Axis and Allies Prelude to War First Look

@copt2 I’m not real familiar with the HBG games. They look way cool but I’ve never really found the time to explore them much.

Sadly, I can only play digitally, so triplea. A lot of House Rules have been added to the “Global 40 House Rules” mod in triplea.

One of them is the “Vichy Rule” which is a combination of Vichy rules.
Oops just noticed i never did add this yet. it’s in “Oztea’s 1939”

Anyway here it is:

Vichy Option Adds Vichy rules.
They are as follows:
If Germany conquers France on turn 2 and only turn 2, it will activate the “Vichy Option”. After their Non Combat Move, each French territory will be rolled for to determine if they become Vichy controlled or not. A roll of 1,2 or 3 and the territory turns Vichy. A 4,5 or 6 and it remains Free French. The only exception is “Southern France” which automatically turns Vichy.

Southern France will also have 2 Vichy Infantry placed there. All Vichy territories and units are represented by the “Neutral Axis”. They behave the same as Non-Vichy Pro-Axis Neutrals.

If any Allied units are present in a territory that becomes Vichy, on their turn they have the option to stay and fight or leave, if possible. The only exception are air units, which are destroyed.

At the beginning of France’s 2nd turn, each French Naval Unit will be rolled for to determine if they become Vichy. A roll of 1,2 or 3 and the Unit is immediately ordered to the Vichy Harbor in Sea Zone 93. A 4,5 or 6 and it remains Free French.

Vichy ordered ships must take the most direct route possible to Sea Zone 93. They may not attack (Player Enforced) but can defend normally. Once a Vichy ordered ship arrives in 93 Sea Zone, it will “turn” Vichy at the end of the turn. Vichy Ships are controlled by the “True Neutrals”. You will need to declare war against them in order to attack Vichy Ships. They may not move and defend only.

If a ship hasn’t arrived in 93 Sea Zone by the end of French turn 3, it will not automatically turn “Vichy” if it enters 93 Sea Zone on the following turns. You may either use “Edit” or decide that the Captain has disregarded his orders and has stayed Free French.

If Southern France is taken over by any Axis player, then all Vichy territories immediately revert to Free French. This includes any Vichy Units that are present.

Vichy Naval Units are rolled for to determine their fate. On a roll of 1,2,3 or 4, the Fleet is scuttled and removed from play. On a roll of 5 or 6, another roll is taken. On a roll of 1,2 or 3, the Fleet reverts to Free French. On a roll of 4,5, or 6, it turns into the Axis player.

If Southern France is controlled by an Allied player (excluding Russia) a roll of 1 thru 5 will scuttle the Fleet. A roll of 6 and the Fleet will revert to Free French. Vichy land territories are unaffected.

If Southern France is taken control of by the Free French, the Fleet and all Vichy territories immediately revert to Free French. If France is liberated, all Vichy territories and units revert to Free French.

Anyway, there are a lot of House Rules that have been added that have been discussed by people here. If you want to elaborate on what yo want to add, I can see if triplea can do it.

If you play strictly Face to face, then i would add the ideas you like and test them out. Let us know how it goes :)

Here’s a list of the House Rules which are mostly discussed here: https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/topic/26089/g40-redesign-currently-taking-suggestions?page=1

Global_40_House_Rules.notes.doc

Hmm … can’t seem to upload the Rules without the code bleeding through. I’ll see if I can change the format for easier reading.

Edit
Also, here are the Captain and Company’s House Rules. You may find some you like there as well. They have a large group ( dozens of players ) in Europe that plays frequently, so quite popular. They spent 25 years in the making. Very well thought out.

https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/topic/36945/axis-allies-global-1940-house-rules-expansion

@The-Captain

Awesome ! One of my Favorite parts of G 40 Expansion :)

@Argothair:

I’m not really clear on how your rules would work – someone is rolling a die to get bonus cash? Who? When? How much cash? Do the Republican / Nationalist sides of the civil war have any starting forces, or are they entirely donated by the patrons? Does Spain always end the civil war with an army of exactly 3 inf, 1 art, 1 tnk no matter how stalemated or one-sided the civil war was? Given that control of Spain is apparently worth something like 19 IPCs in units plus 3 IPCs per turn in income, plus control of a tactically useful forward base, is there any reason why each side wouldn’t donate the maximum allowable amount?

