Conduct Convoy Disruptions:

[elbowmaster]

Please post questions about the "Conduct Convoy Disruptions" phase of the game here:

[Sasquatch Lives]

If an enemy sub in a sea zone with a convoy symbol on it submerges in the combat phase of a naval battle, can it still disrupt the convoy at the collect income phase of the round? It seems to me if it is submerged, then it is not able to disrupt the convoy.

[Krieghund]

Yes, it can. Submerged subs resurface immediately after the battle.

[Piper909]

I'm also puzzled by the convoy rules, in part because one of the play aids I've seen posted on Boardgame Geek implies that to gain the convoy disruption penalty, there can be NO enemy warships in the sea zone that is attempting to be disrupted by an enemy. But this doesn't make practical sense. Here's an example from the last game I played. The US moves a large fleet into the Japanese home waters (whichever sea zone that is -- I don't own the game myself so I can't tell you now). The expectation is that at the end of the Japanese turn, he suffers the effects of convoy blockade for Japan and Korea, the two affected land spaces bordering this sea zone. But can the Jap. player place a token sea unit -- a cheap sub, say -- as a build in that sea zone (units are placed before collecting IPC income, after all) -- and negate the effect of the convoy disruption? This just doesn't seem workable, if convoy interdiction can be stymied by simply sacrificing (or placing then withdrawing on the next turn) a cheap naval unit.

We played it as if convoy disruptions occurred regardless of the presence of enemy vessels -- because unless you change the order of play, and place units AFTER collecting income, I don't see how you could ever successfully make a convoy attack on a sea zone bordering a factory, IF enemy warships could negate a convoy attack. Imagine a huge Jap. navy off the coast of California -- the US would build a submarine each turn simply to place it in this sea zone and nullify any Jap. blockade. Or even a destroyer -- the cost loss of a cheap piece would not be as great as the loss of income from the convoy attack.

I don't see how these convoy rules can work, realistically, without some allowances or clarifications of the rules.

( PS: In general, I must say I am disappointed to find the need for so much errata in the A&A games to fix rules glitches, mapboard typos, faulty components, and other mistakes that should be fixed in playtesting or production -- this seems very sloppy to me, as someone who has worked in game and book publishing. Newcomers will be confused and even old-time players like me keep finding mistakes with every new edition. We played our last game with all sorts of wrong set-ups because no one had yet seen the FAQ or errata that I have since discovered.)

[Krieghund]

Welcome, Piper909!

You played convoy disruption correctly. If a player aid suggests that the presence of a warship friendly to the raided power will negate the raid, it is incorrect. There is nothing in the rules to indicate that this is so. You have to be careful about trusting player aids on BGG, as they are created by fans, not the publisher.

[Piper909]

Thanks for the verification! I played that game with a very unhappy Japanese player because he was not sure the US convoy disruption was permitted as long as he maintained a token Japanese naval presence in Japanese home waters. And he thought I was pulling a fast one when I said this was the only way to make the rule playable.

Got another question about an ANZAC IPC bonus rule I'll post on a different thread.

[The Legendary Zero]

I'm just curious, in order to conduct a convoy disruption, does a naval battle have to occur, or can you simply place a boat in a sea zone with the symbol and get the convoy strike.

Example

Sea Zone 6 is empty - no Jap ships of any kind and it is now the start of America's turn. America puts two destroyers in that sea zone. Will that cost the Japanese 2 IPCs if they are not cleared?

[Krieghund]

No naval battle is necessary. The presence of the ships in the sea zone is enough.