A New Way to Play A&A Pacific

[Gunfighter6]

This is a rules revision (really a rules overhaul) I've been working on for Axis and Allies: Pacific and I'd welcome any feedback or suggestions. Thanks.


War Without Mercy
A whole new way to play Axis and Allies: Pacific

What you’ll need: A copy of Axis and Allies: Pacific and something to represent oil counters.

What has changed: The game is set up according to instructions with one big change. The at-start capital ships (battleships and aircraft carriers) do not begin the game on the map. Set them aside but keep track of them. They are placed as per the task force rules (see below), with the exception of the Japanese ships which begin the game in SZ 20. The only Allied capital ships that start on-map are the battleships in SZ 9 and SZ 26.
A turn is now assumed to represent four or five months of real time and consists of two phases, strategic and tactical. Each phase is begun by determining initiative, starting with the strategic phase.

Initiative
The U.S. and Japanese players roll a die with the highest winning. Due to superior code-breaking skills, the U.S. player wins ties. The U.K. always plays last and never rolls. The player who won the initiative decides who executes actions in the phase first. The Japanese player goes first on Turn 1.

The Strategic Phase

1. Purchase New Units
2. Deploy Air Groups
3. Fuel Task Forces

Players purchase new units, deploy air groups and then fuel task forces, in that order. All players must complete each action before they can move on to the next. Allied players participate in Purchase New Units only on Turn 1. Players should be very careful in deploying air groups, as formation of task forces is dependent on a friendly combat air patrol (CAP) of land-based air.

Deploy Air Groups
During this action, players may move air units throughout their network of friendly air bases. An aircraft’s flight from base to air base is called a "leg," and there is no limit to the amount of legs an aircraft can fly as long as it flies from base to base and ends its movement in a friendly base. This rule supercedes the previous rule regarding air bases. Example: The Japanese player plans to attack Allied forces in the Solomon Islands area in the coming turn. During the Deploy Air Groups phase he moves one fighter from Formosa to Japanese-held New Britain. The Formosa fighter flies one leg to the Ryukyu Islands, another leg to the Caroline Islands and then one more leg to the air base on New Britain to end its movement.

Combat Air Patrol
Fighters establish a combat air patrol or CAP in the adjacent sea zone. No enemy surface units can be in the sea zone to establish a CAP. CAP stops all enemy surface units moving through. If attempted, combat will result and be fought normally. CAPs may participate in naval battles in adjacent sea zones. Task Forces require a friendly in-supply CAP to form.

Fuel Task Forces
The task force concept is the centerpiece of this rules revision. Oil markers simulate the system of deploying these powerful and flexible collections of capital ships. They also serve to represent limited supplies of oil. For my game I used Tamiya oil barrels as oil markers, but anything can be used.
After Deploy Air Groups, players decide which task forces they wish to form for the turn and expend one oil counter for each task force created. No battleship or aircraft carrier may move or fight unless it is part of a task force. Battleships and aircraft carriers do not move to join a task force. They are simply placed in any sea zone that contains a friendly in-supply CAP. Task forces then behave normally during the Combat Movement and Combat phases.
Destroyers and transports included as part of a task force may move no more than one area to join the task force. This move does not count against their Combat Movement. Destroyers and transports may pick up ground troops along the way. Transports taking part in an amphibious invasion also must be part of a task force. Submarines may not join task forces.
Destroyers, submarines and transports not conducting amphibious landings may move without expenditure of an oil counter. Destroyers carrying infantry do not require an oil marker to move or land troops.

Types of task forces
There are three kinds of task forces, carrier, bombardment and amphibious. Task forces may contain up to six ships with some restrictions. A carrier task force must contain at least one destroyer or battleship and may never contain a transport. A carrier task force may contain only one battleship. Bombardment task forces may contain only one transport, but never a carrier. Bombardment task forces (only) may conduct shore bombardment. Amphibious task forces must contain one ship that is not a transport, but may never contain battleships. Amphibious task forces may include one carrier. Ground units transported by an amphibious task force are taken from one or more areas adjacent to the sea zone in which the task force forms.
Neither player may form more than three of the same type of task force in a turn or form more than four task forces of any kind. Exception: The Japanese Kido Butai in SZ 20 begins the game at sea, does not count toward the four-TF limit and costs no oil for Japan to form.

Multiple Missions
The ships in a task force do not have to remain together during combat movement. Task forces may divide into two smaller groups if neither group moves more than one area. Example: Japan forms an amphibious task force in SZ 26. Half the ships head to the Gilbert Islands, while the other half sail for New Britain to raise the Rising Sun there.

Breakdown Task Forces
During the Non-combat Movement phase the battleships and carriers are removed from play. Destroyers, submarines and transports are placed as new units during the Place New Units phase. Note: If a ship was not part of a task force it skips this phase.

