[WarInEur] Pro-German bias

[Hansen]

 Karl wrote:
  And the Pro-German Bias is REALLY bad in my opinion.  OK, they probably
need some help in 1940 in France.  But not so much that Sealion becomes a
viable option we need to spend a lot of energy debating.   But almost EVERY
discussion of Barbarosa I read about is how can the (Germans) be helped to
do better?  Well gee folks, yes, the base case is that the Russian Army was
a shambles in 1941;  But somehow they hung on, and by November 1942 were
able to start dealing it out to the Germans.  Which DOES NOT HAPPEN in the
majority of games I have heard/seen.  Even an average performance Barbarosa
seems disapointing to the Germans, and then, for some reason, they lose
interest.  Just when I can have some fun as the Russian Player.  
   
John wrote:
In my experience, if the players are at all equal and play a "standard" game
(Poland - France - Russia), there is a 90+% chance the allies win. Often in
1944 (or the situation by the end of '42 is so bad the game is called). I
think that is why the various options are proposed that are 'pro-German'. 

First, these are options. They aren't required. Second, their purpose is not
so much to make the Germans win but to bring the odds of Germany winning
closer to 50% (which makes for a better game but not as good of simulation).
Now one way to do this is to make the German's bigger and bigger until by
brute force you achieve the goal. In contrast, the options have been more
tailored towards more accurately reflecting what really happened (e.g.
France '40) and what ifs that were seriously thought realistic (even if
20-20 hindsight shows they weren't). Now you always have the issue that when
you tinker, you can put your thumb on the scale to hard. That is why my
personal preference is for a game which can be as easily edited as possible
to allow for home rules and testing to find the right balance.

As to "having some fun as the Russian player", you may want to try something
I find works. Play a double game. Where you are Germans in one game and
Allies in the other, but you play the same opponent. If you are an
experienced player, it doesn't take that much longer. Usually one side is on
the offensive, has troops to move, etc. while the other side is reacting and
has minimal and fairly predictable movement. So at the beginning or in '42
when the balance starts to shift, both sides can have some 'fun'. This will
also tend to reinforce the fact that the game is set up for the Germans to
lose (which is thankfully historic, but a bit of a disappointment from a
pure game standpoint).