baron
12-31-2003, 12:31 PM
I'm a huge fan of all the A&A games, but I have never been a fan of the alternate victory conditions. I never play with economic victory in the original, and I quickly moved away from the victory points in AAP. I recognize their necessity, and even their historical merit, but I simply don't like their effect on game play. I don't like the "OK i just need to stall for three more turns" mentality. What my playgroup and I have arrived on is the following: Simply reduce the USA's income by 15, and removie the Japanese Victory points. This has little effect on the Japanese ability to take india in the early game. (After all, it's turn 4 by the time the reduced american capacity shows up at the front lines at any significant level). In the mean time, this small decrease allows the Japanese navy to maintain dominance longer and pushes the swing point out several turns. In addition, it moves America to more of an island hopping attrition game and away from a build up a monster fleet and attack Japan directly game. Eventually, America will still come out on top through sheer economic strength, but if you wait for that to happen, the Japanese will own Asia, so America is forced to launch its offensive before it's really ready. Thus far, our playtests have shown this to be a balanced game. What do all of you think?