Answers about Axis & Allies and Zombies

[djensen]

We have some answers:

https://www.axisandallies.org/p/axis-allies-zombies-questions-answered/

[General 6 Stars]

Thanks D. Looks like a normal 41 game with added cards features and more simple rules with the added expansion of zombies ?

[djensen]

Plus cards that can be used with 1942 SE.

I’d like to know more about which actions are combined. I thought that 1914 played well by eliminating non-combat movement. The game becomes a slog in other respects but that definitely helps.

If I were to simply A&A this is what I would do

djensen’s optimized A&A (just to make it clear, again, this is my idea and I have no idea what WotC has in mind):

• Movement
• Combat
• Land planes
• Purchase and place units

[LincolnsTopHat]

In addition, there will be rules and a separate deck of cards you can use as an expansion for your Axis & Allies 1942 games.

Sounds interesting, though I guess that means I have to go buy 1942 SE. I wonder if there’ll be a way to put them in G40.

Happy to hear they have plans for more down the road, just hope we’ll see more 20th century (or better yet, 19th century) conflicts than undead horrors.

And for the record, nukes are cooler than chainsaw tanks.

[djensen]

@LincolnsTopHat:

And for the record, nukes are cooler than chainsaw tanks.

Really, all they do is end the game.  :-D

[DoManMacgee]

I actually have decently high hopes for this as long as the scale isn’t pathetic a la 1941.

A possible 1939 start date sounds fun, and if they do a good job “streamlining” the rules it might be enough to convince my more casual friends to break out the game with me for once.

Another possible benefit is that, if the setup/start is unique, we can always just house-rule out the Zombies and have a brand new shiny A&A to add to the family.

Here’s hoping for a Revised/42SE scale map!

[Midnight_Reaper]

If Zombies are the price we pay for a '42-sized game that starts in '39 and plays in 3-4 hours, that’s an okay price in my book. Especially as the Zombies can be tossed to the side if we don’t like them.

-Midnight_Reaper

[robert t]

Interesting, might have to buy it for the cards. Glad to hear there is an A&A fan base in WOTC.
Can’t wait for April and a press release. :-)

[Narvik]

djensen, please tell them that the chainsaw Tank is a bad idea. It is much smarter to make some sculpts of Hobards Funnies, like the Sherman crab, with chain mail to clear mines, or the Churchill AVRO, or the Crocodil flame thrower. This Tanks actually existed and can be used in the D day game by players that dont love zombies. The chainsaw tank can only be used against zombies, but the Sherman Crab, or the flamethrower, can be used by everybody. More players will buy the game, if so only to get the new Sherman Crab model.

Attached is some pics, please forward them to WOTC

[Narvik]

Attached is a pic of what we can expect in our next game, would you kill them with a chain saw, or a Sherman Crab, or maybe a flame thrower ?

[frimmel]

We did this by keeping the play time fast, and by removing some rules for which the costs in complexity and learning the game outweighed their benefits in fun, balance, and simulation.

This is the one I find to be the most interesting. What rules fit this bill?

[Narvik]

@frimmel:

We did this by keeping the play time fast, and by removing some rules for which the costs in complexity and learning the game outweighed their benefits in fun, balance, and simulation.

This is the one I find to be the most interesting. What rules fit this bill?

If they base it on the current A&A 1941 game, it will be a simple game, no airfields, no SBR, no convoy raiding, no cruisers, no Tactical Bombers, no Mech inf, just the plain simple classic game mechanic, with a new zombie unit. I attached a pic of the 1941 map, to make you remember how few spaces it has. The A&A 1941 game was always supposed to be a simple game for the young crowd, with real short playtime, less than 3 hours. I guess if the zombie part get real fun, we can always house rule it to fit the G 40 game.

What bothers me is the cards. A&A D-day had a lot of cards, and that did not, as they say, outweighed the benefits in fun. And what happens when you lose some of the cards after your mum have cleaned the basement ? No sir. True A&A dont play by cards. It would be more in the way of A&A if a infantry unit turns into zombies every time they roll a 6. Easy to remember too.

[Midnight_Reaper]

Regarding the article posted above:

After some time to think about this, I would say that there are several pieces to this article that give me hope that there will be more to this game than just smashing zombies.

Scott Van Essen is the lead designer of Axis & Allies & Zombies. He says designing an Axis & Allies game is a dream come true as he’s been a fan his entire adult life, playing close to 500 games of Axis & Allies (not counting all those playtest games) since he began in 1987 with Classic edition. He fell in love with the game immediately and has played (and owns a copy of) every version and expansion (except the Nova edition.)

