Allied Strategy

[GiddyXray]

Hi,
I made a video of my favorite Allied strategy. If you’re interseted you can see it at:
https://youtu.be/eOO_ePC0qg8

If you have any feedback or comments I like to hear it!

[thetruegriffin]

I have a feeling that you and I are the only people that play the 2004 revised editions.  lol

[thetruegriffin]

Here’s some fun customizations for the 2004 Revised version.  I added Finland and the Free French…It actually plays surprisingly well with 7 players.  I would only recommend Semi-Experienced players for Finland and the Free French.  This is more fun because you can still participate, and coach new players to the game.  A lot of fun. I’ll break out the separate countries rules in their own posts below.  Updated order of play is:
Finland, USSR, Germany, UK, Japan, Free French, USA.

[thetruegriffin]

Finland (Axis):
+Controls Norway (3 IPCs)

• First player of every round (goes before Soviet Union)
• Starts with AAA, Industrial Center, 1 Tank, 1 Artillery, 3 Infantry, and 1 Fighter on territory. (Germany has no units in territory)
• Starts with 1 Destroyer and 1 Transport in North Sea (Germany has one less transport in North Sea)
• Starts with 10 IPCs, but only earns the value of its held territories after each turn (the 10 IPCs is enough for the player to decide if they want to start defensive or be more aggressive)
• Can attack any Allied ships
• Can reinforce and defend German or Japanese-held territories

• Cannot conduct Tech Research
• Only has a total of 4 National Marker Discs.  Can only take over 3 additional territories besides Finland (Norway Territory on 2004 Revised Board)
• Cannot Build Aircraft Carriers, Submarines, or Battleships
• Can only attack Allied land units in Soviet Territory or in conquered Axis territories (Cannot offensively attack UK or US starting territories)

Finland should be for you most-advanced player.  Essentially you play as a thorn in the side of the Soviet Union, or divert allied naval resources to counter its ability to rapidly reinforce Germany.  If Finland plays a good balance of defending the home front, but also supporting Germany, it becomes a respected enemy and the USSR would bode well to try to take it out of the game quickly.  Finland is fun because it’s not overpowered, but can be a huge asset to the Axis if played smartly.  Just like in WWII, Finland has enough to maintain its independence, but if it gets too aggressive, it quickly can spread itself too thin.  Conservative support of the Axis is the name of the game.

[thetruegriffin]

Free French (Allies):

• Turn occurs after Japan
• Starts with 1 Tank, 1 Infantry, and 1 Fighter in England
• 1 Tank, 1 Infantry in French West Africa
• 1 Infantry, 1 Artillery in French Equatorial Africa
• 1 Infantry in French Madagascar
• 1 Infantry, 1 Fighter in India
• Builds one land or air unit in England at the start of its turn until Paris is liberated

• Cannot collect income or research units until Paris is liberated
• Cannot build Naval units
• Must use Allies Transports to move units over sea (occurs during that Ally’s non-combat move)

The Free French are fun for being the fringe harassment for the Allies.  You have limited land capability, so you have to think ahead.  You’ll end up using a lot of fighters to harass axis territories prior to your allies launching the capturing attacks.  Free French are a diamond in the rough.  You can move your units to back-fill a defense after your allies use up their units in offenses.  French Fighters end up being key to holding on to Moscow.  USSR and French end up working pretty close. 1 or 2 Free French Fighters flying to help the USSR hold its capital is the balancing act for a potentially aggressive Finland Player.

[thetruegriffin]

This is just a fun modification of the 2004 Revised edition.  I’ve played several games like this. It’s pretty well balanced with 7 players.  Pretty even split between if the Axis or the Allies win.  Depends on the players, not the rules.  The rules I tried to base in as much historical context as possible…while still keeping Finland and the Free French fun to play.  If you have any questions about the rules, let me know and I can explain.

[DoManMacgee]

Never Fear.  There’s actually three of us still playing Revised.

Can’t watch the video right now but I plan on checking it out as soon as I can (I’ll leave feedback on Youtube since it’s easier to know when someone’s replied to a comment).

[thetruegriffin]

haha, 2004 Revised players….UNITE!

[GiddyXray]

Yes, it is the three of us!  :-P
I can not make the transition to 42 2nd edition because it sucks in my opinion! Maybe anniversary edition will pull me back to present times!

[Kreuzfeld]

I love revised. BGO is the place to be :)

[The Skipper]

You can make that a 4th.  Just started learning G40 a few months back, and played 2 pseudo games tabletop with my local group as a dry run to get familiar with the new rule set, map, and, units.  But have been playing Revised a couple of years since it came out.  Stumbled across it at a hobby store in Toronto while on a business trip back in 2006.  I had last played A&A back in the mid 80’s when in the Navy and stationed in Wash DC when someone in our group had it and introduced several of us to it.  Played a few times, then got away from it after getting out of the service, moving, starting a new job, family, etc.  When I got Revised, didn’t realize a new version came out.  After opening up, and seeing it looked different, read up on it and realized it was a new version.  Liked Revised much more than what I remembered of Classic.  Introduced a couple of co workers to it, and one of their sons, and have played Revised only tabletop over the years. Only have time to get together 2-3 times a year with my group and complete a full game.  One of the group asked if a different version was out there, and I showed them all about G40.  He wanted to go for it, since it sounded a lot more involved and a chance to get more players in too.  So I’ve been boning up on G40 as well as reading on the Forum, and like what it has to offer, but don’t like how it is so skewed towards the Axis.  For Revised, it is skewed towards the Allies, but not to the degree that G40 is towards the Axis.  We’ve never played bids on Revised, and would arrange teams in a way to put the weakest on Allies to even out our playing field.  For G40, when you have experienced players, see no way but to go with a bid for the Allies or they get crushed.  Would like to start playing on line or AAA sometime, but personal time is limited and wouldn’t want an opponent waiting weeks for my next move.  Something that will be possible when I retire, a few years from that unfortunately.

