Technology

[Gigeneral]

A friend and I’ve recently added tech to our games but we’ve made our own house rules for it. First we created a new facility, called a research lab that costs 15 ipc and can only be placed where there are victory cities. The labs can be damaged just as an airbase or port can be. They are repaired normally and cease functioning at 3 damage. Once you have purchased them, they can not be destroyed. Also each power may only buy 1 research lab. Once owned and after the round it is placed, that power may roll for technology. If the lab is at two damage or less, then the player gets one free roll for a six to see if their power gets a breakthrough. The player may buy additional dice at 5 ipc, but may never roll more dice on a single turn than the value of the territory where the research lab is. Regardless of the number of successful research rolls obtained on any given turn, a player may roll on the breakthrough chart only once per turn. Successes are not saved. Also in order to buy additional research dice the research lab must be at two or less damage. This rule made it so that we had to change the sequence of the turn order. First is repair, then research, then purchase and continue as normal. Max damage for labs is a 6. As for the breakthrough tables: we roll our D6 first, then choose one of the two. If I roll a 2, I choose between rockets and jet power. If I choose rockets and roll a 2 again, I am stuck with rockets. If I roll a 2 again on the breakthrough chart, I roll until I don’t get a 2. Normally neither of us buys more additional dice, unless the tech is needed desperately. Even then there’s limited control in what you get. I like tech, and as the rules are, I see it as a waste of money. With these rules the research lab pays for itself in three turns, and after 6 turns it should yield 1 successful research. Thought, questions, comments?

[pete6982]

Cool idea. I personally don’t like research as it can really unbalance the game. Very random. An early shipyards for Japan, US, or UK can throw the game. So far the anniversary rules have been the best, but I may end up liking your idea better. I have some friends that really like research, so we’ll probably give this a try.

[Young Grasshopper]

This is similar to our house rule titled strategic complexes in the house rule forum, check it out and tell me what you think?

[Kreuzfeld]

I prefer one of two types of technology,

1a: to gain a technology you need 20 research points, every time you roll, you add the number you roll to your current research points,
1b: to gain a tech you need 10 research points, if you roll 4-6 you get two points, if you roll 1-3 you get one point
1c:  to gain a tech you need 10 research points, if you roll a 6 you get 3 points if you roll 4-5 you get two points, if you roll 2-3 you get one point if you roll a 0 you get 0 points

2: every time you fail a roll you get a research counter, every time you roll for a tech you get +1 for each counter

ofcourse all bonuses and extra point are removed once you get a tech.

one thing that can be added is;

if a nation has a tech, then this tech is available for all allied powers to purchase after that powers next turn, and all opponents after two turns, the cost for this is 15 ipc. (so if us gets a tech on US4, then UK can buy it on UK5 and germany can buy it on G7, while Italy can buy it on I6)