One of the big criticisms of EAW is that there are more holes in EAW than Swiss cheese. Anyways, I need interpretations on these rules:
Regarding minor countries:
* The game sometimes regards the "minor countries" as having their own force pool, sometimes without. For example, "Finland is German-controlled and shores the same force pool" compred to "Finland surrenders and all Finnish units are removed from play when Helsinki is occupied". This could lead to several main interpretations:
1. (Similar to the UK in Axis and Allies: Pacific) - the German player has one force pool for both Germany and Finland. The three infantry that start the game in Helsinki may not move until a German unit is in a territory or sea zone bordering Leningrad. In accordance to the infantry outside home territory rule, up one infantry may be placed in Finland per turn. If Helsinki is occupied, then German units in Tampere, Kuopio, and Bjorko are removed.
2. (Similar to the US in Axis and Allies: Pacific) - the German player keeps two force pools: one for Germany and one for Finland. Three Finnish infantry (instead of German infantry) begin the game in Helsinki. Finnish forces do not enter play until a German unit is in a territory or sea zone bordering Leningrad. All but possibly one of the infantry placed in Finland are Finnish (in accordance to the one infantry outside home territory rule), and the nationality of the infantry must be determined in the previous turn. Finnish infantry attack together with German units, and any resulting territorial gains are considered to be German and not Finnish. If Helsinki is lost, then all Finnish units anywhere on the board (and possibly being built), as well as possibly all Axis (or just German) units in Finland (ie. Tampere, Kuopio, and Bjorko), are removed. Hence, there is no incentive to build Finnish noninfantry units (due to increased German "durability").
Similarly for Italy and the minors:
* How is "home territory" defined for the purpose of infantry placement? Is it just Italy or does it include the minors (eg. does placing an infantry in Tirane use up the one infantry outside home territory?)
* How about instrument of minor surrender? The Italian player controls four minors, in which parts of the rules state the use of a common force pool and which parts imply the use of distinct force pools with a shared income. This leads to many interpretations:
1. Italy has one force pool for all minors - whenever a minor surrenders, all Axis units (or possibly just Italian ones) are removed from the minor's territory
2. Italy has distinct force pools for all minors - whenever a minor surrenders, all of that minor's units on the board or being built are removed (for Italy, just Italy and North Africa itself), as well as possibly all Axis units in the minor's territory. All minor forces attack together. This implies that the Italian player must determine the nationality of their built units a turn in advance. Furthermore, as not all Italian units are removed when Rome falls, it's possible for an Italian force to retake Rome after Rome falls.
* Expanding on the second interpretation's footnote (but valid for either interpretation), when all minors surrender, some units may remain on the board, which may retake one of the "minor capitals" (or, Germany retakes those "minor capitals" for them). Does this mean that the minor may return to play?
Regarding Axis defeat:
* The Axis loses when Germany loses (which implies that all the minors have lost), so is it necessary that the Allies hold the objective territories for a full turn, or does the game immediately end whenever the last German objective territory is lost?
On Poland:
* Poland itself is "weirdly defined" - it's part of the British setup, so British forces are initially in Poland, but either takes its turn independently of either Britain or France (turn 1) or with France (subsequently). Yet, as the French player also controls America, well, are those supposed to be American forces...? But American forces don't enter until much later, so the independent Polish turn counts for nothing...
* Furthermore, as Poland may take an independent turn, there is no mention of Poland's income, or even whether it has a separate force pool (and if not, who it shares with)... so after this is sorted out, the above applies again...
* If Warsaw is taken on the first turn, it is said that that Russia may deploy units in Lwow, Sarny, Pinsk, and Vilno. Does that mean that the British units that remain there are converted to Russian ones (while any remaining British units in Danzig, Posen, and Krakow are removed)? And how does one deploy Russian units in Tallinn, Riga, and Kaunas, and Chisinau, all of which begin the game unoccupied?
* On Russian declaration of war, does Russia declare war if an Axis plane flies over the German side of Poland (ie. Danzig, Posen, Krakow, and Warsaw)?
* If Poland survives the first turn, and is subsequently captured, what happens to British, French, and American forces on both sides of the divide? On the Russian side, are they removed (as Russian units may not be in the same territory as British, French, or American units), converted to Russian units, etc.? How about the German side...?
On French conquest:
* If Germany accepts French surrender, does this imply that British land units in Touggourt (the only North African landlocked French territory) are also removed?
* The manual does not mention if a land or air unit is outside of France when France surrenders. Are they considered Free French and are they redeployed, as is the case with British forces?
