Axis & Allies (2nd Edition) Strategy Articles-9

Patience Pays Off

Players are often faced with a single naval unit that seems to offer minimal usage, and decide they’d rather go ahead and eek what little value it offers out of it right now, rather than being patient.

For example, if through a combination of skill or luck the UK player still has his Indian transport a few turns into the game and Africa is already won by the Allies, the UK player may be tempted to just bring a couple of African infantry up through the Suez Canal and join in a larger attack that may be going on in the Ukraine or Caucuses.

However, while that may offer some marginal value right now, what is the German player going to do on his turn?

Two fighters and a bomber are going to easily wipe out that undefended transport and the potential threat it might have remained will go with it.

Consider instead that the UK player uses that transport instead to shuttle troops out of Africa and into Asia. Meanwhile, it sits there in the Red Sea, constantly posing a threat to Southern Europe that the Armada off the coast of England could never cause. The entire game, the Germans will be forced to keep a few infantry in Southern Europe as a result of that threatening transport. If it weren’t there, Southern Europe would be perfectly safe, and could be left completely empty, freeing up those troops for other duties.

Similarly, a US transport off the coast of Western Canada poses a threat to the Soviet Far East, not to mention Japan itself in a couple of turns (should the Japanese fleet decide to flit off to Africa).

So when you have a single remaining naval unit in a certain theater, resist the temptation to just throw it to the wolves, as you’ll often find it can serve a far better purpose just lurking around and waiting for its day in the sun.

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Axis & Allies (2nd Edition) Strategy Articles-8

Empty the Islands

The Japanese, UK and US all have island countries with infantry stuck on them. Most players will try to evacuate some of the infantry, but won’t get to all of them.

How many should you try to move and when?

Obviously an infantry defending the Solomon Islands is doing the Japanese much less service than it would if it was sitting in Manchuria where it could actively participate in battles.

The Japanese should do their best to empty their islands, particularly Wake and Okinawa (the ones that are only one space away from Japan). That way a transport doesn’t waste a turn out at sea. It can go one space, pick up an infantry, move back a space, pick up another infantry from Japan, and drop them both in Manchuria.

The other islands are a little bit trickier. You have to consider your opportunity cost. You are only going to be able to average moving about one infantry a turn in trying to get to those distant islands. It can be a good strategy still, but only do it when you ended up having to purchase one transport more than you could use (there just wasn’t enough money to buy the transport and additional infantry, so you just bought the transport). Then, rather than have that transports turn completely wasted, you can send it out to collect a couple of infantry on some distant islands.

It also helps make it an easier decision if the UK evacuates the infantry on Australia. Then moving a Japanese transport down to the distant islands allows them to capture Australia along the way, making it a more profitable venture.

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Axis & Allies (2nd Edition) Strategy Articles-7

Keep the Pipeline Flowing

“Amateurs discuss tactics, professionals discuss logistics.”

Just as you should coordinate a 2:1 available infantry to available transport ratio in your purchases as the Japanese, UK, or US player, don’t waste a great purchasing allocation by making a dumb move.

If you are planning on having a transport back at your capitol for the beginning of the next turn in order to carry across another load of infantry, don’t forget about it as soon as you start planning combat moves and see a great opportunity to use your transport and a couple of infantry to take some backwater location that doesn’t really matter.

If infantry are waiting to be transported, it’s an indictment against your abilities as a player if you can’t maintain the mental logistics to keep the pipeline open and have transports ready at the docks at the beginning of your turn.

This means you won’t be able to make as many creative opportunistic plays. It may mean you don’t garner a couple of extra IPCs on certain turns. What it will mean though is you’re making every turn count. Infantry that aren’t on the front are a waste. It does you no good if your US transport fleet is out island hopping around the Pacific and a stack of infantry is sitting in the Eastern US waiting to go to Russia or France.

It’s incredibly easy to get sidetracked, and veteran players are no exception. In some ways, veterans may be more easily sidetracked because they are more likely to see openings and opportunities that a newcomer wouldn’t. However, you must remain disciplined. The US player may see what seems like an ideal opportunity to take Eastern Europe. However, the unforeseen cost of making that move is that those US transports will get stuck in the Baltic Sea for a turn before they can make it back. One precious turn in the sequence is lost and US infantry have to wait back in Canada or the US and unable to cross over to Europe.

