My next map project???

Greeting and salutations! I have recently created overlays for HBGs Global 1936 map that represent the political borders of 1861. I am aware that several years ago now HBG worked on a Global 1861 game. However as far as I can tell, HBGs Global 1861 project seems to have been shelved. Myself being a firm believer in the versatility of the Axis and Allies game mechanics have thus decided to create my own Global 1861 scenario. While further testing is still required and new political and possibly unit rules still have to be written. I am confident I can eventually create a comprehensive Global 1861 game. Although I feel I must apologize in advance if this project takes a long while as I tend to jump from project to project quite spastically, any help and or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

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@Angel

Sweet!

@buttersurge
Nice work. Any info on the scenario set up or homebrew rules?

@Skyian_Leader:

Any tips on game/map design? Like things to avoid doing? I might just need to finish up the map and post a photo of it so you experts can actually see it, instead of general assumptions.

The best advice on this will come from the board’s various map-making people, like Imperious Leader.  I’ve never made wargaming maps, but here are a few thoughts for whatever they’re worth.

I personally prefer area-movement maps (like in most of the A&A games) over squares and hexes.  They look more natural to me and better suited (in my opinion) to games that operate at the global/strategic level.  This is due to the fact that, at that level, things like combat and movement and the depiction of the military forces involved occur at a very high level of abstraction – so it doesn’t seem like a good fit to combine this abstraction with the kind of fine-scale movement tracking that hexes offer.  Hexes, to me, only work well for large-scale actions when tracking is a central game element, such as in hunt-the-Bismarck type games.  On another point, I find it annoying that hexes only allow straight-line movement in six of the eight main compass directions.  Hexes are better than squares in that regard (since squares only allow straight-line movement in four directons), but they still don’t permit movement in one of the two diagonal axes.

One idea you might want to consider, on the issue of map zone size adequacy, is to use a split-representation system along the lines of the “task force markers” that were used in the original A&A Pacific game.  In such a system, the plastic sculpts corresponding to a particular group of forces are placed off the game map (on a side table) rather than on the map, along with a small numbered identifying marker.  A corresponding marker is placed on the map to mark the position of the force group.  That way, the map sections only need to be big enough to accommodate these small markers rather than a pile of sculpts, and you only need to move the markers from position to position rather than the sculpts.

As a further refinement, you can even use this system (if you’re so inclined) to introduce partial blinding into the game.  This involves keeping your map markers face-down until they make contact with enemy markers (which are also face down).  Before the markers make contact (at which point they are both turned face up), each side knows the composition of the enemy’s various forces (seen via the groups of off-the-board sculpts) and the position of the enemy’s various forces (seen via the map markers), but remains unaware of which group of sculpts corresponds to which map marker. This makes possible the element of surprise, which is absent in a conventional A&A game in which you can always see every detail of the enemy’s forces.  The old Stratego game works a bit like that, in the sense that you know what pieces the enemy has and you know where on the board the enemy has pieces, but you don’t know the specific unit type of each piece until you make contact with it.

@stevan_avalon Asking the same question. Reminds me of World Conqueror and the hundreds of games just like it. A&A rules would be very cool and yes i have seen people make hex-based maps for A&A before :flushed: :grin: it was on Reddit one time and it was beautiful

Irock, Warrior, and Others,

As you may already know by now we are, as we speak, working on a new series of games as I just described below.  The (proposed) name is:

Expanded A&A-The Naval Series with the 1st game to be Coral Sea and The Solomons Campaign.

We’re investigating the possibility that you could play 2 or 3 COMPLETELY separate games on the same map(at DIFFERRENT times).  the Coral Sea naval-air battle, the huge Solomons Campaign, and maybe a Battle of the Bismark Sea scenario, too.

I’ve had so many players express their interest and approval in my stated goal for a game that would be designed based on a “Battle-Specific”(the Solomons Campaign) map, Enlarged to
G-40 size, and utilizing all the new units and their new capabilities.

I think that this would be nothing short of a revolution in our A&A gameplay.

Of course none of this would be the least bit possible without HBG and FMG making available all of the wonderful new units that they plan.  My hat’s off to them for their efforts here.

Tigerman, as an experienced “Map Master”, has agreed to do the map(Haleluyah!!!) which will take a bit of time as what we’re proposing is HUGE!  Not only in the amount of changes, new rules, and improvements(?) that we plan, but in shear SIZE as well.

Stay tuned to the various postings for updates.

And if this seems the least bit interesting to you, get INVOLVED and let us know YOUR ideas or opinions.  We will all benefit from having all ideas considerred.

We’ve started our own thread here in the Variants Section for this game called
Expanded A&A-The Naval Series    Coral Sea and The Solomons Campaign.
Stop in and check it out, ask questions, or offer suggestions anytime.

Like I Say,……What Do YA’LL Think???
                                                                                    “Tall Paul”

Imp Games made an amazing game called “The Great War” (never released). Checkout their website for more details

Well I have at last finished (sort of) a map for A&A Europe that I am happy with (Hey it took only 17 years and was started even bfore there was a A&A Europe :lol: ) It is I can say quite nice I worked on expanding a 1 inch by inch square area to a 1 and 1 half inch square area effectively doubling the size of the map. For example Canada is now four territories (Ontario, manitoba, Quebec and the Maritimes (Which is actually an island group)). meanwhile the German player has to deicde if he will move toward the economic heartland of Russia or toward Moscow. I decided to keep the original values for the territories hence alot of empty spaces with no value except for getting you where you want to go. Further this put them in somthing resembling original geographic positions (For example Solvokia is the industrial heatland of Czecheslovakia (now two territories))

Now I am ready to turn my attention to Conquest of the Empire I was wondering if it was up to you what would you import into the game from the new A&A series. I was thinking of either using the convoy system or the Supply line introduced in A&A Pacific to represent things such as the Egyptian grain convoys. Any suggestions?