Brother Against Brother Again ...
in WWII?
The Frisby brothers met in the final for the fifth consecutive
year. Bradford prevailed as the Germans. Robert's Allies invaded
the 19th Army District, landing in four hexes from M33 to Toulon.
The Allies landed paratroops in G30 and Rangers in W34 and placed
partisans in R25 to prevent the Germans from reinforcing the
invasion site by railroad. Unfortunately for the Allies, the
Germans deployed two hidden panzer divisions in M33. As a result,
the Allies lost several divisions on the first turn and were
unable to hold Marseille after their second impulse attacks.
The Allies held onto Toulon on the first turn, and gradually
expanded their beachhead. They eventually occupied Cannes, Nice,
and Marseille, and held them along with Toulon for the rest of
the game. The Allies seized Nimes, but German counterattacks
destroyed six Allied divisions and recaptured the city. By July
II the Germans had successfully contained the Allied beachhead
in southern France. On July III, the Allies seized Amsterdam
with a paradrop and Ranger landing (using their TAC to prevent
the Germans from using their airpower for ground support and
a SAC to carpet bomb the city). A first impulse German 1-1 attack
failed to retake Amsterdam, but the second impulse 1-1 attack
succeeded.
As
has been the case in each of the last few years, the Germans
won most of the games (the Germans have won each of the last
five finals). Indeed, this year the Germans won 80% of the games
played despite tournament rule changes designed to provide greater
play balance. The 7th Army District was the most popular invasion
site, with 40% of the Allied players landing there. The Germans
won 100% of these games. The 19th Army District was the second
most popular landing site, with about 33% of the Allied players
landing there. The Germans won 60% of these games. The 15th Army
District and Holland were each the choice of about 13% of the
Allied players. The Germans won 100% of the games when the Allies
invaded the 15th Army District, and 50% of the games when the
Allies invaded Holland. None of the Allied players invaded the
1st Army District.
Most of the experienced players questioned by the GM agreed
that, even with the revised tournament rules, the invasion scenario
is biased significantly in favor of the German side. Over the
last several years, the GM has observed that experienced German
players win 80% to 90% of the time. It may not be possible to
correct this lack of play balance by further revising the victory
conditions or weather rules, and most players would probably
prefer to avoid drastic rule changes (e.g., lengthening the scenario
or changing the order of battle). Several experienced players
expressed interest in adopting a German airpoint bidding system
to address the lack of play balance. The proposed bidding system
would work as follows:
If both players wish to play the same side, they would bid
to add or subtract German airpoints available in June and July.
If both players wish to play the Allied side, they would bid
to add German airpoints. If both players wish to play the German
side, they would bid to subtract German airpoints. The first
airpoint added or subtracted would be in June. The second airpoint
added or subtracted would be in July. The third airpoint added
or subtracted would be in June. The fourth airpoint added or
subtracted would be in July, and so on. The maximum number of
airpoints the Germans can use in a turn would not change. The
players would roll to determine who bids first.
For example, if both players wish to play the German side,
the opening bidder could bid -1 airpoints for the German side.
The other player could then agree to take the Allies with a reduction
of one German airpoint in June (from six to five) or bid -2 airpoints
for the German side. The players would keep bidding until one
agreed to take the Allies with the specified reduction in German
airpower. The opening bidder could bid zero, to allow the other
player to bid first for the German side. The opening bidder could
also start at -2 airpoints or some other bid if desired. The
GM welcomes input on this proposed bidding system.
|