It is absolutely critical to keep the pipeline pumping. Build lots of transports and infantry as Japan, UK and US and coordinate their activities so you have just the right number of transports as you have infantry needing to be transported each turn. Unless it is of utmost importance and mission critical, do NOT interrupt the flow of infantry through the transport pipeline in order to capture an insignificant territory that on the following turn would keep you from moving even more infantry into a frontline position.

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Axis & Allies (2nd Edition) Strategy Articles-6

Transport Math

You’re playing Japan and have 1 usable transport, 3 infantry in Japan, and 27 IPCs. What should you buy?

Well, assuming that it’s not round 16 and the US isn’t about to invade with a huge army to win the game, this comes down to a simple calculation of transport efficiency.

You want to have one transport for every two infantry, and you have to buy now, knowing what your moves and intentions are this turn, likely responses by the Allies, and what position that will leave you at the beginning of your next turn.

Well, it’s easy if you take it incrementally. First you have too many infantry for your existing transports, so you want to go ahead and get one more transport. That leaves you with 19 IPCs. You now don’t have enough infantry, so pick up one more. That leaves you with 16. A set [one transport and two infantry] is 14, so that leaves you with 2.

But wait a second. You still have that one infantry on Okinawa and another one on Wake. You almost forgot to include those, and they are easy to pick up, since they are both just one space away from Japan.

That means that you can put back two infantry you had already mentally committed to, so you now have perfect transport/infantry sets and 8 IPCs left over. Go ahead and get one more transport. It’s not perfect optimization, but as close as you can get. Besides, if you continue to have too many transports, you can send one of them on a mission to pick up those useless infantry on those hard-to-get-to islands like the Solomons, Carolina, New Guinea, etc.

The net purchases you should make: 3 transports, 1 infantry.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, you’ll start your next turn with four transports and six infantry that can be picked up and moved ashore this turn.

It may sound like a purchasing strategy that is very deterministic and that leaves little room for creativity - that’s because it is. Remember, most Axis & Allies games are not won by creativity, but are slugging matches won by the player with the most patience and biggest stack of infantry surviving at the end of the battle.

This transport/infantry mix should be your purchasing strategy for Japan, the UK, and the US. Russia and Germany have it much simpler – just buy infantry.

READ MORE - Axis & Allies (2nd Edition) Strategy Articles-6

Axis & Allies (2nd Edition) Strategy Articles-5

The Dark Continent

It’s round 3 and the last German unit just got killed in Africa. The German navy has been dead since round 1, and Algeria and Libya are now in Allied hands and will most likely remain there until the end of the game.

Sound familiar? Probably, unless you were playing a game with a German player who actually had a long term African strategy. Axis lights usually get turned off all too quick on the Dark Continent.

You may be asking yourself, “What is a long term African strategy? How can you maintain a German presence in Africa when your fleet is dead and you can’t reinforce?”

It’s simple. Don’t lose your fleet.

“How?” you might ask.

The answer will surprise you.

Buy a transport on turn one off of Italy.

It really is that simple. Well, that and manage to keep a minimum of one transport down there from then on protecting the German battleship and maintaining a naval presence in the Mediterranean. That fuels Germany infantry going into Africa, and allows Germany to maintain an ongoing battle with the US and UK for Africa at a minimum and in many cases allows them to take over all of Africa and hold it.

That can be a shift in 11 IPCs from the Allies to the Axis (considering that the alternative is often a loss of Algeria and Libya and those 2 starting Axis IPCs).

It all starts with buying the transport on round one with Germany. The next step requires a lot of discipline for the German player.

Don’t move your battleship or transport on round one. By all means transport a couple of infantry over into Africa, but resist the temptation to use your Italian fleet to supplement your offensive operations.

You may think that it’s foolhardy to not use such assets, but sometimes patience pays off.

In this case, keeping your fleet off Italy allows you to transport two infantry to Africa undeterred, dropping them off in Livya. Plus, the transport that you build gets to go right alongside the other two naval units, giving you a nice cushion for the forthcoming British attack (if they even attempt it).

Moving your fleet would not only deprive your transport in production of the ability to be built alongside the battleship, but also open up the fleet to either British fighters which could land in Gibraltar, or the fighter coming from India.

