To assist players to better understand some of the finer points of Balkan Front, here are some questions which arose during initial playing of the game.

Q: Do you trace two rail supply lines -- high-volume and low-volume (Rule 12B3)?
A: No. You trace just one rail supply line. It can go over any number of high-volume rail hexes but only a maximum of seven low-volume rail hexes. By the way, the seven low-volume hexes need not be traced all together. For example, you could trace along four low-vol. hexes, then a high-vol. line, then three more low-vol. hexes.

Q: Tracing a maximum of seven low-volume rail hexes means the Germans can't use the Greek-Bulgarian low-vol. line once they're deep in Greece -- it's just barely too long!
A: Right. This is why the Germans pressured Yugoslavia to join the Axis in 1941. They needed the high-volume Yugoslav line running into Greece in order to supply their troops.

Q: I have an engineer that starts to build a fort in a hex. It must stay in the hex while it is building the fort, but can it use its MPs to do other things in the hex, such as building a temporary airfield? (Rule 14A)
A: No. An engineer cannot spend any MPs when building a fort or permanent airfield. It must abandon construction of the fort or permanent airfield first to do so.

Q: Can you build a permanent airfield in a hex containing a temporary airfield?
A: Yes. Rule 14A1 prohibits building a p-airfield in a hex already containing a p-airfield, but it does not prohibit this for a hex containing a t-airfield. Remove the t-airfield when the p-airfield in the hex is completed.

Q: Can you build a temporary airfield in a hex containing a permanent airfield?
A: No. Rule 14A1 prohibits building a t-airfield in a hex containing "any airfield."

Q: In harassment bombing (Rule 20F2d), a unit moving by rail from a harassment hex spends an extra MP. This is a "real" MP, not just one hex of rail movement, right?
A: Right.

Q: Are naval transport points eliminated by bombing (Rule 20F2h) lost permanently or temporarily?
A: Permanently -- eliminated is eliminated. If they were lost only temporarily, then the rules would have said so and told you how long they'd be lost and when they'd come back.

Q: When the conditions are met for conditional reinforcements, do they arrive immediately, regardless of player turn and phase?
A: The second sentence of the first paragraph of Rule 29A governs: "A player places his reinforcements on the map during his initial phase, as specified by his order of battle." [Actually, this question may be more appropriate for Scorched Earth than Balkan Front, since the Balkan Front orders of battle are very specific about the appearance of conditional reinforcements. As a Scorched Earth example of the above ruling, if a German unit first moves within seven hexes of Leningrad during the Axis movement phase, the three conditional Soviet NKVD rifle divisions would be placed as reinforcements in the next Soviet initial phase. -- RG]

Q: There are airfield counters provided in the game with capacities greater than three. Are these to be used in Balkan Front?
A: No, these are for eventual use in Grand Europa.

Q: When tracing an overland supply line, shouldn't narrow straits hexsides count as one hex against the length of the supply line, as with major rivers?
A: This was not included in Balkan Front for simplicity, but if you would like to add this as an additional penalty under Rule 32A3, you may do so.

Q: Whenever the rules and charts refer to "cities," does this include the new point cities? Specifically, are point cities considered when calculating the die modifier for Albanian revolt? (Rule 28A1d)
A: Yes, unless specifically stated otherwise, references to "cities" apply to all cities on the map, including the new point cities.

Q: The examples given in Rule 10C4 are for clear weather situations, right?
A: Yes, and this should have been so notated in the rules. If the weather were poor, the die roll would not be modified due to AEC in either example.

More Balkan Front Designer's Notes

Dedication and Acknowledgements
Maps and Counters
Rules
Orders of Battle
Q&A
Errata Sheet