Axis & Allies Miniatures Game Review

By John Grigsby, Staff Reviewer

Available at FRP Games

Axis & Allies CMG: Basic Set Starter Pack
Retail $24.99 Sale $19.99

Axis & Allies CMG: Basic Set Booster Pack
Retail $14.99 Sale $11.99

Initiative Round
Axis & Allies Miniatures is a standalone miniatures game from Avalon Hill and Wizards of the Coast. Each starter contains 12 random miniatures and one rare random miniature, four double-sided full-color battle mats, 10 six-sided dice, stat cards for all miniatures, and the rulebook, and retails for $24.99. Each booster set contains 9 randomized plastic miniatures, stat cards for each miniature, and a set checklist, and retails for $14.99.

Welcome to the front lines, soldier! Keep your head down and your rifle loaded and you just might make it home! Avalon Hill and Wizards of the Coast put you into the action of World War II with the Axis & Allies Miniatures game. Each set contains a collection of randomized miniatures, allowing you to recreate famous battles of World War II or to create your own history.

Right up front, let me say that I played my very first game of Axis & Allies Miniatures with my father, who grew up in the shadow of World War II. When he was a teen, he and his friends compiled reams of data (I still have several of the original 3" x 5" file cards on which he recorded statistics) on war machines on both sides and used various markers to recreate famous battles of the war. He loved this game!

On opening your starter pack, you'll find a selection of 13 durable plastic minis, including one rare. Each miniature represents either one vehicle or artillery unit, or a small squad of soldiers. The miniatures are cast at 15mm (1/120) scale and are well-painted and given authentic detailing. The starter pack also includes a full-color stat card for each miniature, the rulebook, and four two-sided full-color map sheets, marked off in two-inch hexes. Each hex represents 100 m (about 1/2000 scale).

Each miniature has an associated point value, representing its relative power level. Stat cards also identify the unit's nationality—German, Japanese, or Italian (on the side of the Axis) or France, Soviet Union, United Kingdom, or United States (representing the Allies), type, speed, the year it entered the war, attack and defense values, special abilities (if any), flavor text describing the unit's history or specifications, and the set icon, collector's number, and rarity. Players choose sides (Axis or Allies) and each builds an army of 100 points in unit values (no more than 15 units total). Certain scenarios may require that all units be of a specific nationality, but it's also fun to mix and match freely, so long as all units in an army are on the same side. Players then choose (or randomly determine) a map configuration of the six provided in the rules. The four sections of the battlemap are laid out as indicated in the rules, a specific objective is determined (usually a particular spot on the battlefield), and play begins. To win the game, a play must simply control the objective (be the only player with any units adjacent to it) at the end of any turn between turn 7 and 10. If neither player controls the objective by turn 10, the player whose units remaining on the board are worth most points is the winner. An alternate scenario is provided in the rules that pits a weaker defender against a stronger attacker, wherein the defender must simply keep the attacker from taking a particular objective within 10 turns.

The Axis and Allies Miniatures game is played in turns, with each turn representing about one minute. Both players roll initiative, rolling two dice and then adding the best initiative bonus of any commander in their army. The high roller decides whether she will be the first or second player this turn. Sometimes being the second player can be as beneficial as going first.

The first player then takes his movement phase, moving any, all, or none of his units a number of hexes equal to the unit's speed (except when the unit moves through difficult terrain, which may slow it down). The second player then takes her movement phase. Next is the first player's assault phase, in which he can choose to move or attack (but not both) with any, all, or none of his units. If he chooses to move, the unit moves just as in the movement phase. After both players have had an assault phase, damage markers are flipped over and effects applied. This is called the casualty phase.

Each unit has an associated stat card that shows the unit's attack and defense values. Every unit has two sets of attack values, one against soldiers and the other against vehicles, at short, medium, and long range. Each value is a number. This is the number of dice the attacker rolls against a unit of that type at that particular range. Each roll of 4 or higher is a success. If the attack scores a number of successes equal to the target's defense, the target suffers one hit. If the number of successes exceeds the target's defense, the target suffers two hits. If the number of successes is more than double the target's defense, the target suffers three hits. If the number of successes does not equal or exceed the target's defense, the target is unaffected.

