Battle for the Capital?

I’m keen to play some more Arc of Fire and I’m seriously considering a return to Andreivia for next Spring’s Crisis Point big game in Dungworth.  If there’s sufficient interest, I’m tempted to try and set up a very big, single table game based on fighting in Tcherbevan after the Russians’ seizure of the airport.

The table could be broken down into zones - the airport, the river, the town centre and the hills beyond.  

The Factions:

The Russians - start in control of the airfield (mostly).  Initial aim to take control of the bridge(s) over the Krupnehr.

The Andreivian Government - start in control of scattered portions of the city. Want to retain control of the river bridge(s) and to drive the rebel factions out of the city.

The Andreivian Armenians - start in the Armenian Quarter.  Want to retain control of their Quarter and in particular of the English Church, where various foreign nationals are sheltering.  Will not co-operate with the Turks under any circumstances.  We could consider adding some hills north of the airport that are at least partly in Andreivian Armenian hands.  

The Andreivian Turks - start in the Turkish quarter, also control a village in the hills south of the city.  Want to retain control of their areas.  Want to bring supplies into their quarter from the hills. Will not co-operate with the Armenians under any circumstances.

NATO - enter on the southern road.  Tasked with keeping the warring factions apart and establishing a monitoring and liaison team in contact with the Andreivian Government.  Would also like to rescue the foreigners trapped in the English Church.  Are there other foreigners elsewhere in the city too?

Others - the possibilities are endless.  TV crews wanting shots of the action?  Are they neutral or Andreivian State Broadcasting stooges?  NGOs with truckloads of aid supplies?  Refugees trying to flee the city?  Local gangsters?

One potential problem is the Crisis Point lot (you know you’re all megalomaniacs) turning up with huge, powerful forces.  I don’t particularly want to see American M1s dashing into the city and destroying everything that stands in their way. Perhaps we need to consider some pretty strict rules of engagement for the foreign intervention forces?  Based on the experience of Crisis Point 2, I think strict controls on force sizes are called for.

Previous Andreivia games have been played at conventions and have been designed to allow spectators to slot in and out of the game, trying out AoF for a short period without having to commit to a whole day’s play.  This is less necessary at Dungworth but I would like to have a better go at persuading some of the locals to drop in for a while.

Previous Crisis Point games have divided players into two fixed teams (NATO and Warpac).  This game potentially has six teams (Armenians, Russians, Government, Turks and NATO).  Should we go with fixed teams or allow players to swap between teams as the game develops and forces get activated?