Axis and Allies

World War 2 is very much talked about this year, what with the 60th anniversary of VE day just passed, and that of VJ day not far off. A good thing too. As the number of actual witnesses to the conflict dwindles, it's becomes ever more important that each new generation is educated about the last time the world was caught up in the catastrophe of total war. Personally, the more I read on the topic, the more fascinating I find it. And the clearer it becomes that it's impossible to underestimate the impact of the war and its outcome on the way we lead our lives today. Perhaps this worthy desire to deepen my knowledge and understanding of that period of history ...  Read the complete review

The most important thing you must do to make this boardgame fun is to read the rules.I've won 3 times in a row back home because I was the only one to read the rules properly. This game is set in 1941 with the German forces about to begin Operation Barbarossa.The Germans are allied with the Japanese and the Russians,Americans and British form the other powers.Each "area" on the board is given a certain industrial worth and the more you control,the wealthier you are.You start each turn by launching invasions into neighbouring territories,the attack is resolved using dice,you move troops,pick up "money" which corresponds to the amount of ...  Read the complete review

OK, this is a game that I have been playing for over 17 years now, and I have a lot of experience in. This game is basically what we Americans call a "beer and pretzles" version of the serious war games by companies like Avalon Hill. It does a fairly good job of getting you into the logistics of world wide conflict, but does not bog you down in the minutia of how to monitor every little detail. I will cover my review on several topics, then finish it up. Board and pieces: The board is beautifully colored, and large. It gives you ample room for placing the pieces, and movement around it is fairly simple. The pieces ...  Read the complete review

Set in the year 1942, this boardgame could be described as the adult version of Risk. The foldout board displays a map of the world and the main five countries are divided between the players. There can be between two and five players and they are the United Kingdom, United States of America, Russia, Japan and Germany. Then battle commences as each side fights for world domination. This is not a game which you could buy one day and be ready to play straight away. It?s quite complicated and does help if there?s someone available with some prior knowledge of the game. Nevertheless there?s also a degree of common sense to the rules, and once you?ve got the idea, it?s ...  Read the complete review

Axis & Allies is a good fun boardgame that anybody can play. A lack of historical knowledge will not prevent you from winning this game which is a refreshing change to the norm for this type of game. The game is configured for 2-5 players but the fewer players there are the less fun there is to be had. Set in the Second World War, players take on the roles of the various main player nations of that conflict (Germany and Japan form the Axis powers, Italy surprisingly being left out….. vs. UK, the USA and Russia as the Allies). The game itself is well balanced and is very playable possibly even addictive but I have to say that I couldn’t play ...  Read the complete review