I am currently trying out a small variant to bring out the national characterisitics a little more.

When you draw a card with your opponent's flag on it, you have to discard it and immediately draw a replacement card until you get a card without your opponent's flag on it. That way, the nation-specific cards should wind up in the hands of the respective players more frequently.

Yes good idea but maybe seperate card decks for each nationality would be more productive and better suited to the game and the era? What do you think? That would cover national  doctrine, tactics and command a lot better and be able to bring in specific abilities without  throw aways and time wasting.

Yes, but it would counteract the high turnover of the cards when they are used for combat results.

However, it would be good to have a separate deck for each nation and then shuffle the decks of all nations involved together to form the deck for a specific scenario.

Yes thats not a bad idea. I would look at adding more cards with varying effects some good some only average.

A suggestion (inspired from TOI, where strategy cards are revealed face up):

In the "Draw event/reaction cards phase", reveal three cards face up. The French picks one first, the Ally picks one. The left one is ditched.

While suprise is lost because all cards are revealed, it brings a little bit of strategy here.

Meta Baston said:

And a variant, with more secrecy: French player picks three cards, face down. He looks at them and keeps one. He gives the two others to the Ally. The Ally looks at them, keeps one and ditch the third one, face down.

Ok that secrecy one is very good! I like that idea and will propose it to my opponants. Good thinking Meta!

Lord Mykal said:

Thanks!

I did not want more die rolls in the game, this is why I suggested the French player should pick the cards first. But I thought about it and came with the following amendment, which involves die rolls:

In the "Draw event/reaction cards phase", each player rolls a die. Add CC's Leadership value. Player with highest modified dr gets to pick three cards face down. He looks at them, keeps one and give the two others to the other player. He looks at them, keeps one and ditch the last card face down.

As I read the rules, each player actually draws two cards in the Draw Action Cards Phase.

KlausFritsch said:

Indeed. But because a player could now choose a card among three cards, I thought that keeping only one in his hand would be enough. Players who like it with lots of cards could let the player with the higher modified dr draw five cards and keep two, and the other player keep two and discard one face down.

(Anyway, there are many ways around, here! My preference goes witht the draw-three-keep-one variant.)

Yes I like the draw three and choose one. Definitely like the die roll idea too and will incorporate that. Have a BON game day tomorrow .