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| {{Infobox_Game | | {{wh}} |
| | subject_name = Axis and Allies
| | '''Allies of World War II''' included at least England and The United States. |
| | image_link = [[Image:AxisAndAlliesBox.jpg]]
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| | image_caption =
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| | players = 2-5
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| | ages = 12+
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| | setup_time = 5-10 minutes
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| | playing_time = 2-20 hours
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| | complexity = Medium-High
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| | strategy = High
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| | random_chance = Medium
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| | skills = [[Tactics]], [[Strategy]], [[Economics]], and [[Teamwork]]
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| }} | |
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| :''"Axis and Allies" and "Axis & Allies" redirects here. For other uses, see [[Axis and Allies (disambiguation)]]''.
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| '''''Axis & Allies''''' is a popular series of [[World War II]] [[strategy game|strategy]] [[board game]]s, with nearly two million copies printed.<ref>Post from [[Larry Harris (game designer)|Larry Harris]] on his [http://www.harrisgamedesign.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=12 forum].</ref> The first game was originally designed by [[Larry Harris (game designer)|Larry Harris]] and published by [[Nova Games]]<ref>Information about [http://www.kw.igs.net/~tacit/frames/aanda/nova.htm Nova Games]</ref>, before being republished and popularized by the [[Milton Bradley Company]]. Milton Bradley released Axis & Allies as part of their [[Gamemaster (board game series)|Gamemaster]] series in [[1984]], and it was the most successful of the five. In [[April 2004]], [[Hasbro]] released the Revised Edition under the [[Avalon Hill]] name. In all of the editions of the core game, up to five players can take control of one of the Axis ([[Nazi Germany|Germany]] or [[Empire of Japan|Japan]]) or Allied (the [[United Kingdom|U.K.]], the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|U.S.S.R.]], or the [[United States|U.S.A.]]) nations. The object of the game is to win the war by capturing enough critical territories. | |
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| ''Axis & Allies'' is not a strict historical [[wargame]], due to its streamlining for ease of play and balancing so that both sides have a chance. For instance, the economic model is simplistic, with each territory producing a number of "IPCs" (Industrial Production Certificates) good toward the purchase of any unit. Moreover, the game is supposed to start in the spring of [[1942]], but Japan is immediately in position to attack [[Hawaii]] again, while Germany is pressed well into the U.S.S.R. with an initially superior force. Another significant difference is that the Soviet Union and Japan are opponents at the start of the game; historically, they did not go to war with each other until 1945. If the game were truer to history, the Axis empires would be at their apex at this time, about to be pushed back home – but, of course, that would not be a very competitive match. | |
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| [[Image:Axis & Allies Map & Pieces.jpg|thumbnail|The Milton Bradley edition of ''Axis & Allies'', showing the game map and all 299 playing pieces.]]
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| ==Milton-Bradley version==
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| ===Basics===
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| Each side's objective is to conquer enemy territory, achieving victory by holding two enemy national capitals; the Axis can also win an "economic victory" by gaining enough territory, which is more common in practice due to the difficulty of attacking Britain or Eastern United States.
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| Each player progresses in order: U.S.S.R., Germany, U.K., Japan, U.S.A. On each turn, the player declares IPC spending for production and research (which gives a random chance to enhance units). The player then declares combat moves (using [[area movement]]), attacking enemy-held territory. Much of the playtime is spent resolving battles. Each round, all the attacking and defending units get a chance to hit once. A unit scores a hit if the player rolls, with a six-sided die, a number less than or equal to the unit's attack or defense score (e.g., [[infantry]] makes a better defender than attacker). Each player gets to choose how to distribute casualties amongst his or her own units and removes them from the battlefield. (This provision makes it practical to bring cheap [[cannon fodder]] units along to soak up hits.) The battle continues until either force is destroyed or the attacker withdraws.
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| After all battles are concluded, the player takes noncombat actions: moving [[reinforcement]]s, landing aircraft, etc. Then he deploys units purchased at the beginning of the turn in territories with an industrial complex and finally collects income from all occupied territories to end the turn.
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| This cycle continues until, after U.S.A.'s turn, the victory conditions are met for one side.
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| ===Units===
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| {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
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| |+ Unit Comparison: Original Edition versus Revised Edition
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| |- style="background-color: #ccc"
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| ! scope="row" | Unit name
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| ! scope="row" | Edition
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| ! scope="row" | IPC Cost
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| ! scope="row" | Attack
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| ! scope="row" | Defense
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| ! scope="row" | Movement
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| ! scope="row" | Notes
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| |-
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| ! rowspan="2" | Infantry
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| | Original
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| | rowspan="2" | 3
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| | rowspan="2" | 1
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| | rowspan="2" | 2
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| | rowspan="2" | 1
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| | rowspan="2" |
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| |-
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| | Revised
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| |-
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| ! rowspan="2" | Armor
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| | Original
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| | rowspan="2" | 5
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| | rowspan="2" | 3
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| | 2
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| | rowspan="2" | 2
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| |
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| |-
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| | Revised
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| | 3
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| | Renamed "Tank"
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| |-
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| ! Artillery
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| | Revised
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| | 4
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| | 2
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| | 2
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| | 1
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| | Raises an infantry to 2 Attack.
