G40 Redesign (currently taking suggestions)

Seems a bit too early to change setup or built one.
Your suggested turn order to increase pace should be more seriously scrutinized, no experienced player provide any comment on that one. It should IMO, pros or cons, but usually pertinent comments always bring improvement one way or another.
Also, if StBs and DDs type are not clearly selected, it will change any opening.
It is already the case with less poweful DD C5 and always surprise strike on for Subs.
A few things need to be set.

However, it is interesting to think about making AB inoperative before bombing IC.
Or giving a bonus if bombing IC while AB is inoperative.
This mechanic can be explored.
But think about how far you are from OOB SBR which can never ask for such thing, you already played to much with C5 A0 D0 StBomber.    :-D
You are already thinking in this new paradigm…

Probably a good idea to make France Germans and Greece UK.
Is there any German player which insist playing after loosing a G1 battle of France?
Seems already very scripted for balance of play, IMO.

Probably a good idea to make France Germans and Greece UK.

I agree with this.

Yup, I strongly agree. I have always said there is no point in having a French army on the board whose only purpose is to inflict a random number of casualties on the German army before dying. Either rewind to 1939, or fast forward to after the fall of France.

I like the idea of recreating the historical Battle of Britain, and I think you are on the right track eith examining airfield / factory defense interactions.

Imho, the key to making that work is a limit on the speed of repairs. Airfields, appropriately, only absorb six points of damage, which London can easily and fully afford to repair every turn. So if you want to simulate the German attempt to wear down Britain’s airfields faster than Britain can repair them, you need to cap the speed of repairs. Maybe limit each country to five points of repair (for all facilities combined) per turn? That way consecutive turns of max airfield damage would shut down the British airfields even with full repairs, and if Germany builds extra bombers, it could shut down the London factory after a while, too. At a minimum, this would deny Britain air superiority over the Channel (no scramble), allowing for an easier Sea Lion. If you wanted even more radical results, you could require an operational airfield to scramble fighters to defend against strategic bombing.

@CWO:

@Black_Elk:

Anyone want to take a crack at something that starts out more like this…
“It is December 1940.”

I’d be happy to give it a shot.  Just to make sure I don’t head off in the wrong direction: are you looking for a paragraph similar to the ones you quoted and which describes the actual situation in December 1940, or does the concept involve some kind of alternate version of 1940 that’s built around certain house rule assumptions?

And just to follow up on my previous question: I assume that I should be using the Global 1940 map as my reference point (since the 1942 map is too late and the 1941 map is too vague), but to what extent should I assume that set-up adjustments will be made to reflect the historical situation on the ground?  Should I mention, for example, the Franco-Thai War which started in October 1940?  Hungary’s signature of the Tripartite Pact on in November 1940?  The Italian invasion of Greece from Albania in October 1940 and Greece’s push-back of the Italians?

@Black_Elk:

I like a game that builds on the historical situation as opposed to an alternate history, and which mentions anything of interest in the immediate prelude. Then use that as a guide to the unit set up.
[…]
I’d think about including a special mention for each minor power. Italy China and Anzac in particular, France too (or Canada, if they make the grade.) Just so each player nation has some kind of blurb to set the scene round the globe.

Okay, that gives me a good start to work on a first draft.  I’ll aim for a text that combines a general overview of the war situation in December 1940 with some specific details about the situation on various active fronts and maybe also in areas that will see some notable action very soon (meaning in the first few months of 1941).  And for game powers that might otherwise not get mentioned because the time frame for their involvement is still too far way, I might throw in a couple of “Meanwhile, country X is watching with growing apprehension as…” types of lines.  I like your idea of mentioning each of the game powers, and it should be easy enough to do given how much was going on internationally at that time.  I’ll try to keep the text broad enough so that it won’t hinge on any specific map or set-up adjustments; if there should end up being a few such cases of local situations, however, then the two options would be to either make map/setup adjustments to fit the text or to simply edit those references out of the text.

You got the honor CWO Marc, to break the 100 pages wall of this thread!!!
😆😃☺
I would really like to get a real accurate overview of major events late 1940, early 1941.
It would provide an interesting and compelling guideline for any 1941 setup.

