EXCERPTS FROM THE SUMMER 2000 GA REPORT

Reviewed by Herb Levy

AXIS & ALLIES: EUROPE (The Avalon Hill Game Company/Hasbro Games; about $45)

The Gamemaster Series of games pioneered by Milton Bradley in the mid 1980s are noted by their grand scale, grand themes and beautiful components… In Axis & Allies: Europe, the series shifts from the Milton Bradley imprint to the new Avalon Hill logo to finetune the focus to the Western Front of World War II action.

Axis & Allies: Europe comes large boxed with over 300 nicely sculpted plastic pieces representing different weaponry and forces, control markers, plastic chips, 12 dice, various assorted play aids, a 32 page rulebook and a nicely mounted mapboard of western Europe, divided into land territories and sea routes. (Some areas are numbered to indicate their Industrial Production Certificate [IPC] value.)…

Several differences separate A&A: Europe from its older sibling. For example… two new combat pieces – destroyers and artillery – are introduced. Players are restricted from entering or flying over neutral countries. Battleships and submarines have new powers and abilities. There is even a “Lend-Lease” situation where Allied forces entering into the Soviet Union may be controlled by the Soviet player.

To begin, each player places their color-coded units in their territories… On a turn, a player may purchase combat units, move, resolve combat, make non-combat movement, place new units onto the board, have submerged subs resurface and repair damage to battleships and finally, collect income.

New combat units may be bought by using IPCs but they may not enter play until later in the turn. Units move anywhere from one to six spaces (depending on the type of unit). If entering into an area occupied by enemy units, combat occurs.

Combat is resolved via dice rolls with each situation determine separately. The attacker rolls one die for each attacking unit. (Units score hits depending on what type of unit they are…) Even if hit, the defending forces have a chance to return fire. Once all forces (attacking and defending) have fired, all casualties are removed. At that point, the attacker may retreat to an adjacent friendly area and end the combat. Otherwise, combat continues until one side or the other (or both) is destroyed. (Naval combat is similar except that attacking submarines may fire a “first strike” or submerge without firing. Another difference: battleships need to be hit twice to sink. One hit only damages them and they may be repaired later on in the turn.)

A territory is captured if at least one surviving land unit can occupy a territory. The IPC value of the newly conquered territory is added to the National Production Chart of the winning nation.

The object of the game if you are the Soviet Union, Great Britain or the United States is to occupy Germany and hold it while maintaining control of your home country. (This counts as a group win. An individual winner may be determined by seeing which Allied country has the greatest increase Industrial Production Certificates [IPCs[ which are the currency of the game.) If playing Germany, you win if you can occupy Great Britain, the United States or Moscow and hold it while also controlling Germany

Axis & Allies: Europe is an impressive addition to the Gamemaster Series…While it is true that dice are an important factor in the game (combat resolution), A&A: Europe does provide would-be generals room for strategic and tactical planning making the game more than an exercise in dice-rolling…. – – – – – – – – Herb Levy

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Summer 2000 GA Report Articles