World War II in Europe now at HBG

@jamatucci@rcn.com:

It seems to me that having the Initiative on a front is actually a disadvantage in naval operations.
The player moving 2nd can react to the first player’s moves and choose to patrol in the most effective sea zones as well as selecting his own sea routs that avoid patroling enemy fleets.

Is this assessment correct or have I misunderstood the rules?

A house rule you can use (that may make it to a second edition rule set) is that the initiative player can choose to have the opponent move first on his Front rather than he move first.

@jamatucci@rcn.com:

According to the rules, the only way for ships to change port or air units to change base is to be moved during the RP phase. It seems to me that most nations will be using the lion’s share of thei RPs on their navies. This will leave few if any RPs for ground or air redeployment. I realize that ground units can move during “movement” but the maximum RP points of ten that any nation can have, just does not seem to be enough.
How is this working out in your play testing?

If a nation has 5 RPs, that is 5 RPs for each service.  5 for land, 5 for sea and 5 for air.  So really, the nation has 15 RPs.  It is done this way to prevent all 15 RPs from being spent on land where the movement of 15 ground units can have a huge impact.

Looking into Strategic Warfare for you.  Get back to you on this.

@jamatucci@rcn.com:

In the rules, fighters hit on a 4 or less.
Why, during strategic warfare, do defending fighters hit on a 3 or less?

You are correct.  This is a typo.  Fighters will be at 4.

@jamatucci@rcn.com:

The aircraft stacking limit on a plain factory site is 10 (ie one aircraft). This is increased to 20 for a major capital and another 10 to 30 for a major capital with an airbase.

The effective stacking limit for a carrier is 20 (two planes). Does this make sense?

This is correct.  Keep in mind, you can stack airbases.  London can have its natural 2 planes, plus a fortress, plus its 2 airbases, plus the American 4 airbases.  London can have 9 planes on it in theory.

It should have been included in your download? � If not, I’ll include them here.  Click on the bottom link.

Neu(1)(1).xls

You understand correctly how it works.

It seems as though you have yet to play the game.  I suggest you play the game yourself to see if your assumptions are right or not, though.

But if you have more questions about rules clarifications, feel free to ask.  I will use these questions to help with clarifications in a FAQ.

After you have played, feel free to share your thoughts.

@jamatucci@rcn.com:

Is the stacking limit also 20 in a major capital for the power attacking the major capital?

This is only for basing planes. Â

When doing combat moves, you ignore stacking for planes for both attacker and defender.  Stacking for planes must be observed when the planes have to land again.

@jamatucci@rcn.com:

The neutrals set-up page does not list Denmark.
Does Denmark have any forces?

No forces.

@jamatucci@rcn.com:

Can ground units hit air units in a land battle?
For instance, if the Germans send a number of fighters only to a territory with Allied aircraft and ground units, would the Allied ground units be able to hit the german aircraft or would the fight be solely air vs air?

Yes, ground and sea units can hit planes.  The ability to hit planes assumes AA capability of each unit.

Having all units able to hit planes at a 2 was played with, but it was decided to just use the combat value of the unit.

It seems to me that having the Initiative on a front is actually a disadvantage in naval operations.

This seems to be another instance where having the initiative is a disadvantage.
Player B could just wait to see what player A has done with his fighters and then take the opportunity to bomb undefended factories and NRZs.

As stated in a previous post, you could use as an alternative (which is seriously being considered for a revision) having the initiative player choosing to have the other player make his moves first in one, some or all of the initiative player’s Fronts of his choosing.

For fighters, when you roll, a 3 or 4 result is a hit on a plane. � The defender MUST choose a plane as a casualty. � If the result is a 1 or 2, then the defender may choose anything as a casualty, such as a ground unit or a plane.

For Tac bombers, when you roll a 3 or 4 result, only sea or ground units can be chosen - no planes. � If the result is a 1 or 2, then the defenser could choose a plane, ground or sea unit as a casualty.

In each case, player that loses the units still chooses if there is a choice to be made.