Hi guys,



I've much enjoyed both Joao's and Dirk's detailed EOGs, both
regarding DC319 and the variant itself. Just thought I'd weigh in on
the variant discussion before publishing the full EOG report. To
this end, let me remind you that the variant further evolved
following the start of this particular playtest. I'd be interested
in whether you feel the same concerns you've voiced also apply to
that somewhat different setup.



Let me summarise those changes as compared to DC319's v1.1:



- 18 VPs required to solo rather than 15 (I am as yet not sure
what'd make for the ideal victory threshold and am hence especially
curious about how you view the matter).



- Germany and Italy have edged closer to another owing to Rome being
immediately adjacent to Austria (both as I wanted to heighten
Italo-German friction and because I wanted Italy to have the same
strong influence over Austrian affairs as she had in history).



- Germany and Poland have equally edged closer together as Berlin
now borders Poland's Greater Poland "soft-spot".



- Poland and the USSR are now not as close to another as the Ukraine
was divided in two, thus ensuring Stalingrad is more than two moves
away from Cracow.



All of these changes have a considerable impact on the powers'
positions. (See the attached map further below.)



I was concerned that the Polish-Soviet relationship was overly
antagonistic and war at some point unavoidable. I think both
Poland's now greater proximity to Germany and the (Western) Ukraine
not being as critical space as it was before, makes a constructive
Warsaw-Moscow relationship far more viable.



The increased German-Italian tension (and Germany's greater
proximity to Poland) also improves France's diplomatic position, I
am convinced. Is it enough to avoid France also doing poorly in
future? I genuinely believe so. Yet one possible way to further help
France might be to make Marseille and Paris adjacent. Thoughts?



As for the "Spanish Question", it's by no means a given that either
faction will ever emerge as the master of Spain's three SCs. Far too
many sharks in the tank... A long stalemate or the Iberian peninsula
falling under the sway of the original great powers strike me as at
least as likely outcomes. To no little extent because I generally
judge it in Britain's and France's interests not to let either
faction emerge as a major player (btw, in DC330, the Republicans
trounced the Nationalists and have united the country). Indeed, I'd
suggest both France and Britain having done poorly in DC319, has
much to do what role they chose to play in the Spanish peninsula.



In any case, I don't share Dirk's concern that a strong Nationalist
Spain emerging is gamey. Indeed, I'd say that Franco might have well
accomplished the same as Dirk's Nationalist Spain, had he joined the
Axis powers in 1940. Only Hitler not offering Franco quite the juicy
deal the Caudillo was looking out for, kept Spain out of the war.
But had it entered, chances are Gibraltar and Morocco would soon
have been Spanish. Spain would have then indeed been a major force.
So why shouldn't it happen in this variant?



Indeed, had the great powers not judged the outcome of the Spanish
civil war of the gravest consequences, they'd have hardly plowed in
the resources some of them did (and France would have had, had it
not been stopped in doing so by domestic right-wing opposition). The
European balance of power was on the line. Nobody expected the
victor to later remain neutral in a wider continental war...



As for Germany rather than Italy being the Nationalists' patron
power, one of the reasons I chose Italy over Germany was that I felt
this had the most desirable impact on the British stance on the
Spanish Question. With the present setup, I can see Britain adopting
anything from a pro-Republican to a pro-Nationalist stance (as
befits historical realities). Were Germany however the patron power,
it'd give Britain more of a pro-Republican bent than I'd want her to
have.



Okay, I'll stop short here before this mail becomes too long. I'd
love to see further discussion on the variant - with an eye to
DC319's version, the new 1.3 version and possible future changes. We
designers need people to challenge our assumptions and benefit from
out-of-the-box thinking we ourselves might not be able to provide.



Cheers,



Charles