Kids View: Axis & Allies

What is the Game About?

The Allies (America, Britain, and Russia) are trying to save the world from the Axis (Japan and Germany) during World War Two. The main idea for Russia is to buy a lot of men for defense and to attack Germany. Britain wants to build transports and men so they can attack Germany, too. America has to worry about the Japanese. When I'm America I like to build a factory and put it in Hawaii or China if I can. You also need a good navy to beat Japan. Germany needs mainly tanks and men to fight Russia. Japan can attack both Russia and America - so they should have a lot of different types of units. Turn order is the same every round and you get money by taking over other areas. Different territories give you different amounts of money that you use to buy all of your units. Fighting is done with dice - you have to roll different numbers with different kinds of units.

What do I Like?

I like that you can play any of the five major countries and each one uses a totally different strategy to win. I like to be America because I'm from there and they go last and I can plan my attacks based on what Japan does. I like war games and so that is one reason I like playing Axis & Allies. And the history is interesting. You can learn a lot. I like the newer version (1942 Edition) because tanks get to defend on a roll of 3 or less (instead of 2) and it includes cruisers and artillery. Also, all of the pieces look different for each country - little plastic men are cool!

What do I dislike?

The sea zones are hard to keep straight on the old version's board. But the board in the newer version is smaller with squished territories that make it hard to fit all your guys in one space. However, more pieces means that there is a better chance of losing some, too. And we have to be careful not to leave any laying out on the floor because of our cat. The weapons research in the old version is confusing and a lot of times a waste of money. They took this out in the newer version. I also don't like it that you have to hit battleships twice to sink them (except when it's mine!).

Gaming with Kids: Dice Practice

I think a little practice in dice rolling will help me win games. We have a lot of war games that use dice, but my brother says we don't have enough. The games that I like to practice rolling in are: Samurai Swords, Conquest of the Empire, Attack!, Magnifico, Warlords of Europe, Axis & Allies, Dust, and Risk. I will make two different armies and set them up. Sometimes I'll make the armies even and sometimes I'll make one larger than the other, so I can practice when the odds are against me. Most of the games have rules about which order the different units can roll in battle. But if it lets you choose, then I'll practice rolling in different orders to see which results work best. I'll keep track of which order works best and roll the same way during the game. I like to roll in the box lid, but not too hard. If you roll on the table, you're more worried about the dice falling off (which doesn't count) instead of rolling well. Plus you can roll the dice all over the board and mess things up. Most of all, you need to remember which dice hit the most for you. Sometimes if they're all the same color with the same number of sides, it's hard to remember, but try to make sure you always roll those in all your battles!