@calvinhobbesliker:
@Bridger:
@Flashman:
This is the fundamental problem caused by the archaic “Capture the Capital” rules: however you try to avoid it, the game always comes down to the Axis trying to capture Moscow before the Allies bring their combined industrial muscle to bear.
This makes Moscow the inevitable prime objective for Germany (except perhaps London, which must be achieved without Japanese help), and as the above posts suggest this is only likely with Japanese help from the east.
No matter how many territories Larry places between Moscow and Manchuria, or how many false diversions towards “Victory Cities”, the C-t-C rule will always bring those Axis armies towards Moscow like a giant magnet. The huge benefits of closing down the Russian economy are still so vast that any other Axis strategy is completely insane.
This is why so many house rules delete the rule in favour of a power being able to collect money from every territory it holds regardless of capitals, and produce units as long as it has a factory remaining. In other words, the Axis must close down the Russian economy by stages, capturing all it’s industrial centres in turn, rather than the inevitable drive to Moscow.
There should in fact be 5 such centres in Russia, with Kiev (west Ukraine) and Chelyabinsk (Novosibirsk) having factories and respectable IPC values. Japan can cast envious eyes on the Siberian factory, but with the race to Moscow no longer the key to everything, a long term Pacific adventure may be more rewarding.
This. Fucking THIS. I’ve always hated the capitol capture rules. They are the only things that immediately end the game no questions asked, so it’s the only goal of any player. It makes the game extremely repetitive because the only feasible capitol to capture is Moscow for the Axis and Berlin (maybe Rome, though it’s much harder to pull off) for the allies. If you remove the capitol capture rule and make victory cities a more thoughtful component, the game play would be significantly more diverse.
Axis don’t need to take Moscow, London, or any North American territories to win.
I never said they did, but since capitol capture is an instant win (in 95% of cases) it still has a huge impact upon optimal play. There is very little incentive to do anything else with the instant win condition dangling there so easily.
My ideal house rule would be to remove VCs in locations which never see any action (washington? LA? Ottowa? Are you serious?) and provide an instant win for axis and instant win for allies based on VCs (one which is attainable without capturing capitols, forcing players to attack/defend more than one spot, thus increasing possible strategies).
Off the top of my head I would add a VC to South Africa (Cape Town) and then say:
Axis win with:
- Total of 12 VCs between the two theaters
OR
- 6 of the 7 in the pacific
OR
- 7 of the 10 in Europe/Africa.
Allies win with:
- 10 Total VCs Starting End of Turn 4
OR
- 4 of the 7 in Pacific Starting End of T4 (they start with 5 on T1)
OR
- 7 of the 10 in Europe Starting End of T4
OR
- Capture of Japan (very hard to do compared to Moscow if Japan is paying attention, and only provided to prevent Japan from ignoring it’s capitol in favor of land rush).
Would need to playtest this to see if it’s too easy for Axis/allies and need to maybe adjust a number or two.
Then I would weaken the capitol capture rules to only give half cash to victor and still allow loser to earn income and produce in remaining factories (even build one if neccessary). This would provide a reason for the Quebec factory to exist (in case London falls). This, IMHO, would provide a much more dynamic game. Does Italy drive hard for Cape Town? Do the brits fight for Africa (and it’s two VCs) or try to stall them in continental Europe? The US cannot ignore Japan because if they take all VCs but 1 (honalulu, calcutta, or sydny most like) axis win. Japan has a much bigger incentive to work historically and not drive for Moscow.