The United Kingdom and The Commonwealth

[afrothunder12]

So me and a few friends are going to play a game of global,  however it will be played with some house rules. One of them is the playable power The Commonwealth. A run down is this, United Kingdom is now one economy with London as the Capital and the major IC in India reduced to a minor. The Commonwealth is Anzac, Canada and South Africa (we have painted pieces to differentiate between units) how we have it set is that the Commonwealth plays like the old UK. It has a split economy,  w Anzac in the Pacific and Canada/South Africa in Europe. Each side has 10 ipcs to start with (West South Africa is included to the Commonwealth). This makes the UKs income 35, which we think is enough to keep it a relevant power but too much to overwhelm  the Axis on either side of the map. The turn order is the same instead of Anzac after Italy it’s the Commonwealth. Just thought I’d share this interesting twist with the rest of you and get your thoughts of it. I’ll be posting a war report of the game when I get a chance

[General Veers]

Removing Canada from the UK’s now combined economy does help alleviate the fears of dumping ten infantry a turn in India that came up in Young Grasshopper’s proposal. Adds some nice historical flavor too. South Africa could go either way, I’d just lump them with the UK.

[Young Grasshopper]

Looking forward to reading your report, I have never played with a commonwealth all-in-one nation, however, there is an A&A variant called Global War that adopts the same concept.

If you would like to read about it before your game, you can find the Global War forum with discussion and rule threads here…

http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?board=73.0

[afrothunder12]

Like young grasshopper said as well, we’re reducing the IC in India into a minor. Now granted it can be upgraded but at least for turn one its limited to 3 units. We were thinking of adding south africa to UK but we figured they played a vital role just like Canada did so we decided to represent them as well. As soon as I get a chance I’ll post all of turn one in a single report. I’ll probably keep it up for as long as we play…and we all know how long that takes haha gonna be one long war report lol

[CWO Marc]

Another thread you might want to look at is this one…

http://www.axisandallies.org/forums/index.php?topic=32700.0

…which shows my customized Global table.  When I was setting it up, I assigned a custom roundel to the six Commonwealth Dominions (Canada, Newfoundland, Eire, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand) and to the territories they controled at the time WWII started.  You’ll note for instance that South West Africa is shown as a Commonwealth territory (as you’re doing in your house rules), since South Africa controlled it at the time.  You’ll also notice that I’ve adjusted some of the territories on the Pacific map, since the original Global 1940 map actually makes a couple of mistakes about whether Britain controlled a particular territory rather than Australia or New Zealand, and vice-versa.  See pictures 6, 7, 8 and 9 in the thread for details.

[knp7765]

@afrothunder12:

Like young grasshopper said as well, we’re reducing the IC in India into a minor. Now granted it can be upgraded but at least for turn one its limited to 3 units. We were thinking of adding south africa to UK but we figured they played a vital role just like Canada did so we decided to represent them as well. As soon as I get a chance I’ll post all of turn one in a single report. I’ll probably keep it up for as long as we play…and we all know how long that takes haha gonna be one long war report lol

You could use my Mid-Level IC rule to keep UK from being able to drop 10 units at a time in Calcutta.
A Mid-Level IC costs 20 IPCs and can produce 5 units per turn. Mid-Level ICs can only be placed in a territory worth 3 IPCs or more.
A Minor IC can be upgraded to a Mid-Level IC for 10 IPCs. The Minor IC must be in a territory worth 3 IPCs or more before it can be converted to a Mid-Level.
If a Mid-Level IC is captured by an enemy power, it is downgraded to a Minor IC. The capturing power may upgrade the Minor IC back to a Mid-Level if they still hold it next round but they can only produce 3 units at that IC for that turn.
If the original owner or an ally liberates that territory, the Mid-Level will downgrade back to a Minor and the owner may upgrade back to a Mid-Level on their next turn if they still hold it.
CAPTURE EXAMPLE: UK builds a Mid-Level IC on Kwangtung. Japan captures Kwangtung so the IC downgrades to a Minor. Next round Japan still holds Kwangtung so they can produce 3 units there and pay to upgrade the IC to a Mid-Level. If Japan still holds Kwangtung next round, they can produce 5 units there.
LIBERATE EXAMPLE: Now the US makes a landing on Kwangtung and defeat the Japanese there, thus liberating Kwangtung for UK India. The IC will downgrade back to a Minor. On UK’s turn, they may produce 3 units there and can upgrade the IC back to a Mid-Level if they wish. Next turn, if Kwangtung is still Allied controlled, UK may produce 5 units there.
(If Calcutta was captured by Japan before the US landing in Kwangtung, then the US would control that IC and they could upgrade it to a Mid-Level and use it until Calcutta is liberated)

