Axis & Allies

Axis & Allies
AxisAndAlliesBox.jpg
Axis & Allies: Classic (1984)
Designer Larry Harris
Players 2-5
Age range 12+
Setup time 5-15 minutes
Playing time 2-10+ hours
Random chance Medium
Skills required Tactics, Strategy, Economics, and Teamwork

Axis & Allies is a popular series of World War II strategy board games, with nearly two million copies printed.[1] Originally designed by Larry Harris and published by Nova Game Designs in 1981[2][3][4], the game was republished by the Milton Bradley Company in 1984 as part of the Gamemaster Series of board games. This edition would be retroactively named Axis & Allies: Classic to differentiate it from later revisions. In 1996, Axis & Allies: Classic was inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design Adventure Gaming Hall of Fame.[5] GAMES magazine also has inducted Axis & Allies into their buyers' guide Hall of Fame.[6], an honor the magazine extends to "games that have met or exceeded the highest standards of quality and play value and have been continuously in production for at least 10 years; i.e., classics."

Axis & Allies: Classic was the most successful of the five Gamemaster Series of board games. Long after the Gamemaster name was retired, A&A: Classic lives on having been moved to the Avalon Hill lineup following the acquisition of Milton Bradley and Avalon Hill by Hasbro. The game itself has gone through several revisions, most recently in 2009. The object of the game and its spinoffs, is to win the war by capturing enough critical territories to gain the advantage over the enemy in a recreation of World War II.

In 1984, Hasbro acquired Milton Bradley. In 1998, Hasbro acquired Avalon Hill. In 1999, Hasbro transferred the Axis & Allies: Classic (1984) board game from the Milton Bradley division to the Avalon Hill division. In 1999, Hasbro acquired Wizards of the Coast. In 2004, Hasbro made Avalon Hill a subsidiary of WotC.

The Axis & Allies (1984 - Current) board game series is currently produced by WotC under the Avalon Hill label. Hasbro is the parent company. There are a total of 11 board games in the Axis & Allies series, 8 of which are currently available from many game resellers. The 2 out of print A&A board games, Axis & Allies: Classic (1984) and Axis & Allies: 50th Anniversary Edition (2008) can be found on various auction websites. The 11th A&A board game in the series, Axis & Allies: Europe 1940 has a scheduled release date in the second half of 2010.

The original Axis & Allies: Classic board game has been followed by 10 spinoff games using more or less the same mechanics: in 1999, Axis & Allies: Europe was released, with slightly updated rules and focus on the European theater of World War II, this was followed in 2001 by Axis & Allies: Pacific with similar rules and focus shifted to the Pacific theater. Axis & Allies: D-Day (2004) focused on the Allied liberation of France. In 2004, the first major revision to the core game, Axis & Allies: Revised was released, with elements taken from A&A: Europe and A&A: Pacific, also celebrating the 20th anniversary of Axis & Allies itself. Axis & Allies: Battle of the Bulge (2006) focused on the Battle of the Bulge in Europe while Axis & Allies: Guadalcanal (2007) focused on the Solomon Islands Campaign in the Pacific. In 2008, Axis & Allies: 50th Anniversary Edition was released as one of the three games celebrating the 50th anniversary of its publisher, Avalon Hill (the other two games were Acquire and Diplomacy). This was followed by Axis & Allies: 1942 in 2009, the second major revision to the core game, with mechanics taken from the anniversary edition, also celebrating the 25th anniversary of Axis & Allies itself. Axis & Allies: Pacific 1940 was released in December 2009 and Axis & Allies: Europe 1940 will be released in the second half of 2010.

The 11th A&A board game in the series, Axis & Allies: Europe 1940 has a scheduled release date of August 24, 2010. The game can be combined with Pacific 1940 to form a global game of WW2 on a combined 175x80 cm (70" x 32") map. All 9 major powers of World War Two, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK, the USA and the ANZAC forces, are represented in the combined global game with unique units and colors.

Axis & Allies is not a strict historical wargame, due to its streamlining for ease of play and balancing so that both sides have a chance to win. For instance, the economic model is simplistic, with each territory producing a number of Industrial Production Certificates, (IPCs) good toward the purchase of new units. Moreover, the game is supposed to start in the spring of 1942, but Japan is immediately in position to attack Hawaii again, while Germany is pressed well into the U.S.S.R. with an initially superior force. If the game were truer to history, the Axis empires would be at their apex at this time, about to be pushed back home.

