Axis and Allies 1914 World War I Board Game

This is the first multi-player strategic game on the First World War that can be played by a broad range of people (eg the entire family, not just a few war game grognards) that I have seen, overall, it is excellent.I number of other reviewers have noted the limited numbers of counters, which we noted as well the first time that we played the game. This was easily rectified by purchasing a few spares on-line, now we can play without shortages.Overall, the game mechanics function well - it is a very playable game. However, the game balance is really tilted toward the Central Powers, and the Allies have little ability to win. I suspect that this game will be updated in about a year with some rules tweaks. For example, the Germans can initiate unrestricted submarine warfare to take away production points from the UK and the US, but the Allied naval blockade is completely ignored. The German economy is simply too strong and in real life, the German army was nearly starving and running out of ammunition by 1918.Austria-Hungary is also too strong in the game and overruns Serbia in one turn - in real life it took nearly a year and required help from Germany. I think the Serbs need a replacement rate of 1 infantry per turn to make them more of a player.Given that this is a WW1 game, I think it odd that there are no trench markers or forts, like Verdun. This is essentially to increase the power of the defense in certain key areas, because in WW1 more infantry did not always equal victory. A fort marker could absorb two losses and a trench marker one, or something like that.There should probably be zeppelins, AA and bombers, to make the air war a little more interesting, too.However, I think the biggest thing that the game needs is better political rules. The Russian Revolution is simply too easy and certain to induce, whereas I think it should be a die-roll if certain conditions are met. Also, the fall of the Tsar did not mean the end of Russia in the war, since the Kerensky government continued to fight for another six months. Turkey also needs some political limits, since the idea that they would invade India and overrun all of Africa - which is quite possible in this game - are ridiculous.The game also needs a strategic movement to reflect railroads. In real life, the Germans could transfer forces from the East Front to the West Front in a matter of weeks or months, but here it would take 4-5 turns. That's a lot.I suspect that a number of these points will get worked into a revised issue of the game, just like the basic WW2 Axis & Allies game has been updated many times. Nevertheless, a very enjoyable game.

I give this 5 stars for funness, despite some rather big issues i have with it.1st, the pro's, because this game is worth it. Pro's:1) best ruleset yet out of the A&A franchise. It honestly feels like ww1, and epic in scale. I love all the A&A games, but this one feels awesome. 2) colorful pieces, and good board (the view is supposed to be from a globe, so it looks odd at first, but really is great. 3) units are sturdy, and less likely to break than previous games. 4) each side has their own-colored stack chips, which is far better than a shared poole. 5) lots of mini dice.Cons: 1) doesnt come with money :(. That does suck. Luckily i cannjust use previous games. 2) infantry are unique, but other units are not. This doesnt bother me though, as that is how the original A&A was, which was my favorite until now. 3) Balancing for historical accuracy is off. I also do wish the pacific was in this, but that was fairly minor in ww1. Yes, the automans were the sickman, but they werent as weak as portrayed :/. 4)... And this one is big.... there arent enough units. The germans have just enough infantry molds to place on the board. Unfortunately, you should buy 2 of this game tonplay properly.Overall though, if you are a strategic person, or have played an olded A&A title, this edition is a must.

I'll be honest, it's hard to give this game a four-star rating. It is extremely fun and is very different from other Axis and Allies games that I've played. However, for the high price of almost $75, there needs to be more. I'll just start with the positives. The box is beautifully designed; there's no doubt about that. Similar to the A&A 1940 versions, the pieces come in their own individual boxes per country. This is very convenient and is a lot easier than keeping the pieces in Ziploc bags like I have to do for A&A 1941. The board, at least from afar, is nicely designed and relatively accurate (more on that later). The pieces themselves are just plain cool. I like the individually designed infantry, and the tanks are awesome. As far as pieces go, though, that's about all the positives I have for them. Gameplay is actually very realistic in terms of WWI. The fact that Austria-Hungary, going first, has to attack Serbia is accurate, and the entire contested territory idea is similar to the brutally slow trench warfare. Sometimes the slowness is annoying, but I appreciate the accuracy. Invading neutral countries and minor-aligned powers is a fun and interesting twist, although the rules are somewhat confusing on those matters. Air superiority is a must to boost your artillery, and the dogfights to achieve it are cool. IPC values are fair for the countries involved, although the U.S. has a seemingly low value of 20 to begin with. Actual combat involves tons of dice (for major battles), but is more realistic than A&A 1941, where you only role once for each attacking/defending value. I like that you can bombard with battleships during amphibious assaults, with provides some compensation from the defending artillery being able to role first. Finally, tanks can only appear beginning in the fourth round, which is quite accurate and can change the outcome of battles. Overall, this game is so much fun. It is with much regret, however, that I must discuss the negatives. I have read many reviews complaining of a lack of pieces. While Germany does only have exactly enough infantry units to cover its territories during setup, I get the pieces back once they move to attack. Thus, I did not find there to be a lack of pieces. Instead, it is the glaring lack of originality that I find most annoying. All the units, except the infantry, are ALL the same for every power! Since they're all the same, what am I paying $75 for? Although the tank pieces are very cool, only the British had those Mark IV-style tanks. Germany wasn't as much interested in tanks, and only produced 20 A7V tanks toward the end of the war, which differ drastically in appearance from the Mark IVs. Sure, Germany captured many British tanks, but the Nazis also captured Sherman tanks in WWII, and A&A 1940 doesn't give them Shermans. I hope the Second Edition fixes this problem, but why didn't they have originality to begin with when they faced this problem with other games before? Pieces aside, my other problem with this game is the board. When the two halves of the board are placed together, they look fine from afar, but up close, you can see that things don't match up. The same letters and parts of symbols are printed on both halves. For instance, on the left half of the board, Venice is printed "Venic," but there is already an "nice" on the second half. Small issues, I know, but for the price that shouldn't happen. Finally, the "National Production Chart" is very annoying to use. Instead of a single number line across the top of the board, like other A&A games, this has two number lines: one for tens of IPCs and the other for ones of IPCS. When territory changes hands, markers become jumbled up and overlap each other, making it very confusing to keep track of IPCs. I have had to audit the IPCs on many occasions. Nevertheless, this game is still great and fun to play. I just think the price for this version should be lowered...

It has a few issues regarding how much is in the box but the game mechanics are beautiful and it is a very fun game to play.

A gift for my grandson he collects them

This would be an amazing game if they just had more pieces. Such a shame.

Gameplay is excellent. Board and pieces look great. Low rating due to not nearly enough pieces included in game. Contacted Wizards and they said go buy third party pieces. Third party pieces are always out of stock, because everyone is trying to purchase them to fix this game. It takes away from the game when you have to use a scrap piece of paper to keep track of armies.Game is not recommended.

The mechanics to this game will certainly be familiar to anyone who has played an A&A game before, but with enough changed to give it a drastically different feel. Plays a bit quicker that the other version as well. When my friends and I feel like playing A&A this is the version we gravitate towards now.