After looking around the web, i have found out alot more about the game.
First of all if anyone is interested in this game, they should go here -
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=ah/articles - which contains article archives at Avalon Hill on A&A:BotB. The guy who designed the game has done a weekly series of articles on the game and its design and how the whole game system and its mechanics work. It is chock full with details and pictures explaining his reasoning for doing this or that with the game. Just click on #1 and when done back up in your browser to the article archive and go to #2 ect.
Ill only mention 2 of the new major changes to the system and leave the rest to the designer.
Since the goal of the Germans is to take Antwerp, for all puposes an impossibility, the designer desided to go with a victory points system based on capturing towns. For the most part, the further west and the greater number of roads leading into a town, determines its amout of victory points, with the exception of a few key towns like Bastonge & St. Vith, both of which are worth 4 points, the maximum number of points a town can be worth. The pic below shows the area of the gaming board/map Germans captured in real life -
Basicly your job as the German player is to "do one better" than your historical counterparts and capture more territory/points. You have 2 months, or 8 turns in game time, to capture 24 victory points. If the German player can do that, He wins. There are no cards in this game like D-Day. After the initial turn, an initiative role is made each turn to see who goes first then one side moves his forces based on the supply system mentioned below then the other side goes.
Supply - You have to have a supply point, a token, to attack or move. On each turn the Americans/British get 11 pts., the Germans get 9 pts. To get the points to a unit to use them, each side has a specific amount of trucks. The amounts im not sure of. The neat thing is the each side has to designate a hex on the board as a supply dump for their points, and it can be captured! But im getting ahead of myself a bit here. The trucks can only move on roads, but they do have unlimited movent points. They can also move infantry and artillery around as well. When a truck unloads something weather its supplies or a unit, that ends its movement for that turn. Very interesting because they can then be attacked the next turn by an attacking force if it attacks the units it just supplied. Now to another neat new rule that concerns supply. Frontline Markers. At the end of everyturn, the front lines are established and units that are behind the frontlines and in enemy territory are considered "Cut Off" and out of supply and cannot be resupplied until the frontlines are brought back into contact with them. Any truck(s) not in a group of combat units & if the enemies supply depot are cut off they are captured and can be used by the side that captured them! This is a very cool and interesting new rule.
I read all the articles in the designers series tonight and this game looks like it will be every bit as fun if not even more fun than D-Day. This is now on my Christmas wish list.