All of that said, 1939 scenarios are tricky because they make it really hard for the Axis to win – the general consensus among historian types is that the Allies could have won the war quickly, easily, and decisively if England and France and Poland (let alone Russia!) had all made a coordinated attack on Germany before Germany had a chance to plunder half of Europe. So you need some mechanics that either stop the Allies from attacking or stop them from coordinating their attacks; otherwise the Axis get blown away. You also need to find a way to nerf the American economy so that the Americans don’t have 4 years of massive spending to prepare for a 1943 invasion, or the endgame also becomes an easy Allied victory.

I think the overall tendency of introducing the Spanish Civil War is to further advantage the Allies, because it provides yet another potential beachhead that the Germans need to defend. Let’s say the Allies invest nothing in Spain, the Axis contribute about 3 infantry, and so now the Axis are basically guaranteed to win the Spanish Civil War and will wind up with 3 inf, 1 art, 1 tnk plus an income boost of 3 IPCs per turn. Well, the 1 art + 1 tnk gets used up real fast, and then it’s not obvious that 3 IPC per turn is enough to pay for an effective garrison of an additional high-value territory near Berlin/Rome. If the Soviets get control of Spain and Italy or whoever has to waste resources invading it, well, that’s that much worse for the Axis.

None of this is to say that you can’t or shouldn’t have a Spanish Civil War in your 1939 scenario, just that you have to be careful about it. Be careful not to advantage the Allies too much, is my advice.

“Someone is rolling a die to get bonus cash? Who? When? How much cash?” Yes, in a 2 player game the Axis player and Allies player rolls a die. In games exceeding 2 players, the Italy Player and the Russian Player roll the die for their respective side. Neither side has starting forces and their units can only be received through the die roll and donations. The amount of cash earned is the number on the die.

“Does Spain always end the civil war with an army of exactly 3 inf, 1 art, 1 tnk no matter how stalemated or one-sided the civil war was?” Yes Spain always begins with that much but the Iberian peninsula itself has been split up into multiple territories.

“Given that control of Spain is apparently worth something like 19 IPCs in units plus 3 IPCs per turn in income, plus control of a tactically useful forward base, is there any reason why each side wouldn’t donate the maximum allowable amount?” Yes, the lack of IPCs to do so in the first turn or finding a better use for the IPCs.

Now I understand 1939 is hard for the Axis to win, which is why I’ve taken liberties here and there and added rules (Such as politics, neutrality, and ways to sap money from the Allies). I believe had I introduced this with my entire 1939 scenario, a lot of your question would have been cleared up. Also going back to liberties and realism please reread the first sentence I’ve added as a disclaimer “This isn’t realistic”. I see Axis and Allies as more of a game with history theme rather than an accurate history simulator. This isn’t to say that I’m not grateful for your feedback (Which I am) but I would like you know 2 things

1: I prioritize fairness and fun over realism

2: I did not explain everything and things that would balance your suggested issues.

If you would like I could begin a thread explaining my whole game and then later on we could revisit this and see my idea with a new Point of View.

Let`s say a word or two about Axis bid strategy in the Balanced mode version of A&A Global.

Usually, players bid for Axis, so well stick to them first. Which nation is the best for giving bid to it? Which are the best bids for each nation? Lets see…

I) Germany

Definitely the best option for the Axis bid. It plays first, it has numerous attack options on it`s first turn, and it has to defend against UK ships and air early on.

What are the best bid options for Germany?

1) A sub (or two)

A sub is the best bid for Germany. Germany faces 5 UK navies that can be striked on G1. Having an extra sub (or two) really helps, especially since 2/5 of that navies do not have a destroyer with them.

