Strategic Variant Cards

[Edwin P.]

Now I know that this will not be in SC2, but what if:

"The strategic variant cards that are so popular these days were included in the SC2 campaign scenario. Each player would start the game with a random selection of 3 cards out of 20 and they could only use 1 of these during the game."

You would never know for sure which cards you or your opponent would get and which one would be used during a game. A simple way to add some variability to the game.

What would they be?

Allied:

01 - Allies break German code. See location of all Axis Naval units for 1 turn.

02 - Franco's Daugther Marries British Royalty. Reduce Pro Axis Leanings of Spain by 20%.

03 - Norway agrees to allow stationing of UK troops. Norway joins Allied Alliance.

Which would you use and when would you use it if you could only select one?

[ June 13, 2005, 09:01 PM: Message edited by: Edwin P. ]

[jon_j_rambo]

Out of all your ideas, this one I actually like for a variant. 3R had something similar.

[Blashy]

I like that as an option, turn it on or off.

But I like it.

10 cards per country would be enough, you pick 3.

UK, USA, Germany, Italy, Russia = 50 cards total.

Since Axix are down a card, I would let Germany play 2 cards or maybe Italy to make the country more usefull.

[JerseyJohn]

Edwin,

Great ideas, as usual. Like the others, I like the concept too.

[John C]

The concept is interesting and it adds a little variability. I think the most difficult part of the whole thing would be making the AI make responsible choices in terms of which cards it plays, and when.

While I originally was thinking of only 1 per "side", I think he is right that Russia and the UK need separate ones. Unlike Blashy, I would combine the US/UK as a single entity and just have 40 cards total with only 4 coming into play - 1 each for Germany, Italy, UK/US, Russia. In thinking through it, I do like the Italians having their own as I think it is possible to make the historical North African campaign more likely with Med focused Italian cards that incent a bit of adventure down there.

[John DiFool the 2nd]

My hope is that something like this will reduce the

"almost perfect plays" that plague SC1. By "almost"

I mean strategies which have been refined to the

point of cliches now; they may not work all of the

the time but they are likely the best choice in any

given situation, so what else are you going to do?

I mean after the Fall '39 campaign has been played

to death in all those tournaments you guys have

been running over the last 2 years, by a process

akin to natural selection you have weeded out

what doesn't work and improved on what does.

Put a few variants into the mix and these optimized

strategies may backfire badly if the player in

question is counting on certain things to happen

in a certain order. Having subs and strategic

bombing become viable strategies will also help

in this regard (I hope).

A good early game example might be that Norway

variant. Or a good French leader like De Gaulle

shows up. Or the Germans get two extra chits in

sub tech in Sept. '39: any of these could completely

derail these stereotyped strategies.

[pzgndr]

I too would love to see some sort of variants introduced, and a way for players to select a variable number of random variants. Like the old AH Third Reich game had. Unfortunately, this is not likely to happen.

Plan B is to create a number of low frequency event scripts that may or may not happen during a game. The mechanics are in place to do this. Additionally, once set up, players can toggle events on/off from the startup menu. So... plan to create some mods to introduce more randomness into the game and then see how it all plays out. Maybe Germany gets extra battleships, USA extra bombers, Italy an extra AF, etc. There's a lot of potential with the new event scripts.

[John C]

The only reason why it would be difficult to implement would be the complexity that would be required of the AI. Other than that, it's quite simple and could easily be driven by customizable scripts. Perhaps it could be included for PvP games only. Isn't that where it is needed most anyway?

[Retributar]

Yes!...,Terrific idea!.

I also hate the endless repetition of 'REFINED' moves and would like to have the option to introduce 'Strategic Variant Cards'...to 'REFINE OUT' the practiced-perfect-moves!.

[Edwin P.]

Note:

Deluxe 3rd Reich is available from

www.avalanchepress.com

It is interesting to note that if the UK surrenders, units in the colonies continue the war.

It is also interesting to note than in 3R the axis can offer the French one of two surrender terms:

1. Complete Surrender

2. Peace with Honor (Vichy France)

I also like the fact that Britain can spend BRPs on propaganda to influence America feelings towards entering the war.

PS: Have a look at the political events in the New Rules - downloadable from the above site.

[Shaka of Carthage]

Regarding Third Reich...

There is a game called "Advanced Third Reich". Another game was developed that was called "Empire of the Rising Sun". One covered ETO/MTO, the other PTO.

The above two games were combined into a "global" game called "A World at War". Here is the website for this.

Official A World at War website.

The above game, that Edwin refers to, is officially known as 'John Prados' Third Reich.

John Prados' Third Reich, is the basic Third Reich game from 20 something years ago. I mean the very first Third Reich, not any of the subsequent "editions" that attempted to clean up and fix things.

What you have is the basic 3R system (BRP, force pools, maps) and thats it. Everything else, is brand new. That would be the combat, strategic warfare, random events, HQs, supply, invasions, diplomacy, coups, exploitation, even the sequence of play, are ALL new.

The idea was to simplfy it and put together a new system in about 20-30 pages of rules. For those of you who have been around a bit, its something like 3R meets Hitlers War. Price is about $50 or so.

At the other extreme, you have A World at War. This is the A3R system that most people are familiar with, the latest edition (I think its the 5th now) in the 3R "line". The complexity is high (rule book alone is about 150 pages), probably the most complex game I've ever played. Price is about $150.

One is a game, the other is a lifestyle choice.