For ABs I’ve found using the “Limited Factory” tech gives the incentive to go after it before a regular factory. At least in UK at the start. The UK can’t build planes with an inoperative base. Raising damage from 6 to 8 would help as well.

With “Airfield M2” on there is additional incentive to go after ABs. It may not do quite what you’re looking for Elk, but it does make ABs a more attractive target

@barney:

For ABs I’ve found using the “Limited Factory” tech gives the incentive to go after it before a regular factory. At least in UK at the start. The UK can’t build planes with an inoperative base. Raising damage from 6 to 8 would help as well.

With “Airfield M2” on there is additional incentive to go after ABs. It may not do quite what you’re looking for Elk, but it does make ABs a more attractive target

I thought about it, too.
IDK how hard this can be to code on XML.

If at the start of SBR, an AB is unoperative, StB damage rise to D6+2 on IC.

You can see it as part of defending planes are abstract, that way they scramble to make air interdiction.
But when inoperative, it makes easier to StBs to reach on target.

If you want operational airfields to interfere with strategic bombing, I see three main options. Option one is to require an operational airfield in order to scramble fighters to defend against an SBR.  Using this option requires either (1a) per-turn repair limits, (1b) airbases that can accumulate way, way more than 6 points of damage, (1c) airbases that are destroyed and removed from the map if they take max damage, or (1d) a two-stage raid that lets you target an airbase first, and then target the factory later in the same raid, with defending fighters unable to scramble to defend the factory if the airfield was sufficiently damaged.

Option two is to treat airfields as having a built-in “garrison squadron” that automatically scrambles to defend the territory as long as the airbase is operational. So if you have an airfield with “zero” fighters left, you can still scramble one fighter as long as the airbase is operational. Again, here you would need (2a) per turn repair limits, (2b) higher damage caps on airbases, (2c) destructible airbases, or (2d) two stage raids in order for any reasonable attacker to ever consider targeting airbases.

Option three is to penalize the bombing runs of bombers flying above an operational airfield, e.g
1d6 - 2 damage on a c5 bomber, or 1d6 damage on a c12 bomber. Again, you need per turn repair limits, higher damage caps, destroyable airbases, or two stage raids to make this work.

Note that you can keep piling on extra bonuses for an operational airfield all day long, but you will still need per turn repair limits, higher damage caps, or two stage raids. To see why, imagine an airbase that gives you +5 movement, unlimited scrambles, half damage on bombing raids, required to build new planes, and a free tech roll every turn. It’s the King Emperor of all Airbases. Will German bombers target It? No, because the UK can pay $6 a turn and in practice that is the only downside you impose on your enemy. As long as players can cheaply, reliably, and quickly repair their airbases, then targeting an airbase (no matter how vital) before a factory will never be a good tactic.

I agree the damage is too low, but targeting an AB if it’s required to build planes is better than targeting the factory. At least initially. Even if both German bombers make it through on rd1 and do max damage, at the most you’d have to pay 3 bucks. Your odds of making UK pay 3 bucks by bombing the AB, even with only 1 bomber, are better.

It would be quite easy to add a tech that increases minor base damage. 8 seems a good starting point. I also like what you said about possible destruction of base. An increase in damage and having bases be destroyed when reaching it, seems worth exploring.

@CWO:

Okay, that gives me a good start to work on a first draft.  I’ll aim for a text that combines a general overview of the war situation in December 1940 with some specific details about the situation on various active fronts and maybe also in areas that will see some notable action very soon (meaning in the first few months of 1941).  And for game powers that might otherwise not get mentioned because the time frame for their involvement is still too far way, I might throw in a couple of “Meanwhile, country X is watching with growing apprehension as…” types of lines.  I like your idea of mentioning each of the game powers, and it should be easy enough to do given how much was going on internationally at that time.  I’ll try to keep the text broad enough so that it won’t hinge on any specific map or set-up adjustments; if there should end up being a few such cases of local situations, however, then the two options would be to either make map/setup adjustments to fit the text or to simply edit those references out of the text.