Contents

Versions

RELEASE TITLE START PIECES BOARD (inch) BOARD (cm) TYPE NEW UNITS[n 1] PLAYABLE POWERS
1984 Axis & Allies: Classic 1942 299 33″x20″ 83 x 50 Global N/A 5 - Germany, Japan, Russia, UK, USA
1999 Axis & Allies: Europe 1941 373 30″x20″ 75 x 50 Theater Destroyer, Artillery 4 - Germany, Russia, UK, USA
2001 Axis & Allies: Pacific 1941 335 30″x20″ 75 x 50 Theater Destroyer, Artillery, Marines 4 - China[n 2], Japan, UK[n 3], USA
2004 Axis & Allies: D-Day 1944 241 30″x20″ 75 x 50 Local Artillery, Blockhouse 3 - Germany, UK, USA
2004 Axis & Allies: Revised
(A&A 20th Anniversary Edition)		 1942 366 33″x20″ 83 x 50 Global Destroyer, Artillery 5 - Germany, Japan, Russia, UK, USA
2006 Axis & Allies: Battle of the Bulge 1944 157 30″x20″ 75 x 50 Local Artillery, Truck 3 - Germany, UK, USA
2007 Axis & Allies: Guadalcanal 1942 172 30″x20″ 75 x 50 Local Destroyer, Cruiser, Artillery 2 - Japan, USA
2008 Axis & Allies: 50th Anniversary Edition
(Avalon Hill 50th Anniversary)		 1941/42 672 46″x24″ 115 x 60 Global Destroyer, Cruiser, Artillery 7 - China[n 2], Germany, Italy[n 4], Japan, Russia, UK, USA
2009 Axis & Allies: 1942 Edition (A&A 25th Anniversary Edition) 1942 370 33″x20″ 83 x 50 Global Destroyer, Cruiser, Artillery 5 - Germany, Japan, Russia, UK, USA
2009 Axis & Allies: Pacific 1940 1940 455 35″x32″ 88 x 80 Theater[n 5] Destroyer, Cruiser, Artillery, Mechanized Infantry, Tactical Bomber, Air Base, Naval Base 5 - ANZAC[n 6], China[n 2], Japan, UK, USA
2010[n 7] Axis & Allies: Europe 1940 1940 550[n 8] 35″x32″ 88 x 80 Theater[n 5] Destroyer, Cruiser, Artillery, Mechanized Infantry, Tactical Bomber, Air Base, Naval Base 6 - France[n 9], Germany, Italy[n 4], Russia, UK, USA
Notes
  1. ↑ New units when compared to the original A&A: Classic version of the game.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 China is a separate power with limited production capabilities that is played by the USA player with light green infantry units.
  3. ↑ Australia and India are distinct powers that are both played by the UK player.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Italy appears for the first time in the A&A board game series as a separate power with brown units.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 A&A: Pacific 1940 and A&A: Europe 1940 are theater games that can be combined to form a global game with a 175x80 cm (70" x 32") map.
  6. ↑ Australia and New Zealand armed forces can be played as a separate power or are played by the UK player with dark tan units.
  7. ↑ A&AE 1940, scheduled release is in the second half of 2010.
  8. ↑ http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=ah/prod/europe1940
  9. ↑ France appears for the first time in the A&A board game series as a separate power with blue infantry units.

Gameplay

The Milton Bradley edition of Axis & Allies: Classic, showing the game map and all 299 playing pieces.

In every edition of Axis & Allies, players play as the major belligerents of World War II: Germany, Japan, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, or the United States. The A&A: 50th Anniversary Edition also includes Italy as the third Axis power and China as the fourth Allied power. The A&A: Pacific 1940 edition includes China and ANZAC (Australia & New Zealand armed forces). The A&A: Europe 1940 edition includes Italy and France. The players playing the Axis powers team up against those of the Allied powers in an attempt to conquer key territories, represented by regions on the map board. In earlier editions, this was done by capturing and holding until the end of a round of play certain territories where the opposing alliances' capital cities are located. In later editions, this also includes other territories on the map, where victory cities are located. In the original Milton Bradley edition, A&A: Classic, the Axis powers could also win by capturing and holding until the end of a round of play enough territories to gain an economic advantage. This economic victory, was dropped in later editions of A&A.