Meanwhile, your troops in Libya should NOT attack Egypt. Feel free to blitz down and back to scoop up FEq, or take WAf, but don’t leave your tank exposed with less than two infantry alongside defending it.

From there, you should do your best to keep the Allies from being able to bring enough units to bear against your Med. fleet by moving it back and forth in a game of cat and mouse. If one or both of your transports get killed, buy at least one more. You should always have at least one, preferably two. Two transports alongside the battleship are a necessity to survive the potential first round attack by the British.

It also helps to keep some German fighters in France in order to strike down at any Allied transports that drop Allied ground forces into Africa. The German bomber can reach from Germany itself or somewhere else.

http://www.morrisongames.com/

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Set Up The Axis & Allies Europe

The rules are virtually the same as the rules for Axis and Allies. If the player has played the original Axis and Allies game, they should be able to step in very quickly and start playing this European-focused version of the game. Most playing pieces are still given the same attack restrictions and powers. This European version of the game does add a few new types of playing pieces – artillery and destroyers – which add to the killing power and require special strategies for use.

The game centers on an extra large game board that depicts a map of Europe, North Africa, the Atlantic and part of North America. Game pieces are provided for the four countries involved in the European war activities – Russia, Germany, Great Britain and the United States.
The game includes:

• Game board
• Battle board
• Industrial Production Certificates (money)
• 4 national reference charts
• National control markers
• National production charts
• 12 dice
• Plastic chips (red and gray)
• 373 historically-accurate plastic game pieces:
• 100 infantry
• 42 artillery pieces
• 12 anti-aircraft guns
• 40 armored tanks
• Anti-aircraft guns
• 44 fighter planes
• 15 bombers
• 12 battleships
• 28 destroyers
• 10 aircraft carriers
• 24 transport ships
• 28 submarines
• 12 industrial complex

A detailed, illustrated Gameplay Manual details rules such as the amount of money and the number of game pieces which should be allotted to each country at the beginning of the game. It also includes specific information on the use of various game pieces. For example, a player can purchase infantry for a lot less money than the cost of a fighter plane. But, the infantry require additional purchases such as guns and tanks to be fully effective. The player has to make strategic decisions about the cost of a ground war action versus the cost of an air or sea-based action.

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Playing Axis and Allies Europe

Axis and Allies Europe sets the stage and provides the firepower for the war gamer to get involved in World War II just as Germany is poised to invade Russia. All it takes is the right strategy!

Playing Axis and Allies Europe
The game can be played by two to four players, ages 12 and up. The rules are not easy to follow; but, a beginner can be up and playing in 30 minutes. A typical game moves very quickly and can last over three hours.
Axis and Allies Europe uses the same basic format as the original Axis and Allies game. The difference is this Europe-based version is a more focused look at WWII, spotlighting the European war activities starting in 1941 when Germany was ready to attack Russia. The game centers on the many fronts and combat situations encountered by the allies in fighting against Nazi Germany.
Players need to make decisions throughout the game on when and where they are going to organize their resources. The rules are very specific about the cost and power of each soldier and piece of guard. Each player must develop and implement strategies that involve where they use infantry and artillery versus where they are going to use bombers and fighters, while following the detailed rules.
As with the original Axis and Allies game, hard core players often join informal groups and online forums to play, discuss strategies and exchange gaming tip ideas. One well-known online networking source is Harris Game Design, the message board of Larry Harris, the creator of Axis and Allies.

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Axis & Allies Review

In addition to being a new real-time strategy game, Axis & Allies is a cult classic board game that pits the Axis powers against the Allied powers at the height of World War II.

The new computer game is not the game of previous, however. You don't collect resources in Axis & Allies; as an alternative, you have a constant income of money, ammo, and oil. You gain an increased rate of income by building ammo and oil depots, while a negative inflow of these two resources penalizes your money income. Temporarily, money accumulates if you have a positive income, and you'll use this money to construct buildings, research technologies, and build military units. Instead of recruiting individual units, you'll recruit companies. Companies include squads of multiple units that act as single units. So if you build three armor companies from an infantry headquarters, those units will be supplied as long as the headquarters survives.

