Back in the day, I had been reading up on all sorts of A&A stuff: some of the “limited” scenarios (where not all nations were used/played) on thrasher’s A&A site, as well as World at War and its use of an “impulse” turn for the Axis.
I kind of wanted to combine some of those ideas, with a setting earlier than Classic’s “Spring 1942” which Larry Harris described (in a video during the credits of Iron Blitz) as the “high-water mark of the Axis expansion.” My knowledge of WWII kind of suggested that the highest mark prior to that, would be 1941 – specifically when most of France’s colonies were still collaborationist, or had not yet been captured by the British, and when Italy still controlled east Africa.
I can recall sharing this with a friend back in 2007, so this sort of comes after the original Europe and Pacific games, but prior to Global. As you might guess, this kind of shared the mindset that would go on to create that game. Essentially, the game is broken into 3 theatres – one Axis power for each. If that Axis power is either defeated, or achieves their objectives, then their theatre merges with at least one other. (i.e. Italy must be defeated in Africa before the western Allies can start to attack Germany)
For simplicity, I kept the starting unit setup the same, with units changing nationality if their territory also changed. For balance, the Axis were given some early bonuses, and (also for historical reasoning) the USA and USSR both had restrictions in the first round. I also included some further clarification to the 2nd Edition rules, as well as some changes (such as adding some complexes, but all complexes being limited in the number of units they can produce.)
Anyways, I have most of the documentation saved, it probably just needs some updated formatting; I wanted to post here first, so as to gauge interest and see if I should go through with the process of cleaning up what I have.
Thanks for reading :) hopefully there are some enthusiastic responses!
Turn Order:
(With the intention of keeping as close to the original turn order, while still slotting in the added countries)
Round Zero / “Impulse”:
Prior to the first full round, the Axis get one round to act. This should be played out in the turn order described above, omitting the Allied turns.
The Axis conduct all phases of their turns during this round, with some very important bonuses added:
During this round, Allied units defend as per normal, with one notable exception: since they are not yet at war, AA guns belonging to the USSR and USA do not fire.
Axis Advantage / “Russia Restricted”
On the first round, the USSR and the US (both Atlantic and Pacific) may only conduct the following phases of their turns: Purchase Units, Place Units, Collect Income.
In addition to the bonuses on Round Zero, all three Axis countries gain these benefits:
Setup & Territorial Changes:
The original setup for Classic is used, however changes in ownership of a territory also govern changes in the nationality of ALL units listed for that territory (including naval units) with the following exceptions:
As you can see from the map above, the sea zones are broken down into two sections:
You’ll note that this limitation creates one sea zone in the mid-Atlantic which is effectively impassable; feel free to adjudicate this differently, if you find a change to be helpful.
Industrial Complexes / “Victory Cities”:
Add an AA gun and Industrial Complex to the following territories:
No new industrial complexes may be built.
In this scenario, the number of units a complex can produce is limited to the IPC value of the territory in which it is located (including capitols.) As such, you may only purchase a number of units up to the total IPC value of the industrial complexes which you have controlled since the start of your turn. For example: the UK has an industrial complex on their capitol (8 IPCs) as well as in South Africa (2 IPCs) meaning they can purchase a maximum of 10 units on their turn.
Further to this, the number of naval units you may purchase is limited not only to the IPC value of your coastal/island complexes, but also by whether the adjacent sea zones are clear of enemy ships. For example: Since Japan only has an industrial complex in their capitol, if the islands are surrounded by Allied naval units at the start of the Japanese turn, Japan may not purchase any naval units on that turn.
A nation who loses their capitol may continue to collect IPCs from any territories they still control, provided they also still control at least one industrial complex after the Combat Phase of their turn. If a nation controls no industrial complexes after any nation’s Combat Phase, they must surrender their IPCs to the nation whose turn it currently is. They also can no longer collect IPCs, until they regain control of at least one industrial complex.
Victory is achieved when either side controls at least “2 out of 3” Axis and “2 out of 3” Allied starting Industrial Complexes (8 Industrial Complexes in total) at the end of any round of play.
Theatres of War
It is intended that each theatre may be played separately, as their own sort of “mini-game” but they may also be played in concert, and merge together under certain circumstances of victory or defeat. A nation may not attack nor move units into any territory which is not a part of their theatre, until those theatres merge together.
If Germany or Italy collects an income of at least 5 IPCs less than their starting income, the Atlantic and European theatres merge at the start of the following round. This also happens if Germany collects an income of at least 10 IPCs more than their starting income.
If Italy or Japan collects an income of at least 10 IPCs more than their starting income, the Atlantic and Pacific theatres merge at the start of the following round. This also happens if Japan collects an income of at least 5 IPCs less than their starting income.
