Axis and Allies Anniversary Edition Warpath
For the uninitiated, Axis and Allies, (A&A) is a strategy game of world domination, played using plastic miniatures across the world during World War II. In the original editions of A&A ( the first edition by Nova Game Designs, the 2nd 1984 edition by Milton-Bradley Company, and the Avalon Hill Revised Edition released in 2004 ), up to 5 players represent the Axis countries of Germany and Japan and Allied nations (US, UK and the Soviet Union) in a game of resource management and strategic combat.
AAAE clocks in with quite a number of updates to the already tweaked Revised Edition. Italy enters the fray as the 3rd Axis nation, making A&A a 3 on 3 match. There is also China, but he is controlled by the US player (China’s regarded as minor power in the game, the 6 are all major powers).
In addition, the new gameboard is actually a 3 piece map of the world, as opposed to the single piece we have been using all along. It measures an impressive 24-inches by 46 inches (61cm x 117cm). The larger map means more territories. For example, instead of Scandinavia, we have Finland and Norway as separate territories. And, notice how much harder it is to traverse Europe and since we now have 6 players and 7 sides, the number of plastic pieces in the game has been brought up to more than 600.
Every nation has their own unique unit sculpts. Each side’s tank is different, and reflective of the respective side’s most famous tank models. The new A&A game will offer players 2 alternative start options, Spring 1941 and Spring 1942.
Just like all previous A&A games, each turn counts as a full season ( Spring, Summer, Winter and Autumn). The different start options means the various nations have more or less territories, based on historical fact. For example, Germany will have a few more territories in Spring 1942 as it evaded the Soviet Union during Spring 1941.
In a clear ode to Risk, the varying sides now have incentives for going after selected regions or connected territories. By fulfilling these specific national objectives, you can earn extra IPCs (Industrial Production Certificates, which is the game’s currency to build units and the like). A larger number of units remain the same as in Revised (Artillery, Tank and Fighter) but a slew do carry different IPC costs, and they include the Battleship (now 20, down from 24), Aircraft Carrier (14), Bombers (12) and AA Guns (now 6). The Cruiser, a 3/3 naval unit, makes it debut. Axis and Allies Anniversary Edition, (AAAE) retains the Victory City concept (1st used in Revised), in determining winners.
AAAE seems like a massive game that plays for an eternity. Yes, it’s massive, but the national objectives encourage plenty of aggression and movement. The Axis nations seem to lose that overwhelming military superiority they have been traditionally given in all previous A&A iterations, but the good news is Japan still gets the most impressive looking fleet at the start of both scenarios.
Speaking of fleets, the newly improved rules and unit costs will have A&A veterans whooping with delight. The lowered cost of the Battleship makes it the unit of choice on the high seas, even with the cheaper Cruiser in tow. The total redundancy of Transports that you can’t use ‘em as cannon fodder any more and they do not fire back during their defense phase - forces a little more conservatism in sea convoys.
Strategic bombing is also a very popular tactic in AAAE games currently - it now hurts the opponent’s economies so much more than before, since they impact production in total, and not IPC totals (as in previous A&A editions). And just like actual history, AAAE games are often decided by the outcome between Germany’s duel with the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front. And just like the common strategy that players used in previous editions, the German player will always want to kill off the Soviets as fast as possible. Keep churning the Panzers out, and do not stop till get to Moscow.
Meanwhile, having Italy is an interesting dynamic. It is not a terribly powerful nation (at a starting income of 10 IPCs), but it’s got a decent fleet and presence in Southern Europe and North Africa. Truly the poor man’s Germany, it would hesitate in becoming too adventurous lest you lose too much.
In most sessions I played in, Italy acts like Germany’s cover i.e it retakes France in case it falls and sends forth its ships to stall the Allies from knocking strough Southern Europe.
This game balance is actually decent, through experienced players will want to take Axis nations. It takes plenty of guts and aggression to play them, while anyone playing Allies will be allowed to make more mistakes but at least they will be less damage and all the Axis needs is a single mistake and it could very well be game over.
Unless insist on total victory (where one side rolls over every single victory city the ohter side has), AAAE actually plays pretty fast for A&A game. Sessions run between 4 to 5 hours, not including a set up time of maybe 30 minutes. AAAE might not exactly be groundbreaking, as it rehashes plenty from AA Revised, but there is enough tweaks and improvements to give players the optimal Axis & Allies experience.
