1941 House Rules - Battleship, Tank and Cards

[Cantab]

Played 1941 a few times now and have added a few house rules.

BATTLESHIP

• Cost is 20 IPCs.  The standard 16 it seemed too cheap and it is 20 in other Axis and Allies versions.
• Damaged battleships must move back to a sea zone beside your factory and are repaired for free at the start of your next turn.
• Damgaed battleships can only move 1 space.  Gives the enemy a chance to hunt them down.

TANKS

• Each tank makes a single infantry attack with 2 instead of the usual 1.  It essentially makes the tank like the artillery piece that exists in other versions (1941 has no artillery pieces).

This was done to reduce the infantry push mechanic, which I have read a lot about.

CARDS
A standard pack of cards is shuffled.  Each nation recieves one card.  The types of purchase nations can make at the start of their turn is determined by the suit of their card.

Diamonds - land units
Hearts    -  air units
Spades    - naval units
Clubs      - one unit type only. e.g. only infantry or only fighters

If you don’t like the card you have, you can choose to discard it and draw another.  You now cannot buy anything till next turn.  You can also trade the card with an ally (if they let you) instead of discarding it.

If we want to keep the game short then when there are no more cards to draw the game stops.  The side with the most IPCs is declared the winner.

We play with cards because it:

• speeds up purchasing decisions each round.
• stops players carrying out the exact same purchase choices on the same turn every game, which can get stale.
• makes players plan ahead.
• makes it easier to exploit an enemies weak point as they cannot always buy what they want straighty away in response.
• reduces the availability of infantry which in turn reduces the infantry push mechanic.  It does not reduce it enough to break the game however.

Well that is how we play.  Let me know what you think and if you have any other house rules for 1941 I would like to hear them.

[Zombie69]

Actually in all recent versions of A&A battleships cost 16 and still at that price, they’re considered such a bad investment that no good player ever buys them.

I suggest you try buying cheaper units (concentrate most of your purchases on infantry, transports, and only enough cheap navy to effectively protect those transports) and you’ll quickly see how easily you win against anyone buying battleships.

How much do tanks cost in 1941? If you price them at 6, that might be ok (but still mighty good). If they cost 5, that’s way too powerful.

The cards I hate. Basically, the Allies automatically lose the game if Russia draws a heart or spade at any point in the game. It makes zero sense for Russia to buy anything but land (and especially to buy navy), plus they can’t just keep their cash and spend next turn, because 1) they need the troops now and 2) they don’t have the factory production necessary to spend 48 IPCs worth of land units in one turn.

[knp7765]

Hello Cantab,
The 1941 game was made to be very simple so as to introduce new players to Axis & Allies. Most A&A games have too many complex rules (not for regular players but for new players that have never played the game) that it tends to get a little boring and/or frustrating.
It was hoped that new people would try out 1941 a few times then maybe move on to the more complex games like 1942 and maybe even eventually Global 1940.
It sounds to me like you are actually making it somewhat more complex. However, if you have played it a few times then maybe a little more complexity is what you need to make it fun again. Good luck with your new ideas.

@Zombie69:

Actually in all recent versions of A&A battleships cost 16 and still at that price, they’re considered such a bad investment that no good player ever buys them.

I suggest you try buying cheaper units (concentrate most of your purchases on infantry, transports, and only enough cheap navy to effectively protect those transports) and you’ll quickly see how easily you win against anyone buying battleships.

How much do tanks cost in 1941? If you price them at 6, that might be ok (but still mighty good). If they cost 5, that’s way too powerful.

The cards I hate. Basically, the Allies automatically lose the game if Russia draws a heart or spade at any point in the game. It makes zero sense for Russia to buy anything but land (and especially to buy navy), plus they can’t just keep their cash and spend next turn, because 1) they need the troops now and 2) they don’t have the factory production necessary to spend 48 IPCs worth of land units in one turn.

I don’t know where you are getting your information about battleship pricing. 1941 is the only game where they cost 16 IPCs. In 1942, Global 1940 and even Revised they cost 20 IPCs.

Also, Russia would not have 48 IPCs to spend after 2 rounds. They would only have 14 IPCs. The territory values in 1941 are much lower than in other games. For example: Eastern USA is only worth 6 IPCs in 1941 as opposed to 12 IPCs in 1942 and Revised and 20 IPCs in Global 1940.

