Request: Axis and Allies Naval Miniatures

[KurtGodel7]

There exists a game called Axis and Allies Naval Miniatures. I would love to see this game brought to TripleA.

It is a two player game.

Setup

1. The two players agree on the number of points. For a small scale scenario, maybe 100 points. For a grand fleet battle, you could do 500 points.

2. You use your points to construct a fleet. A relatively weak unit, such as a destroyer, might cost only 8 points. A very strong unit, like a battleship, could be 50 or even 70 points. You can also build submarines, aircraft carriers, and aircraft. Neither player sees the fleet the other is constructing.

3. The players allocate their fleets on the board.

The object of the game is to outscore the other player. Points are gained by destroying enemy units, as well as by capturing the three objective markers on the map. Only surface ships can capture objectives.

Game Play

1. Both players move their air units, to any desired location on the map.

2. Dogfight. In this step, you are trying to destroy as many enemy air units as possible. (Just as they are trying to destroy yours.) Failing that, you at least want to "abort" the enemy air units in question. An aborted unit is still alive, but it cannot launch its attack.

3. Air attacks. Any air unit which wasn't destroyed or aborted gets to attack a surface ship or sub.

4. Surface ships move.

5. Surface ships attack.

6. Subs move.

7. Subs attack.

8. Air units fly home.

Unit Specialization

• Fighters are specialized for shooting down or aborting enemy air units.
• Dive bombers are good at sinking enemy surface ships; especially surface ships with lesser armor.
• Torpedo bombers can sink surface ships or subs. Useful against heavily armored ships.
• Battleships are great against surface ships, useless against subs.
• Destroyers are good against subs. In large numbers they can be useful against battleships.
• Planes based on carriers fight every turn. Land-based planes fight only every other turn.
• Subs are useful due to being difficult to destroy. Most units cannot target subs. Subs are good against surface ships.

Individual units may also have additional strengths or weaknesses. For example, a carrier might give a bonus to the planes stationed on it. Most units have special traits which provide bonuses, weaknesses, or a mix of both.

The most important part of this game is fleet construction. If you gain an advantage over your opponent there, you are well on your way to winning.

[RogerCooper]

Axis & Allies MIniatures has nothing in common with Axis & Allies except the name. TripleA can't support.it.

[KurtGodel7]

@rogercooper said in Request: Axis and Allies Naval Miniatures:

Axis & Allies MIniatures has nothing in common with Axis & Allies except the name. TripleA can't support.it.

The TripleA engine, as it currently exists, cannot support it. There are some here with the necessary skill set to modify the engine.

Would doing so be a good use of their time? That's for them to decide. That said, I believe that adding Axis and Allies Naval Miniatures to the TripleA community would have the following effects.

• Naval Miniatures is an outstanding game, and would be enjoyed by members of the TripleA community.
• Axis and Allies Naval Miniatures has its own following. If the game was added to TripleA, you'd bring a lot of those people here.
• There are other naval miniatures games also. By doing this, you're creating a very compelling option for the type of person who likes naval miniatures games.
• The functionality necessary to support this project could be useful for new, player-designed maps.

I want to expand a little on that last point. For a game like Revised or Global, all units have attack values and defense values. For land battles that makes sense. Defending infantry have the benefit of trenches, and so fight better than attacking infantry. For naval battles this does not make sense. In a naval battle there is no "attacker" or "defender"--just a bunch of ships and planes fighting each other.

Given that Axis and Allies Naval Miniatures is focused on naval combat, it's logical that they would do away with "attack" and "defense" values. Instead you have anti-air attacks, for shooting down enemy aircraft. Surface ships can be damaged or destroyed with gunnery attacks, dive bombs, or torpedoes. Subs can be destroyed with either depth charges or (in some instances) torpedoes.

All that is fine for a naval miniatures game, but it might not be exactly what you want for a global map WWII game. For the latter, units could have anti-land, anti-naval, anti-sub, anti-air, and strategic bombing combat values.

This would allow for more depth and richness of units. For example, fighters would be specialized at shooting down enemy aircraft. Torpedo bombers would be better at sinking ships than at destroying land targets. Medium bombers could give you a reasonably good anti-sub unit. When units have 4 - 5 combat values, there's so much more room for unit specialization (and therefore strategic choice) than is the case when units have just attack and defense values.

Improving the TripleA engine would achieve two things.

1. Expand the TripleA community, by bringing in a lot of naval miniatures people.
2. Allow people to create strategically deeper, better global map WWII games.