[thetruegriffin]

I actually don’t feel that Revised is too skewed to the Allies.  like you said, it really depends who’s playing.  if you have the best players playing Germany and Japan, they’re going to crush Russia, then bleed the UK and slowly hold off US until they can build an offence. 
Again, I normally only play a few times a year.  and most of those time’s i’m introducing/bringing players back to the game.  so I haven’t actually had a chance to play against really experiences players.  but I like the simplicity of Revised, and the overall balance.  I like the idea of a bigger map, but that’s really the only suggestion.  G40 sounds like there’s too many rules/nuances. Revised at it’s core is a slug fest.  All the “suggested additional rules” are what eventually became the no-crap rules for G40.  so I feel G40 you are pretty much tied to very specific actions if you want to be successful.  Revised you can play around with strategies a lot more.  Defiantly more forgiving gameplay for experimenting.  And like my earlier posts, you can get more players in on it (again, a larger board would be nice) if you really wanted to.  Was Not that hard to add players for French and Finland.  China, ANZAC, and Italy are pretty easy additions too if you want more players. 
I guess I like the wide “range fan” that Revised offers.  at it’s core, it’s pretty simple.  but there’s room to complicate it if you want.  G40 just starts complicated/overly restricted.

[thetruegriffin]

I guess it’s the difference between re-discovering WW2 and examining alternate outcomes (Revised) versus just straight up reenacting WW2 (G40)

[DoManMacgee]

@thetruegriffin:

I guess it’s the difference between re-discovering WW2 and examining alternate outcomes (Revised) versus just straight up reenacting WW2 (G40)

I think you just hit the nail on the head for both Axis and Allies and the wider debate within the wargaming community.

Personally, I favor game balance and simplicity over historical accuracy, which is why I prefer the smaller maps like 42SE and Revised.  Global is fun, but what’s Axis and Allies without Japanese Tank Stacks, German Aircraft Carriers, and Rio de Oro?

[thetruegriffin]

Yeah, I want to play a board game…not be a reenactor. Definitely like how Revised starts you a certain way, but after the game starts it can really go anywhere.  German aircraft carriers are fun, Russia building battleships makes me chuckle, and Building a US factory in China that keeps spitting out tanks is a great troll.  If you take on the strategies adopted by the actual powers in WWII, you are optimized for success that way.  But there’s enough freedom in Revised to break the norm and do something unexpected (Mass-producing a German Fleet in the Med).

[thetruegriffin]

I also like capturing AA guns rather than building them like normal units.  They are definitely more valuable in Revised.  You can’t make too many, and you really have to think about moving them around (Revised) instead of just buying a bunch and grouping them with your units everywhere (G40)

[Slip Capone]

Hey Guys,

Add another Revised player to the list ;). FYI our group uses the WBC tournament rules and since we started using them we haven’t gone back.

Adjudication System:
The determination of who wins a game will be based upon the control of Victory Territories (VTs). The Victory City method of determining a winner will NOT be used. Each side controls 12 Victory Territories at the beginning of the game. The Victory Territories are listed below.

AXIS POWERS

GERMANY
Germany
Western Europe
Southern Europe
Eastern Europe
Ukraine SSR
Norway

JAPAN
Japan
Manchuria
French Indochina
Philippine Islands
East Indies
Borneo

ALLIED POWERS

USSR
Russia
Caucasus
Archangel
Novosibirsk

UK
United Kingdom
India
Anglo-Egypt
Australia

USA
Eastern US
Western US
Hawaiian Islands
Sinkiang

If a player holds 18 (or more) VTs for a full round of game play (from the end of a country’s turn to the beginning of that same country’s next turn.), then that player automatically wins.

In the event of a VT tie at the end of the game, whichever side increased its IPC total is the winner. If the game is still tied after reviewing the IPC totals, then the GM will make a determination of the winner based upon the game situation at the time the game ended.

If a player chooses to concede before the game has reached the 18 VT automatic win threshold or the game time limit (4.5 hrs), a default score of 19 VTs and +30 IPCs will be awarded to the winner.

We found that these rules open up the strategy a lot. In the allowed time, experienced players will get in 6 rounds some times 7. We found that if we have a newer or slower player playing with us, instead of setting a time limit we set a round limit.

With these rules, the Allies need a bid of between 3-5 IPCs to give the Axis a run for their money. Our win rate with these rules is pretty much 50/50.

Thoughts a questions welcome :)

[DoManMacgee]

@Slip:

WBC Rules

These are the rules my group plays with too.  It gives a much better playing experience than playing normally IMO.

It prevents the typical “stack heavy” style that dominates OOB Revised at the highest levels, although obviously you still need to stack heavily to win.