With this rule, there are NO new Major ICs allowed. So the only Major ICs will be the original 7 starting Major ICs (Great Britain, Germany, Western Germany, France, Northern Italy, Russia and Japan (Remember, Calcutta is no longer a Major, but a Mid-Level)) plus the 3 in the United States that get converted upon the US entry into the war. So, there should never be more than 10 Major ICs on the board at any time.
When a Major IC is captured by an enemy, it is downgraded to a Minor just like normal in the game now. However, the capturing power may upgrade the Minor IC to a Mid-Level, but never a Major. However, if that territory is liberated by the original owner or Allies, the Mid-Level will downgrade to a Minor and the ORIGINAL owner may upgrade that Minor to a Mid-Level or to a Major if they wish. If the original owner upgrades from a Minor to a Mid-Level for 10 IPCs, they can later upgrade the Mid-Level to a Major for an additional 10 IPCs. This is the ONLY instance where a Major IC will be placed on the board after the starting setup and US entry into the war.

I hope this might help you with your India problem. I myself really like it. We have made this a permanent house rule in our Global games and India always gets a Mid-Level. I kind of miss the opportunity for Japan placing a Major on Korea or Germany placing a Major on Romania, but overall I still think it is a much more balanced and realistic way to play. If I were to play Pacific 1940 alone, then I would give Calcutta a Major, but in Global it’s just a Mid-Level.
I think I explained everything but if I missed something feel free to ask.

[Young Grasshopper]

Can the US build a mid level IC in Norway, or are they only for original territories like major ICs were?

[Witt]

Only Germany, if I remember Knp’s thread YG.
Rules are the same as 2nd Edition in that respect.

[knp7765]

The US can build a Mid-Level in Norway. The only restrictions for Mid-Levels are the IPC value of the territory.
I think Larry Harris made that restriction for Majors because of 2 basic reasons:
1 > Being able to plop 10 units right in enemy territory is really overpowering.
2 > Capturing a territory and putting up a major industrial center is really unrealistic. Yeah, a lot about this game is somewhat unrealistic, but there are some boundaries.

With Mid-Levels, fighting off 5 units per round is not so overpowering as 10 would be. Also, I think constructing a medium sized industrial center in a newly captured territory is not so unbelievable. Instead of an actual factory, you could think of it as a really strong beach head or control of several ports in that area. Maybe even that the Allies have their own Mulberries off of Norway. Those were certainly successful for the Allies in getting a LOT of stuff into Normandy for the Allies.
Another idea is upon capturing any territory worth 3 IPCs or more, the capturing power must first install a Minor IC then upgrade that to a Mid-Level on the next turn. That would in effect make Mid-Levels cost 22 IPCs (12 for the Minor then 10 for the upgrade to Mid-Level). This might solve anyone’s problem with the idea of anyone capturing a territory and immediately putting a 5-unit-per-turn IC there.

Also, if the US captures Southern France (3 IPCs), they can upgrade the Minor there to a Mid-Level. Then when Paris is eventually liberated, they now own a shiny new Mid-Level there. The same thing would occur if Northern Italy and Southern Italy were captured by the Allies. Then Germany takes back Northern Italy. Germany could upgrade the Minor to a Mid-Level. Then if Germany manages to retake Rome, Italy would get Northern Italy back with a nice Mid-Level IC.

By the way guys, I have noticed one flaw in my rule: Southern Italy. Italy starts with just a Minor IC there with it’s Major up in N Italy. With the current rules, Italy could convert that Minor to a Major if they had the funds and need to do so. However, with my Mid-Level rule of no new Majors, that kind of cancels that choice for Italy. I don’t think this has really come up in ANY of our Global games. Italy has never needed to upgrade their capital IC. However, it does seem kind of weird that they are the only major power that doesn’t have a Major on it’s capital. So I pose this question:

Do you think I should make an exception for new Majors for Italy, or leave it as is because it probably won’t even come up? Keep in mind, even with my rule Italy can still upgrade the Rome IC to a Mid-Level and thus be able to produce 15 units between the two territories.

[Young Grasshopper]

Never played in a game or heard of one where there was serious consideration to upgrade the minor IC in Southern Italy to a major, so I think you’re good. I have seen however, an airbase purchased for Northern Italy a few times.

[theROCmonster]

I like this idea. Maybe make the IC in Western Germany a mid level, but allow you to upgrade it for 15. One big problem on the Europe side of the board is that Germany can always build 20 units min a turn for defense.

