MEMORIES:
FrankieKaufman remembers...This game always brought up heated arguments between friends. I remember playing this game with some friends and having some ... More »
Posted on 02/09/07
Manufacturer:
While most American children don’t usually spend their afternoons re-enacting the exploits of the Third Reich, that didn’t stop Milton Bradley from developing a game that would allow them to do just that. A few hours of Nazi domination seemed harmless enough, and more importantly, temporary, when played against the cardboard backdrop of Axis & Allies. The perfect solution to a rain-induced quarantine, Axis & Allies brought the powers behind the second Great War brazenly yet bloodlessly into the living room.
The five major nations battling during World War II square off in the Milton Bradley classic: Germany, Great Britain, Japan, the U.S.S.R., and of course, the good ol’ U.S. of A. As a prologue, two to five player/powers meet in the spring of 1942 to match mind, mettle, and plastic machinery in a contest for global domination. Miniature troops – infantry, tanks, dogfighters, bombers, freighters, carriers, subs, and battleships – all dotted the included world map in what might arguably and traditionally be the longest set-up in board game history. Prior planning promotes powerful performance however as the sprawling armies are finally rolled into action.
Players deploy their military units, and further the behind-the-scenes aspects of warfare by engaging in economic and technological interests. Factories provide extra and much-needed firepower as well as weapons research that culminate in such advancements as long-range rockets. The war for the world is a war of inches, and each army features its own unique strengths and weaknesses designed to imitate history’s recollection of events. An overwhelming infantry favored the Russians in long land-based campaigns while the Germans and Japanese armies used quick-strike potential to inflict damage on the enemy early. Sustained warfare gave the advantage over time to the Allies.
With a mere handful of dice, Milton Bradley created a game whose strategic possibilities are the topic of intense discussion even to this day. Although history fought WWII in Europe, the Pacific, and North Africa, Axis & Allies rewrites history all over the globe. Instruction charts and visual aids helped armchair generals make sense of the overwhelming offensive options and defensive decisions.
Axis & Allies was Milton Bradley’s introduction of what became the "Gamemaster" strategy board game series. Titles such as Fortress America, Broadsides and Boarding Parties, Samurai Swords, and Conquest of the Empire proudly followed but Axis & Allies has remained the unsinkable flagship. Its popularity brought about various off-shoots, including Axis & Allies Europe, as well as the inevitable CD-ROM adaptation. Even renegade rules variations have sprung up, as well as unauthorized units for even more unpredictable game-play. However it’s done, the goal remains the same: put the enemy under your boot and hold the world in the palm of your hand.
