[WarInEur] Pro-German bias

[Kent & Sue Haunschild]

I guess I'm confused. There have been a number of changes to the game since 
SPI published it.

How is changing the rules so that the Germans don't merely have to capture 
Warsaw but eliminate 80% of the Polish army evidence of a Pro-German bias?

How is a refusal to play with the 1940 historic rules evidence of a Pro-Axis 
bias?

How is changing the rules so that Partisans actually cut the rail and 
therefore block supply (not merely rail movement) evidence of a Pro-German 
bias?

How is parsing the SB rules to allow bombing of the rail net, and thereby 
cutting off supply to entire theaters, evidence of a Pro-German bias?

How is modifying the rules regarding chaining of MSU's so that it cannot be 
done in the Severe Weather area evidence of a Pro-German bias?

How is the introduction of the German Cadre rule so that the Germans are 
limited to a maximum of 252 divisions evidence of a Pro-German bias?

How is does the introduction of the German Personnel points option which 
caps total German production evidence of a Pro-German bias?

How is changing the rules so that Allied reinforcements can be placed on dot 
cities when all other countries are restricted to a using a supply center as 
their placement hex evidence of a Pro-German bias? (Okay, Italy is an 
exception and the Soviets have TC's but they need to be placed on or 
adjacent to a Soviet supply center so it amounts to the same thing).

Need I continue?????

The point is that there has been a lot of tinkering with the game.  Most if 
not all of the tinkering has been done it to weaken the German player.  NOW! 
LET ME BE REALLY REALLY CLEAR.  I play with all the above rules.  In most 
cases I think they were good changes.  The German lose the war that's a 
given.  Winning the game is determined by how badly they lose.  However, the 
play balance has shifted and it is no longer a close run thing to achieve an 
Allied victory in 1945.  In fact the German can easily be beaten in 1944.

As many many players have pointed out, the War in the East "is" the war. 
The rest of it ,despite the Allied propaganda, was a side show.  The balance 
of forces on the German and Allied sides is known with about a 99% 
confidence level in 1941.  The Soviets more on the 80-90% level so some of 
their strengths are extrapolations based on the apparent German successes 
against them.  I would like to play a game that allowed the Germans to go 
into Russia in 1941 with approximately the same worldwide correlation of 
forces and I can't.  I'd like a game in which the Germans can actually 
conduct a Battle of the Bulge type offensive in the West and I can't.

What is really annoying is that whenever I or another points out that the 
game is not playing out historically and suggests a modification of the 
rules to allow a more historical outcome we are labeled as panzer pushers. 
I will gladly play anyone with the "published" SPI rules.  I do resist the 
idea of incorporating all the KC, LA, etal erratum into the core game and 
forcing me to play with it.  I'd like all of the departures from the SPI 
rules to be options and would like some pro-german "options" added for play 
balance.

Kent