Each round of a game involves each of the powers moving in turn according to a specified order; the game ends when either the Axis powers or the Allied powers complete their objectives. When each power takes its turn, they must first declare how they are to spend the IPCs ("Industrial Production Certificates", an abstract currency representing one million man-hours of labor) in their possession: this may go into buying new units, improving units through research (in earlier editions), or repairing damaged structures (in later editions). Players then declare any movements made that would result in combat, moving their pieces as appropriate, and after resolving combat, declaring any non-combat movements. At the end of the turn, players then place any units that were purchased at the beginning of the turn and collect IPCs based on all territories that they control at the end of their turn.

Combat is typically divided into several types: in all of them, however, combat is divided into rounds. In each round, attackers and defenders roll dice to determine which of their units deal hits on the opposing side: if the number rolled is less than or equal to the unit's attack or defense rating (where appropriate), the unit scores a hit on an opposing unit of the opponent's choosing. Some types of combat, such as strategic bombing raids, naval bombardment, or anti-aircraft defense, last only one round, though in others the attacker has the option of either continuing with another round of battle or retreating. Combat is fully-resolved when either side loses all their units or the attackers choose to retreat. Though combat in different territories may be resolved in any order of the attackers choosing, combat in one territory may affect the number of combatants in another territory for later battles, as in the case of an amphibious assault or when attacking units withdraw.

Units

UNIT COMPARISON: THE THREE GLOBAL EDITIONS
UNIT NAME EDITION IPC COST ATK DEF MOV NOTES
Infantry Classic 3 1 2 1
Revised 1* *Infantry attack increases to 2 when combined with Artillery.
50th Anniv.
1940
Artillery Classic n/a n/a n/a n/a
Revised 4 2 2 1
50th Anniv.
1940
Tank Classic 5 3 2 2 Was known as "Armor" in the original release, but
was renamed "Tank" for subsequent rereleases.
Revised 3
50th Anniv.
1940 6
Fighter Classic 12 3 4 4
Revised 10
50th Anniv.
1940
Bomber Classic 15 4 1 6 May make a bombing run against opponent's IPCs.
Revised
50th Anniv. 12 May make a bombing run against opponent's industrial complexes.
Submarine Classic 8 2 2 2 Submarines shoot before other units, which die without returning fire.
Revised Has first strike capability, can submerge instead of withdraw, and can also move past hostile ships.
50th Anniv. 6 1 Previous powers retained except subs can no longer force a moving fleet to stop.
Transport Classic 8 0 1 2 Can carry up to 2 infantry, or one of any other land unit.
Revised Can carry any one land unit, plus one infantry.
50th Anniv. 7 0 Uses Revised Edition cargo rules. No longer has combat value,
and chosen as a casualty only if there are no other eligible units.
Destroyer Classic n/a n/a n/a n/a
Revised 12 3 3 2 Negates submarine first strike and submerge abilities
50th Anniv. 8 2 2 Negates submarine first strike, submerge, and undetected movement ability
Cruiser Classic n/a n/a n/a n/a
Revised
50th Anniv. 12 3 3 2 Can conduct shore bombardment in amphibious invasions
Battleship Classic 24 4 4 2 Can conduct shore bombardment during amphibious invasions.
Revised
50th Anniv. 20
Aircraft
Carrier		 Classic 18 1 3 2 Can carry two fighters.
Revised 16
50th Anniv. 14 2
Anti-Aircraft
Gun		 Classic 5 0 0 1 Only one defensive shot for each attacking aircraft before the first round of combat.
Revised
50th Anniv. 6
Industrial
Complex		 Classic 15 0 0 0 Original complexes have unlimited production for original owner.
Revised All complexes' maximum production limited to the territory value.
50th Anniv. Can be damaged by strategic bombing, reducing the complexs' maximum production.

Revisions

Revisions would follow shortly after the game release as several faults became apparent in the rules. As it stands, submarines may not attack planes, but subs may be attacked by bombers. This followed the constant conflicts arising from the game's flawed rules. Eventually new rules were applied and all planes were given the ability to attack submarines in naval battles. These rules apply to all versions of the game.