[Young Grasshopper]

@theROCmonster:

I like this idea. Maybe make the IC in Western Germany a mid level, but allow you to upgrade it for 15. One big problem on the Europe side of the board is that Germany can always build 20 units min a turn for defense.

If Germany is building 20 infantry per turn just to defend 2 territories, the game is close to over anyways.

[Young Grasshopper]

I’ve converted to the Commonwealth idea as well… here’s my version.

The United Kingdom:

The British economy is no longer split between London and Calcutta, instead, the United Kingdom will now collect one income for all territories owned on the map with London as it’s capital. All UK IPCs must be relinquished anytime an enemy power captures London, and the major IC on India is now downgraded to a minor. Japan will still gain their $5 NO for capturing India, but they will not collect the UK’s IPCs as Calcutta is no longer a capital city. The United Kingdom has only 1 achievable national objective which is “5 IPCs for control of Gibraltar, Egypt, India, and Malaya”, which they may collect even if they’re not at war with Japan. Also, due to the new British Commonwealth nation explained below, The United Kingdom’s starting income is now 38 IPCs.

The British Commonwealth:

All territories with an ANZAC and Canadian roundel on them will now be know as the British Commonwealth. This new nation will replace ANZAC in the game round sequence, and their collective 17 IPCs to start the game will now be spent and placed on any Commonwealth IC that the Commonwealth player wishes. All starting units on Canadian territories must be replaced with ANZAC gray pieces, and the initial setup has been modified to include 1 Commonwealth fighter in Ontario. The British Commonwealth has only 1 achievable national objective which is “5 IPCs for control of all original territories” which may only be collected when at war with both Germany and Japan.

If either Ottawa, or Sydney are captured, all the Commonwealth’s IPCs must be relinquished to the enemy, and the British Commonwealth economy is immediately split between ANZAC and Canada for the rest of the game forcing the two to wage war independently from one another (even if the captured capital city in question is liberated). Two separate roundels for both ANZAC and Canada will be placed on the income tracker, and ANZAC will play after Italy, with Canada and France following to end each game round.

[cyanight]

That is really interesting. I love the condition if either capital falls.  I have always thought Canada should have been a separate power anyways.  Also Western Canada should be part of Canada.

[cyanight]

It might work with ANZAC’s limited production but still there are 55 IPCS of available production into the Pacific which is the same with a 45 UK econ plus 10 econ ANZAC.  ANZAC might be building a second IC early I would think.

[afrothunder12]

Glad to see the interest in the Commonwealth power, didn’t think this thread would get any attention at all haha any who so to those who are interested in my upcoming war report,  my friends and I have decided to start on either Wednesday or Thursday this week. So by Friday I should have at least the first round posted. Oh and here is our final set of house rules we have agreed to play under. I know some people might pick at it but hey we decided to have fun with this one and try to spice things up a bit ;)

Turn Order
1. Germany
2. Soviet Union
3. Japan
4. United States
5. China
6. United Kingdom/India
7. Italy
8. The Commonwealth
9. France

United Kingdom/India
The UK no longer has a split economy. England and India share a single economy and can spend IPCs in either London or Western India/Calcutta. The major factory in Calcutta is reduced to a minor and a second minor is placed in Western India. In the event of the Capture of London, turn player must surrender all IPCs on hand to the power taking control of said capital. If Calcutta is captured, turn player must surrender half their IPCs to the power taking control of India. UK may continue to collect income and purchase units but is limited to only land units, fighters and cannot purchase aircraft carriers or battleships. If London is captured all units must be placed in Canada (Government in Exile). If both London and Calcutta are captured, then the UK can no longer collect income or purchase units.

The Commonwealth
Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand are now the playable power The Commonwealth. Their economies are split with Canada and South Africa sharing their economy in the European Board and ANZAC remains the same in the Pacific. New National Objectives are added for Canada and South Africa. Canada and South Africa cannot purchase Battleships or Aircraft Carriers.

The Free French Army
As long as Paris remains occupied by Axis forces, at the end of its turn, France may place one infantry unit in any French Territory not under Axis control.

National Objectives
The Commonwealth Europe
When at war with Germany and Italy
+5 IPC: Canada controls all its original territories, Newfoundland and Iceland are under friendly control

When at war with Germany and Italy
+5 IPC: Africa is free of Axis Forces and the Allies contro Gibraltar

[ItIsILeClerc]

I like this London + Calcutta share 1 economy but their income is reduced without reducing total allied income!
Commonwealth can choose to produce in any or all of Canada, SA, Sydney, but no longer all the UK’s income can be spent in London or Calcutta.
With some finetuning for balance this can be perfected. Allies can become just that little bit stronger to satisfy ally-sceptics in the A&A community without being able to exploit game-breaking stunts…

[SpitfirED]

I also play with this house rule, I use South Africa to take the starting IPCs for the Commonwealth to 20 IPCs but have no restrictions on what the Commonwealth can buy or how it has to split its income.

