I’m in the middle of giving Diplomacy a spin.  It looks promising so far, but it may be that this is one of those games where YMMV based upon who you play with.  I can see how some types of gamers would love a game like this, while others would just grief everyone and suck the fun out of it, and still others that would hate it on principle.

PRO:

• I like the idea of having everyone move at the same time, more realistic.  You actually have surprises.  Watching the faces of people that just got stabbed is classic.
• No real down-time.
• Technically, the war has not started yet so you get to choose your own allies.
• No luck, only pure strategy and cunning.
• Support Costs.  Basically, you can’t just keep building and building forever.  More realistic.
• Fleets are a major part of the game, not just a mode of transportation for armies.

CON:

• Adjudication.  The simple hold, attack, support, convoy orders can get very complex very quickly, but you have to have know it to get your armies and fleets to do what you want.  Then you have to figure out how it settles when all the orders start clashing together.  Yes, there are paradoxes.
• Stalemates.  2, 3, and even 4 way ties are normal.  You can spend hours upon hours playing only to have no winner.
• Finding players.  You really need all 7 to get the full experience.
• If your friends are the sort that hold grudges, you may actually lose their friendship just by playing this game once.

First play test is complete.  Zombies took over half of Asia after starting in the Philippines but then were wiped out shortly after Germany fell and Japan surrendered.  There are a bunch of tweaks and fixes needed to the rules.  The Zs seem formidable at first, but once you get some large stacks attacking them they are easily subdued.  I’ll post here when I have them.

@mozkaynak:

• Put an IC in Sinkiang: Therefore I will able to produce US units near to Russia to slow down Japan and defend Moskow when needed.

Only if you go after Japan first, KJF, which can be fun to do for a change.  Otherwise, it is easy pickings for Japan and now they have a Factory really close to Moscow. 

@mozkaynak:

• Develop a fleet in Atlantic Ocean and continuously transfer soldiers to North Africa. I will attack Germany from Mediterranean sea and will make sure that I control Suez Channel.

I like to do this myself.  Just watch out for a possible attack on London if Germany has their air force in West Europe and made any naval purchases on their first turn, G1.  You may have to divert your first landing in Algeria to UK to help defend London.

@mozkaynak:

Do you think these are reasonable strategies to bring USA to the war zone in time?
Thank You.

Another bonus about having the US go to Berlin via Africa is that now Germany has to guard the territories that border Med too.  It can cause them to keep more units back to defend instead of advancing the Eastern Front.  And you can still 1-2 punch West Europe.  I find that I don’t mind so much when my US transport fleet gets strafed by the Luftwaffe because 1) it is a distraction, preventing the Luftwaffe from hitting on the Eastern Front and 2) you get some defensive hits and now the Luftwaffe is that much weaker.

I’m about midway through my first play-test.  By the end I’ll have some rule improvements.  The Zs are formidable.  Initial outbreak was in the Philippines.  Rolled a 6, which zombified all the Civs and units for a total of 14 Zs.  They spread outward via the even spread rules and wiped out Okinawa, Burma, and the Carolines.  New Guinea and East Indies are holding out and will likely be safe for the rest of the game.  The Zs hit FIC and Shanghai the same turn and from there they spread out to Buratia, China, Mongolia, Afghanistan,and Persia.  Currently there are 44 zombies scattered across south east Asia.  Japan has been out of the picture as most of their territory is now swarming with Zs.  Tokyo itself is well defended and is hoping to repel the imminent Zs headed their way next turn.  And they learned the hard way that you have to outnumber the Zs 3-1 if you want assured victory.  Several failed attacks against a Z horde.  The Brits wisely evacuated India, Persia, and Trans Jordan.  If you leave the Civs the Zs multiply too fast.  The neutral zones with Civs are dangerous and really influence the battle against the Zs.

Oh, I’m using money to track Civs and Zs.  Nickels and Pennies seem to work fine.  The Bag 'O Zombies is almost perfect.  They are slightly larger than the game’s Infantry pieces, but not enough to be distracting.  They look great on the board.

