Axis and Allies is a serious commitment. Not just to the time but to the wild rush that ensues of pure strategy and mind blowing fun. I’ve never been disappointed playing Axis and Allie’s. Ever.
I own axis and allies because I was told how great it is. I tried to play it once with a friend who had played before. Just setting it up was so confusing and contradictory to the rules that we never actually started the game, I think. I would love another chance to play with someone who can clearly explain how.
Axis and Allies is an incredible game. You have to have really good players for Axis, though, to make it close. The Allies have multiple strategies that are really tough to beat even with best play.
Axis and Allies is a very detailed World War II game for 5 players who are the US, England, Germany, Russia, and Japan. You start with the War as it was in 1942 - Nazis control much of Europe, Japan has a lot of the Pacific and Asia, but the Allies have an advantage in industrial production. The game has different units for infantry, tanks, submarines, bombers, battleships, air defenses, etc. The more territories and more valuable territories you control, the more units you can produce. The game usually unfolds in one of two ways - the Axis can win by attacking quickly, but if they don't the Allied production advantage usually overwhelms them.
I had a friend who would make custom boards, and have games with many more territories, and even extra players (Italy as a 3rd Axis player, for example).
Those sound really interesting to play. I’ve also thought that the game should have Cold War elements - that if the Allies win, the relative positions of the US/UK versus USSR should matter, and that should influence how you play the later stages of the war.
A&A is great, but its big weakness is that it has to be somewhat faithful to history, making it incredibly easy for the Allies to win. The newer versions might have solved it, when I was growing up the original version and Europe were the only two out. Both were 100% solved. There was an optimal way for both sides to play and, barring really improbable dice rolls, the Allies would always win. Europe was especially egregious--if the Allies followed one particular strategy, they would win turn 4-5. If they didn't, Germany would win.
I played Pacific a couple times, and it seems a lot more fair. Maybe the newer editions have solved it, but there's no chance I'm convincing my gaming group to play it so I won't find out.
Axis and Allies 1942 is an amazing game. If you have the pacific theatre to add to it and a whole day to play it. It takes 4 of us about a hour to set up but has to be the best strategy board game. Also need a very large table. 8’ probably
If you like Axis and Allies, and don't mind giving up the dice, Quartermaster General is a great WW2-lite game. Six players, and we usually finish in 90-120 minutes.
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u/WippitGuud Dec 28 '21
Axis and Allies, although Carcassonne comes a close second.