News As History - October 7, 2008
News As History - October 7, 2008 |
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Wargame Reviews Return to Wargame Main Page Return to Wargame Reviews Index Board Wargame Review
Overview/BackgroundHasbro/Avalon Hill’s Axis and Allies D-Day is an introductory wargame covering the D-Day invasion and the breakout from the beaches.ComponentsPrimarily online documentation. A manual and voice command card are provided. There is a registration code that needs to be used to run the game.SystemThe components are excellent as are all Hasbro/Avalon Hill games. They consist of 240 plastic combat units representing Allied and Axis infantry, artillery, armor and air power. The mounted map is 20” by 33” representing the invasion beaches, the Cherbourg peninsula and the areas immediately behind the beaches back to St. Lo. Also include are sturdy cardboard reinforcement cards, a cardboard battle board, 48 tactical cards, 8 dice and a rule book in easy to understand English.Game SystemThe game system is simple but challenging. It uses area movement much like other Axis and Allies game. The combat system is simple dice rolling where a unit must roll its “to hit” number or less, again much like other Axis and Allies games. The main difference between this and other games in the series is there are no economic phases and reinforcements come into the game at predetermined areas.There are 15 phases to each turn but you don’t have to remember each as the designer Larry Harris has come up with what he calls Order Cards that are flipped over one at time telling you what action needs to happen next. Phases include airborne operations (this happens only once per game), naval bombardment, fighter patrols, anti-aircraft fire, movement, combat, and reinforcements. All of the phases are simple to learn and execute. Once you have mastered the basic game (usually one playing) you can introduce into the card set fortune cards and tactic cards. Fortune cards have the player roll one six-sided die. If a one is rolled, something good happens. If a six is rolled, something bad happens. Good things could be your “to hit” factor increases or you get extra movement points. Bad things could be your fighters don’t make it off the airfield or your landings become confused. Tactic cards are one-use cards. These cards allow you to launch V-2s, re-enforce your airborne units or other actions that effect the current phase. Since they are one-use cards you must judiciously determine when they are to be used in the game. Victory is attained for the Allies by taking the cities of Caen, St. Lo, and Cherbourg and holding them for one complete turn. The Axis win, if they can prevent this from happening for 10 turns. Lessons LearnedAxis and Allies D-Day is a great game to introduce youngsters to the history of WWII. I played with my 16-year-old son. At first he was a bit hesitant but got into it quickly enough.Players will become familiar with the overall layout of the Normandy invasion and the efforts immediately after. My son picked up right away that panzer units are deadly and need to be taken out as quickly as possible using airpower before they encountered his troops. You will learn that Omaha Beach is bloody and that losses will be high there. If you are playing the Germans, you learn that you need to keep the Allies penned on the beaches as long as possible in order to consolidate your far-flung forces and learn to protect you units with anti-aircraft fire. One lesson that no-one will miss is the superiority of Allied air power. The Axis forces struggle with it through out the game. SummaryAs an introductory wargame you’ll find few better than Axis and Allies D-Day. Larry Harris has done an excellent job of keeping the game simple and fun while representing major concepts of the conflict. If you have children from 10 – 18 it is an excellent way to introduce them to the period. And if you don’t have children that age and are looking for a fun stimulating game that takes under two and half hours, Axis and Allies is a good bet. |
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