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| |-
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| ! rowspan="2" | Fighter
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| | Original
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| | 12
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| | rowspan="2" | 3
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| | rowspan="2" | 4
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| | rowspan="2" | 4
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| | rowspan="2" |
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| |-
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| | Revised
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| | 10
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| |-
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| ! rowspan="2" | Bomber
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| | Original
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| | rowspan="2" | 15
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| | rowspan="2" | 4
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| | rowspan="2" | 1
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| | rowspan="2" | 6
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| | rowspan="2" | May do bombing run against opponent's IPCs.
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| |-
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| | Revised
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| |-
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| ! rowspan="2" | Anti-aircraft gun
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| | Original
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| | rowspan="2" | 5
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| | rowspan="2" | 0
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| | rowspan="2" | 0
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| | rowspan="2" | 1
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| | Gets one shot.
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| |-
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| | Revised
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| | Gets one shot per attacker.
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| |-
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| ! Destroyer
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| | Revised
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| | 12
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| | 3
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| | 3
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| | 2
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| | Turns off submarine abilities.
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| |-
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| ! rowspan="2" | Battleship
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| | Original
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| | rowspan="2" | 24
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| | rowspan="2" | 4
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| | rowspan="2" | 4
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| | rowspan="2" | 2
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| |-
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| | Revised
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| | Requires two hits to destroy.
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| |-
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| ! rowspan="2" | Aircraft Carrier
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| | Original
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| | 18
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| | rowspan="2" | 1
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| | rowspan="2" | 3
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| | rowspan="2" | 2
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| | rowspan="2" | May carry two fighters.
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| |-
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| | Revised
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| | 16
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| |-
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| ! rowspan="2" | Transport
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| | Original
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| | rowspan="2" | 8
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| | rowspan="2" | 0
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| | rowspan="2" | 1
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| | rowspan="2" | 2
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| | Can carry up to 2 infantry, or one of any other land unit.
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| |-
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| | Revised
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| | Can carry any one land unit, plus one infantry.
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| |-
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| ! rowspan="2" | Submarine
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| | Original
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| | rowspan="2" | 8
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| | rowspan="2" | 2
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| | rowspan="2" | 2
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| | rowspan="2" | 2
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| | Gets to bypass some combat rules, for "free shots"
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| |-
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| | Revised
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| | Gets to attack and defend first, can submerge instead of withdraw.
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| |-
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| ! rowspan="2" | Industrial Complex
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| | Original
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| | rowspan="2" | 15
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| | rowspan="2" | 0
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| | rowspan="2" | 0
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| | rowspan="2" | 0
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| | Initial complexes have unlimited production.
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| |-
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| | Revised
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| | All complexes' maximum production limited to the territory value.
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| |}
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| ==Revised edition==
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| To revise the original game, [[Mike Selinker]] led a design team that included [[Larry Harris (game designer)|Larry Harris]], designer of the first edition. The revision aimed to address some major concerns with the original and make the game more fun. Selinker also wrote a series of [http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=ah/article/ah20031205a articles] describing the changes. This revised version (aka the 3rd edition) was released in 2004.
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| The overarching change is in the victory condition. To win in the original, either side could seize two enemy capitals, but the Axis could also win an economic victory by capturing enough resources. This rule gave the poorer Axis a leg up, but led to anticlimactic endings. Also, it often took many, many turns to finally capture heavily fortified capital territories. The designers scrapped this rule and implemented ''victory cities'', where each side starts with 6 of the 12 cities. In addition to the national capitals, these include [[Paris]], [[Rome]], and [[Saint Petersburg|Leningrad]] in [[Europe]], [[Calcutta]], [[Shanghai]], and [[Manila]] in [[Asia]], and [[Los Angeles]] in [[North America]]. With this rule, players can decide what constitutes victory at the start – playing only to 8 victory cities makes for a shorter game, while more skilled players can play until one side controls all of them. <ref>A&A Preview #4: [http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=ah/article/ah20031223a The Price of Victory] from [[Wizards of the Coast]]</ref>
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| Another important change concerns unit capabilities and statistics. In the original, [[infantry]] were a cheap unit and turned out to be most useful as cannon [[fodder]], by taking hits that would otherwise destroy more valuable units. This tended to lead to massive buildups by players amassing stacks of infantry in neighboring territories, unable to do anything other than buy more infantry, which can be ineffective attacking units by themselves due to their minimal attack value. While infantry were left unchanged in the revised edition, the [[tank]] unit defense was increased to encourage players to use [[combined arms]] rather than just rely on infantry, and to balance the value and effectiveness of comparable groups of infantry and tanks.<ref>A&A Preview #14 [http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=ah/article/ah20040302a A New Tank Blitzes Into View] from Wizards of the Coast</ref> Other changes include the addition of [[artillery]] units, which increase the attack of accompanying infantry, [[destroyer]]s, which negate the first-shot advantage of [[submarines]], and a significant increase in the usefulness and effectiveness of transports and amphibious assaults, by allowing transports to carry any one land unit plus one additional infantry unit.
