From: Nich Hills Subject: America in Flames Folks, I've been playing ADG's new America in Flames (AiF) with the Wednesday night group for the last three weeks. The game is still in its early stages but here are my first impressions: AiF is the first World in Flames (WiF) variant, as opposed to an add-on product. If you imagine WiF as Barbie (TM) then expansions such as Planes in Flames or Africa in Flames are the equivalent of the Beach House or the Recreational Vehicle. AiF is a stand alone entity much like Wheelchair Becky (TM). [Can I describe Becky as "stand alone"? :-) ] AiF uses the WiF game system, specifically the 'Ultimate Edition' version of the game system. If you hated WiF, you'll hate AiF. You may still like WiF and hate AiF if your taste doesn't run to Bombaesque hypothetical games on 'what if the Fascists did really *really* well?' lines. The AiF scenario is that the Axis powers did really *really* well in WWII and conquered Britain, the Soviet Union, China, South Africa, India, Australia and New Zealand. In 1945 only the Western Hemisphere is free from totalitarian terror and the Axis is preparing to strike. There are three powers on each side. The Axis comprises Germany (with Rumania as a participating minor ally) Italy (with Spain and Portugal as minor allies) and Japan. The Allied side has the US, a rump Commonwealth (home country Canada) and a very rump France (home country French Guyana). The game is of theoretically unlimited duration and ends when either the United States is conquered (Axis victory) or the US develops the H-bomb (Allied Victory). The sub-title of AiF is "Democracy versus Darkness". The components are what you'd expect. Two large maps (on the WiF 'Pacific' scale) of the Americas. To my taste the projection used is rather strange, with South America dwarfed by North America. Most of the northern map is taken up by Canada and, I mean, who cares?. :-) Apart from the central USA, Mexico and the Brazilian-Argentine border, the terrain is pretty restrictive - woods, mountains and jungle. The artwork for the AiF maps is >>sigh<< the same as the most recent WiF maps - 'brain terrain' for Mountains. There is a bucket load of counters (unsure how many) but not too many duplications with WiF because most land units are 'heavy'. Heavy units cost one more production point (PP) than their WiF counterparts and have higher combat values. This appears to represent better artillery, more modern AFVs and automatic weapons. I have a hard time buying the idea of 'heavy' militia or 'heavy' static units, but there you are. Regular WiF players can substitute the heavy units into their force pools late in a WiF campaign. There are no otherwise unusual at-start forces, most units will be recognisable from the WiF 1945 force pool. There is a pre-game political phase, trying to influence and win over the Latin American countries. Attempts to influence countries can continue during the course of the game, at a PP cost. The cost of buying influence in a country can vary, depending on the player country and the target country. Brazil is easily influenced by the USA, Argentina by Germany and Chile by Japan. Even tiny countries like Cuba or Panama can be influenced. But beware - spending 30 PPs to make an ally of Panama may seem like a coup, but it's no good if the other side immediately invades and conquers your new friend. :-( Some countries have enemies. Moving a country towards your side will move that countries enemies a third as far towards your opponents. Invading a country will give a diplomatic bonus to your enemies to allow them to further influence neutrals. Once a country begins to move in your camp, the passage of time will move it further towards you. Thus the neutrals quickly begin to polarise and declare for once side or another. The balance of the game is interesting. The Axis can outproduce the Allies and have larger starting forces. The Allies has the benefit of interior lines and can concentrate their fleet to overwhelm either the Japanese or German/Italian fleet. The USA has strong land-based air defending their home countries. There is insufficient transports to sealift the larger Axis forces. Not all Axis troops can be landed at once. The Axis ground force pools are smaller than in WiF, presumably most forces are off-map performing brutal occupational duties. The flow of the game seems to be a diplomatic war by the Axis for control of South American allies to use as staging posts. In addition the Japanese need to conquer French Polynesia as a staging point for shipping units to a an ally in the Andes. The Axis can then 'port-hop' up the South American coast under cover of their own land-based air. Once the Axis have bases in Central America or the Caribean an invasion of the US homeland can be considered. (An alternative approach might be to invade Alaska or Canada and get airbases there. Because of the Allies' ability to concentrate their navy and