2) Land unit/s for striking France

An infantry or artillery in Holland Belgium and/or Western Germany, a mechanised infantry or tank in Germany and/or Greater Southern Germany can really help while attacking Paris on G1.

3) Land unit/s for attacking Russia

If Germany goes after Russia on G1, it is good to have an infantry or artillery in Poland/Slovakia Hungary/Romania.
A mechanised infantry or tank in Germany or Greater Southern Germany can be of help too.
Also an AA gun in Romania would be of help to move it to newly conquered Bessarabia.

II Italy

The next Axis power to which is good to give bid to it is Italy. Why Italy? Because it faces severe threats on land, air and sea from UK eary on. Also, Italy needs more transports and sea units to strike at UK faster and stronger. Let`s see what the best bid(s) for Italy would be…

1) 2 marines

A very good bid that helps Italy to strike Gibraltar, Malta, Crete, Cyprus early on. It also can be used for striking and/or taking (depends on Vichy) territories of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Syria. It gives wideness to the Italy early on.

2) 1 transport, 1 infantry

A similar bid that helps Italy to strike strong early on with more land troops.

3) 1 submarine or 1 destroyer

A ship more can aid in the defense of sz 97 that is sometimes attacked by UK on UK1. It can also help in later Italian moves, both for attacking and defending purposes.

4) Land units to North Africa

An infantry or artillery to Tobruk and/or mechanised infantry or tank to Libya can help a lot to strike Britain strong early on. The unit in Tobruk can also help to defend Tobruk on UK1. That seen, it is a good idea to put an AA gun there, to help defend on UK1, and in later turns, since UK has a powerfull RAF group near.

5) 1 fighter

A decent help from the air in attacking & defending against UK in the Med.

III) Japan

Japan is the last Axis nation that U will be bidding with. But, still it also can benefit from the bid. Japan does not need air units. It does not need more sea units too.

It needs more land units to strike China stronger. So, the bids would be:

1) An infantry or artillery

Put it to Kwangsi and/or Kiangsi to strike Yunnan and Hunan more stronger.

2) A mechanised infantry or tank

Put it to Kiangsu to strike Yunnan and Hunan more stronger.

3) An AA gun

Best to put is to Kwangsi and/or Kiangsu to move it to Yunnan and Hunan and prevent Chinese to take those territories (easily).
It can also be put to Jehol to move to Chahar for the same purposes.

Hi Tolstoj,

I’ve never played 1st Ed., so I have no insight upon the differences between the two editions. But in one of our games ‘Seelöwe’ was successful on G2 due to the errors of the British player in UK1.

There are several players who opt for a attack by Japan on J1. The sinking of the British BB is one argument. Personally I like to attack on J2 or J3 after my invasion forces are in position, so I’m able to capture the ‘treasure islands’ and Malaya in one single turn. (And in most cases one or two British and/or ANZAC transports can be sunk in addition.)

As Germany I prefer to launch ‘Barbarossa’ on my second turn. On G1 capture France, sink as many British ships as possible and weaken Yugoslavia by attacking it for one round of combat and then retreat to Romania (so Italy can finish her off).

You make a good point there. Hadn’t really put that much mathematical thought into it.

FYI this project has been scraped and we are moving forward with a 2 phase “historical edition”  its possible that some of the NA’s will be used and developed by members of our group.

If two(2) Allied pieces are moved they must be of different origins(USSR, UK and US.)
Limits are … no ICs and no more than 1 Bmr per side(Axis & Ally), not country.

Met a guy the other day who plays with this rule. He said it makes the game more flexible, like bidding, but more flex for more players(2 to 5.)

His usual group plays RR, SS, and 1 hit BB(otherwise the extra pieces are too often BBs.)
–------------------------------------------
I think I’ll try to talk my local opponents into trying this one.
With all the variations we keep trying Hillary will probably be
president by the time we try this one. :P