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| The [http://www.wizards.com/avalonhill/images/aabigmap.jpg map was also reworked], with a new art style and many gameplay changes. One important change is the fragmentation of Germany's [[Eastern Front (WWII)|Eastern Front]]. The area from Berlin to Moscow now includes many small territories, a victory city (Leningrad), and a strategic industrial complex at the [[Caucasus]]. This change was designed to encourage more dynamic play in an area that often bogs down into heavy [[fortification]]. Another notable change is to the [[Oceania|South Pacific]] region, which now provides much of Japan's starting income and is a much more valuable target for Allied incursion.<ref>A&A Preview #13 [http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=ah/article/ah20040227b Brave New World] from Wizards of the Coast</ref>
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| A new system of optional rules was implemented. Each power has six possible advantages, representing tactics or technologies used in the war. For instance, if the U.K. has the "[[enigma machine|Enigma]] Decoded" advantage, it may quickly move units during Germany's turn in response to an attack on U.K. territory. A number of these advantages can be chosen or randomly picked for each side at the beginning of each game to alter gameplay.
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| Many other changes are documented in the manual, [http://www.wizards.com/avalonhill/rules/axis2004.pdf available for download] from [[Avalon Hill]].
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| The 1991 Edition rules are [http://www.wizards.com/avalonhill/rules/axis.pdf available for download] from [[Avalon Hill]].
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| ==Spinoffs==
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| When [[Hasbro]] acquired the [[Milton Bradley Company]], they kept ''Axis & Allies'' in print as part of their [[Avalon Hill]] lineup, a game company they bought in [[1998]]. Under the same brand, they published two follow-up games, ''[[Axis & Allies: Europe]]'' ([[1999]]) and ''[[Axis & Allies: Pacific]]'' ([[2001]]), that were designed by [[Larry Harris (game designer)|Larry Harris]], the original designer of ''Axis & Allies''. The latter especially tinkers with the original game mechanics and tries to make the game feel less scripted while keeping the appeal of the original.
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| Larry Harris also designed the latest expansion game in the series, ''[[Axis & Allies: D-Day]]'' (released [[June 2004]]). Based on the [[Battle of Normandy|Allied liberation of France]], the game plays at a [[military tactics|tactical]] level (rather than a [[strategic]] one like its predecessors), getting rid of most resource management and using a smaller-scale world. D-Day won a 2005 [[Origins Award]] for Best Historical Board Game. The newest of the series is ''[[Axis & Allies: Battle of the Bulge]]'' published in November 2006. Like ''[[Axis & Allies: D-Day]]'', ''[[Axis & Allies: Battle of the Bulge]]'' is a standalone, 2-player version of the game focusing on a smaller conflict. ''[[Axis & Allies: Battle of the Bulge]]'' is notable because it features the the biggest departures from the original game, including a hex map, supply rules, and a different combat system.
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| In [[2005]], Avalon Hill released a line of [[miniatures]] under the ''Axis & Allies'' brand.
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| Several computer games were also based on ''Axis & Allies''. They include turn based strategy closely based on the board game, while more recently in 2004 a real-time strategy game was based on it, called ''[[Axis & Allies (2004 video game)|Axis & Allies RTS]]''. The [[Real-time strategy|real-time strategy (RTS)]] game includes a mode that is more closely related to the board game, but you can only attack one enemy occupied territory per turn and can either fight battles in RTS mode or have the computer decide the outcome. There is also a campaign mode in which you can fight as the Allies and try to defeat the Axis or be the Axis and try to change history and in the end defeat the Allies. All of the battles in the Campaign mode are fought in the RTS mode.
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| An open source version of the game called ''TripleA'' also exists in which one can play alone or online against other players.
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| ==References==
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| <references />
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| ==See also== | | ==See also== |
| * ''[[Axis & Allies: Europe]]'' | | * [[World War II]] |
| * ''[[Axis & Allies: Pacific]]''
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| * ''[[Axis & Allies: D-Day]]''
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| * ''[[Axis & Allies: Battle of the Bulge]]''
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| * ''[[Axis and Allies Miniatures]]''
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| * ''[[TripleA (computer game)|TripleA]]'' - an open source implementation
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| * ''[[Axis & Allies (2004 video game)|Axis & Allies]]'' (2004 video game)
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| * ''[[Axis & Allies (1998 video game)|Axis & Allies]]'' (1998 video game). The 1998 release has several bugs that the Axis and Allies World Club has fixed in an unofficial patch.
