Howdy folks. I’ve got a series of simple house rules that add a little bit of historicity & complexity to the game’s political situation without requiring new pieces, trackers, loads of exceptions & things to remember, etc. They’re intended to each be a module drop-in addition to a set of rules. I’ve playtested these roughly 3-5 times each & am looking for additional feedback. I make no claims to uniqueness or creativity–these were constructed with LOTS of taking from the community & as such, I’m offering them back to the community.
One of the least playtested of the rules, Simple Allied Italy:
First off, note that this rule is best when paired with a starting airbase in Sardinia &–most importantly–a land bridge between Sicily & S Italy. These, for our group, are part of a small set of improvements to the Med that make it a much more interesting place to fight.
But what does this do to game balance? A savvy Germany has always managed to ensure that he gets control of the Italian stacks. How many units he actually secures off of this tends to depend on how good Fortress Europe is looking. If there’s stacks of German infantry standing around, he’ll get all the Italian units, bombers & cannon fodder alike.
Of course, having the units under Germany’s direct control is always a tremendous benefit when attacking. Does that matter when the Atlantic wall is collapsing & it’s all Germany can do to keep the West Germany factory from switching hands twice every turn? Not really.
As a result (disclaimer about limited playtesting here), this rule tends to make the fall of Rome more of a deciding factor in Germany’s fate, and causes the Allies to think twice before landing on the Italian peninsula. If Germany’s looking strong, the Balkans might be a wiser alternative. Otherwise, if he’s relying on Italian infantry to tie the defense of France together, landing in Sicily after a completed Operation Torch can hasten the collapse.
In practice, this rule tends to punish weak/thoughtless Allied players, and make a strong German player more effective after they consolidate control of the European Axis. This can and has bought time for Japan to secure the victory cities/tokens it needs in the Pacific.
On the other hand, against a weak Germany, usually one which has overextended itself struggling to take Moscow late, this rule tends to accelerate the end of the game, which is often a blessing at 1 in the morning. Playing as the Axis, it often feels extremely expensive/impossible to defend Italy if the Allies decide it needs to fall, since you’ll need to secure all three Italian Peninsula territories to prevent the treaty from kicking off.
Your mileage may vary on this one. I’m not going to recommend its use until I get several more games with it under my belt. Overall, to me, it seems like it strengthens the position of the Axis, probably by 5-10 IPCs worth of bidding.
In a group already with a massive Allies bid, you may not want to adopt this one without limiting Italian production, boosting US war income, and/or with the assistance of a Free French rule.
@hengst Rules tweaked after playtesting with a game where Italy kept the Med locked down all game & eventually fell to an invasion through France & Spain. Should more clearly assess what is required for Italy to capitulate where there’s still small but relevant holdings in North Africa & the Middle East.
This is one of the first games with a very strong Italy with this rule (Italy holding much of southern Russia, most of the Balkans, and a fair chunk of the Middle East after slow rolling Cairo). It seems that the possibility of the Cassibile treaty doesn’t directly affect the opening of the game, but it does make strong Italy a liability in the case of a KG/IF strategy, as there won’t be enough German units to save Italian holdings when it falls.
After Rome fell, a large Med capital & submarine fleet, Libya, most of Ukraine & the Balkans, and the oil-bonus-producing section of the Middle East remained under the control of Allied Italy. After the collapse of the USSR, Germany was still making 60 IPCs despite losing France entirely & having to deadzone W Germany. The decline was certainly hastened after American tanks diverted to Rome.
@hengst Just found Siredblood’s Italian Rule. Did not realize how similar it was. Holy moly.
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