There are four modes of play in Axis & Allies: World War II, campaign, skirmish, and multiplayer over LAN or Internet. World War II mode is the one that's most similar to the board game. You'll use cash on your turn to research technologies and purchase armies, which are used to attack and capture territories under enemy control. Your three army types--infantry, mechanized, and armor--can only move one space (there are no mechanized units in the board game, and armor could move two spaces). As an alternative of rolling dice, you can fight battles in the RTS mode. For example, a mechanized army means you can build infantry and mechanized units in the battle, but you can't build armor units. The strategic AI on the world map isn't very bright either. It will spend too much money on technologies early on rather than spending this money on armies. The inconsistent AI and broken map make this mode a disappointment.

The two campaigns in Axis & Allies follow each side's road to victory. In all three modes in which you battle the computer AI, you'll probably be severely disappointed at how poorly it plays the game. The computer does a good job of directing its forces to attack different locations, but when it comes down to strategy, the computer fails unhappily. For example, you can have a single infantry group attack an enemy base from one direction.

Mass infantry raids dominate the field.
Rushing with infantry is how you can get miracle victories against the chances, and doing so also exposes a fundamental weakness in the game's build order. To construct mechanized and armor buildings, you have to erect an infantry building. While you're saving up money to construct these buildings, the opponent can buy cheap infantry and attack you before you can even have units...unless you choose the same strategy. It will slowly produce a couple of infantry units before saving up to build a mechanized building, thus leaving itself wide open to attack.
Basically, if two opposing forces are in a town's district, then the town is contested. You can then attract the enemy units into the bunker's firing range and decimate the force.

There just isn't much strategy in the single-player portion of Axis & Allies, even without these AI problems. Since companies get resupplied quickly, it's hard to overcome an conflicting computer army if you're evenly matched. As a result, the game boils down to sheer numbers. Attack with more guys than the computer and you win. It doesn't matter if you have infantry or tanks. As mentioned before, the computer can't come up with a counter to mass infantry.
Infantry are cheap and fast to build, and they're very effective. It's disappointing that the game essentially discourages the use of diverse fighting forces.
Humans can plan ambushes, trap fleeing units, and effectively use general powers. Expect multiplayer games to last much longer than single-player skirmishes when facing opponents of equal skill. The Internet in-game browser is adequate, and it lists both available games to join and players who are online.

Axis & Allies isn't the greatest game to look at. While the game's multiplayer portion can be enjoyable, it's hard to recommend Axis & Allies based on that aspect alone, especially since the real-time strategy genre is filled with so many excellent, well-rounded games. Only a few campaign missions are remotely challenging, and even these cases are due to poor AI with Allied forces. Simply put, there are much better World War II games on the market, and Axis & Allies board game fans are encouraged to steer clear.

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Axis&Allies Board Game, 2004 Revised Edition

Axis and Allies 2004 Revised Edition on Editorial Review:
"It is the spring of 1942. The world is at war. Five world powers are struggling for supremacy. You and your opponents control the military and economic destiny of one or more of these countries.... In this game, you'll discover that cooperation and negotiation are just as important as tactical maneuvering." So begins the 32-page instruction manual for Axis & Allies. To win this complex strategy game, you must learn to be a master economist and a brilliant military strategist and tactician. The game board is a map of the world divided into the spheres of influence that existed at the height of World War II. Both the Axis and Allied powers are allotted combat forces and income, measured in Industrial Production Certificates (IPCs). You must manage your nation's economy and lead its military forces--air, land, and sea--into well-chosen battles. The intricacies of the game are carefully spelled out, as are the criteria each side must meet to become the victors. Contents include 299 detailed combat force playing pieces, IPCs, dice, markers and chips to chart each country's progress, and everything you need to change the course of history in under a day. For two to five players. --Rachel Radway

Customer Review On Amazon
This game is Great strategy games, Axis and Allies is best described as a "thinking person's Risk." While random dice rolls still determine the outcome of battles, the decisions players are forced to make, allow the game to be far more challenging than the better known Risk while not hampering its play-ability. Do you need infantry or armored units? Should you build an airforce or a navy? When do you attack and when do you assume a defensive posture? All are questions players need to consider. Axis and Allies is easy play the first time and challenging enough that it is still a game you will want to play the hundredth time you take it out of the box. The flexibility of the game which pits the Allies (US, USSR, GB) against the Axis (Germany, Japan) allows for two players to enjoy the game as much as when as many as five players each control the destiny of each country during WWII. The colorful gameboard and plastic infantry, tanks, ships, and planes all work together to make this one of my favorite games.