Here’s the first draft:

It is December 1940.  After the swift conquests of the conflict’s first year, which saw much of Europe overrun and occupied, the Second World War is turning into a grim war of attrition.  Defeated in the air during the first phases of the Battle of Britain, Germany has called off its contemplated invasion of the U.K. and, since October, has been carrying out a night bombing campaign against London and other large cities across the English Channel.  In the Atlantic, German U-Boats have enjoyed several months of exceptionally good luck in their operations against Allied convoys.  Britain, besieged though it may be at home, is preparing to strike back against the Axis in North Africa: with Australian support, it is about to launch Operation Compass, the first major Allied offensive of the Western Desert Campaign.  The attack will be a heavy blow to Italy, whose invasion forces in Greece are at this moment being driven back into Albania by the Greek army.

On the other side of the world, Japan’s invasion and occupation of China has bogged down into a bloody stalemate.  Further south, Thailand has gone to war with the Vichy regime to gain control of parts of French Indochina, an area where Japan has had its own presence since September.  These developments are raising tensions between Japan and the United States, which is concerned by growing Japanese naval power in the Pacific and Japanese aggression in mainland Asia.  The Soviet Union is likewise keeping a wary eye on Japan, its opponent in several recent conflicts along the Mongolian and Manchurian borders.  In the wake of Japan’s defeat by the Soviets in the latest of these border wars, the two nations will soon establish a neutrality pact.  The accord will put Japan at greater liberty to turn its attention towards the Pacific and South-East Asia, while the leaders of the Soviet Union – having already signed a non-aggression pact with Germany the previous year – will be able to reassure themselves that their potential adversaries to the east and to the west have now been neutralized by the tools of diplomacy…

Glad you like it.  By the way, here’s something I noticed while I was researching the text, and which should perhaps be reflected in the modified Global set-up: the Flying Tiger squadron started being formed (with plane purchases and pilot training) in late 1940, and only started arriving in Asia (specifically Burma) in mid-1941.  The Flying Tigers didn’t go into combat until December 20, 1941 – two weeks after Pearl Harbor – so technically the single fighter that China is allocated in the 1940 game (from the very beginning under the OOB rules) shouldn’t be there until the game reaches the second half of 1941.

@CWO:

Glad you like it.  By the way, here’s something I noticed while I was researching the text, and which should perhaps be reflected in the modified Global set-up: the Flying Tiger squadron started being formed (with plane purchases and pilot training) in late 1940, and only started arriving in Asia (specifically Burma) in mid-1941.  The Flying Tigers didn’t go into combat until December 20, 1941 – two weeks after Pearl Harbor – so technically the single fighter that China is allocated in the 1940 game (from the very beginning under the OOB rules) shouldn’t be there until the game reaches the second half of 1941.

So, it might be possible to left China empty of Fighter on set-up but with 1 or 2 Fgs in Philippines to use the optional rule about Flying Tigers changing US Fg into Chinese Fg. So, on USA’s turn it might correspond to mid 1941 period.

@Baron:

So, it might be possible to left China empty of Fighter on set-up but with 1 or 2 Fgs in Philippines to use the optional rule about Flying Tigers changing US Fg into Chinese Fg. So, on USA’s turn it might correspond to mid 1941 period.

I don’t think the Philippines could be used in this way.  The P-40 Warhawk used by the Flying Tigers had a range of about 650 miles, which is about the distance between the northern tip of the Philippines and the closest point of mainland China (roughly Hong Kong) – and that’s assuming the plane is flying a one-way trip, and that it would arrive over China with no fuel left for combat.  A plane could be ferried to China that way, but it couldn’t fly a Philippine-based combat mission.

@Black_Elk:

Do we know what the actual route of supply was for those Warhawks?

My guess would be that the planes were shipped to Burma disassembled (in crates), then forwarded to China via the Burma Road or put together in Burma and flown over the Himalayas to China.  The whole Flying Tiger squadron concept was basically a clandestine operation of the Roosevelt administration, which wanted to help China without overtly violating the peacetime status of the US, so they had to use discretion.  Flying combat planes to China from the Phillipines would have been too blatant, and would have upset both Congress and the Japanese.  In the context of A&A, it might even be considered an act of war.  My feeling is that the simplest method would simply be to give China its Flying Tiger unit at the proper phase of the game by adding it to the map as a new unit, not by transferring an existing fighter that’s already on the board.  This would replicate the idea that these fighters were sent to China covertly rather than overtly.  Also, it would agree with the White House’s fiction that the pilots in question we “civilian volunteers” and that the planes were part of the Chinese Air Force – an illusion that would have been shattered if the US had transferred US Army Air Corps planes to China, flown by American uniformed servicemen.

