up of the OOB same moves every game issue.
1. Set up all units as usual, according to the set-up chart.
2. Axis get 24 IPC to share, and Allies get 24 IPC to share. This is a one-time disbursement before Turn 1. Add the bid.
3. All players wrote down on paper what units they purchase, and where they are mobilized. The units can be mobilized in any friendly territory and not-hostile seazone.
4. All players simultaneous turn their papers face up, and place their units on map. Of course enemy ships can share the same seazone, it just get hostile, and trigger a combat in T1.
5. Now start to play the game as usual.
Interesting.
Thanks for sharing it.
If some territory or SZ can be too unbalancing, you can forbid any investment in such a SZ or Territory.
Or you can limit the number of additional units to 1.
Maybe some restricted randomness can also be added to this cash bonus.
Some preterminded zones can receive the bonus, and not others.
The basic concept can be develop in many ways to change from OOB.
I have a question: when you say “Axis get 24 IPC to share, and Allies get 24 IPC to share,” do you mean that each side gets 24 IPCs to share equally among the players on that side? Or do you mean that the Axis players can share those 24 IPCs amongst themselves in any way they agree upon (presumably in a private negotiating conference before play starts), and that the Allied players can do the same thing?
The latter model could have interesting effects in terms of player group dynamics. Taking (as an example) the Axis side in Global 1940, the three Axis players would each have to weigh their understandable individual wish to get an equal slice of the cake (putting their interests ahead of the group’s) versus the argument that it might be better for the Axis partnership as a whole if just one member of the group – say, Germany – got 100% of the bonus and the other partners got nothing. From the point of view of Japan and Italy, agreeing to let Germany get everything would be a tough decision because it would mean putting the group’s interests ahead of their own. For Germany, of course, the bargain would be ideal because it would get to keep the whole cake for itself while simultaneously participating in a strategy that benefits the whole group.
Mark, its a house rule, its not supposed to play out exactly the same way in your basement as in mine. In my basement it would be as free as possible, while in the residence of Baron Munchausen it looks like its gonna be some restrictions and limits. In most games you only see 2 or 3 players, so I doubt it will be a lot of arguing about the sharing. If you play in a club and 8 people sit around the table, I bet they stick to the OOB rules.
Anyway, if Germany get all IPC in one game, then I figure Italy or Japan get pretty weak. But the beauty of the hidden nature of this rule, is the Allies don’t know for sure where the money goes. Both the Allies and the Axis have to guess what the other guy do with his starting cash
