From: Geoffrey Phipps Subject: GDW's Suez '73 > Michael Peck writes: > Suez '73 is one of the best games I've got. But it seems that without the > ammo limitations in White Death, the Israelis can use their superior > firepower to grind down the Arabs. Take 10 one-movement point combat pulses > and shoot up the Arabs. Anyone else notice the same thing? Here are some rule fixes that I wrote up years ago. ------------------------------------------------------------ Geoffrey Phipps g.phipps@oose.com.au Object Oriented Pty. Ltd. (02) 9957-4544 x109 ------------------------------------------------------------ Suez 73, Rule Changes Problems 1) Too much combat occurred in one night. Israeli tank losses were twice historical levels, infantry three times, Egyptian infantry losses four times, Egyptian tank losses equally high. Israeli units had captured three game turns worth of ground around Chinese Farm. 2) Mechanised units can dismount, move through terrain impossible for tracked units, then remount. Have they carried their APC's on their backs? Similarly, BMP equipped infantry get most of their AT fire from the BMP's, yet the Israeli's cannot direct AT fire against the BMP's. Changes 1) Each player has a limited number of combats and barrages per turn, rather than one of each per impulse. During all night turns (including Turn 1), each player may declare a maximum of one combat phases during day turns each player is allowed two. A player must use their full allocation of combats, if necessary they may declare a movement phase of 0 movement points. If the phasing player declares combat, then both players fire, as per the original rules. A combat phase is bombardment, defensive fire and simultaneous fire. 2) Egyptian units are at -1 combat proficiency if they participate in an attack involving units from another division. For the purposes of this rule, all independent (i.e. 2nd Army) brigades and battalions are considered to form their own individual divisions. This rule does not apply to the 2nd Army 47th Artillery brigade. 3) Undamaged units may try to withdraw. Such units also make a roll against their combat proficiency, but they have a -2 DM. 4) If there is not enough fire points to attack every battalion in a hex with 5 points, then the points must be spread so as to attack as many battalions as possible with at least 5 points. 5) When being ferried by a raft or Gilowa, a unit only spends as many movement points as was spent by the raft or Gilowa plus 1. A unit may be ferried by both the raft and Gilowa in parallel, in which case the unit spends the maximum of the two MP costs plus 1. 6) The Gilowas and the rafts both require an engineer unit, even if they are using the same hex for ferry origin. 7) Israeli half track transport units may trade steps. The bus unit cannot. 8) There are now two counters for each mechanised counter, an APC counter and a leg infantry counter. Theses two units of a mechanised battalion (or company) are linked, the infantry may only mount its sibling APC unit, the APC unit may only transport its sibling. The two counters together only count as one battalion (or company) for stacking purposes. A problem with this is that this doubling gives the Egyptians lots of blocking units. A dismounted infantry unit with its APC's now takes about 60% longer to destroy. Mechanised replacements are now split into one APC and one mechanised infantry replacement. Note that Israeli paratroops replacements and mechanised infantry replacements cannot be interchanged. Egyptian leg infantry and mechanised infantry replacements are interchangeable. APC units can exchange steps during the replacement phase (at the end of each night turn), if they occupy the same hex. 9) Mounted infantry may dismount when advancing after combat. 10) If a unit can see another unit, then the reverse is true too. 11) The Israeli IV/421 Mechanised Battalion has a printed proficiency of 9, as per the notes on Israeli units on page 14. 12) Israeli mechanised units with a combat proficiency of 9 may take replacements, but if they do so then their proficiency becomes 7. Para units with a proficiency of 9 may take replacements, but they then have a proficiency of 8.