On the US:
* Is it possible that the Axis players attack the US off-board (as if the US off-board was an off-map territory)? If so, does Axis control of the US off-board imply US surrender, the inability for the US to place units, or (similar to A&A combat movement rules for submerged subs) just that combat will ensue on the Axis turn after American forces are placed?
On British convoys:
* Does Britain lose the $8 for not having units in Murmansk, the Russian convoy box?
On fortifications:
* If a combined assault is made from Brussels and Reims into Frankfurt, does the German Siegfried Line bonus apply against all attackers, or just those from Reims (this would imply that, of course, you need to keep track of where the units come from)
* If a British or American unit is in Reims when Axis forces attack, and the attack succeeds, what happens to these British or American units (as they may not defend)? Are they captured? Removed? Or dealt with in Breakthrough (when the fort no longer applies)?
* If a combined assault from Bern and Munchen to Nancy is made, does France get the Maginot Line bonus (or penalty for tanks) against all attackers, or just those from Munchen? (Again, this implies that you need to keep track of where the units come from) The rule regarding Reims (that the Maginot line applies against attacks from both Brussels and Frankfurt) seems to indicate that France receives bonuses against all attackers.
* If either Reims or Nancy is lost from behind the line (so the fort bonus does not apply), recaptured, and attacked from the front, does the fort still apply, or is the fort considered destroyed upon the initial capture?
Regarding critical hits from strategic bombing:
* The cost to repair a critically hit IC is different in different parts of the manual - the part on the collect income phase states that this is $2, while the part on SBRs states that it is $4. Which is correct?
Regarding neutrals:
* There is no neutral setup chart that came with my copy of the game. What is the setup for neutrals?
* With regards to the change in ownership whenever a neutral is attacked: say that Lisbon is attacked by Germany. Does this mean that at the end of the battle, Porto (and any units there) becomes British regardless of the outcome, while Lisbon (and any units there) is British or German, pending the outcome?
On paradrops:
* The manual states that it costs $1 more to build a paratrooper, and after a paradrop they turn into normal infantry. Can a unit be upgraded for $1 to a paratrooper (so long as it's under the two-paratrooper unit) and subsequently be paradropped? On the same turn?
On artillery combat:
* As artillery cannot capture territory, it is assumed that they can only attack from an adjacent territory (as otherwise there is the possibility that only artillery remain in combat at the end of the battle). Is this true?
On defending against Tac Air:
* As land units suffer a defense penalty against Tac Air, do tanks defend on a 1 or a 2 in this case?
Regarding minor countries:
* The game sometimes regards the "minor countries" as having their own force pool, sometimes without. For example, "Finland is German-controlled and shores the same force pool" compred to "Finland surrenders and all Finnish units are removed from play when Helsinki is occupied". This could lead to several main interpretations:
1. (Similar to the UK in Axis and Allies: Pacific) - the German player has one force pool for both Germany and Finland. The three infantry that start the game in Helsinki may not move until a German unit is in a territory or sea zone bordering Leningrad. In accordance to the infantry outside home territory rule, up one infantry may be placed in Finland per turn. If Helsinki is occupied, then German units in Tampere, Kuopio, and Bjorko are removed.
2. (Similar to the US in Axis and Allies: Pacific) - the German player keeps two force pools: one for Germany and one for Finland. Three Finnish infantry (instead of German infantry) begin the game in Helsinki. Finnish forces do not enter play until a German unit is in a territory or sea zone bordering Leningrad. All but possibly one of the infantry placed in Finland are Finnish (in accordance to the one infantry outside home territory rule), and the nationality of the infantry must be determined in the previous turn. Finnish infantry attack together with German units, and any resulting territorial gains are considered to be German and not Finnish. If Helsinki is lost, then all Finnish units anywhere on the board (and possibly being built), as well as possibly all Axis (or just German) units in Finland (ie. Tampere, Kuopio, and Bjorko), are removed. Hence, there is no incentive to build Finnish noninfantry units (due to increased German "durability").
Similarly for Italy and the minors:
* How is "home territory" defined for the purpose of infantry placement? Is it just Italy or does it include the minors (eg. does placing an infantry in Tirane use up the one infantry outside home territory?)
* How about instrument of minor surrender? The Italian player controls four minors, in which parts of the rules state the use of a common force pool and which parts imply the use of distinct force pools with a shared income. This leads to many interpretations:
1. Italy has one force pool for all minors - whenever a minor surrenders, all Axis units (or possibly just Italian ones) are removed from the minor's territory
2. Italy has distinct force pools for all minors - whenever a minor surrenders, all of that minor's units on the board or being built are removed (for Italy, just Italy and North Africa itself), as well as possibly all Axis units in the minor's territory. All minor forces attack together. This implies that the Italian player must determine the nationality of their built units a turn in advance. Furthermore, as not all Italian units are removed when Rome falls, it's possible for an Italian force to retake Rome after Rome falls.
