It's not a matter of aesthetics, but complications of writing the necessary coding to put into the adjudication software. This version also does not implement the Suez Canal rule for similar reasons. As a result many folks find the game difficult to play as Russia and/or Turkey. It's still a fun map, but figuring out how to rite the coding would be a major improvement for it.

Forgive me, but what's the Suez Canal rule in that map?

http://www.dipwiki.com/index.php?title=Colonial#Optional_Rules

I was also recently going to play this variant before coming to the conclusion that the lack of the Trans-Siberian Railway was a big loss (though note that a look at the stats shows that Russia is not as bad off as you might think). But I agree with Ruffhaus 8, finding a way to code the TSR would improve playability and support the balance intended by the variant author.

GMan, I actually don't place too much stock in the survival stats for the variants here. The sampling is just too small. With only 29 completed games it's almost impossible to tell anything from it. Also my argument for the TSR railway is not because I feel Russia is crippled by it's absence, but rather that significantly affects Russia's movement options and forces the Tsar to play a strategy that benefits Britain and Japan. The absence of the Suez Canal rule also hampers Turkey's ability to maneuver quickly out of the Mediterranean theater, once again had a sizable tactical advantage to Britain.

I agree that they are odd rules, and clearly getting the coded into WebDip format is a challenge, but the rules were presented by Avalon Hill for a reason. Sadly makes for a somewhat flawed version of the game.

This variant is the first real exploration into the concept of initially apparent imbalance with Britain holding a larger starting SC total, yet doing so with multiple very vulnerable locations (Hong Kong and Aden). Britain tend to get gangpiled in this game just as much as the nation takes off with a great advantage, so it's a serious challenge to play. Also nations like France, Holland, Japan , and Turkey are very underrated because of their compact starting positions and defensive characteristics.

@ RUFFHAUS 8 - no, I agree with you on the TSR, it's all about losing playability and constricting Russia's options, forcing him to abandon fronts he might not otherwise have to. Now, although I would think this would in fact hurt Russia some, the small sampling of stats we do have suggests that, that is not the case. Personally, I see changes to the canal rules in a number of variants, including this one, similarly, but of less magnitude to playability than the TSR. And nice analysis of Colonial. Not one of my favorite variants, but I don't dislike it either.

bump

It's in work: The TSR-rule is already implemented, I'm currently working on the Suez-Canal rule (not that difficult). But the progress is slow because of a lack of free time and/or motivation. My plan is to have this project finished and ready for the first test round in around 4 weeks but I cannot promise anything. ;-)

Nice work. Thanks for your efforts!