Axis and Allies Africa - homebrewed.

Hi all.  :-)

Well, I looked back through 7 pages of variants and I’m kind of surprised (but pleasantly so) that I couldn’t find another thread on a WW2 ATO variant.

I’ve got a new variant in the works that I believe is almost finished in terms of development. I just need to tidy up the map and finish painting it, and finalize my rules & notes. It’s pretty basic & straightforward, but it’s got a couple of advanced concepts that I think are pretty cool. I’ve  been working on it since the day after New Years '06 with much valuable help from my buddy Shane C, and I think we’ve got it down to the point at which I feel comfortable submitting it to the forum for comments, kudos, and constructive criticism……if anyone’s interested I’ll post the info up…hopefully y’all will like it.

Rob.

Okay, here goes.

First, some background……

The focus of this variant is to simulate the “classic” African campaign, that of Monty vs. Rommel. I really wanted to accomlish two things; one, to be true to historical realities, and two, to stick to the spirit of a true Milton Bradley/Avalon Hill Axis and Allies game.

My intent was to center the action around desert combat, and so there is no naval element to the game. Reason being, there were no shipyards in North Africa capable of turning out combat ships in any quantity, and as there aren’t many strategically valuable complexes in North Africa, the IPC level is relatively low compared to other variants, so players won’t necessarily have the funds to finance sizable navies. In addition, America isn’t involved at all, for a few reasons. One, historically, when America entered the fray in Africa, the Afrika Corps was close to the end of it’s rope. Two, America got into the ATO relatively late, and so in the interest of historical accuracy they would have to be brought in after a number of rounds had already been played; determining when to introduce America and by what method was a real PITA and I never did come up with a simple solution so I just about dropped the whole idea…more on that later. Third, and perhaps most important from a practicality standpoint, in order to stay true to history I would have had to include Algeria and Tunisia, which, due to the nature of the actual battlefield area, would’ve either had to have been REALLY big, or it would’ve had to have been “zoomed-out” too far and would’ve been less fun to play in my humble opinion.

I have made a few “small” changes, or rather “enhancements” to three units, and I have also introduced a new element to the gameplay which I hope y’all will like.

And now, the details…

The Combatants:

Axis- Italy (yellow) & Germany (grey)
Allies- United Kingdom (khaki)

Order of Turns:

1.Italy
2.England
3.Germany

Victory Condition:

Capture the enemy capital.

IPCs-

Axis- 22
Allies- 24

Start-up:

At the beginning of the first turn, each side gets a one-time bonus of 12 IPCs (as in A&AE) to spend
or save as desired. Units purchased with this money must be placed upon the game board in any space or
spaces the owner controls. No order of placement.

Reinforcements:

Allied & German units are priced and purchased as normal, and enter the game through any or all of the
purchaser’s 3 Reinforcement Zones.

Italian units are slightly weaker and therefore slightly cheaper:

Inf- 1/1, 2 IPC
Art- 2/1, 3 IPC
Arm- 2/2, 4 IPC
Fit- 2/3, 10 IPC
Bom- normal cost and stats
AAA- normal cost and stats

Reinforcement Zones (RZ)

Other than the initial bonus money purchase units (which may be placed anywhere on the board), all units purchased during the game
must enter the board through the RZ.

Either side may control and  capture any RZs, and build units on any RZ.

There is no limit to how many units may be built in any RZ.

New unit/Unit abilities:

I have “enhanced” the abilities of some units…

Mechanized Infantry & Self-propelled/Towed artillery:

Either player may choose any number of infantry and/or artillery pcs and move them one additional
space on either his combat- or non-combat move, in any direction of movement, for a total of 2 spaces.
However, in doing so, they have outrun their supply lines and must suffer a penalty of no combat- or
non-combat movement during their controller’s next turn. They may still attack when they get to their
2nd space, they may still defend while serving their penalty, and they may even retreat if the attack
goes bad, but only one space back, at which time they are still out of gas and must still serve the
next turn penalty. To simulate this status, they must be placed on their sides or upside down to
portray their status. So basically, if you choose to move some units in this fashion, they are
incapable of any movement (except retreat from the initial attack move) for their controller’s next
turn. After that they are considered to be refueled and can be turned upright to resume normal
operations.

Tanks:

May move an additional space too, for a maximum of 3 spaces, at which point the same
conditions/limitations apply.

However, there is an exception to this penalty rule, and an exception to that exception. On my map
(which I will post pictures of as soon as I’m done painting it) I have drawn the Via Balbia, aka the
coastal road. All 3 units may move their additional space on the coastal road without penalty, which
simulates two things: first, it reflects the relative ease of resupply over a road as opposed to open
desert, and second, it boosts the value of the coastal cities along the road, which is important as
there aren’t a plethora of IPCs available for easy capture. This makes flanking and leapfrogging
operations more important, thereby increasing movement complexity and ensuring the game won’t be so
linear on a long, relatively narrow battlefield.

