Anyone have any alternate setups or house rules for this game?
1914 map tweaks
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This is a comprehensive list of suggested changes to the mapboard. Some are on historical grounds, some are aimed at balancing the game, but all have a purpose.
The attached map illustrates all these changes, this doesn’t mean that they are all intended to be made together.
In no particular order:
1. Make Munich a Production Centre. This is mainly to give Germany a chance to reinforce the western front, but can also aid an ailing Austria to the South.
2. Give Germany and Livonia a border, i.e. restore East Prussia. Note that it does bring Petrograd closer to Berlin, but then the sea route is closer anyway.
3. Make Petrograd a Production Centre and initial Russian Capital. Since Moscow remains a PC, the correct capital can now be used; Russia can move the capital to Moscow once in a game. Separate Petrograd from Karelia; they now each have a NB.
4. Add the Pripet marsh as an impassable tt. It existed in 1914, armies had to go around it or drown.
5. Add an extra SZ in the Arctic. The British fleet being able to sail from SZ 9 to 6 in one turn is too powerful; it can effectively reinforce two fronts at once. It can drop of new units in Picardy one turn, then Karelia the next. How long does it take Germany to move units between these two tts? Having to spend a turn at sea between gives the U-Boats a chance to attack the Russian supply route.
6. Take away Finland’s fictional (in 1914) Arctic coastline. This creates a small Norway-Karelia border which could be an imbalance; a “4 corners” solution is an acceptable compromise.
7. Change the SZ 8/9 border to meet at the border of Brest/Picardy. I don’t like Canadian arrivees disembarking straight into Picardy; they should have to report for training at Brest first.
8. Make Switzerland worth 4 IPCs. This country should be hard to invade, certainly as difficult as Norway! I imagine the designers thought that the western front needed to be extended south, but allowing Switzerland to be so easily taken changes the very nature of that theatre.
9. Give Rome an Adriatic Coastline. That Tuscany-Naples border looks silly, and it all makes Rome very cramped when there are 14 stacks of units contesting it. Do you really think Austria is going to take Rome from the sea? Also make Rome worth 6 IPCs like other capitals (should be combined with it losing Albania as an ally).
10. Extend SZ 18 further south. Gives the Austrian navy some breathing space, and makes Albania less of a back door for the Allies into the Balkans.
11. Make Albania a 1 IPC non-aligned neutral. There is no evidence of Italian military influence here in 1914. Even 1 IPC is generous, I’d be tempted to make it 0 with a defence of just 1 infantry.
12. Restore Bulgaria’s Aegean coastline. Because it was there. But it makes Greece a viable target for the Allies wanting to grab a toehold in the Balkans; if it borders Constantinople its too hot to hold.
13. Make the Arabian desert (Nejd) impassable; the British should have to go around it.
14. Rearrange Arabia around the desert, with Syria moving south and TJ becoming Hejaz.
15. Add Armenia to the Turkish provinces, essentially the northern half of Mesopotamia.
16. To balance (15) create a Caucasus tt from eastern Sevastopol.
17. Print minefields & USW zones on the map.
18. Restore the Caprivi strip to South West Africa (historical).
19. Get rid of the useless production chart in the Sahara; replace with a turn record track.
20. Add Mexico (German ally).
21. Add a SZ, essentially the Aegean Sea, with a Turkish NB at Smyrna and mines. Constantinople now controls passage through the two SZs surrounding it.
22. SZ 18/19 border cleared up meeting the Libya/Egypt line.
23. Add Tsaritsyn as Russian southern production centre; (the three RPCs are the centres of Bolshevism under my RR rules). A slight readjustment of Russian IPCs.
24. Rationalize SZs 8 & 9 so that they completely surround the British Isles.
25. Controversial one - get rid of Lorraine. Moves Paris nearer to where it should be. Once less French tt, so redistribute IPCs.
26. Rationalize SZ 20 to cover the Bulgarian Black Sea coast.
27. Create new SZ 17b; a neutral sea zone between Italy and Austria; should make this naval confrontation more dynamic.
28. Divide SZ 16 north/south, again more room for maneuver in the Med. France and Italy cannot just “bridge” units across the Med. Get rid of Balearic Islands tt (what is it good for?) Now only European and American coastlines have mines.
29. Give Morocco correct borders.
30. Extend the Sahara to the Atlantic. Many more African tts could be added, left these out here.
31. Add the Persian Gulf (1b) for Germany to do the “Mexican Run”.
32. Askari recruitment markers (for my suggested native infantry).
33. Add Urals region to Russia (this is more than a little with The Russian Civil War in mind).
34. Eritrea added to cut off Ethiopia’s fictional coastline.
35. Denmark. Yes, Denmark. The border is in the wrong place, but I can’t yet decide how it should be done.
36. Depending on changes to the USW rule, add more such zones.
37 Add Don tt to Russia.
I’ve not changed any tt names here, though I find the random mix of regional and city names incongruous.
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I will make these changes to phase 2 map file.
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I’ll try to come up with a new Denmark, maybe a combined land/SZ? Something with the Kiel Canal allowing passage, but like the designers I don’t particularly want Russia invading Western Germany from the Baltic.
Might also divide Persia north/south.
Sea zones need renumbering.
TT names need changing so that only production centres are named after cities.
Still considering Canada for PC &/or NB & mines.
Never been 100% on diplomacy Austria, either. But this map is intended as a discussion base for tweaks that COULD be made on a 2nd edition, so nothing too radical here.
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Next tweaks, added Don and Karelia to Russia.
I feel that if Petrograd is going to be a capital/PC then Karelia needs to be a separate tt.
Also forgot to note that Constantinople now controls sea passage through the Bosporos.
