Balance issue

[Raybshot]

I find no balance issues aside of luck of the dice, which is easily over come by better actions.. if the dice aren't going your way sometimes you need to be more defensive to conserve units or more aggressive to capture territories early or even work tactics where you put things out of supply to give a little advantage.

Its nice to find a game that is challenging enough, fun enough and balanced enough to keep my interest

[Mark]

Thanks Raybshot - It took a lot of playtesting to get the victory conditions just right to make the game balanced!  

Personally, I love the fact that the dice can swing a battle one way or another - there are so many variables in a battle that make them relatively unpredictable (such as leadership, supply, morale to name but a few - that the dice rolling represent).  Having numerical superiority is an advantage, but things don't always go to the side with the bigger numbers. I also think that there are just so many dice rolls in this game that over the long run, they tend to balance out - just hope they are in your favor when you really need them!

[Mark]

I have vacillated between thinking the game favors the Axis or favors the Allies for more than a year and have not come to a conclusion yet.  Everytime there appears to be a knock-out strategy for one side, the other side ends up countering it and then they look impossible to beat for a game or two and the cycle repeats. There is not a set strategy to winning which makes things interesting and a lot of fun.

I have seen Allied strategy move from not dumping any British into France to dumping as many units as they can get their hands on into France.  Currently, the line of thinking is that the longer France can stay in the game, the more difficult a German victory. If the Axis can cause France to fall in Winter 39, they have a big leg up in winning the game.  If the Axis take knock France out in the Spring or Summer of 1940 with only light to moderate casualties, the game may be pretty balanced.  If France does not fall until the Autumn or the Germans take a lot of casualties knocking France out in Summer, it is going to be an uphill slog for the Axis.

[Mark]

Between equal players, I believe the game is very balanced.  I have received a few emails about one side getting smoked by the other early and what this means for the game.

I think it is important to be guided a bit by history, but don't be completely mislead by it.  For example, just because France fell in 6 weeks during the war, does not mean it necessarily will in this game - especially if Germany does not prepare for France at all.  I have seem Germany get defeated in 1940 because the German player assumes France will be a push over and builds lots of subs and factories and no army out of the gates.  The German's in the real war prepared for France - and a good German player in this game will dedicate most of their builds to army units for the first few turns of the game as well.

On the other hand, the Allies can be just as guilty about being mislead by history rather than being historically driven.  If the British completely write off France as a lost cause and don't put a BEF on the continent, France may fall much faster to a determined German player.  The extra "free-time" then available between the Fall of France and Barbarossa puts a lot of pressure on Britain all alone trying to stop Axis aggression everywhere.

So, from a balance perspective, it is good to be guided by history to be able to win this game.  But, not to be mislead by it.