Although not the very first edition, the Milton Bradley release was the first to establish the well known game mechanics. There were three versions of the rules for the Milton Bradley games, though only the first two were included with the game itself. The third edition rules were exclusive to a computer video game "Axis & Allies" by Hasbro released in 1998 and Axis & Allies: Iron Blitz with minor additional rules released in 1999. The three editions differed by minor details. There is also a newer video game, Axis & Alles: RTS released in 2004, a departure from the original A&A: Classic world map and introducing several tactical battle scenarios. The Axis & Alles: RTS (2004) was followed by Axis & Alles: RTS Collector's Edition (2006) with expanded strategy guide included.

The first major revision to the rules was designed by Larry Harris and Mike Selinker (who would later develop the board game Attack! based on the experiences learned working with Harris), who tried to address many of the Milton Bradley version's shortcomings, including removing the Axis economic victory condition and the requirement of capturing enemy capitals in favor of victory cities, which has been used in every revision since. With victory cities, the Axis and Allies start with an equal number of victory cities (specially labeled territories), and strive to capture enough victory cities to gain a majority of them (the size of the majority being agreed upon by the players prior to the game). This allows players to play shorter or longer games, depending upon the number of victory cities a power must control in order to claim victory.[7]

With each revision, there were also balance changes in order to make gameplay more dynamic: in the Milton Bradley edition, infantry were cheap units that tended to be most useful as defensive cannon fodder, due to their token attack and slightly better defense. This had led to many areas of the game board being heavily fortified, bogging game play down to a matter of who could build more infantry faster. To counteract this, the tank, whose defense ability was equal to infantry in the Milton Bradley release, had its defensive capabilities improved in the revised edition, so as to encourage players to use combined arms.[8] Other balance changes included altering the costs of the various units, and altering the transport capacity: in the Milton Bradley edition, transports could carry only two infantry or one of any other land unit; later revisions had transports able to carry one infantry in addition to one of any other land unit.

The variety of land and sea units was increased by introducing artillery and destroyers from A&A: Europe and A&A: Pacific to A&A: Revised edition. Artillery increased the effectiveness of infantry in attacks, while destroyers limited the usefulness of submarines and acted as a lower-cost substitute for the expensive battleship. Cruisers were introduced in A&A: 50th Anniversary Edition to effectively split the destroyer's many abilities. While destroyers continue to limit the usefulness of submarines, the stronger cruisers now act as lower cost battleships.

The game board itself was also reworked in each revision. The Milton Bradley classic release featured largely vibrant colors, while the revised version featured mainly darker tones. The 50th anniversary edition and 1942 edition has a more realistic terrain with only subtle hints of color to denote which power has initial control over a particular territory. The composition of territories was also slightly altered, for example, the number of territories between Berlin and Moscow had been increased for the revised edition, including adding many Soviet territories of strategic importance.[9]

Strategic bombing was altered over the years. Until the revised edition, strategic bombing caused opposing players to lose the IPCs they had on hand. The 50th anniversary edition changed this so that industrial complexes were damaged instead. Damaged industrial complexes had less capacity to produce units and can be repaired at the cost of IPCs.

Later revisions have also included changes in research (which was generally not a worthwhile investment in the Milton Bradley edition due to its high cost and low probability of success) to have more of an effect, with mixed results, 1942 edition eliminates research altogether. Another feature that was implemented but was later dropped was the revised edition's "National Advantages", which represented tactics and technologies used by a specific power during the war. For example, a British ability allowed the British player to delay their combat movement until the American player's turn once per game, in order to have a coordinated attack.

Later editions had minor cosmetic changes in the playing pieces. In the Milton Bradley version, only the infantry pieces were unique to each power in appearance. Unique units was later expanded to include nearly every unit in later editions. Compared to the generic fighters of the Milton Bradley release, the Supermarine Spitfire was used in later editions to represent British fighters, the A6M Zero was used to represent Japanese fighters, while two different fighters (the F6F Hellcat and the P-38 Lightning) represented American fighters. The color scheme to associate units with powers was also standardized across all Axis & Allies series games, based on the colors used in A&A: Europe and A&A: Pacific, and is different from those used in the Milton Bradley release.

In 2009, an updated version of Axis & Allies: Pacific was released, entitled Axis & Allies: Pacific 1940. The 10th board game in the A&A series, A&AP 1940 introduced the ANZAC forces as a playable power, along with two new unit types, mechanized infantry and tactical bombers.

