Tucson G40Mk6 (Advanced Global 40, full ruleset & setup sheets)

Below is the compiled set of house rules our Tucson group will be using for the game this weekend. Will use this thread to report back on results. There’s been several playtesting sessions between Mk 5 & this finalized Mk 6–mostly focused on giving the UK more options during a Sea Lion threat–without completely removing the option as a viability.

Even so, more revisions expected!

↓↓ CLICK HERE FOR FULL RULES ↓↓

Rules: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SHJzvVXV9-7etMl6xdhz1l2VJ8c-IXOJ/view?usp=share_link

↓↓CLICK HERE FOR FULL SETUP↓↓

Printable setup sheets: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BwzH_x5rNaMsQv4XEbHLv2w7XtH5684G/view?usp=share_link

Some previews, should you choose not to click weird links:

GAME REPORT:

• Allies pursued a bold “big France” strategy. Broadly KGF.
• Axis pursued a rapid Middle East strategy combined with a slow Russia push. Sea Lion threat to roll up the Empire in defense.

ROUND ONE:
Germany builds a standard carrier+destroyer+sub. Doesn’t commit Bismark. All very standard Sea Lion threat stuff so far. Takes out 109 easily, no scramble. Scramble into 110. Great rolls from the UK, kills two (?) planes & loses none. Great success! Overall, an easy Paris. Some infantry left.

Japan buys 3 transports.

UK is on the clock now; France goes Vichy at the start of her turn. UK has to decide what to save. Chooses to take the 105 battleship+transport (with a cruiser) & the 92 sub+cruiser (with the Gibraltar battleship). Leaves the 93 sub+destroyer for the Axis. With the crazy “big France” strategy, UK liberates Syria, Vietnam, Morocco & Madagascar, giving Free France an astonishing 8 income at the cost of a lot of UK transports. UK tries to keep the Med battleship alive by building an airbase in Gibraltar, hoping it’ll pay dividends for when the US arrives. Drops 3 fighters on it. Otherwise retreats into the Red Sea, killing the Italian destroyer+transport with planes & the sub. Blobs everything else in 109.

Italy takes Syria & Yugoslavia post-German-strafe/retreat. With no pressure from the UK in the Horn of Africa (UK went for Big France plays instead), expands to take all the Horn & claim that new national bonus. Currently making 19 IPCs after bonuses.

China concentrates in Yunnan & retreats in the north.

Russia retreats from both borders.

US buys into both seas.

~

ROUND TWO:

Germany buys 5 transports & postures in SZ 112. This clears the channel & 109 of subs, opening up strategic movement options to London for the first time. Germany captures the Vichy sub & destroyer.

Commonwealth goes into Persia. She sends 6 infantry (the max) in the UK, drawing from Calcutta, Malaya, and Australia.

Japan pushes along the coast & buys 3 more transports. Now they have 9!!

UK recalls all available planes & boats to the channel. Builds max infantry (6) & some ships for 109 (via Scotland). Recalls to London land units from Canada, Cairo (whoops), India, & S Africa. Can’t contain Italy on the Horn. Balls up in Cairo.

Italy takes Cairo! With land units to spare. Suez is sealed.

Russia returns to the Japanese border.

Free France attacks Vichy France, liberating Algeria.

US buys into both seas.

~

ROUND THREE:

Germany smashes her fleet into the channel; mutual annihilation & a few planes lost. Swings all transports loaded into Stalingrad along with a general offensive into Russia. Soviets take NW Persia, preparing to open the Caucasus lend-lease route next turn.

Commonwealth balls up around Malaya.

WAR DECLARED! Japan explodes over the map, taking all four money islands, Hong Kong, & the Philippines in one move. Attacks Russia AND IT GOES HORRIBLY. Full infantry wipe the first round! Only planes left. Mongolia activates.

London cleans up German subs in the North Atlantic, regaining its full economy. Starts shucking to Johannesburg, preparing to retake Africa.

Italy claims Iraq, gaining the pro-Axis infantry. Explodes over Africa. Is collecting all her bonuses–terrifying. Lands in Morocco, defeating the Free French.

Russia counterattacks in Manchuria with planes & infantry. Mutual annihilation. Many Japanese planes dead, only a few left. But Japan can rebuild & Russia cannot…

China pushes.

America goes to Morocco to support the French & British with what small fleet she has in the Atlantic. Nukes Italy easily.

France does France things. Builds a tank & infantry in French West Africa to try to stall Italian expansion.

~

ROUND FOUR:

Germany continues the war with Russia.

Commonwealth kills four Japanese transports & contests Java. Takes Iraq back from Italy.

Japan swings her loaded transports into the Chinese in Kwangsi, wiping the bulk of their army out with some difficulty. Only artillery & tanks are left. Japan severs the Pacific lend-lease route into Russia.

UK continues building in S Africa. She clears German subs blocking the Arctic Convoy route.

Italy continues to gobble up Africa. She recaptures Iraq, blitzes into Persia, shucks more units in Libya, takes Gibraltar, seizes Crete & Cyprus, and declares that the Axis have achieved their five stated war aims in Europe. The Allies have a single turn to reply. Italy is collecting 52 IPCs. This will be peak Italy. She has severed the Persian lend-lease route to Russia. It will never be collected upon.