I agree with your battleship ideas. If any nation only buys battleships, even if it’s USA in Global 40, they will get defeated by a nation that buys a mixture of smaller warships and aircraft.

[Black_Elk]

I am interested in this idea of using a standard deck of cards to somehow provide variability to the game. This is a novel concept I hadn’t considered before.

The exact execution in 1941 might not be what I’d go for but that idea has some very definite potential.

Perhaps it could be used for an ipc or special purchase bonus?

Each player draws a single card each round…

Deuce through 10 = +2 to 10 ipcs
Jack = + 11
Queen = + 12
King = + 13
Ace = + 14
Joker = +15

Added to normal income

If you wanted to restrict the purchase with this money by suit, maybe something like…
Diamonds: Naval (or save)
Clubs:  Air (or save)
Hearts: Ground
Spades: Any unit

Something like that might be interesting. 1941 would definitely benefit with more money in play, this would provide a novel mechanism that anyone could access.

Or perhaps suits might provide some other sort of bonus or restrictions? But a standard deck of cards would be a great way to infuse the game with more cash. The restriction by suit, if it only applied to the bonus, would still allow a player like Russia to use their normal income on ground. But it would also provide a way to get more big ticket units into the rotation, especially since the normal money on this board is so tight

Also, I think that idea about tanks is pretty cool. Given that artillery are not available (at least not without buying another board), and the cost of tanks at 6 is often prohibitive, it seems like giving them an artillery ability is a novel HR. Advantage to Germany though, without some other restrictions in play, which is a why I see the need for what you did with cards.

As for 1941, my main HRs are all just to get more money into the game. The main one we like to use is a bonus for control of VCs or Factories, I’ve tried +3, +5 and +10 ipcs before. Also HR artillery substitution for a unit at a cost of 4 ipcs, but that requires another board so not really a standard option. I like rules that make use of the boxed materials only, if possible, which is it what intrigues me about your take on 41. Nice work

[knp7765]

Black_Elk,
Another way you could get more money into the game is to compare the 1941 map to the Global 1940 map and give the territories on the 1941 map the approximate values from the 1940 map.
For example, in 1941 you just have Eastern USA and Western USA, both valued at 6 IPCs each. In Global, Eastern USA is 20, Central USA is 12 and Western USA is 10. So, you would split the value of Central USA and add to Eastern USA and Western USA. Then Eastern USA would be worth 26 IPCs and Western USA would be worth 16 IPCs.
You could do this all over the map. Here’s another example. I believe Western Europe on the 1941 map basically covers France (4), Normandy (2), Southern France (3), Holland/Belgium (3) and Denmark (2). So, you make Western Europe worth 14 IPCs.
You do this for all the countries and you can really get a lot more cash into the game, buy a lot more units and have really HUGE battles.

[Zombie69]

@knp7765:

I don’t know where you are getting your information about battleship pricing. 1941 is the only game where they cost 16 IPCs. In 1942, Global 1940 and even Revised they cost 20 IPCs.

Look again. Battleships cost 16 IPCs in 1942. In Global, I believe they have 3 hits, but I don’t really know that ruleset.

[Zombie69]

Here’s an idea to push players towards making certain purchases using cards, without completely breaking the game if Russia gets one or two bad draws. It also kind of introduces more money into the game.

• Hearts : all land units cost -1 IPC
• Diamonds : all air units cost -2 IPC
• Spades : all naval units cost -2 IPC
• Clubs : one free industrial complex or 2 free AA guns, your choice

[knp7765]

@Zombie69:

@knp7765:

I don’t know where you are getting your information about battleship pricing. 1941 is the only game where they cost 16 IPCs. In 1942, Global 1940 and even Revised they cost 20 IPCs.

Look again. Battleships cost 16 IPCs in 1942. In Global, I believe they have 3 hits, but I don’t really know that ruleset.

Attached is a picture of the unit values from the 1942 2nd edition board. Look at the cost of the Battleship. It is 20, not 16. 1941 is the only A&A game where Battleships cost 16.

Also, in Global 1940 battleships and carriers are considered capital ships and take 2 hits to sink. If they survive the battle after taking 1 hit, they have to go to a friendly naval base to get repaired.

[Zombie69]

I’m sorry, 1942 is the edition I always play now and I had a brain cramp and thought they were priced at 16. It’s the price I think they should cost, but you’re absolutely right, they’re at 20 and so we never buy them!