A few more possible tweaks:

• Nations cannot collect IPCs from territories that have 1 or more Zs in them. (who’s going to work when Zs are on your front lawn?)
• When you move a Civ, they do not count towards your IPC total at the end of your turn.
• If a Z successfully attacks a transport or carrier holding 1 or more Civs, then all Civs are turned into Zs according to the ratio as well as the transporting unit itself. (I’ll definitely add this one)

This topic has gone in and out of my thoughts since I first noticed it.  I’m going to play test this myself when I get the chance.  I’ll pick up a Bag 'o Zombies, find some way to track Civs, and get cracking.

@valthonis:

Personally I think the civilian tracking is unneeded.

Well, if you drop that then you can drop the Civ transportation rules.

Basically, I wanted to get the feel for fleeing refugees into the game.  Think of WWZ and the Great Panic.  Not only do you have to kill the Zs, but you have to protect your Civs by transporting them to safety, which are your production and your “hit points”.  You almost have to do it because with the Zs attacking your Civs directly you stand a risk of being over-run where 2 Zs have a 5/36 chance of becoming 6 Zs and a 1/36 chance of becoming 10 Zs.

I was also pondering a rule about diminishing returns for Civs in low IPC territories.  Basically, you get 1 IPC per Civ up to the IPC value of the territory.  Past the IPC value, you only get 1 IPC for every 2 Civs rounding down.  For example, in Germany, you get 9 IPCs for 9 Civs and 10 for 10, but 11 Civs only gets you 10 IPCs and 12 Civs get you 11 IPCs.  That way you don’t get Hawaii with 36 IPCs produced, but only 18, whereas Germany would give you 23 with that same 36 Civs.  However, it may be too restrictive.

Please, let me know if you try the Mod I suggested above.  I am very interested in hearing how it worked, what was good about it, and what was bad about it.  8-)

Axis & Allies & Zombies (WARNING: This has NEVER been play-tested!  Proceed at your own risk!  The Z to Civ ratio may need adjusting.)

Materials:

• Zombie figures (a Z, or Zs)
• Civilian Family figures (a Civ, or Civs)
• extra chip counters, or some way to track a lot of Zs and Civs on the board.

Setup:

• Each Territory gets Civs = to it’s IPC value.  All grey Neutral Zones get 2 Civs, Except Sahara Desert and Himilaya get 0.
• Set up board as normal for each nation.
• The Outbreak:  Randomly choose a territory, roll 1d6, and that many Civs in that territory are removed and become Zombies at a ratio of 4 Zs for 1 Civ. (1 Family = Mother, Father, and 2 kids)  If the roll is greater than the IPC, the territory owner takes casualties, like during combat, and remove units in that territory and replace with Zombies until the roll is reached or there are not more units left.  Note: to make things interesting, try randomly choosing a Victory City.

Combat Movement:

• Zombie Automated Attack: Zs must do a combat move into an adjacent territory if it has any Civs and there are no Civs in it’s current territory.  If more than one qualify, evenly distribute Zs between them and randomly distribute the remainder into those territories.  If there are Civs in the current territory, each Z in that territory rolls 1d6 and on a 1 removes a Civ and adds 4 Zs to that Territory.
• For each Z that enters a territory that contains one or more Civs, roll a special opening fire shot and for each hit (2 or 1), remove a Civ and add 4 more Zs.  These new Zs do not get to do this, but do participate on the Battle Board.
• Zs have a movement of 1 and can move into into Grey zones and into an adjacent Sea Zone if it has a navy. (Stop laughing.  To make things more interesting, I am assuming that all navy ships in a sea zone adjacent to a land territory are docked and trying to help the Civs.  If you want your Navies safe, you must have them in a Sea Zone that is not adjacent to a land territory.)  Zs can only attack a SZ when moving from land, so Zs already in a water zone at the beginning of a turn are submerged and cannot attack or be attacked.
• Zs can move from a Sea Zone to a land territory for an attack.
• Everyone can attack into Grey zones.
• Players attacking a zone with one or more Players and/or Zs present must declare who they are attacking.  It can be just one, or some, or all in that territory or zone.