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Axis & Allies D-Day

Axis & Allies D-Day will feature detailed game components including a new blockhouse piece, an extra-large game board, and original artwork commissioned exclusively for the D-Day game box. Other elements of this new Axis & Allies variant include a card deck with three card types -- Orders, Tactics, and Fortune -- to add depth and complexity to play. Order cards determine play sequence and break turns into distinct phases; Tactics cards offer players varied strategic opportunities; and Fortune cards add an element of unpredictability. Axis & Allies D-Day begins as Operation Overlord, the invasion of German-held Normandy, is underway -- 130,000 soldiers of the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States are poised to assault Fortress Europe. You and your fellow world powers control their fates. One player controls Germany, whose Axis forces have turned the beaches of Normandy into a near-impenetrable stronghold. Set to breach those defenses are the Allies: the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. The future of Europe and the world hangs in the balance. Axis & Allies D-Day is designed for two or three players and can be played in two hours. Axis & Allies D-Day is the third Axis & Allies variant, following the successful Axis & Allies Europe and Axis & Allies Pacific, both of which were published in 2001.

Product Features

• June 6, 1944: You are on the beaches of Normandy, and ahead lies an uncertain future. Axis & Allies D-Day accurately captures this dramatic conflict and places you squarely in the middle of the greatest battle of the 20th century.
• This is an all-new stand alone extension of the Axis & Allies line featuring three-tiered complexity and a new, extra-large game board/map.
• Contents: 1 Game Board (20" x 33"), 241 Combat Unit Playing Pieces (115 Infantry, 62 Artillery, 37 Tanks, 17 Blockhouses, 8 Fighters, 2 Bombers), 1 Battle Board, 48 Tactical Cards, 24-Page RuleBook, 3 Reinforcement Charts, 8 Dice, & Tray.
• The fate of Europe depends upon your courage! Designed for 2 or 3 players

Recommended Link :

Axis & Allies D-Day

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Axis & Allies Battle Of The Bulge

Axis & Allies Battle Of The Bulge Product Features

Axis & Allies: Battle of the Bulge challenges you to control territory and contend with supply shortages, while directing infantry, artillery, tanks, and aircraft in one of the most decisive conflicts of World War II.
German tanks thunder into the snow-covered Ardennes forest, opposed only by a few unsuspecting divisions of exhausted American troops. As Axis forces plunge into the countryside,
Allied troops must struggle to hold the front line in order to repel the all-out offensive.
Axis & Allies Battle of the Bulge is designed for two players and can be played in three to four hours.

Product Description
German tanks thunder into the snow-covered Ardennes forest, opposed only by a few unsuspecting divisions of exhausted American troops. As Axis forces plunge into the countryside, Allied troops must struggle to hold the front line in order to repel the all-out offensive. Axis & Allies: Battle of the Bulge challenges you to control territory and contend with supply shortages, while directing infantry, artillery, tanks and aircraft in one of the most decisive conflicts of World War II.

Detailed game components include a new truck piece, a hex-based game board with new original artwork, and original artwork commissioned exclusively for the Battle of the Bulge game box. Other elements of this new Axis & Allies variant include crucial elements that were key factors in the historical battle, such as supply shortages and late-battle air support, mechanics for overland vs. road movement and randomized casualties of war.

Axis & Allies depicts Wacht am Rhein (Watch on the Rhein), the German code name for this counter offensive that took place toward the end of World War II. The objective: to capture the port city of Antwerp. One player controls Germany, whose massive build-up of forces has gone undetected by the Allies and is poised to unleash all its fury on the Allies. The other player controls the forces of the United Kingdom and the United States and they must stem the tide of German armor and hold their positions until reinforcements arrive. Axis & Allies Battle of the Bulge is designed for two players and can be played in three to four hours. Measures 10.5" x 15.75" x 3".