block Axis supply, such a gambit is risky). The game system as mentioned, is WiF. The strength of the WiF system is that it has a well-thought out, albeit complicated, portrayal of the interaction of air, sea and land forces in the WWII strategic milieu. The weakness IMHO is the requirement that each major power declare a land, air, sea or 'combined' phase when it is their turn to move. This does not appear to reflect any particular strategic reality (other than the historical Italian or Japanese oil shortage?) but the desire by the designer to offer the player difficult choices at every stage of the game. To my taste the 'Ultimate Edition' WiF rules are overcomplex; spoiling the elegance of the Version 4.5 rules. There are special rules. Players have starting points to spend on either diplomacy or on hiding units. Axis hidden unit scan be hidden in allied countries, should they have an at the end of the initial diplomacy. Hidden Allied units may set up anywhere they may legally set up. Axis units otherwise set up in off-map holding areas, and pay additional movement costs to enter edge- of-map sea areas. Dead French and non-Canadian units have only a 50% chance of returning to the force pool, otherwise they are gone forever. Rail lines double as roads - roads reduce the cost to enter a hex by one. How does it play? Like WiF it takes a couple of hours just to set up. You have to sort out your forcepools, remove the 1946+ units, pick individual motorised infantry units at random from the motorised infantry force pool, remember that a '3' naval air unit on the set-up chart is a naval air unit with a '5' build cost showing on the back of the counter (but a '3' cost if you are using the Planes in Flames expansion) and so on. :-( Our group actually got to set up *twice* one week with playtest counters and the following week with the real thing. :-( I'm playing the Japanese, with Greg Pinder the co-designer playing the Germans and Italians. Initially our main opponent was the cunning designer Harry Rowland. Harry did us like a dinner in the pre-game diplomacy with the USA picking up Brazil as an ally and the Germans picking up Argentina. There were no Japanese allies (although a few countries were well-disposed towards me) and my points spent on hidden units were wasted. Harry has gone off to the Essen game fair but has been replaced by the highly experienced and aggressive WiF player Sheldon White. As the Japanese I've been making heavy weather of things. It's taken two turns (4 months) to conquer French Polynesia because of my well-founded fear that there were two French corps hidden in Papeete. A US declaration of war on, and invasion of Panama was responded to by a Japanese landing to the north of the Canal. Unfortunately a combination of Commonwealth CVs and a 10-factor US fighter sank one Japanese CV and damaged three other. Fortunately the Germans and Italians are much better handled. Axis forces are invading Brazil from Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. There were three hidden US corps and an HQ in Brazil but these are now out of supply due to Axis invasions of the northern Brazilian ports. A strong US carrier fleet did sortie, but they were monstered by the entire German and Italian carrier forces. After bad surprise dice the US lost two CVs and had two more damaged. With the Panama Canal blocked to both sides due to divided ownership the Axis has naval superiority in the Atlantic with the Allies having a slight edge in the Pacific. The Japanese forces in Panama are out-of-supply and a strong US effort can dislodge them. The game is slo-o-ow. We're only playing for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours per week and are barely doing a single two-month summer turn a night. (We are teaching a newbie the game at the same time). The game can last for about 20 turns assuming moderate US spending on nuclear research (aggressive US research or an early Axis conquest of the US might bring the game down to about 14 turns. Assume about 50 hours to play a complete game; longer if you're using Planes in Flames or Ships in Flames expansions. Still, this is less than half the time required to play a full 1939-45 WiF campaign to the bitter end. However, a WiF game can be conceded early if you are doing worse than your historical counterpart. How can you tell if you are sure to lose in the hypothetical universe of AiF? The game I'd most compare AiF with is 3W's SS Amerika. SS Amerika is bigger (four maps) and simpler (North America only; minimal naval, air and political subsystems). SS Amerika is a panzer-pusher's game. AiF is a game for gamers who like this sort of thing. And if you like this sort of thing, AiF is exactly the sort of thing you will like. [Apologies A. Lincoln :-) ] Cheers, Nich -- ----------------------------------------------------------- Nich Hills Email: nhills@ActOnline.com.au -----------------------------------------------------------