@CWO:

@Black_Elk:

Do we know what the actual route of supply was for those Warhawks?

My guess would be that the planes were shipped to Burma disassembled (in crates), then forwarded to China via the Burma Road or put together in Burma and flown over the Himalayas to China.  The whole Flying Tiger squadron concept was basically a clandestine operation of the Roosevelt administration, which wanted to help China without overtly violating the peacetime status of the US, so they had to use discretion.  Flying combat planes to China from the Phillipines would have been too blatant, and would have upset both Congress and the Japanese.  In the context of A&A, it might even be considered an act of war.  My feeling is that the simplest method would simply be to give China its Flying Tiger unit at the proper phase of the game by adding it to the map as a new unit, not by transferring an existing fighter that’s already on the board.  This would replicate the idea that these fighters were sent to China covertly rather than overtly.  Also, it would agree with the White House’s fiction that the pilots in question we “civilian volunteers” and that the planes were part of the Chinese Air Force – an illusion that would have been shattered if the US had transferred US Army Air Corps planes to China, flown by American uniformed servicemen.

If China is considered the last power to play, it might not be that far stretch to put on set-up and out of position a Chinese aircraft, which might be considered the Flying tiger.

Or, giving an initial 10 IPCs bonus to allow Chinese player to built a one time single Fighter.
So, it will only appear on units placement phase.

@CWO:

@CWO:

Okay, that gives me a good start to work on a first draft.  I’ll aim for a text that combines a general overview of the war situation in December 1940 with some specific details about the situation on various active fronts and maybe also in areas that will see some notable action very soon (meaning in the first few months of 1941).  And for game powers that might otherwise not get mentioned because the time frame for their involvement is still too far way, I might throw in a couple of “Meanwhile, country X is watching with growing apprehension as…” types of lines.  I like your idea of mentioning each of the game powers, and it should be easy enough to do given how much was going on internationally at that time.  I’ll try to keep the text broad enough so that it won’t hinge on any specific map or set-up adjustments; if there should end up being a few such cases of local situations, however, then the two options would be to either make map/setup adjustments to fit the text or to simply edit those references out of the text.

Here’s the first draft:

It is December 1940.  After the swift conquests of the conflict’s first year, which saw much of Europe overrun and occupied, the Second World War is turning into a grim war of attrition.  Defeated in the air during the first phases of the Battle of Britain, Germany has called off its contemplated invasion of the U.K. and, since October, has been carrying out a night bombing campaign against London and other large cities across the English Channel.  In the Atlantic, German U-Boats have enjoyed several months of exceptionally good luck in their operations against Allied convoys.  **Britain, besieged though it may be at home, is preparing to strike back against the Axis in North Africa: with Australian support, it is about to launch Operation Compass, the first major Allied offensive of the Western Desert Campaign.  The attack will be a heavy blow to Italy, whose invasion forces in Greece are at this moment being driven back into Albania by the Greek army.  **

On the other side of the world, Japan’s invasion and occupation of China has bogged down into a bloody stalemate.  Further south, Thailand has gone to war with the Vichy regime to gain control of parts of French Indochina, an area where Japan has had its own presence since September.  These developments are raising tensions between Japan and the United States, which is concerned by growing Japanese naval power in the Pacific and Japanese aggression in mainland Asia.  The Soviet Union is likewise keeping a wary eye on Japan, its opponent in several recent conflicts along the Mongolian and Manchurian borders.  In the wake of Japan’s defeat by the Soviets in the latest of these border wars, the two nations will soon establish a neutrality pact.  The accord will put Japan at greater liberty to turn its attention towards the Pacific and South-East Asia, while the leaders of the Soviet Union – having already signed a non-aggression pact with Germany the previous year – will be able to reassure themselves that their potential adversaries to the east and to the west have now been neutralized by the tools of diplomacy…

On various challenge about where to start a 1941 set-up to make it interesting here is a quote from AA50:

Why not have a new starting date for the game? Avalon Hill brand manager Brian Hart and I discussed a 1939 scenario. This idea came with many undesirable problems, however. The game would automatically be much longer to play. The United States would not participate in the game for the first three or four turns. The game would suffer from a rather slow and very predictable start. This, and several other issues, would prove to be too problematic from a game point of view. The war did not become truly global until the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. We finally decided that this infamous date would be our starting point . . . well almost. As it turned out, by way of some serious lobbying from one of my playtest groups, we concluded that turn one would include both the japanese attack at Pearl Harbor as well as the German attack on Russia (Operation Barbarossa). This would really start the game off with a bang.

