Axis & Allies/Classic

Axis & Allies Classic is the original version of Axis and Allies. Released in 1984 by Milton Bradley as the first game of its Gamemaster series, the game laid down many of the conventions of the Axis & Allies series, which later games would expand and revise on. Classic would also receive a computer game adaptation in 1998.

Objective

Axis & Allies Classic can be thought of as a more complex version of Risk. Set against the backdrop of World War II (more specifically spring 1942), the game is played with between two and five players, each of whom assumes command of the five major players of the war - the Soviet Union, Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, Imperial Japan and the United States. The nations are split between two alliances - the Axis consist of Germany and Japan, whilst the Allies consist of the Soviet Union, the UK and the US.

There are three different ways to win the game:

• For the Allies to win the game they must control both of the Axis capital cities - Berlin and Tokyo.
• For the Axis to win, they must achieve one of two objectives - either they must capture two of the three Allied capitals of London, Moscow and Washington D.C. for a military victory, or they must capture enough territories that their combined economic value exceeds a value of 84 (we will learn more about this later) for an economic victory.

Setup

To set up the game, each player is given a reference chart, which details how their units are set up at game start and basic instructions for gameplay. Then using each reference chart as a guide, each player's units are set up on the board.

Before we can learn how to play the game, it is worth taking a look at the board. The board of Axis and Allies Classic depicts a (somewhat warped) map of the world, centered on the Old World. The board is divided into areas of land and sea, which are further divided into land territories and sea zones.

Each of the land territories is given a colour denoting who owns that territory at game start:

• The Soviet Union is red-orange,
• Germany is grey,
• the United Kingdom is tan,
• Japan is yellow,
• and the United States is green.

Each of the land territories has its name written on it or somewhere nearby, and most non-neutral territories also have a number assigned to them. This number represents the territory's value in Industrial Production Certificates (IPCs), which are the currency of the game. The IPC number is higher for industrialised territories than for more rural ones - for example, the Germany territory is worth 10 IPCs, whilst Evenki National Okrug in the Soviet Union is only worth 2 IPCs.

There are also a number of territories coloured in cream - these territories are neutral, are not controlled by any player and do not have an IPC value. Moving military units into these territories will incur a one-time penalty of 3 IPCs on the player that violated the territory's neutrality. Once a neutral territory has been violated for the first time it is no longer considered neutral and will be treated like any other non-neutral territory henceforth.

Along the top edge of the board, and at the bottom-right corner, one can find a number of zoomed-in views of specific territories on the board. These are used to reduce clutter by providing additional room to place units.

Basic Gameplay

A game of Axis & Allies Classic is split into rounds. In each round the five countries will each take a turn to move their military units, attack their opponents' territories and defend their own territories. The five countries take turns in a strict turn order - first the Soviets, then Germany, then Britain, then Japan and finally America. Each turn is divided into six phases:

1. Roll for research / Purchase units
2. Combat moves
3. Conduct combat
4. Non-combat moves
5. Mobilise new units
6. Collect income

Types of Units

The military units in Axis and Allies Classic come in ten different types, which are split into four groupings - land units, naval units, air units and industrial complexes. Each unit (aside from the industrial complexes) is assigned an attack, defense and movement number that will affect how the units can move and perform in combat.

Types of units:

Unit type	IPC cost	Attack number	Defense number	Movement number
Land units
Infantry	3	1	2	1
Armour	5	3	2	2
Antiaircraft artillery	5	0	1	1
Naval units
Battleship	24	4	4	2
Aircraft carrier	18	1	3	2
Submarine	8	2	2	2
Transport	8	0	1	2
Air units
Fighter	12	3	4	4
Bomber	15	4	1	4
Industrial complex	12	N/A

An Axis & Allies Classic set also comes with chips, small plastic tokens that can be used to denote more than one of a given unit. They come in two colours - grey and red - and with a unit placed on top, a grey chip denotes one additional unit and a red chip five additional units.

Unit Types in Detail

Infantry

IPC cost: 3

Attacks on: 1

Defends on: 2

Can move: 1 territory

Infantry are the cheapest unit in the game. They aren't very good attackers, but masses of them can be devastating if used correctly.