Optional rule: Eastern Operation
During the first turn only, the Japanese player may form an amphibious task force in SZ 20 at normal oil cost. The transports and ground units are taken from Japan. This task force must attempt an amphibious attack on the Hawaiian Islands.

Detailed Task Force example:
On Turn 1, the Japanese player starts with five oil markers and half a world to conquer. He wants to make sure he grabs oil-rich Borneo and Sumatra, but he also needs to knock out the Philippines and Malaya. Additionally, he wants to grab some islands in the South Pacific to lay the groundwork for a future offensive against Australia. He can field a maximum of three amphibious task forces, so he spends three oil markers to form them in SZ 26, SZ 36 and SZ 45. ATF 1, in SZ 45, consisting of two transports, one destroyer and one aircraft carrier, loads up four ground units and moves two spaces south to attack the Philippines. ATF 2 forms in SZ 26 and divides, one half seizing New Britain and New Guinea, the other landing troops in the Gilbert Islands. ATF 3 is formed in SZ 36 and also divides. One part lands in Borneo, while the bulk of the task force sails to Malaya. Since these task forces divided, each half was limited to a one-space movement. The Japanese player cannot form any more amphibious task forces, so he expends another oil marker to form a bombardment task force in SZ 36. BTF 1, with one transport, sails south and takes Sumatra. Japan has one oil marker remaining, but he has made sure he collects two more oil markers next turn and is also in a good spot to conquer Java and the rest of the Dutch East Indies.

Oil
The Japanese oil supply is tied to securing the oil resources of the Dutch East Indies (DEI). The territories of Borneo and Sumatra produce one oil counter every turn. Japan begins the game with a prewar stockpile of five oil counters. Japan and the Allies receive oil markers in the Collect Income phase. Japan may accumulate oil markers from turn to turn.
Allied oil supply varies throughout the game. The U.S. and U.K. receive no oil counters on the first turn, two oil counters on turn 2, and three oil counters on every turn after that. The Allies never gain oil from the DEI resources, but may deny them to Japan. The Allies may stockpile up to four oil counters. The U.S. player determines whether the U.K. player receives one or no oil markers, but the U.K. may never fuel more than one task force each turn.

Optional rule: The Japanese economy
Japan’s economy requires oil to function efficiently. If the Japanese player does not expend one oil counter each turn to power his economy, his IPC level is halved. Japan does not have to expend oil to run the economy on Turn 1. Note: If this rule is used, Dutch New Guinea also becomes an oil-resource area.

[Imperious leader]

A good resource for oil units are made by command decision series of miniatures sold by old glory miniatures. They are groups of metal barrels together. I like most of these ideas but not the restrictions on composition of task forces. I am not sure why for example a carrier task force can only have one battleship. The initiative roll isnt too historical based for example that "code breaker" idea IMO does not equate to an ability to dictate who is the aggressor in the current phase of the war, plus it leads to many double turns and that can have fatal results. I would just correct the India threat for the allies, and come up with a few new units. CAP looks good. On the matter of supply it should be an important consideration for japan to keep the sea lanes open to bring oil to Japan, perhaps forcing them to "transport" the oil from say Borneo/ indies to gain the income from them. I would consider the rule to be just like AA europe. except japan further has to bring the income by transport.

id add:

cruisers
naval fighters
2 hit carriers
super battleship
fast carriers
banzai attack
island defenders rule ( pill boxes)
islands with greater value as VP points for japan
Better sub interaction rules
something better for russian intervention
a few more pieces ( naval)
less costs on BB and DD
marines ( imperial marines)
long range and short range subs ( subs in pacific were mainly short range.. not something that could just travel the entire game all over the map)
more japanese convoy boxes
preemtive battleships

[Gunfighter6]

Imperious Leader, the restrictions governing task force composition were written to emphasize the uniqueness of the task forces themselves. I wanted players to agonize over which TFs they'd spend their limited oil resources creating. I guess there's no real reason more than one battleship can't join a carrier task force, but for me it had the "feel" of the Pacific war.
I also wanted to convey the tremendous mobility these task forces had. I used to hate having to take three turns to raid Pearl Harbor and get the Japanese carrier fleet to the Coral Sea area. In life, the Carrier fleet sailed from Pearl Harbor to the Indian Ocean, with many stops along the way, during the first two turns.
The initiative rules are balanced (I think) by the naval interception rules, and I also wanted to allow historical situations like the U.S. Navy ambush of Japan at Midway. Just because you win the initiative doesn't mean you have to go first. Sometimes it's better not to.
I'd love to add those new rules, but I'm limited to what came out of the AA:P box in terms of pieces. I'd really love to see a new AA:P map, though.
Thanks for your feedback.

[Gunfighter6]

My apologies, after I realized I'd blundered into the wrong folder I reposted in the Axis and Allies House Rules folder.