Posts made by billcallaway

I don’t really like play testing but it seems like forts could be too powerful now. Maybe for every infantry defending the fort (up to 10) the infantry defend at + 1 (instead of + 2 like before) and for every infantry one of their units attacks at - 1 (up to 10)? It meets in the middle and seems more realistic. We have never taken any city now with a fort in it that has 10 infantry and it’s been tried twice for Leningrad and twice for India and once for Moscow and once for Stalingrad! It’s a bit their fault though because they get too greedy.

The Russia fort in the east took about 50% of Japan’s turn to deal with on 1 turn.

Is the official 7.1 going to be out soon? We want to play again next weekend but it seems like the Axis can’t win (in turn 10 or 11) now. I think the solution could be knocking Russia down to having to roll for income just like before and maybe changing the forts. It might be too soon to say that though. I definitely think Russia shouldn’t get the 48 at the end of every round. It was more fun how they used to have to roll and hope to get high rolls to get in the war and how much $ you would get (in my opinion).

I should say that when we play we don’t use tech or optional rules because we want to see if the game is balanced. Russia also keeps at least 15 infantry in the East at all times.

@ Koba - are you playing with the 7.1 where Russia gets the 48 IPC every turn at the end of their turn until they are in the war?  I can’t tell by the pictures. We have found Russia much too strong. This is partially due to UK being a bit stronger and Germany/Italy being a little weaker. I just curious if the Allies are too strong now.

Played with 7.1 again where Russia gets 48 IPC at the end of every round until in the war. Either fortresses are too powerful or Russia gets too much IPC. Not a single Russian city was taken. Germany is on the defense the first few turns in Finland! You almost have to buy a transport or 2 ASAP (maybe even the 1st turn?) - it’s the only solution I can think of. Germany shouldn’t be buying transports but they might have to. They can’t start with an extra transport because that makes Sea Lion too much more attractive. 2 cities short the whole game for the axis again (2 games in a row).

The Allies do a 90% all in against Germany with all their units (including the India navy) but the US does maximum lend lease every turn equally to Russia/UK/India/Anzac.

Japan does great but can’t take India because of fortresses or because Russia too strong? Russia dumped 10 infantry into the fortress in the East just for the annoyance. It was fun but it kept Japan 50% busy for a whole turn. I actually like the new fortress rules but they could be a bit more simple. Japan can become a steamroller but not in time to win. There is no point in even trying to drop the Anzac’s now that they can build 6 units a turn but I like that new rule too. Japan’s sneak attack isn’t very good when the allies run away with every ship in the pacific before Japan attacks. Makes life easy for japan though.

UK is noticeably stronger now which is more fun and realistic, but Germany is already having to deal with the threat of a landing on 2nd turn while trying to get ready for everything else. UK buys the extra infantry every turn for India and South Africa.

I’m getting close to saying that Russia can’t be killed. It’s just a wall of death. They definitely can’t advance into Germany but Germany can’t take a single Russian City for 2 games now. The game was 60/40 in favor of the Axis before but now I would say it’s 70/30 in favor of the allies. The allies can’t take any axis capitals but they can stop the Axis from winning.

I don’t think Russia needs the extra $ they are getting in the 7.0 or 7.1 version. The extra units for Russia, the extra units for UK, the loss of a few ships with Germany/Italy, and the more powerful fortresses seem to be enough to even the game out.

It could be just how we play though.

We played with the 7.1 Russia getting 48 IPC rule every turn until in the war. This rule isn’t official yet. Russia seemed much too powerful but I would like to see what others say.

Am I the only one playing 7.0 or 7.1? Has anyone else dealt with Russia yet?

“Maybe starting cash 48 instead of 15. Then Russia tolls 2d12 for production and war entry”.

I think this might be the way to go. 80 seemed too much for 1st turn, and 48 every turn until in the war is actually even more than that. It might be too soon for us to say that though because of our strategy. A minimum of a couple more games need to be played before we can say that with confidence.

Played a game with the new rules that were 98% clear but close enough to get an idea. We stay away from optional rules.

Special units HAVE to be bought now, but clutter the board too much.

Except for 1 turn, I was only able to take territories that bordered Russia. However, this could have been due to play and it’s too early to say if Russia is too powerful or not. It seems like they are. I couldn’t even take Leningrad and was fighting to keep Finland capital on turn 3 even though Russia and Germany not at war yet. The 48 IPC every turn (which coming in 7.1) means Russia just dumped 48 IPC a turn into their northern 10 factory and Germany couldn’t keep up. Forts are much more powerful now. Too powerful maybe?

UK dumped all their money into Europe and not the Pacific. The loss of German ships on setup and bad die rolls cost Germany a few extra planes they would normally not lose in the very beginning of the game. The extra planes that UK has basically got rid of German navy 2nd turn. Excluding the Baltic. I bought a sub and a fighter every turn that I normally wouldn’t to keep the UK in check. Couple that with UK dumping IPC’s into London only and Germany had their hands pretty full. UK/US never did make a landing that lasted more than 1 round however. Even in Africa!