* Expanding on the second interpretation's footnote (but valid for either interpretation), when all minors surrender, some units may remain on the board, which may retake one of the "minor capitals" (or, Germany retakes those "minor capitals" for them). Does this mean that the minor may return to play?
Regarding Axis defeat:
* The Axis loses when Germany loses (which implies that all the minors have lost), so is it necessary that the Allies hold the objective territories for a full turn, or does the game immediately end whenever the last German objective territory is lost?
On Poland:
* Poland itself is "weirdly defined" - it's part of the British setup, so British forces are initially in Poland, but either takes its turn independently of either Britain or France (turn 1) or with France (subsequently). Yet, as the French player also controls America, well, are those supposed to be American forces...? But American forces don't enter until much later, so the independent Polish turn counts for nothing...
* Furthermore, as Poland may take an independent turn, there is no mention of Poland's income, or even whether it has a separate force pool (and if not, who it shares with)... so after this is sorted out, the above applies again...
* If Warsaw is taken on the first turn, it is said that that Russia may deploy units in Lwow, Sarny, Pinsk, and Vilno. Does that mean that the British units that remain there are converted to Russian ones (while any remaining British units in Danzig, Posen, and Krakow are removed)? And how does one deploy Russian units in Tallinn, Riga, and Kaunas, and Chisinau, all of which begin the game unoccupied?
* On Russian declaration of war, does Russia declare war if an Axis plane flies over the German side of Poland (ie. Danzig, Posen, Krakow, and Warsaw)?
* If Poland survives the first turn, and is subsequently captured, what happens to British, French, and American forces on both sides of the divide? On the Russian side, are they removed (as Russian units may not be in the same territory as British, French, or American units), converted to Russian units, etc.? How about the German side...?
On French conquest:
* If Germany accepts French surrender, does this imply that British land units in Touggourt (the only North African landlocked French territory) are also removed?
* The manual does not mention if a land or air unit is outside of France when France surrenders. Are they considered Free French and are they redeployed, as is the case with British forces?
On the US:
* Is it possible that the Axis players attack the US off-board (as if the US off-board was an off-map territory)? If so, does Axis control of the US off-board imply US surrender, the inability for the US to place units, or (similar to A&A combat movement rules for submerged subs) just that combat will ensue on the Axis turn after American forces are placed?
On British convoys:
* Does Britain lose the $8 for not having units in Murmansk, the Russian convoy box?
On fortifications:
* If a combined assault is made from Brussels and Reims into Frankfurt, does the German Siegfried Line bonus apply against all attackers, or just those from Reims (this would imply that, of course, you need to keep track of where the units come from)
* If a British or American unit is in Reims when Axis forces attack, and the attack succeeds, what happens to these British or American units (as they may not defend)? Are they captured? Removed? Or dealt with in Breakthrough (when the fort no longer applies)?
* If a combined assault from Bern and Munchen to Nancy is made, does France get the Maginot Line bonus (or penalty for tanks) against all attackers, or just those from Munchen? (Again, this implies that you need to keep track of where the units come from) The rule regarding Reims (that the Maginot line applies against attacks from both Brussels and Frankfurt) seems to indicate that France receives bonuses against all attackers.
* If either Reims or Nancy is lost from behind the line (so the fort bonus does not apply), recaptured, and attacked from the front, does the fort still apply, or is the fort considered destroyed upon the initial capture?
Regarding critical hits from strategic bombing:
* The cost to repair a critically hit IC is different in different parts of the manual - the part on the collect income phase states that this is $2, while the part on SBRs states that it is $4. Which is correct?
Regarding neutrals:
* There is no neutral setup chart that came with my copy of the game. What is the setup for neutrals?
* With regards to the change in ownership whenever a neutral is attacked: say that Lisbon is attacked by Germany. Does this mean that at the end of the battle, Porto (and any units there) becomes British regardless of the outcome, while Lisbon (and any units there) is British or German, pending the outcome?
On paradrops:
* The manual states that it costs $1 more to build a paratrooper, and after a paradrop they turn into normal infantry. Can a unit be upgraded for $1 to a paratrooper (so long as it's under the two-paratrooper unit) and subsequently be paradropped? On the same turn?
On artillery combat:
* As artillery cannot capture territory, it is assumed that they can only attack from an adjacent territory (as otherwise there is the possibility that only artillery remain in combat at the end of the battle). Is this true?
On defending against Tac Air:
* As land units suffer a defense penalty against Tac Air, do tanks defend on a 1 or a 2 in this case?