Combat:

• Civilians are 0/0 and may not participate in combat.
• Zombies are 2/1, casualties caused by zombies are removed from the battle board and that many Zombies are added on to the battle board immediately at a ratio of 1 Z for every 1 Infantry and Artillery, 2 Zs for all others.
• All Military units are 1/1 vs. Zombies (You need a critical head shot.)

Non-Combat Move:

• Civs have a movement of 0.  However, you may move a Civ in your control by using one of the following units that has not participated in combat this turn:  Infantry, Artillery, & Tank. (it escorts the Civs)  Bombers can transport 1 Civ if it has not participated in combat.  The unit moves the Civ according to that unit’s movement rules.  Transports treat Civs like Infantry. (2 or 1 and something else)  Carriers can move Civs like transports and can carry 2 Civs instead of 1 Fighter.  (4 Civs or 2 Civs and 1 Fighter)
• Zombie Automated Move: Zs That have not attacked this turn move in the following manner:
• • Zs will stay where they are if there are fewer Zs than the IPC value of the current territory plus 1.
• • If there are more than the IPC value plus 1, the extra will move to an adjacent land territory that has the fewest Zs.  If more than one qualify, evenly distribute them between the territories and randomly distribute the remainder.  If no land territory has less and an adjacent Sea Zone is empty, then move the extra into the Sea Zone.
• • If Zs are in a Sea Zone, randomly move them 1 in any direction, SZ to SZ or SZ to land territory.
• • Zs beginning their turn in a SZ are submerged and cannot attack or be attacked.
• • Zs may not use the Panama Canal or the Suez Canal.  They must cross over the land.
• • Zs that move into a SZ that completely surrounds an island are considered to be on the island.

IPCs:

• Each Nation may collect IPCs from their territories based on how many Civs are in that territory.  Zs do not collect IPCs.  All IPCs given to them are lost.

Additional Rules:

• The turn order is:  Russia, Germany, Great Brittan, Japan, US, Zombies.
• A country that has no Civs or Units under it’s control is eliminated.
• Only one nation can own a territory.
• Zs cannot own territory.
• The owner of a territory controls all the Civs in that territory.
• The first player that is eliminated becomes the Zombie Player (ex: Zombie Churchill) and may ignore the Automated Attack and Move rules and may move and attack as they see fit.
• Zs do not collect IPCs and cannot research Tech and cannot build units.
• Zs cannot cooperate with other players.
• Axis and Allied nations may cooperate with each other if they choose to up an to the point that they choose not to.
• Zs win the game if all other players are eliminated.
• Players win if they have met the normal win conditions AND all Zs are eliminated.
• Factories can only produce as many units up to and including the number of Civs in the same territory.[UPDATED: 7/14/2010]
• Factories can be removed from the board, “demolished & salvaged”, for 1 IPC. (This is to allow players to get around the no more Factory models rule) [UPDATED: 7/14/2010]

@miker49:

snip
….plus UK and US industrial bombing, Germany was all but defeated…
snip
…Any help?

You may wish to rethink the SBRs.  Well, if you have absolutely no other use for your bombers, I guess it is not a terrible idea.  However, you may want to move them to somewhere that they can be of other use too.  Getting to roll for some 4’s in a battle is really nice and there are some who feel that it is more effective for your cause than an SBR.

Thus is a large weakness of the “forum” format when it comes to sharing information.

In time, and a short time at that, knowledge is buried and forgotten.  That great, informative post you wrote last year is hopelessly impossible to find by anyone that doesn’t know exactly where it is.

This also causes the cyclic nature of forums.  A body of people come together to discuss a topic.  Over time they cover all the points and nuances.  New people are told “we talked about that topic here” or the less friendly “learn to use the search tool”.  Eventually, the old guard has run out of things to talk about and leave the board because it is boring.  Then in time a core of new people come together to discuss the topic.  They re-hash all the old topics, more or less from scratch.

If you want information to endure, I recommend putting it in a Wiki.  They are remarkably less fun than a forum, but the information is easily accessible to all.  Especially if it is cross-linked well.  Take a look at tvtropes.org and how that Wiki is designed.  Lots of cross-linking not only limited to things directly discussed as part of the topic definition, but also to things that are similar for comparison and to things that are opposites for contrast.