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| ==External links==
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| '''Official sites'''
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| * [http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=ah/prod/axis Avalon Hill's official ''Axis & Allies'' site]
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| * [http://www.wizards.com/avalonhill/rules/axis2004.pdf Avalon Hill's offical ''Axis & Allies'' english rulebook]
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| * [http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=ah/faqs/axisrevised ''Axis & Allies'' rules errata and FAQ]
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| * [http://www.harrisgamedesign.com Larry Harris Game Design] - Creator of ''Axis & Allies''
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| '''Communities and strategy sites'''
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| * {{bgg|98|1984 edition|10093|2004 edition}}
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| * [http://www.axisandallies.org/ Axis & Allies.org] - News, strategies, forums, and more since 1997; other languages: [http://it.axisandallies.org/ {{it icon}}]
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| * [http://www.geocities.com/headlesshorseman2/smoreyswamp.html SmoreySwamp] Site for premier, vendor-sponsored, face-to-face tournaments
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| * [http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/Caspian_Sub/ Caspian Sub] - ''Axis & Allies'' articles on strategy and solvable strategy puzzles
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| * [http://www.morrisongames.com Axis & Allies discussion and strategies]
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| * [http://www.advancedaxisandallies.com Axis & Allies Variant games]
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| * [http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/axisandalliesminiatures/ Axis & Allies Miniatures] [[Yahoo!]] Group
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| * [http://www.kw.igs.net/~tacit/index.htm Generals of Waterloo] - Tribute site with history, strategy, tactics, alternate rules, and expansions
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| * [http://www.axisandalliesworldclub.com Axis & Allies World Club] - Club for ''Axis & Allies'' online using a custom patch of the 1998 CD
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| * {{de icon}} [http://www.daak.de Deutscher Axis & Allies Klub] - German ''Axis & Allies'' club
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| * {{it icon}} [http://www.giocolab.135.it/ GiocoLab] - Strategies, variants, faq, and more
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| '''Utilities'''
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| * [http://www.dskelly.com/misc/aa/aasim.html David Skelly's A&A Calculator] - Web-based combat simulator/calculator for Revised Edition
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| * [http://triplea.sourceforge.net/ TripleA] - Open source ''Axis & Allies'' game for online and [[PBEM]] play
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| * [http://cannonade.net/downloads.html#AA TripleA ScreenSaver] - Screen saver and map viewer for ''TripleA''
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| * [http://frood.net/aacalc/ AACalc] - Web-based combat simulator/calculator for ''Axis & Allies Revised Edition''
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| * [http://members.tripod.com/~PhilipHall/aamain.html Philip Hall's odds calculator] - Windows utility for Milton-Bradley edition
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| '''Variants'''
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| * [http://www.fiber.net/users/drshades/gcrisis.htm Global Crisis] - Completely new rulebook for greater historical accuracy and realism
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| * [http://www.armchaircommander.com Honor and Infamy: Commanders] - ''Axis & Allies'' add-on game
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| * [http://interformic.com/variants.html#PAA Plotted A&A] - Variant in which players plot each turn's activities in advance
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| * [http://axisandalliesrealism.com# Enhanced Realism Rules] - Variant rules which strive to bring greater realism to gameplay
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| * [http://GamesByEmail.com/Games/WW2 W.W.II] - Free browser-based, play-by-email, ''Axis & Allies'' game at GamesByEmail.com. 100% AJAX, no flash or installs required.
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| * [http://www.ewarzone.com The WarZone] - Free service with no adware or spyware that allows players with the CD-rom to play ''Axis & Allies, 3rd edition'' online
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| * [http://www.xenogames.com/xenoproducts.htm Xeno Games World At War] - unauthorized expansion kit introducing Paratroops, Armored Infantry, Strategic Rail Movement and more.
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| {{Gamemaster}}
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| [[Category:Origins Award winners]]
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| [[Category:World War II board wargames]]
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| [[Category:Milton Bradley games]]
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| [[Category:Avalon Hill games]]
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| [[Category:Larry Harris games]]
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| [[da:Axis & Allies]] | | [[Category:World War II]] |
| [[de:Axis & Allies]]
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| [[fr:Axis and Allies]]
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| [[ko:추축군과 연합군]]
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| [[it:Axis & Allies]]
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| [[nl:Axis & Allies]]
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| [[no:Axis & Allies]]
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| [[fi:Axis and Allies]]
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| [[sv:Axis and Allies]]
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