Product Review
Hasbro/Avalon Hill has finally produced a game on this significant battle and much in line with the movie from 1966, this version features the rationing of supplies as a key part of the game. There are no Germans dressed as MP's, and the road signs do lead to Malmedy! The method of German victory is to acquire more territory than the actual historical results. The Allied player need only prevent the German conditions of victory. Game mechanics are slow, plodding and very hex concentrated with lots of tedious steps for each hex. In fact it may bore the average player. The dice roll situation is pure insanity! Especially when you have a lot of units in a hex and you have to roll twice, once for hits and another to see where they landed. This version therefore is recommended only for veteran grognards. Allied air power, which appears half- way through the battle were surprisingly ineffective. The initiative is important, as it can make a difference in the way a battle will pan out. However, with regard to Air activity, it is better for the Germans to place their aircraft after the allies, to keep them from destroying entire tank groups. You can offset this possible devestation by having artillery around but it seems that planes won't turn the tide before the Germans get their "24". If you are good at defense then the Allied army is for you. You can prevent Tank blitzkrieg's if you use your troops properly. One really interesting thing about this game is the surprising situations that can arise in individual hexes. You may get chances as a German to actually capture supplies (Colonel Hessler would be proud!) and sudden openings can appear that will let your tanks roll to the areas where the point values are for winning the game. The game is 8 turns long only, but don't let that fool you.It will take hours to play. Like Henry Fonda, play your hunches because like his character in the movie, you will know everything about the battlefield from your Bird's eye view. In the early part of the game, some Major Wolenski situations may result (the role played by Charles Bronson). As a General you will have to request your troops to hold positions, to cover your withdrawl against advancing German Panzers. Overall, it is OK but not fluid and only for the wargaming veteran.

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Axis & Allies Pacific

Axis & Allies Pacific Product Description
Axis & Allies Pacific is the second expansion to the Axis & Allies game system. In this game, three main powers (Britain, Japan, and the US) square off against each other against the backdrop of the Pacific ocean. Japan is trying to grow her empire, either through military might or by holding off the Allies long enough to consolidate her gains. The game adds a few new rules and a few new twists to the established A&A game system. Naval bases and air bases turn small, meaningless islands into vital strategic holdings. Convoy zones allow a single submarine pack to cripple an economy. The Chinese forces, while limited, are hard to crush. Japan gets her kamikazes, but will it be enough to hold off the vast economic power of the USA?

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 14 x 2.5 x 10 inches ; 0.3 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 4.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item can only be shipped to the 48 contiguous states. We regret it cannot be shipped to APO/FPO, Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico.
• Note: Gift-wrapping is not available for this item.
• ASIN: B00005EBA6
• Item model number: 4098347
• Our Recommended Age: 12 - 99 years
• Manufacturer Recommended Age: 12 - 99 years

Product Features

• Axis and Allies Pacific is the second expansion to the Axis & Allies game system. In this game, the three main powers (Britain, Japan, and the US) square off against each other against the backdrop of the Pacific ocean.
• Ages 12 and up. 2-3 players. 335 historically accurate battleships, carriers, fighters, artillery, and more! Complexity level: Challenging.
• Contents: Gameboard Map, National control markers, national production charts, battle board chart, industrial production certificates (IPCs), 12 dice, plastic chips (gray and red), gameplay manual.
• Axis & Allies Pacific invites you and your opponents to determine the future of the Pacific! Good Luck. The fate of the world is in your hands!

Product Review
I don't tend to write reviews, but I think this one is justified for the new purchaser of A&A:P. First of all, I find the game to be quite challanging and enjoyable for intermediate to expert A&A players. I leave out beginners beacuse, as other reviewers have pointed out, fronts are relatively nonexistant. I think that standard A&A will prove to be easier to catch on to for a more inexperienced player as you can clearly see where the fronts are, why they are there, where the reinforcements are coming from, etc. On A&A:P, with all the sea zones (not to mention the airports and naval bases which add movement to planes and boats respectively), a novice might think his fleet is relatively safe when, in fact, it is threatened by a ton of the enemies stuff.
The main reason I'm writing this though is because I have seen a couple reviewers say that a win with Japan is inevitable and others have said that the Americans are too powerful and they will eventually win. I just wanted to post what I have found so far.
Japan, typically, has the advantage (and this is further evidenced by online tournaments where the players "bid" over who has to take the allies). In 9 games, I have seen 3 Victory Point wins, and two India Takeovers. Of note is also that Japan was maybe one or two rounds away from submission on 3 of those VP wins (America and Aussie right on the doorstep and pounding away with their bombers which reduces Japan's VPs).
India most certainly has enough resources to defend itself. On the two India captures I have seen, the British player allocated more money to Australia than India. The key to holding India is too give ALL the money from the British Convoys to India and build a ton of guys and a ton of artillery. You have to have an offensive threat to Japan over there, otherwise they will build up with impunity and eventually crush (or win with VP).
To the reviewer that said America is overpowered.. If you have a smart Japanese player who expands fast, BUT THEN contracts just as quickly, you should eventually be facing this navy:
3 Battleships; 4 Carriers; at least 15 fighters; 2 bombers; and about 8 destroyers and maybe 10 transports.
That's just what Japan STARTS with. By turn 3 they should be earning at least 30 IPCs per turn.
Let's see, at America's 72 dollars a turn (they immediately lose 3 on the phillipines unless Japan players is on crack), or 3 battleships, that's QUITE a lot of catching up to do. And don't forget: you only have about 8 turns to do it.
I have seen four or five Allies wins, but they all been through very interesting tactics (ie Bombers racing to China; no Pearl Harbor movement until 6 battleships and 2 carriers were up and running, etc).
Bottom line: This game, in my opinion, is quite well balanced at the intermediate level. I think once people become experts at it (not that I am by ANY means), the game eventually favors the Japanese, but for different reasons than stated in these reviews.