And as I said, there is an exception to this exception; if the enemy is able to place a unit on the
road within 2 spaces of the advaced unit/units’ rear, then the advanced unit’s supply line is
considered cut and it must then be turned over to simulate this status. It must then serve the normal
penalty the next turn unless the advanced unit’s controller can destroy the interloping enemy unit
during his next attack phase. If he can do so, then the advanced unit may be turned upright and moved
during the non-combat phase if so desired.  All of this will hopefully reflect the importance of
protecting one’s flanks and rear area. Don’t want to leave those REMFs twisting in the breeze, you
know.  :evil:

Anti-tank Guns:

The 88 earned it’s legendary status on the battlefields of North Africa, so I felt the need to include
some kind of anti-tank capability, but I didn’t want to add more new units than necessary so I’ve
decided to allow the players to designate artillery pcs as AT guns at their discretion. They can be
very powerful when employed properly (wisely), but there must be some balance so there are some
restrictions…

Restrictions:

1. Arty may only be AT guns while on defense.
2. They may only target tanks while in this mode.
3. They are a one-shot deal, meaning they take no further part in combat in that space on that turn.
4. Controlled may designate either some or all of his arty pcs in a space as AT guns.
5. One gun to one tank.
6. They fire before all other combat in that space.
7. They hit on a 3 or less.
8. Any enemy tank thus hit is removed immediately without firing a shot.

Which brings me to what I think is the coolest part of my variant, the new unit….

MINEFIELDS!

Minefields are a fundamental tool of desert warfare and can be very effective when
properly employed. They may be purchased and positioned like any other unit, but they are not revealed
to the enemy until he stumbles into the space containing it. The purchaser may hold his chip off to
the side of the board until such time that it’s presence is discovered. In addition, there are
some important rules to observe:

1. They cost 8 IPCs and are represented on the game board by a chip with an “M” on one side.
2. They are like AA guns in that they cannot be fired upon by an attacker.
3. Only 1 minefield per space, like AA guns.
4. Mines cannot be placed in an enemy controlled space.
4. They cannot be placed on city or road spaces.
5. Enemy units cannot occupy or control a space with an enemy minefield still inside it.
6. Defending units may occupy or move through a minefield without damage.
7. The controller must declare a minefield immediately upon entry by the enemy, or forfeit the   
    minefield back to the bank.
8. Once declared, all invading units which move into a minefield space must stop to receive damage.

Minefield Combat:

When an enemy moves into a minefield, the mine controller declares the minefield and places his “M”
chip upon the space for the first time. The enemy’s forces stop all movement. The mine controller gets
a one-shot roll of 1 die for each enemy land unit in the field, and hits on a roll of 3 or less during
this first roll only. This simulates the surprise and chaos of an initial minefield encounter. All
land units hit by mine rolls are removed immediately. At this point, the minefield has done it’s job
and ground combat can take place as normal. If the attacking force is able to clear the space of
defending units, then the attacker can roll 1 die in an attempt to “sweep” the minefield needing a
roll of 2 or less to sweep successfully. If he gets his roll he may then remove the chip and take
control of the space, and if not then he must retreat.

On each subsequent enemy incursion into the minefield, it’s no longer a secret that it’s there, so
while it’s still dangerous I believe it’s effectiveness should be reduced somewhat. Subsequently,
every time thereafter when a minefield roll is required (for that particular minefield), it only hits
at a 2 or less for each invading unit. And conversely, as it’s effectiveness has gone down, the
invader’s ability to sweep it should be slightly improved, and he can now sweep it on a roll of 3 or
less. This status stays in effect until the minefield is swept clear.

AA guns (Flak)

Flak may be mechanized as per the conditions of infantry and artillery, max move 2 spaces with the resulting penalty.

May be purchased as per normal rules, 5 IPC.
Always fire first against attacking aircraft, rolling 1 die per plane and hitting on a roll of 1.
Also fire first against Tactical Bombing Raids with same conditions.
Only fire once in the combat cycle.
Cannot be destroyed. If the space they occupy falls to the enemy, that player gains control of any AA units within.

Other thoughts:

1. Artillery still modifies accompanying infantry attack strength to 2 as normal.
2. Aircraft still move, attack, and defend as normal (see Italian exceptions).
3. There are a couple large spaces on the map which are considered impassable terrain, such as the Qattara Depression and the Jebel Akhdar.
4. Land units may not pass through these, but aircraft may fly over them.
5. There are also a couple of huge spaces of impassable terrain,the Great Sand Sea and the Dehan Ubari.
6. These may not be moved through NOR flown over.

Aircraft:

May land in any space owned or controlled by the plane’s controller.
Cannot land in enemy territory.
Cannot land in a space captured during that turn. 
Cannot fly over water.

