Fortunes of Victory - New Cards

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  • T
    '16

    I think the key to modding A&A is that, no matter the design, you need to stay true to why people play this particular game.

    First, they want to move little plastic men and roll dice. If there are chits, they must not represent units.

    Second, they want to engage in at least a partial historical simulation. There’s a reason the game is “Axis & Allies,” not “Guys & Tanks.”

    Third, they want to play a game of minimum complexity.

    I am of the opinion that, for somebody who plays A&A, the question of how long is less important than how exhausting.

    Any map I participated in designing would be larger than the original. It would also include a number of magnified “cut-outs” around the borders for those territories that tend to be jam-packed with units.

    I know a great mapmaker. Maybe we can dragoon him.

    There is a cost to play each of the cards. Generals remain on the table as 1/1/1 units. Cards are drawn both at the start of the game and at the start of each round of turns. Some cards are drawn from a general deck by the player whose turn it is. Other cards are drawn by each player from a deck specific to their country. Some cards, called Events, are played automatically. Some cards have triggers – conditions that must be met.

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  • LHoffman
    '18 '17 '16 '15 Customizer

    @Trenacker:

    I think the key to modding A&A is that, no matter the design, you need to stay true to why people play this particular game.

    First, they want to move little plastic men and roll dice. If there are chits, they must not represent units.

    Second, they want to engage in at least a partial historical simulation. There’s a reason the game is “Axis & Allies,” not “Guys & Tanks.”

    Third, they want to play a game of minimum complexity.

    I am of the opinion that, for somebody who plays A&A, the question of how long is less important than how exhausting.

    Any map I participated in designing would be larger than the original. It would also include a number of magnified “cut-outs” around the borders for those territories that tend to be jam-packed with units.

    I completely agree on all your points. Simplicity is fundamentally important. The challenge for me becomes improving existing game mechanics without really adding a whole lot of unnecessary bits. My intention is to leave A&A traditional elements, phases and pieces exactly as they are, but to modify rules for the pieces, add to the map and re-shape the victory conditions. This should not alter the game itself at all, just allow for different approaches when playing.

    @Trenacker:

    I know a great mapmaker. Maybe we can dragoon him.

    Haha, that would be excellent. I am good with maps, but I do not have any true image editing software at this time. I hear there is a free Photoshop-like program you can download though.

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  • T
    '16

    I think that new core gameplay mechanics can be added. They will succeed if they avoid infringing upon any of the core reasons that people play A&A.

    For example, I think that it might be possible to add a Political Influence tracker that affects the behavior of neutrals (here, I am using that term broadly, to include countries such as Argentina, Spain, Finland, Romania, and Siam). The Political Influence tracker can be packaged as a separate play aid placed to one side of the map, or else printed somewhere on the edges of the map itself. This would be one use for chits.

    I think that major railroads should be printed on the map. Plastic markers can be used to indicate when a rail line is either cut or extended.

    Weather effects can be added for specific regions on the board. Possibly, players could roll before any naval engagement while the fleets do a “search.” Carriers might lend bonuses to find the enemy, representing their air groups.

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  • LHoffman
    '18 '17 '16 '15 Customizer

    @Trenacker:

    I think that new core gameplay mechanics can be added. They will succeed if they avoid infringing upon any of the core reasons that people play A&A.

    For example, I think that it might be possible to add a Political Influence tracker that affects the behavior of neutrals (here, I am using that term broadly, to include countries such as Argentina, Spain, Finland, Romania, and Siam). The Political Influence tracker can be packaged as a separate play aid placed to one side of the map, or else printed somewhere on the edges of the map itself. This would be one use for chits.

    I think that major railroads should be printed on the map. Plastic markers can be used to indicate when a rail line is either cut or extended.

    Weather effects can be added for specific regions on the board. Possibly, players could roll before any naval engagement while the fleets do a “search.” Carriers might lend bonuses to find the enemy, representing their air groups.

    All of this sounds cool and would work with a large map, but it definitely adds complexity to an already complex game. There are a lot of rules and phases in the OOB game, which can be intimidating enough for a new player. Your propositions would significantly slow gameplay and add multiple new layers of politics, logistics and tactics.

    I briefly considered how railroads could be implemented, but then figured it would probably make mechanized units obsolete. The only railroad I would include is a line on the map for the Trans-Siberian RR.

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  • T
    '16

    I want to add a Confederate States of America to the map, as well as making Argentina playable. I’d also like to add Portugal to the game.

    Do we begin to get away from WWII? Yes. We are now straying perilously close to violation of Core Element #2, historical simulation.

    I want to make the Mississippi and Yangtze navigable for small craft and ironclads. Also the Great Lakes.

    I think the game could be further streamlined with the addition of more player aids and simultaneous turns for European and Pacific powers.

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  • LHoffman
    '18 '17 '16 '15 Customizer

    Dude… you have got to check out HBGs new Global War series. I am just finding out a lot about this myself. The Global War 1936-1945 game is supposed to be released next month.

    This gets into almost all the stuff you just mentioned. The games are going to start in 1850 and move all the way up through 2025. The board is huge (bigger than G40) and full of more intricate elements including the possibility for the CSA. I think your game may already be here.

    http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=30805.msg1458230#new
    http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=36323.15

    http://www.historicalboardgaming.com/Global-War-1936-1945-Variant-Map-PREORDER_p_2029.html?mc_cid=5adafb82dc&mc_eid=e2bfc39772
    http://www.historicalboardgaming.com/Proposed-Games_c_550.html

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