In 2010, an updated version of Axis & Allies: Europe was released, entitled Axis & Allies: Europe 1940. A&AE 1940 introduced France as a playable power. Mechanized infantry and tactical bomber units continue to appear after debuting in A&A Pac40. Italy also appears as a playable power in A&AE 1940 after debuting in A&A 50. In A&AE 1940 and A&AP 1940 aircraft carriers and battleships are capital ships that are damaged with 1 hit and sunk with 2 hits. Damaged CVs & BBs can be repaired by moving the damaged CV or BB to a friendly naval base for repairs. Special rules apply for fighters and tactical bombers if a CV is damaged. A&AE 1940 is the 11th A&A boardgame in the series. A&AE 1940 and A&AP 1940 are designed to be played as separate games or may be combined into one game to create a 2-8 player global 1940 scenario, complete with separate set up and national objectives. The combined A&AE 1940 and A&AP 1940 maps measure 175x80 cm (70" x 32"). All 8 major powers of WW2 plus the ANZAC forces are represented with unique unit pieces and their own unique color.

Spin-Offs

Due to the success of Axis & Allies: Classic, as of 2010, there are now ten spin-off games in the A&A franchise. Three are updated or expanded versions of the original global A&A: Classic game. An additional four games are theater games depicting Europe or the Pacific. An additional three games are local games of specific battles.

Additional games have also been published by other game designers with similar mechanics (some requiring components from an Axis & Allies or similar game).

Board Games

In addition to designing the board games, Larry Harris had also designed A&A: Europe and A&A: Pacific, which had the core mechanics of Axis & Allies adapted for a specific theater. This, in turn, served as the catalyst for the revised edition. Although there were preliminary plans for a variant that allowed players to combine Europe and Pacific together, it had never been published. Larry Harris has announced two new completely new editions, Axis & Allies Pacific 1940 to be released in December 2009 and Axis & Allies Europe 1940 to be released in Summer 2010, which will also include a variant that combines both games together.

Other Harris-designed Axis & Allies games were more tactical in nature, and focused on individual battles: Axis & Allies: D-Day (2004) focused on the Allied liberation of France, Axis & Allies: Battle of the Bulge (2006) focused on the Battle of the Bulge, while Axis & Allies: Guadalcanal (2007) focused on the Solomon Islands Campaign. Though these games retained many of the traditional mechanics, some were specific to the particular game.

Video games

There have been two Axis & Allies video game versions released each of which had an updated version release. Axis & Allies released in 1998 and Axis & Allies: Iron Blitz with minor additional rules released in 1999. A&A: Iron Blitz has marines, paratroopers, destroyers and kamikazes. There is also a newer video game, Axis & Allies: RTS released in 2004 and an expanded version, Axis & Allies: RTS Collector's Edition was released in 2006. The two RTS games are a departure from the original A&A: Classic world map and introduce several tactical battlefield scenarios. The A&A video games are known to have some bugs. There are A&A video game patches available on various A&A websites.

Miniature Games

In 2005, Axis & Allies Miniatures was released as the series' first foray into miniature gaming. This was followed up by Axis & Allies Naval Miniatures: War at Sea. There have been several additional A&A Miniatures releases. Currently there are 20 countries represented in A&A Miniatures.

References

  1. ↑ Post from Larry Harris on his forum.
  2. ↑ Information about Nova Games
  3. ↑ Whitehall, Bruce (March 2008). "25 Years of Axis & Allies". Knucklebones (Jones Publishing) 3 (2): 22–24. 
  4. ↑ Reid, Thomas M. (2007). "Axis & Allies". In Lowder, James. Hobby Games: The 100 Best. Green Ronin Publishing. pp. 17–20. ISBN 978-1-932442-96-0 
  5. ↑ "Origins Award Winners (1995)". Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design. http://www.originsgamefair.com/awards/1995/list-of-winners. Retrieved 2007-11-01. 
  6. ↑ GAMES Magazine Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2010-07-26
  7. ↑ A&A Preview #4: The Price of Victory from Wizards of the Coast
  8. ↑ A&A Preview #14 A New Tank Blitzes Into View from Wizards of the Coast
  9. ↑ A&A Preview #13 Brave New World from Wizards of the Coast

External links

Gamemaster Series
Axis & Allies • Conquest of the Empire • Broadsides and Boarding Parties • Fortress America • Shogun
Axis & Allies
created by Larry Harris
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Axis & Allies (Comparison) • Europe • Pacific • D-Day • Battle of the Bulge • Guadalcanal • Pacific 1940 • Europe 1940
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