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Raise Kiel’s border with Denmark farther north to where its supposed to be and draw the canal. Add a rule that you have to either own the canal or Denmark to enter into the Baltic sea.
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Something like this?
Not entirely sure how it would work; Control of Kiel allows ships to go through the canal; the northern passage would require controlling Denmark, but can you have ships and land units in the same tt?
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Or just make that coloured in territory its own separate sea zone. Why have a territory with naval and land. Doesn’t make sense
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To some extent it could be argued that Egypt is a combined land/sea zone. Couldn’t Denmark be the same?
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Little update with Turksih SZ extended to protect Smyrna coastline.
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Thank you Flashman!
Since St. Petersburg is the Capital City, did you ever thought of cutting Livonia and Prussia into 4 tts (Lithuania - Riga / East Prussia - Westprussia (Danzig) )
This would allow to simulate the early war with an Russian Invasion of East Prussia. Furthermore this would make it a little bit harder for Germany to reach St. Petersburg.
P.S. Finally Bavaria looks like it should - thanks for that also :-)
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This version had Pomerania and Prussia:
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Updated; these changes are more cosmetic, but I think still valid for considertion.
Changes to Austria and Arabia
Names of tts rationalized
Tyrol is just too small on this scale - its gone.
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What’s the point of breaking up Spain in your map? Are they a separate power?
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No, but its about the same size as France, so it looks silly as one big tt, especially with multiple coastlines. I’d also give (non-aligned neutral) Spain a fleet in SZ 14, just in case anyone would like to add ships to the enemy sea power.
In any case, that was the wrong map; this is the latest.
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Flash, maybe there is a chance for Tirol if you move the Vienna tt a little bit eastwards?
My wishes for correcting the official map were these:
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Splitting up Prussia into Pommerania (2IPCs) and (East)Prussia (3 IPCs) with the historical bordes to Livonia, also correcting SZ 11 from South Sweden to Memel, Berlin gets therefore only 6 IPCs, tts of Munich and Kiel should be also enlarged to their correct size .
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Splitting up Livonia into Livonia(Lithuania) (2IPcs) and Tallinn(Riga) (2IPCs) while reducing Poland -1IPC and Sevastopol -1IPC. Tallinn(Riga) should be the step for the Germans between Livonia(Lithuania) and the Victory City St. Petersburg.
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Splitting up Karelia into Karelia (2IPCs) and St.Petersburg (Capital) (4IPCs), while reducing Moscow -3IPcs and Ukraine -1IPC.
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Making Portugal (and Greece) aligned to Britain. Serbia and Belgium worth 3 IPC, Romania and Bulgaria worth 4 IPCs and Switzerland pleeze impassable.
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Washington has to be worth 40 IPCs. USW Zones in 3,4,7,8,9,15
(maybe divide mesopotamia into bagdad and armenia and change burgundy into champagne…)
6)Finally a turntracker for half years instead of the useless IPC–tracker:
1 Aug-Dec 1914
2 Jan-Jun 1915 Italy Flag (War Entry)
3 Jul-Dec 1915
4 Jan-Jun 1916 Tanks symbol
5 Jul-Dec 1916
6 Jan-Jun 1917 US Flag (War Entry)
7 Jul-Dec 1917 Sovjet Flag (Symbol for checking the Russian Rev.)
8 Jan-Jun 1918
9 Jul-Dec 1918
10 Jan-Jun 1919
11 Jul-Dec 1919
12 Jan-Jun 1920If this wishes come true someday with an xxl printing, I would die as a happy man :-)
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New version for Chacmool:
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Thanks Flash this is my modified version
I have changed some things…
(using wooden markers as sea mines for example, only one Askari Mobilization zone for every major Power)
I am still not sure about deleted Lorraine looks very hard for France since GE can produce units in Munich
Africa is too large on this map
My House Rule for Mexico is:
At the beginning of R6 ( US war entry), Germany and Britain throw a dice. If Britain has a lower or equal result, the Zimmarman telegramm will be catched by the royal secret service and Wilson will be informed. Mexico will do nothing.
If Germany has a lower result. Mexico is activated (5 Inf 1 Art) and attacks Texas (2 Inf) on Germanys turn.
I have another idea for the gameplay:
Mandatory Attacks (National Objectivs) in the first Round
Austria -> Serbia
Russia -> Preussen
Germany -> Belgium
France -> Elsass
Italy (R2!!) -> TriestAfter R1 there is a drawing for the turn order before every Round. (National Markers will be placed in the right corner at the turn order tracker)
This makes the game much more unpredictable! -
You have a point regarding Munich-Paris; perhaps restoring Lorraine or removing the Munich production centre would be best, but remember this is not based on my latest map!
French mandatory attack on Alsace could be a problem as it is preceeded by the German turn; perhaps make it mandatory for France to EITHER attack at least one German army on French or Belgian homeland soil OR, if there are none, Alsace.
I assume the mandatory Italian Trieste attack is void if Austria has already moved troops into Venice.
UK could be given a MA on Mesopotamia, depending on if you treat Turkey as at war from the start.
The random turn order idea can be unbalancing in area control games (tried this is Britannia a few times); an alliance could get 6 successive turns!
Perhaps:
Draw the first power randomly; any power attacked by it has the option of playing next; if there are several they must choose between themselves who gets the immediate counter-attack.
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I want to keep Munich as production centre with the one-zone-land unit movement,
so i think Lorraine has to be restored.Its hard to print because the map is not as high definition like IL�s. Could you send me
a file of the map per mail? I want to play this map soo badly… -
Sorry, but I only do maps in simple Paint bitmaps.
That’s as high a resolution as I go, but you’re welcome to use the maps as a template for something sharper.