If playing any theatre individually, the Axis country wins if they collect an income of at least 15 IPCs more than their starting income; the Allies win if the Axis country collects no income.
Starting Incomes:
Mergers and Restrictions
Whenever the European and Atlantic theatres merge, Germany and Italy combine their cash on hand, and effectively become one nation.
Whenever the Atlantic and Pacific theatres merge, the same happens with the UK and China, as well as with US Atlantic and US Pacific. Additionally, when this merger takes place, the restrictions on naval movement end; the navies of all nations can enter any sea zones on the map.
Unlike most global Axis & Allies games, in this scenario Japan and the USSR may never attack each others’ territories or naval units. However, if the Pacific and European theatres have merged (i.e. all 3 theatres must have merged, for this to happen) the following actions are permitted:
Other Recommended Rules
I’ve decided to leave out most of the “errata”-type changes I had written up in my earlier draft, since those are mostly down to a matter of taste; generally sticking to the 2nd Edition rules will be perfectly fine. But if anyone is interested, I’ll be happy to add those to the thread.
If you have any questions or comments, please post them down below :)
@the-janus Nice. You guys put a lot of thought into it. How much did you play it ?
@barnee
I tested it quite a bit (just solo play) way back when I first wrote it; that’s how the various Axis buffs / Allied restrictions more or less got hammered out.
Probably the Pacific part would still be the most rough, if I had to point to one area. I do recall at one point I just had it as “all original Japanese naval units are still Japanese in this setup” but eventually changed that (hence the big discount in cost of naval units on Round Zero.) Also, at one point I had it as NO allied AA guns firing during Round Zero, but India was falling too easily/reliably, so that’s when it was changed to just US/USSR having that restriction.
I also tinkered with the turn order a bit (and with the possibility of not having US/USSR act at all, during round one), but with the “impulse” turn being what it is, you can’t quite let Germany have two full turns before Russia can react; much the same for Japan. So, there was some thought and testing that went into hewing closer to the original turn order (not just “keep it the same, for the sake of keeping it the same.”)
Having Persia under the USSR helps make the sea zone split a little easier to manage, but also gives Germany an alternate attack route, without having to mix the threatres together at all.
Similarly, I had considered giving Western Canada to the Pacific US (since it doesn’t quite feel right being part of “China”) – and in the original A&A Pacific game, Western Canada is a 0-IPC territory, so it doesn’t matter much who owns it. I definitely think it makes more sense being part of “UK Pacific” in the context of playing the global game.
Were there any specific rules or changes you had any questions about? I’m happy to answer :)
@the-janus said in 1941 "limited" scenario for A&A Classic:
some of the “limited” scenarios (where not all nations were used/played) on thrasher’s A&A site
Just as a fun bit of context, I dug up one of the scenarios that I believe had influenced my ideas here:
https://web.archive.org/web/20020416082827/http://www.wargamer.com/axisandallies/original/scenarios/historical/1939/scenario_1939_battleplan_perrintong.html
This scenario has both China and (what particularly stood out in my memory) “South Pacific Forces” as separate powers from the US and UK. With the timeframe of 1941 (China already at war with Japan, and the UK already at war in the West) it made more sense to me to slot China in with the UK rather than the US. This means Chinese units wouldn’t be subject to the early game restrictions that the US has, and also gives “China” enough of an economy to really be a meaningful world power in this setup (albeit as a sub-faction of the UK, rather than a truly independent power.)
@barnee re: testing
Since the Axis each have a starting income that is divisible by 3, originally I had the mechanics for merging theatres as a function of the Axis country either increasing their income by 2/3rds more than their starting income, or decreasing it by 1/3rd less than their starting income. (Which sort of dovetails into the “2 out of 3” rule for Victory Cities.)
This effectively worked out to:
Germany: +14/-7
Italy: +8/-4
Japan: +10/-5
Changing it to a uniform +10/-5 made the math a little bit more intuitive, but it also means the USSR doesn’t have to get beat up so much (down half their income, possibly even losing their capitol) before the US/UK are able to jump in and help.
In terms of territorial gains/losses, this typically works out like…
+10 Germany = Karelia, Ukraine, Caucasus, Persia
-5 Germany = Finland/Norway, Eastern Europe
+10 Italy = all of Africa, plus Brazil or Eastern Canada
-5 Italy = all of Africa (except for one territory), or losing Southern Europe
+10 Japan = all Chinese territories, plus India or Philippines
-5 Japan = Indochina/Burma, Manchuria
So, Italy probably has the toughest time (as one might expect) but none of these scenarios are completely out of the realm of possibility.
