Axis & Allies
Hey, kids! Now you
can control the Nazi army in its fight to inherit the earth! Okay, so
there may have been something slightly disturbing about having players
“become” the army of the master race for a few hours, but all in all,
Axis & Allies was a benign and even educational experience.
Besides, it's no more dangerous to your psyche than pretending to be a
"mighty" medieval warrior having lusty dungeon adventures and saying
"ye" all the time.
Set in the spring of 1942, Axis & Allies gave from two to five
players control of the five major powers of World War II: Germany,
Japan, Great Britain, the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R. With a detailed map
and literally hundreds of game pieces—including small molded plastic
tanks, infantry, fighter planes, bombers, freighters, carriers, subs
and battleships—this was one of those games it took an hour to set up
before you even started playing. But the long process was paid off
with… well, another long process. What, you thought it was easy
commanding the land, sea and air forces of five military superpowers?
In addition to directing the placement and strength of military
units, players had to guide the economic and technological aspects of
the war, building factories for additional firepower and researching
new weapons like long-range rockets. True-life war factors played into
the game as well: The U.S.S.R. was loaded with infantry, ready for a
long, ugly battle on the motherland. Germany and Japan had the early
advantage of a huge army and quick strikes, but the Allies had the
means to win a sustained war (if they survived that long).
Battles were carried out with a handful of dice, and the fighting
took place, literally, all over the world. If it sounded a bit
overwhelming at first, it was, but nobody said war was easy. Milton
Bradley’s helpful instruction charts and visual aids made the learning
curve a bit simpler, but the game was still complex enough to spark
many a late-night strategic discussion and several homemade global
domination plans.
Axis & Allies was the first of several “Gamemaster” strategy
board games from Milton Bradley. Fortress America, Broadsides and
Boarding Parties, Samurai Swords and Conquest of the Empire arrived in
its wake, but Axis & Allies remained the standard bearer. A CD-ROM
version eventually followed, as did the board game follow-up Axis &
Allies Europe (focusing on the continent, plus the Middle East and
North Africa), and several manufacturers began developing new pieces
and rules for unauthorized variations. Axis & Allies remains a
favorite of die-hard strategy board gamers, giving all the brain
challenges of staging a major war without all the pressure of holding
the weight of the free world in the balance.
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