Italy basically tread water and took half of Africa but it took an extra 1 or 2 turns that it normally doesn’t. Italy climbed slower than normal but after 1 US landing in Africa Italy basically couldn’t go any further. Italy was kicking out US every turn though!

US basically let Japan go and dumped everything into Germany/Africa (and lend lease). Lend lease is very fun but very unpredictable! Japan did very good but couldn’t take India or Australia. It’s the first time I’ve ever seen China kicked out of the game ever. Japan also got 3 spaces away from the Russia IC in the East but got too busy to go further. Japan was getting more $ than Germany. They have a real hard time getting the Dutch East Indies national advantage though.

I was 2 short of victory cities for Axis. Axis start losing after turn 11 just like normal. It would be better if I was only 1 short. There was no way I could have got the required cities by how I played.

I was probably too worried about the Allies making a landing and dumped too much money into stopping it. Russia was so tough I couldn’t even get Leningrad so Spain could join up. It’s too early to say but Russia might be too much to deal with. Russia was a slaughterhouse but it was like hitting a brick wall. India almost fell but I was still would have been 1 city short. India fortress made the difference.

It was like old AA where you just gang up on Germany. It was a lot of fun but I not sure Axis can win. The extra Russian units at the beginning of the game are really noticed immediately, but the extra IPC every turn seems to be too much. I never felt like I stood a chance against Russia. However, it could have been the way we played.

@ Tiger - you said the new rules were going to be up Friday, but in another post you said Saturday. Which is it? The reason I ask is someone is driving 60 miles and staying the night so I don’t want him here a day early. We are not playing until the official rules are up.

@ koba - I really hope they meant Japan sneak attack after turn 3 - because it’s more realistic and because Japan will do very poorly if they have to use in 1st or 2nd turn.

I agree with SS too but it’s as the designer says you can’t please everyone. Clarifications will be fine at this point. I’ll play the Axis alone against my friends because they don’t want to play them now but that’s ok.

I take Denmark by land 1st impulse so their navy has to roll, then on 2nd impulse I take Norway. I do it every single time so I can get the bonus. It has to be done for the extra cash but it can cost you a plane if Norway gets lucky.

Sorry, my last remark was a bit harsh.

Germany can no longer take Norway and get their bonus because they can’t use their navy to attack for the 2nd impulse. They possibly could do it, but they would have to destroy the Denmark navy 1st impulse instead of letting it roll after the Denmark falls.

The Russian 6 ipc national advantage is still in play? Was any of these new rules playtested at all or is it just ideas thrown onto paper?

Did anyone else notice that the UK starts out with 3 more infantry, 3 more fighters, and 3 more destroyers? Was this playtested with the no Germany 2nd naval attack impulse also? I feel like I’m missing something.

Thanks,
Bill

Tiger - thanks for having 7.1 on Friday. Sorry I asked about it on other board. We planning on playing for 12 hours minimum this weekend.

Sorry about your medical issues! When will 7.1 be out? In the next couple days?

We not going to play simply because we not sure about the clarifications (especially when special units can be bought?, Japan sneak attack BEFORE turn 3?, 80 IPC Russia?, etc.).

I don’t think the Axis stand a chance now and no one we play with wants to play them but that is not really that important. Clarifications/cleanup are all that matter at this point.

@ Warwick. My point is you shouldn’t have wonder which paper to use to see how the game is played. The rules on the setup sheet should match the rules on the paper. And the new Japanese needing to sneak attack before turn 3 doesn’t add up at all in any way whatsoever. I would suggest waiting for an official ruling. I never saw Russia as needing an extra $140 IPC’s worth of units and IPC’s in any game we’ve played. Now that the Germany/Italy navy is weakened coupled with the German navy only being able to attack on the first impulse there is no way Russia was intended to be that strong.

Warwick - you should definitely offer to help fine tune the rules! Excellent wording. I basically try to follow what I sense/believe what the designers intentions are, but the problem is that is always open to interpretation.

To Whom It May Concern - CAN YOU PLEASE FIX THE RULES FOR 7.0? I would call them discrepancies at this point from the differences between the setup sheets vs. the rules. We want to play and are driving 2 hours this weekend to sit down for 16 hours and play.

Still not sure you truly meant 80 IPC’s for Russia and BEFORE turn 3 for Japan - but if that’s what the rules say then we have to accept that. Those 2 factors seem to break the game automatically but we need to see first.

I think we need them to fix the mistakes on 7.0 before we can make any judgments. At this point it’s hard to make any conclusions. They just got pressured into hurrying to post the new rules without proofreading. It’s partially all of our faults for pushing them to fix the rules.

I know it’s a little embarrassing that the rules that have been out for only 1 day and their are already 3 rules that are different and some that people think are mistakes. It’s not just me but other people too. We wanted to play today but are waiting because it can’t be played under these conditions because no one knows when certain units come in, japan sneak attack, etc. Others besides me wondering what the issues are too. Can you refix and redo and resubmit what you intended to fix/change/etc. so we can play? I don’t think Axis stand a chance anymore but we’d like to find out.