Finally bought this game!

I don’t find the number of chips to be a problem with anything other than infantry, and I have another colour (MB version white) for 10 infantry.

Two or three large stacks in a region are much less of a problem than 7 or 8 medium ones.

Regarding opening setup:

Should the opening setup reflect the situation on August 4th 1914? In this case, Germany will have the equivalent of 7 armies massed in the West, with just 1 to hold tt in the East.
This effectively commits Germany to the Schleiffen plan; just about practical if rail movement is used, suicidal if it is not.

However, I would suggest a non-combat “Mobilization” round before any combat rounds, following these steps:

1. All starting units are placed in their Army Corps district headquarters/depots (land) and Home Station (ships). That is, each county’s units begin on their Peacetime settings.

2. Each player will simultaneously write down his mobilization orders in secret (don’t worry its one turn only). They are then revealed and units given their Mobe orders.

3. Referring to MOs, land and air units are moved as ordered, restricted of course to moving anywhere in home tt. Ships can be moved to any friendly port, or ordered to sea. This may result in rival fleets passing through the same sea zones, or ending up in the same zone. This is not a problem, as there is no combat in this round.

4. Nations may call up their national reserves, placing such units in their appropriate depots. Any new units purchased are also placed at this time.

Players may, Diplomacy style, confer in secret with Allies before writing orders.

Depending on politics at set up:

The Mobilization round may involve just Germany, Austria, France & Russia; perhaps Serbia as Russian ally.

Britain can only mobilize after G or A attacks a neutral. Turkey mobilizes at the start of Round two; Italy mobilizes in May 1915; USA under conditions agreed as per rules.

Newly mobilizing nations do not collect income before their Mob turn. Effectively they don’t take a turn before this.

Any country coming under attack before it is mobed automatically activates. Its units can defend themselves, and attack next turn.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobilization#Mobilization_in_World_War_I

Edit:

An alternative system is for each power to Mobe in turn order, so that Player Two can Mobe in response to Player One’s Mobe moves and so forth.

@Flashman:

The other main objective is that the SZs bordering Africa have no mines, which should make naval combat more lively; the CP fleets can link up, or invade north Africa.

That definitely think that could change things up a lot.  Those mines in SZ17 and the large allied fleets make any early AH naval plans difficult.

@Jocher:

1 - Tanks.  Can someone explain tanks to us in detail?  They attack at 2, defend at 1?  They soak up hits?  How?  We didn’t understand tanks at all and haven’t used them yet due to this fact.  Please help if you can.

Tanks attack at 2 (3 when supported by artillery) and defend at 1.  When attacking (not defending), each tank cancels one hit scored by the defender.  However, tanks may not cancel hits scored by pre-emptive artillery strikes while performing an amphibious assault.

@Jocher:

2 - Army Movement.  Example -  I am playing as Germany, and I have let’s say 30Inf/20Art and I move them in to hostile French Territory which houses 30Inf/20Art themselves.  We duke it out for that round (Germany attacks, France defends) and the territory becomes contested.  After the initial attack, both Germany and France go down to, let’s say, 20Inf/10Art each.  Now it’s France’s turn.  #1 - Does France have the choice to NOT defend, and instead retreat all their armies and give the territory to Germany?

France has the option to not attack.  A power is never the defender on its own turn.

It may reinforce the territory with more units, or withdraw some or all of its units.  Any units in the territory may then attack, or they may do nothing.

@Jocher:

Now let’s say France decides to fight.  After France defends, the armies are both split evenly at 10Inf/5Art.  Territory is still contested.  Next turn is Germany’s.  #2 - As Germany, can I move my 10Inf/5Art closer to Paris?  Or must my army stay in the territory until no more hostile units are in it?

When units move out of a contested territory, they must move into a territory that either was controlled by their power or contained units beloning to their power at the beginning of the turn.  Germany may move its units closer to Paris only if those conditions are met.

@Jocher:

4 - If I am Germany and just took Rome, the next round am I allowed to muster units in Rome, or do the Allies/CP ONLY muster units in their capital and NOT in captured capitals?

You may only mobilize land and air units in your own capital (or in India if you’re the British Empire).  You may only mobilize sea units in sea zones that have a naval base located in a territory that you originally controlled (has only your power’s emblem) and was not under enemy control at the beginning of your turn.

70 USD is about the standard price for the 1914 game. You might get only used ones for less.

There is no 1914-map for TripleA atm, although some enthusiasts had been working on it:

http://tripleadev.1671093.n2.nabble.com/1914-development-td7583942.html

Well they could have mixed some in.
My biggest gripe is the lack of artillery sculpts.
Just swap them all around. Like give France the Italian sculpt from 1940, and give Russia the Japanese sculpt, etc. Just recolor the old molds.
Better than one cookie cutter artillery.

I’ve been playing this game with mostly the same group for a couple of years now and not once have I seen Germany declare USW. The minor hit to the Allies’ income just isn’t worth the risk.

You’d have to make SZ 20 two zones for Constantinople to be able to block movement like Suez.

bosporos.PNG