This is a person who (appears) to know A&A. Whether his vision will match ours remains to be seen.

The map will be a world map.

Sticking with a world map means another re-fight of the whole war, which is well in the A&A wheel house.

How are the Zombies played? The zombies are generated by the game, no player is their “controller.”

This also means that the players can ignore the zombie NPC faction if they choose - which makes this more of a game I’d be interested in.

It is Axis vs Allies. The Zombies have no objective, but they are an elemental force that will overrun the world if left unchecked.

Again, this means that the zombies can be left off the map if the players agree.

The announcement mentioned “streamlined gameplay.” Can you elaborate on that? We did this by keeping the play time fast, and by removing some rules for which the costs in complexity and learning the game outweighed their benefits in fun, balance, and simulation. We are also including an introductory scenario to help new players acclimate to the basic mechanics and jump into the action quickly.

How well this works remains to be seen, but if they can succeed in doing this it will be good for the long-term health of the A&A brand.

Do the rules maintain the spirit of Axis & Allies area control? Yes, they do.

Another good sign - not mucking too much with the way the game plays.

What role will sea units play? Is there any way for Zombies to cross bodies of Water? Zombies can appear in any land territory. Sea units become much more important because it’s easier to travel over the oceans than through zombie-infested territory.

Confirmation that there will be sea units in this game is nice.

Will there be nuclear weapons? Everyone asks this! No, there won’t be any nuclear weapons in the game. Feels weird to apologize for a lack of nuclear weapons, but really chainsaw tanks are so much cooler.

Nukes aren’t anything that can’t be house ruled in…

What is the time period of the game? Pre-WWII? During WWII? Post WWII? Or some other time? The main game begins in 1941, with Germany close to the peak of Operation Barbarossa and Japan poised to attack Pearl Harbor. The intro scenario (mentioned above) roughly recreates the European theater in the time period from 1939 to 1941 where Germany captured the majority of Europe.

Another '41 game? This really is about zombies - the zombies of all those ghouled 1941 game boxes coming back to life…

Seriously though, a game with a map about '42 size with rules for playing an intro version of the European War from 1939 to 1941 and main rules for playing from '41 to the end? That actually does sound intriguing to me.

Are there cards involved in game play? Indeed there are! Cards play an integral role into how zombies are spawned. In addition, there will be rules and a separate deck of cards you can use as an expansion for your Axis & Allies 1942 games.

Mentioning that (some of) the cards included are further meant to be useful with 1942 shows commitment to the brand, as opposed to just cashing in on zombies. Whether those cards will be to our liking is a different story but they’re not the first ones with such ideas.

After AAZ, should we expect to see more Axis & Allies games in the future? Will they be serious, “zany,” or a combination? I think you’ll see a combination of both.

Perhaps we’ll see that A&A: Stalingrad game after all…

What will be the MSRP? The MSRP for AAZ will be between $40-$50.

Depending on what’s inside, this could be a bargain.

Mons Johnson has a lot more credits than listed, including a lot of work on Axis & Allies. He was a developer for the Axis & Allies miniatures games and has consulted on the Axis & Allies Anniversary Edition, Guadalcanal, AA Europe, AA Pacific, AA 1914. He has also worked on board games like Betrayal at House on the Hill, Vegas Showdown, and Tyrants of the Underdark.

Two out of four developers with previous A&A experience? We just might get a real game out of this.

That’s what I think, given what we have been told so far.

-Midnight_Reaper

[Midnight_Reaper]

@Narvik:

djensen, please tell them that the chainsaw Tank is a bad idea. It is much smarter to make some sculpts of Hobards Funnies, like the Sherman crab, with chain mail to clear mines, or the Churchill AVRO, or the Crocodil flame thrower. This Tanks actually existed and can be used in the D day game by players that dont love zombies. The chainsaw tank can only be used against zombies, but the Sherman Crab, or the flamethrower, can be used by everybody. More players will buy the game, if so only to get the new Sherman Crab model.

Attached is some pics, please forward them to WOTC

Turning Hobards Funnies into Zombie smashers would be about as awesome as we could possibly expect from WotC.

_M_R

[DoManMacgee]

@Midnight_Reaper:

Seriously though, a game with a map about '42 size with rules for playing an intro version of the European War from 1939 to 1941 and main rules for playing from '41 to the end? That actually does sound intriguing to me.

This bit here is what gives me hope for the game. Especially if there’s a way to play out the whole war starting from 1939.

…Just as long as they don’t cheap out on the components (wishful thinking, I know) or make another 1941-small map…