in times such as this i say……my god people…its just a game!
I know its just a game. That doesn’t mean it can’t be improved. :-)
Central USA was a ‘road apple’ to force a decision on Infantry shuck from placement on west or east coast.
All it did was force the shuck north through Canada, while at the same time making it essentially impossible for the USA to switch fronts rapidly. I feel it hurts the Pacific game more than any other single change that was made from Classic to Revised.
I could maybe see some argument for Central US, as an obstacle to recovering W. US, if the Japs manage to take it, but that circumstance is so rare that it hardly justifies the change from Classic. I preferred the older dynamic, where USA could feint Pacific or Atlantic, and then double back the other way at the last second if need be. Central US and Panama both contribute to making KGF more attractive.
If the map did not wrap at the edges, the problem with shucks between W. USA, and E. USA wouldn’t exist anymore, and the Allies would be forced to use their Pacific units in the Pacific. Japan conquering W. USA would be a major game changing event (much more than it is under the traditional situation) since USA could not retake it with tanks out of E. USA. Whether or not that is realistic shouldn’t matter, because all the other effects on the gameplay taken together would be so dramatic and beneficial. USA would have every reason to fight on two fronts, because losing W. USA to sustained attack by Japan would be an unthinkable. Japan would have a reason to press the fight, since a capture of W. USA would solidly cover their eastern flank.