Armor

IPC cost: 5

Attacks on: 3

Defends on: 2

Can move: 2 territories

Armor are powerful attacking units that have the ability to blitz through unoccupied territories.

Antiaircraft artillery

IPC cost: 5

Attacks on: 0

Defends on: 1

Can move: 1 territory

Antiaircraft artillery have the ability to fire at attacking aircraft during battle and bombing raids. Keep in mind there can only be one antiaircraft gun per territory.

Battleships

IPC cost: 24

Attacks on: 4

Defends on: 4

Can move: 2 sea zones

Battleships are the most expensive unit so far, but their attack and defense are the best of all units.

Aircraft carriers

IPC cost: 18

Attacks on: 1

Defends on: 3

Can move: 2 sea zones

Aircraft carries are ships with special decks from which aircraft can take off and land.

Submarines

IPC cost: 8

Attacks on: 2

Defends on: 2

Can move: 2 sea zones

Submarines are the wolves of the sea - they have access to two powerful abilities when attacking than can be used to surprise the enemy.

Transports

IPC cost: 8

Attacks on: 0

Defends on: 1

Can move: 2 sea zones

Transports are ships that have the ability to carry land units across oceans. Each transport has two cargo slots which can be occupied by up to two infantry or an infantry and armor unit.

Fighters

IPC cost: 12

Attacks on: 3

Defends on: 4

Can move: 4 territories or sea zones

Fighters are air units that can give the edge to any attacking force - land or naval.

Bombers

IPC cost: 15

Attacks on: 4

Defends on: 1

Can move: 4 territories or sea zones

Bombers are air units that can conduct bombing raids on enemy industry to destroy enemy IPCs.

Industrial complexes

IPC cost: 12

Industrial complexes are special units that serve as the point of entry for all units purchased during a player's turn. Unlike most other units they do not take part in any form of combat, but they can be damaged by bombing raids.

Gameplay in Detail

As already stated, each player's turn is divided into seven phases:

Phase One: Roll for Research / Purchase Units

In this phase the player will be allowed to spend the IPCs they have on hand to attempt to research new technologies. If a player wants to attempt research they must purchase dice to do so - each research die costs 5 IPCs. Once the IPCs have been spent each research die is rolled - if a 6 is rolled that player's country makes a technological breakthrough. Otherwise the player has failed in their research and must wait until their next turn to try again. After the research dice are rolled any dice that rolled 6 are rolled again - this determines what new technology the player acquires (these will be explained later):

Number	Technology
1	Jet power
2	Rockets
3	Super submarines
4	Long range aircraft
5	Industrial technology
6	Heavy bombers

If when rolling to determine the technology acquired a number comes up for an already-researched technology, the die is rolled again. Once a technology is acquired it will remain in the player's possession for the remainder of the game. Also researched technologies are an individual benefit and players cannot share technologies with their allies.

The player will then use the remaining IPCs they have on hand to purchase new units for their military. The player is allowed to spend these IPCs any way they like, and they do not necessarily have to spend all of their IPCs. Once the units have been purchased the IPCs are returned to the bank and the purchased units are placed just off the board, to be placed on the board later.

Phase Two: Combat Moves

In the second phase the player will move their military forces into hostile territories to engage in combat. The player may move as many units as they like, paying attention to to that unit type's movement number, which determines how many territories that unit may move per turn.

Phase Three: Conduct Combat

In the third phase the player will fight all of the battles they have initiated. The details behind combat will be explained later.

Phase Four: Non-Combat Moves

In the fourth phase the player will move military units in non-combat ways to reinforce their hold on their empire. They may only move units that have not already been moved in that player's turn, and units may only be moved onto friendly territories. In addition, any air units that took part in combat will need to be landed during this turns by moving them to a friendly territory or aircraft carrier.

Phase Five: Mobilise New Units

In the fifth phase the player will place all the units they purchased in turn one on the board. Land and air units may only be placed on territories with an industrial complex, and sea units may only be place don a sea zone adjacent to a territory with an industrial complex.

Phase Six: Collect Income

In the sixth phase the player will collect IPC income form their territories. Once this phase is complete the player's turn is over and the next player takes their turn.