My Thoughts(Rants?) on Axis & Allies

simplistic??? Honestly, I find A&A anything but simplistic… If you play without bid it might be simplistic because the Allies will always win, other than that I think it is not simplistic at all. I also have the problem teaching new players, because you kick their behinds so hard that most of the time they don’t like playing it a second time :P Just because the basic tactics are hard to understand as a new player…

It is also simplistic in the fact it has limited territories compared to the other flavors.

You really only have one route to Berlin with Russia, through E. Europe.  There is no other direct path!

You really only have one route to Moscow with Germany, through Karelia.  You can go through Caucasus, but it’s generally easier to go through Karelia

Africa is hella simple, no Sahara to run around, therefore no bottleneck in Egypt, etc.

And the Allies don’t always win, neither do new players always get crushed…regardless of what has been said

Ive been playing since i was 10, now 24, classic version is still my favorite from the releases. Mostly play UK and pretty sure ive mastered them at this point, probably got about 300+ games exp. Its just one of those things you can do with friends every week likes cards but play A&A instead and have alot of fun

Amen Quiggley. I used to have the classic board memorized. It’s simple enough that it can almost be played as casually as Risk. No only that it was just plain fun.

i seriously haven’t dug my original game out until a few nights ago. the pieces were scattered to hell, so i re-organised the entire thing. still have all the parts, amazing

although unless i was teaching a new player the ropes, i probably wouldn’t set it up. i kind of grew up with A&A, so as i’ve aged, new versions have come out. a game on the original would feel too quick and simple!  :-D

@Bashir:

simplistic??? Honestly, I find A&A anything but simplistic…

Compared to an average wargame, Axis and Allies is very simplistic… but simplistic does not mean bad.

I play Axis and Allies more than any of my other wargames because of that very fact.

I can teach a new person Axis and Allies in an hour - I can’t teach them a wargame in an hour - hell, it took me months to learn GMT’s A World at War which is the antithesis of Axis and Allies.

Interesting note on playing the classic version.

We just played a game tonight with my wife, 14 year old and 10 year old.  We were playing on an A&A game that I had for several years before I got married.  I’ve been married 18 years so I’m thinking this game must be 20+ years old.  It was originally published in 1981, according to board game geek and my rule set is a Milton Bradley version with a 1986 copyright.  I played A&A in high school and have had the game ever since.  My wife doesn’t like to play but my kids are old enough to get involved.

Oh, and I stomped them as axis.  hehe.  But, using it to teach the game.  We are also working our way through the World at War DVD series to teach them about WWII.  Using A&A to show how things went.

A classic game that never goes out of style.

Classic A&A is without a doubt the most fun game I grew up with as a kid, I would not trade a single game of A&A that iv’e played for anything.  Truly the memories of gathering around the table with my friends and playing for hours are worth more than any mountain of gold.  How any game Avalon has released since can hope to compare I have no idea.  Don’t get me wrong I enjoy the new games very much, but they just don’t have the same magic as the original A&A does.

My original copy is still intact and holds a proud place in my collection.

@Lisi7266:

And the Allies don’t always win, neither do new players always get crushed…regardless of what has been said

In a no bid game, the allies WILL always win!(given that both players have equal skills) And a new player WILL always lose vs an experienced player, does not matter if he plays Axis or Allies.