In my experience, it works well. The UK play is simplified by eliminating the 2 economies rule, ANZAC is much more interesting to play as a standalone Commonwealth nation with the much increased starting IPCs and it helps the Allies by introducing a player that can switch its effort between the 3 main theatres of Europe/Mid East/Pacific with relative ease thanks to the ability to produce in Canada, South Africa or Australia.

[Black_Elk]

This seems like an optimal way to play.

I am interested in the opportunity for turn order revision in Global 1940, and the inclusion of a redesigned Commonwealth player to compliment a unified UK Empire seems ideal. If Australia New Zealand Pacific gets a seperate status, it makes sense for Canada and South Africa to have the same. Dominions

It makes sense to unite India with London, as the jewel in the imperial crown, and the Commonwealth powers would be interesting split across the three theaters, Atlantic, Pacific, and African. They would be more engaging as a stand alone player/nation, and more effective.

I’m also interested in the possibilities of an alternative turn that breaks up the UK/USA turn in the order with 6 major positions (pairing UK with France and Commonwealth, instead of with the US.)

France/UK/Dominions
Germany
Russia
Japan
USA/China (or with China under full US control)
Italy

Or open with Italy instead of end. The exact order is less important to me than the alternating aspect, and the overall flow and transitions between powers. To me a turn order that had the commonwealth and France joined to UK in sequence would be ideal, and would accelerate the feel of the round.

I’m also interested in a version of g40 that does not include National Objectives, but which finds simpler ways to add extra money, such as with a bonus for control of VCs. Under such a scheme the Commonwealth would be well situated with control of 2 VCs at the start. I think a Commonwealth player/nation could be supported in other types of HR games as well.

The territory of New South Wales would be more valuable as a potential target, if it could knock out income in the Atlantic and Africa if taken by Japan. A viable third leg in the Pacific might alter the victory dynamic with Japan in positive ways. As a separate power a Commonwealth player could make the Atlantic more intense, but with less total income and less concentration of power than UK, but still a strong support potential, esp. if joined with UK in the turn order.

Also, has anyone experimented with general restrictions on factories? For example, only Capitals and VCs can support Majors? I am talking about just strict elimination of Majors as a purchase or upgrade option. Such that the only Majors available are the ones on the board at the outset, and having all other factories (and the only ones available for purchase) at Minor status. It might be helpful to fix all factory issue while drafting rules for the inclusion of a Commonwealth faction, and fix the situation around India/Asia at the same time.

I wish G40 used a simpler production system. The jump from 2 ipcs at a minor for 3 units, to 3 ipcs at major for 10 units is so extreme. Its a huge jump in production potential. Also the exceptions on islands. I wish Global used a more traditional system that related more directly to ipc value and provided more flexibility, but then the base values on the 1940 boards would not support this. I was thinking especially if the Major factory could just be removed altogether with some sort of basic universal rule like, Factories on a VC can produce some set amount. Factories anywhere else can only produce units up to the printed IPC value, use minor factories for all these normal factories with no restrictions on where they can be placed.

This would effectively allow you to model the minors on the old system, while not disrupting the production requirements of certain key territories. So for example you could say

Major Factories at a Capital can produce X number of units (cannot be purchased or upgrade, only what is at the start.)
Minor Factories at a VC can produce Y number of units.
Minor Factories (can be purchased), but only produce the number of units printed on the gamemap by IPC, unless on a VC.

Then set the cost of the minor factory in accordance with those conditions. All locations of Major starting factories should be fixed from the outset, and then remove the piece from play. Have only the minors as a purchase option. Make sense?

[Black_Elk]

Perhaps something a bit like this…

I’m going to try this type of set up in solitaires and the face to face game I have planned next week. Seems to me the British Empire and Commonwealth Dominions could either be coordinated directly, or split up with the other human players in the case of a multi. I would think direct British control of both would be faster in competitive play, but splitting up the Dominions to the US or Russian player could be fun if you have more people in on the action. This was a suggestion I like from the Delta rules.

My buddy and I are dedicating most of our playtesting efforts these days on variable start rules for A&A games. So I am going to try seeing the feasibility of a Dominion player, but probably with simplified factory rules in effect. I generally prefer a single Capital for each player nation, so I think Sydney makes the most sense. It introduces another focus into the Pacific theater that I like, still allowing the resources to be directed Atlantic if desired, but putting the Achilles heel on the cash capital dynamic somewhere that Japan can still reach.