Tactical Bombing Raids: (TBR)

Since there are no factories to bomb, bombers may instead attack units in any enemy RZ on a tactical bombing raid .  Bombers in a TBR must survive the defender’s flak getting it’s normal preemptive roll . In this case, bombers hit on a roll of 1, like normal, but the defender chooses which units in that RZ are lost to hits. No fighter escort.

I believe that’s everything, and I don’t think I missed anything, although it’s possible. I didn’t
want to get too complicated, but I did want to make the game more interesting, so there it is. Any
questions or suggestions are welcome. Like I mentioned above, my map is drawn, but the painting isn’t
quite done yet…I’ll post some pics when it’s done, within the next day or so.

Thanks guys.

Rob.

How large are your territories?

They’re on the small side, maybe a bit too small for the map to be honest, but I wanted to ensure you weren’t able to move across the board in 4 turns.

Did you think about making Atleast Mech Infantry a separate unit…

No. I didn’t want to add complexity, and I figured that, as they’re just regular infantry units that hitched a ride, there was no need to denote their special, but temporary status.

…or making it cost IPC’s to do it?

No, I didn’t. I thought that there should be no cost to it because of the one-turn penalty attached to it.

Rob.

@Imperious:

Autocad:

Please post the pic like you did at Larry site except in full size.

This is really great work.

You lost me.

Rob.

No, I’m not him. In fact, I’d say his map humbles mine somewhat.  :oops:  But thank you for the kind words.  :-)

The board should be done sometime this coming week.

Rob.

Okay, the board is done. And I’ve updated the notes in reply #3 above.

Here are some pics:

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More:

(My digicam isn’t the greatest…sorry about the quality of some pics. :oops:)

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Some with units on the board:

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More:

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@Imperious:

OK this is inspiring!

Really nice job. Id make some nice cards for to go with this game if i was you.

Thank you for the kind words. :-)

By “cards”, if you mean the Unit Allocation Cards that determine your initial setup, then Yes, they are the next thing on the agenda. I haven’t made them yet because my buddy and co/creator Shane C and I haven’t finalized the initial unit setup. The layout of units in the pics above is a preliminary kind of thing which I did while watching football last night. I think it might be a good basis to start playtesting with, but I want to get my buddy’s feedback on that before I commit anything to paper. Meanwhile, the layout you see in the pics reflects my interpretation of the Theater at the beginning of hostilities, i.e., on the eve of the first Italian cros-border attack. The Italian units are more or less massed on the border, about to invade, and the British placement reflects a disposition better suited to counterattack than to initial defense. Meanwhile, the German forces are a couple of moves away, which I intended to portray their relative late arrival on the scene. Historically speaking, the Italians and the British fought across the border for a while before the Germans found it necessary (dubiously so, IMHO) to send the Italians some help. Hopefully, this will work out just so in actual play.

Where the territories made ( decided upon) by the basis of some map or was it mostly just making them of a certain size?

They were drawn right out of my head, and I tried to keep them of a size that would permit easy chip stacking. The coastline, borders, and geographic features are all drawn to scale and are more or less correctly placed. To make the map I usd some acetate overlay on a map I have to trace it all out, and then I used an overhead projector to blow it all up to game board size, using a 48" x 24" sheet of .090" polycarbonate as my board. I drew the spaces in later over the course of two evenings, starting with the area around the middle of the board, i.e., the area between Benghazi and El Alamein, as I figured it would be the easiest area to fill in. Turns out it wasn’t as easy as I thought….anyone who makes a gameboard map certainly has my respect and admiration because I found the experience to alternate between difficult to tedious and back again.  :-D (Okay, wasn’t really that  bad)

I did think about going hex-based, as many folks seem to like that system better, but I decided not to because I wasn’t sure I’d be able to map out the spaces like I wanted them. If you look closely, the spaces I’ve drawn do have a certain bit of flow to them, especially around the road areas. I thought that was necessary, and hexes wouldn’t have comformed the way I wanted them to without being too small to use. As it is now, some of the spaces might be a bit on the small side, won’t know for sure until we test it out tonight.

also where is the order of battle for what forces are used?

1. Italy
2. England
3. Germany

also please list reinforcements.

See reply #3 above, back on page 1…  :-)

I want to playtest this.

It would be an honor to have someone else playing my variant. I still have to figure out how to make the board available to others. Any suggestions? I have an idea or two, still have to look into them.

Congradulations are in order as you have made something very creative.

Thank you very much again.  :-)

Rob.

Thanks, GG.  :-)

Well, it’s midnight here in PA, and we just finished the first four rounds of playtesting the game. Lots to tell, and a bunch of needed revisions have been identified. I’m whupped, long day, but I’ll post it all tomorrow night.

Rob.