Axis and Allies Analysis

 Axis and Allies

Board Game

The latest board game I have played is Axis and Allies. It is a board game that is like a reenactment/simulation of World War II. I believe the link below goes to Wizards of the Coasts webpage for the version I played.

Wizards of the Coast, Axis and Allies 

The Board From Above, Early Game.

 A Better Perspective to See Some of the Pieces.

The board had each Power's (Axis/Allie) controlled lands color coded. Visually this was a good interface design for a decently large map where the number of areas controlled is a major factor of win/lose and determines the income at the end of every turn.

Every turn a player (we played in teams, as there were too many of us to play 1v1v1v1v1) determines what units to buy, then determines where to attack, players out the attack, does movements of units, places purchased units, then gains money based on the areas they control and the supply they provide.

These elements have an interface to keep track of each one well. The game provides a card to track the amount of money each power gets at the end of their turn. There is is another tracker to see which powers control what major cities. If Axis or Allies control more than a certain number of major cities than they win, that is one of the terms for winning. The other is after a number of turns whoever has the most control wins.

There is also some limits on the number of units that can be purchased, it is based on how many pieces are provided for each unit in the box. When a power purchases units they place them in a deployment area on the board until it is time to distribute them to the appropriate locations on the board. There is even a board for large battles where each power can put their units on one side for offense and the other power puts theirs on the defensive side as dice are rolled for combat. Since combat is somewhat complex without this visual area, it is very helpful to keep track of large battles.

Overall, it seems many things were thought about when designing the board. Evidence like unique unit pieces per power, deployment area, color coding, and unit limits are all evident of iterations of the game. They all help the game-play go smoothly and help players to not forget steps during their turn since every counter/area is specific for a part of the turn or winning terms.

To Be Continued...