I think we killed @Argothair’s thread with our Azorian chatter, @SS-GEN.

@SS-GEN said in Argo's Middleweight Map for 1939 & 1942:

Top Azores is almost right. Same sz but move it more north

I Northed the Azores. I think it would be fun to put them at the center of an intersection, would take some rejiggering. No clue how that affects atlantic flow.

@Argothair, put me down for helping in general with playtesting, naming territories, and GIMP/art stuff. What help do you need right now?

• I just want to make sure that you know that Inkscape (free/open-source illustrator clone) can quickly and awesomely vectorize raster images- I’ve attached your map, vectorized as a pdf below (this took literally 5 minutes; you can endlessly tweak/refine the process, exclude text, etc…). You’re probably already aware- I just want to make sure. This obviously doesn’t instantly solve your 1-pixel-wide problems.

• I think the Azores in the Atlantic has an expansive effect on Axis mental health (and strategic bombing strategies); what about in one of the two spots shown below?

argo_draft_map.pdf

@Black_Elk playing the POS map with the islands between SZs was just a massive eye-opener. I modified community maps and printed big physical POS & POS+C maps, and I taped your islands to my revised board- my group played 10 or 20 in-person games between 2006-2009 on those setups! So much crunchier tactically, especially in the Mediterranean and PTO, and the initial unit placements were so refreshing.

Hi all, is there a running summary/spreadsheet/google doc or some other location where I could download rules to play this on a physical board? Anyone else done this that could give me some tips/resources?

@barnee

Is there a running summary or google doc of these rules changes somewhere, for someone that wants to run this setup on a physical board?

These are terrific! Thanks for sharing with the community!

Thanks, what a re-post. A thread for the ages.

To calibrate how much of either of these you will need to use (without damaging the board), I would test both of these first on another board you don’t care about before attempting.

Idea #0: Have you tried scraping it off with your fingernail? Depending on the nature of the stain, it might be removable with a pick/pin. Careful not to scratch the board.
Idea #1 (conventional option): WD-40. I cannot tell you how many things WD-40 removes. Go light and rub off the excess immediately to minimize staining on the board.
Idea #2 (the nuclear option): Isopropyl (“Rubbing”) Alcohol. Alcohol is the destroyer of all inks… which may or may not include the surface of the board test first and be careful.

@djensen I am, but I’ve had zero time lately to play or even think about A&A. Thanks for thinking of me! I will hit you back when I have some time.

@axis_roll said in Balanced Mod [Anniversary 41]:

@vodot
overstate
verb (used with object), o·ver·stat·ed, o·ver·stat·ing.
to state too strongly; exaggerate:

India was never as near as susceptible to Japanese conquest in the real war as it is in AA50. So when I say that AA50 “overstates India’s vulnerability”, I mean that the game makes India far too easy to take by the Japanese.

Right, makes sense- I knew what you meant, especially given all of the preceding discussion; I think when I first read that sentence I mentally inserted the words “Reports of” in front of the words “India’s vulnerability…” which really would invert the meaning. I think. Apologies for any unintentional grammatical fascism

Related to legitimizing the PTO, and this is a very old thought, but what about splitting the US economy ala G40 UK?

When I used to have 7 people over to play revised we would add Italy for the 6th player (using pact of steel rules + setup from triplea), but for the 7th player we would split the US economy at CUS (which counted for both sides), then add +10IPCs to each half. Players could still go all in on KGF or KJF, if they wanted, but naval forces and/or ground units would then have to be produced in their respective IC centers and moved manually to the other side of the board. This is a little bit arbitrary, but it almost always resulted in a real PTO for the US and led to some fun times and climactic fights over the islands.

I can’t speak to precise balance (except to say that I could win as either side without a bid, but that is hardly an accomplishment when you are teaching a game) and the whole thing is going to be shaded by the relative strengths and weaknesses of the POS setup, one of which was (IIRC) a stronger UK in Europe and in the PTO in particular.