China reinforces. Russia goes into China. Russia collects the Arctic Convoy lend-lease route, but no more. This will be the first and only lend-lease that reaches Russia.

America retakes Gibraltar and reinforces Morocco. Seizing upon mispositioned Japanese transports, they dodge into Sydney to threaten the Money Islands further. This is the first turn they buy only into the Atlantic.

The Free French make a semi-suicidal strafe on the combined Axis fleet waiting on the other side of the Strait. This is to soften it up for a British blow. France brings more Free French units to Morocco (from London), enough to take a victory token from the Axis. Disaster is averted for now.

~

ROUND FIVE:

Italian Middle Eastern oil continues to fuel the German advance into Russia. Germany buys a buttload of subs & closes the Arctic convoy route. She is trying to re-take Leningrad, and American-built mechanized infantry & tanks aren’t welcome in front of them.

Commonwealth takes Borneo. Japan retakes. Japan positions itself at Hawaii. Commonwealth prepares to contest Iraq again. Japan is rebuilding ground units. Commonwealth is still balled in Malaya.

Britain sends her subs & all her planes to wipe the remaining combined fleet out of the Med. The Med isn’t open yet, but it’s getting there, and is right now full of submarines. London retakes Kenya, denying that bonus to Italy.

Italy defeats France & blows open west Africa. Italy opens the Suez to herself. Italy makes some daring maneuvers to bomb Volgograd & deny recapture of the Caucasus to Russia.

China masses in Yunnan.

Russia retreats. She is receiving no lend-lease support.

US returns to Hawaii, ready to fight. Buys subs & destroyers in the Pacific & transports in the Atlantic. Sits off Gibraltar, knowing they’re safe from the Luftwaffe (which has been rebuilding surprisingly rapidly). Shucks another four tanks & four infantry to Morocco. She is ready to pounce.

France masses in North Africa.

~

ROUND SIX:

Germany savages the UK destroyer buy with combined subs & air force. Holes opened by the Russia retreat allow Germany to gobble up West Russia. The Kriegsmarine is re-arming, but it stops shy of buying transports. The threat, of course, is not missed on London, who has been shucking her defenders back across the globe & is again vulnerable. While the Axis hold only three tokens now, they are poised to take up to another three the next turn. The Allies panic.

Commonwealth retakes Iraq, again. The Commonwealth retakes Celebes & Sumatra.

Japan empties the Chinese coast & moves six transports to the Carolines, threatening Sydney.

The British pounce on Cairo in a narrow fight, retaking Egypt & destroying a just-built Italian barracks.

Italy masses to stop the French advance across North Africa. She is now playing defense–a sharp defense, but still defense.

Russia completely retreats to Moscow.

China retakes Hong Kong &, with Russia support, begins to retake the land around Beijing.

The US commits to hail maries to save London & save Sydney. If they can take Rome, the Italian war machine will fall to the Allies, at least partially. It doesn’t work. The fleet is protected by the capture of the Sardinian air field, but they haven’t even done enough to let the French finish the job. Rome holds. In the Pacific, they go to Iwo Jima, threatening the capture of Japan unless they turn around & destroy the American fleet.

France retakes West Africa.

~

ROUND SEVEN:

At this point, the game is all but over. While the Axis don’t yet win, Germany owns the North Atlantic, London is fearful of a late Sea Lion, America is two turns away from anything important & saves its fleet only because Italy judges it too worthless to bother killing. Japan destroys the Americans off Iwo Jima but does not take the island. The Commonwealth, protecting transports in the Dutch East Indies, is not poised to take advantage of the vulnerable unescorted carriers left over. Nevertheless, Japan has all but abandoned its goals in China, and instead pivots to seize nearly all of the east Pacific islands, making back a surprising amount of income in national objectives.

But the German war machine is unstoppable now. Powered by multiple turns of reliable oil bonuses & now with the majority of the USSR in its grasp, while it does not hold Moscow, it is making almost 90 IPCs. Russia, withered, is making ten. After dropping a casual three battleships in the North Sea & demonstrating the inevitability of a neutral crush on Turkey, Spain, and Norway (another two, soon three victory tokens), the Allies realize they have no counterplay against German hegemony over Europe and sue for peace. Axis win.

CONCLUSIONS:

Feels extremely balanced, finally, if slightly Allied-biased–albeit not enough to stave off Axis victory in this case. Seems ready to turn into a TripleA module. Game was on a razor’s edge turns three through five. Ultimately, Allied timidity and several minor but cumulative misplays lost them the middle east and all lend-lease routes into Russia. Once Russia was economically neutered, a perfectly timed German pivot back into the Atlantic sealed the Allied fate. America was never going to be able to make a difference against Germany in time, needing to fight through a massively wealthy Italy to get there.

Excellent game. Very exciting that the game, once a team pulled ahead, resolved so rapidly that we could finish in a day. Was expecting up to 20 hours of play, ended in 12. It’s not tournament ready yet, but we’re getting there.

This is group play test ~14 on this set of rules and our most successful yet. G40Mk7 will be in the works based on these results, but a few more playtests are needed to figure out what, if anything, needs major revision.

Will begin work on the TripleA module.

@all-encompassing-goose Please try to adapt it & let me know how it goes! I have it balanced for global interactions, mostly with regards to the British & Russians.