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Axis and Allies Revised

Axis and Allies Revised Product Description
Control the fate of the world in this incredible game of military strategy, courage and cunning. Play this updated version by Larry Harris, the game's original creator. With all-new packaging art, a redesigned map and new artillery and destroyer pieces, this classic game is prepared to take on a whole new generation. Players can change the course of history in a few short hours as they maneuver over 350 playing pieces including armies, ships, planes and more. For 2 to 5 players.

Product Details
• Product Dimensions: 3 x 10.9 x 15.9 inches ; 0.3 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Recommended Age: 12 - 99 years

Product Features

• All New Updated Version! Control the fate of the world in this incredible game of military strategy, courage, and cunning, updated by Larry Harris, the game's original creator.
• Now includes artillery and destroyer pieces. 40 artillery, 75 infantry, 50 tanks, 16 bombers, 50 fighters, 13 aircraft carriers, 14 battleships, 26 destroyers, 33 submarines, 29 transports, 12 antiaircraft guns, 12 industrial complexes.
• 1 Game board (20"x33"), 370 playing pieces, 90 industrial production certificates, 40 page rulebook, 8 information cards, 10 marshaling cards, 125 control, marshaling, and aircraft markers, 12 dice, 85 plastic chips.
• Spring, 1942: The World is at war. Axis and Allies places the military and economic destiny of the globe in your hands. Change the course of history in a few short hours! Designed for 2-5 players, age 12+.

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Axis and Allies Board Game Strategy

Axis and Allies Board Game Strategy

Axis and Allies is a popular series of World War II (WW II) strategy board games, with nearly two million copies printed. The first game was originally designed by Larry Harris and published by Nova Game Designs, before being republished and popularized by the Milton Bradley Company (Wikipedia).

The Axis and Allies series includes the best WWII strategy board games presented. This version keeps the board game's world map and game play, but adds to it with great RTS play. From your Corps HQ, you can deploy infantry, mechanized, armored, and airborne divisions. Also available are engineer and artillery brigades, and motor pools, which unlock additional units and provide useful technologies. Naval units are not producible, but are available in some missions.

Balancing resources involves accumulating money as well as keeping an income of ammunition and oil. If you enjoy the board game's game play, then you will enjoy hearing that it carried over to A&A on the PC nicely. Both the Axis and Allied powers have different campaigns, with the Axis version ending in victory for Germany and Japan (leading to clearly made up missions).

Multiplayer communities still survive, with many player-made maps available. For WWII RTS enthusiasts, it is a large strategy game to pick up. Whether you want to build your own army and attack Japan, or find out what could have happened if Germany had repulsed the Allies in Normandy, Axis and Allies can bring great game play time and time again.

The Axis and Allies series :
• Axis and Allies
• Axis and Allies Europe
• Axis and Allies Pacific
• Axis And Allies Revised
• Axis and Allies Anniversary Edition
• Axis and Allies Battle Of The Bulge
• Wizards of the Coast Axis and Allies Guadalcanal
• Axis and Allies Minis Booster Set 2

READ MORE - Axis and Allies Board Game Strategy