It seems they made an historical anachronism to get an interesting moment on Eastern Front…

From 1942 Revised intro, but not a word on Japan expansionism or German’s soldier diehard winter battle hardened:

Spring 1942: The fleet at Pearl Harbor rebuilds from the ruins. Britons stare across the Channel to an occupied France. West of Moscow, Soviet troops dig out from a brutal winter on the Russian front. Greenhorn American soldiers leave their birthplaces for the first time, unclear whether they’ll see the homefires burn again. They face a world at war.

Seems pretty hard to find the original intro texts written under the OOB boxes. If anyone have a link to provide.

This late 1940 date for set-up makes me wonder about Taranto raid. Maybe it can still be part of the first round action on UKE1?
Can this be UK the opening Power in this 1940-1941 scenario?

Pacific 1940 Box Back texts:

The year is 1940. Japan continues to flex its military might in China as political tension grips the world. In Europe, France is about to fall, and Asia braces for the impact. Holland, now occupied by Germany, is forced to leave its resource rich colonies in the Dutch East Indies vulnerable to the oil-starved Imperial Japanese Empire. French Indo-China will soon be occupied by Japanese land sea and air forces. Britain has received an ultimatum to close the Burma Road or risk war with Japan. The United States reacts with an embargo of strategic materials. The stage is set.

Europe 1940 Box Back texts:

The year is 1940. France is about to succumb to the unstoppable German armies blitzing through Western Europe. Italy’s armies are poised to attack in North Africa, Greece, and Southern France. What remains of the British army has recently evacuated Dunkirk. This island nation is about to find itself standing alone and bracing for an invasion that could come at any moment. The United States, separated from world conflicts by two great oceans, remains neutral for the moment. The Soviet Union has concluded a secret agreement with Germany, assuring that it will remain neutral should Germany go to war in Europe. These are trying times, but all of this is merely a prelude to the greatest conflict in human history.

Pacific 1940, first edition Larry Harris intro in rulebook

What if . . . What if the Japanese attacked the United States in 1940 instead of on December 7th, 1941?
We, as players of this game, are about to explore that possibility. The war in Europe has already begun and the German blitzkrieg is presently underway in France. The collapse of several European colonial powers has created large power vacuums in Asia and in the Pacific. Japan is anxious to fill these vacuums. To do so, it will most certainly have to go to war with the other Pacific powers notably the United States. As the game opens, clearly Japan is the dominant military power. The U.S. is in no mood for foreign military adventures, and with a strong isolationist movement in the country, it’s desperately trying to stay out of the war in Europe and avoid one in the Pacific. With this backdrop, the United States consequently cannot and will not make any moves against Japan. Japan, on the other hand, has all its options open. As Japan sees it, war with the United States and the European powers in the Pacific is all but inevitable.

On turn one Japan is confronted with two options: attack immediately or use this time window to better prepare for what will certainly be a massive attack that will carry them half way across the globe. With some luck and preparation, Japan can catch the U.S. Pacific fleet unprepared and strike a swift and decisive blow to the American fleet. If Japan can manage to keep the United
States on the defensive and in a weak military state, she can conquer enough resources and victory cities to win the game. One theory is that Japan can create such a strong defensive perimeter that the United States would eventually tire and negotiate a peace with a much stronger and richer Japan.

But another theory suggests that time is running out for Japan. On turn 3, due to the realities of the global situation, the United States will switch to a wartime economy. On the U.S. player’s third turn, whether attacked or not, the U.S. will boost its income by 40 IPCs per turn. The British will fill the void created by the fall of Holland and take guardianship of the rich Dutch East Indies. And so, in but a few months, Japan will no longer enjoy its military dominance in Asia, and its dreams of a greater imperial Japan will fade in the setting sun.