Each hit on a target has a different effect. For soldiers and vehicles, the first hit disrupts the unit. Disrupted units suffer a -1 penalty on each attack die, a -1 penalty to defense, can't move, and can't make defensive-fire attacks. The disrupted state is cancelled after one full turn (at the start of the next casualty phase). A second hit on a soldier unit destroys the unit (however, because all casualty markers are placed on units face-down until the casualty phase, when the markers are flipped face up and the effects applied, the destroyed unit still gets a chance to return fire). A second hit on a vehicle damages the unit. Damaged vehicles suffer a -1 penalty to each attack die and defense (these effects do not stack with disruption effects) and a -1 to speed. Though the effects of disruption fade in one turn, the effects of damage stay throughout the remainder of the scenario. A vehicle unit that receives a second damaged marker or a third hit in a single assault phase is destroyed.

An attacking unit must have an unobstructed line-of-sight to the target. If the line between the center of the attacker's hex and the center of the defender's hex crosses blocking terrain, the attacker cannot attack. Furthermore, a target located in difficult terrain may attempt a cover roll. On a roll of 4 or higher for soldiers and 5 or higher for vehicles, the target has found cover in the difficult terrain. The effects of any attack are limited to disruption, regardless how many hits are scored. A successful cover roll against defensive fire negates the attack entirely.

Defensive fire represents the danger of getting too close to a unit. Defensive fire cannot do more than disrupt a target, but any time a unit moves into a hex occupied by an enemy or a hex adjacent to the enemy, the unit is subject to defensive fire. The limitations are that soldiers do not draw defensive fire from vehicles and each unit is only permitted one instance of defensive fire each turn. Regardless of how many defensive fire attempts succeed against a target, the most a target can suffer is disruption.

As I noted previously, terrain can also affect movement and the ability to attack an enemy. No unit can enter a pond, and moving across hills and through forests costs double. If a unit has only one hex of movement remaining, it cannot move over the hill or enter the forest. Furthermore, units attempting to enter a forest or cross a stream and soldiers entering a marsh (vehicles cannot cross marsh) must roll a 4 or higher in order to do so successfully.

Finally, some units have special abilities. The Panzer IV Ausf. G, for example, has extended range and is capable of firing on targets up to 10 hexes away, instead of the usual limit of 8 hexes. The M2-2 flamethrower ignores cover, and if the unit rolls three of more 6s on a short-range attack, the target is destroyed immediately. These traits better reflect the advantages (and flaws) unique to certain units that saw use during the war.

Critical Hit
Excellent paint jobs, top-notch sculpting, and attention to detail all make this game not only a joy to play, but it really looks cool to onlookers. Break this out at your local game store and you're sure to attract some attention. Beyond that, gameplay is easy to learn and an average game will take less than about 30 minutes once you've played a couple of times.

Critical Fumble
I see only two problems with Axis & Allies Miniatures. The first is inherent to the nature of the game and there isn't much to be done about it. The sad truth is that the Axis, particularly Germany, had superior technology and equipment for much of the war, and this shows through in the game. Right out of the starter set and a single booster, I got an even mix of figures as far as Axis versus Allies go, but the Germans have proven far superior in almost every skirmish, primarily due to their special abilities. The Allied player will have to rely on strategy to win scenarios, as they are generally overwhelmed in terms of sheer firepower. New players not familiar with history may find this frustrating.

The second problem is that the battlemats come folded into quarters. I like the design of the mats, and the glossy paper they are printed on is durable and sturdy, but this works against them in that they refuse to lie flat, resulting in a very uneven playing surface. It's a small but significant problem.

Coup de Grace
I give this game a solid "B," primarily owing to the problems with the mat and the fact that Germany has a significant advantage. To be fair, it might just be that I didn't get any Allied minis that had comparable abilities, but it just seems to me that the Allied player will always be on the defensive. Even so, if you're into miniatures games, particularly historical recreations, this game is one that will definitely attract and hold your interest.

One expansion that both my father and I agreed needs to be added into the game is air and sea support. I could even see a set that concentrates strictly on air-to-air or ship-to-ship combat. I did note that snipers, paratroopers, and cavalry have made it into the next expansion, which has me eagerly awaiting it!

Final Grade: B