Avalon Hill Axis and Allies 1941 Board Game,5 players, Multicolor, 5 players

This is a fantastic game. Many years ago I started out playing the original Axis and Allies. The game was great but very overwhelming due to the fact that it had so many rules. Well this game has it down to the bare basics. This is an excellent starter game if you are just getting into Axis and Allies. This game just give's the player the fundamental game mechanics that are used in all previous versions up to date. Once a player has the fundamental basic's down it is much easier to jump into Axis and Allies spring 1942 and the Europe and Pacific titles as well. Now many people get frustrated with the rules because they are written very complex and difficult to understand at times. No need to fear Axis and Allies has many places to obtain help on rules. YouTube is a great place to start as well as [...] .Another thing many people tend to do is give up on reading the game manual. I had to read it a half a dozen times because some of the things explained in the beginning are explained again in more detail in the end sections. So if you can muddle your way through it it is well worth it. I recommend reading the manual for 1942 from [...]. You can download the manual for free in pdf form. Now it is way more complicated to understand than 1941 but the basics are there. I also recommend playing the java based Axis and Allies version on this site as well. It is free and I can't tell you how many times that I would use this java game to reverse engineer how certain rules applied. Well enough rambling let's talk about the game more.One of the great features about 1941 is it can be played in a very short amount of time. Now this isn't going to happen for newbies because it will take several games to get the swing of things. but once the rules are mastered a typical game will go a few hours as where the original spring 1942 could last a half a day. This being said more games of 1941 can be played VS 42 because of time restrictions. Next many people may po po the idea of basic pieces being striped away from 1942 to create 1941 and think the game will lack that old feel that we all love. This is true to an extent but a veteran player will enjoy this thoroughly. It is more of a fast paced cutthroat version of the game. I say this because if you have played 1942 before you will notice right away that you receive very little income to start the game and you really have to plan battles much more carefully so you don't lose all you army's on the first round. This being sait it creates a whole new dynamic for us old gamers and I have had some pretty decent battles on this game. So all in all give this game a shot you wont regret it.

If you want to take a stab at axis and allies, it's hard to imagine that you'd feel ripped off buying this. It's the same basic rules (except fewer unit types, no strategic bombing, etc.) than bigger more complex A&A games. I can accept, and even appreciate, the smaller cheaper option. My two gripes are 1) small game board and 2) not enough units. Just setting up to start you will not have nearly enough infantry, etc. and will be forced to use cardboard stacking chips (included) to signify additional units. BUT: I have to say, these aren't really fair complaints, because this thing is ABOUT TWENTY BUCKS. You can't find a more complex game with more pieces for that money. If you shop around for more units, plastic chips, etc, you'll end up spending more than this game costs to start with. So if you're sure you want the full A&A experience you can skip this and get 1942 for about twice as much... But if you're not sure (or you're not a total strategy nerd), you cannot go wrong with this. Despite the possible "shortcomings" I do NOT feel ripped off and am glad they make this game at this price point. I play this one on one against the missus instead of with five guys for four hours. Young folks even get it out to reenact the Normandy invasion. Buy a bigger better A&A, or buy this ... You owe it to yourself to try it. More fun, less TV, more conversation and historical invasion for the greatest war our world will ever see.

I'm not a total wargame nerd, but I've played Avalon Hill games like "Tactics II" and "Third Reich" since I was a third my current age. "Third Reich" takes as long to set up as most actually fun games take to play, but "Axis & Allies" does a nice job of compromising just enough to make the game playable. I've only finished ONE whole game, mind you, but it was fun, the good guys still won, and while the game mechanics give the combatants roughly the same strengths and weaknesses they had in the actual war, the rules are loose enough that the course of the game isn't pre-programmed. (The Allies invaded France in 1944, sure, but then they got pushed out; Russia took Berlin while the US and UK won a land war in Asia. Inconceivable!) The mechanics are not hard; I would describe the whole system as a half-breed of "Third Reich" and "Risk!". And that works better than you might think.My biggest complaint is that the pieces are a little clumsy. The map is a thing of beauty.

Field-tested newer edition of favorite board game: Axis and Allies 1941. Here's my evaluation:PROS: 1) Similar game mechanics to bigger versions, but with fewer rules and territories to negotiate. 2) New map design and better versions of the playing pieces make for a beautiful setup. 3) Definitely smaller, faster, and easier. As much as I love the series, one typical game can go on for many hours. This version makes it possible to finish in one evening and not have to plan a long weekend around it.CONS: 1) Not enough pieces! Even though the game is on a smaller scale, there need to be more playing pieces, particularly ships. Neither are there enough chips included. I had to borrow pieces and chips from other versions I own. 2) In order to save printing costs, this version does not include money and expects you to keep track of purchases using a separate sheet of paper. This seemed to make the game more complicated than it needed to be, so again I borrowed from another version. 3) Only four dice. Really? Part of the appeal of big battles is rolling handfuls of dice. By now you can guess what I had to do.OVERALL: Great "gateway game" for introducing new players to the A&A universe without overwhelming them with complex strategy. After a few playings, however, I suspect most veterans and even newbies will want to move up to the bigger versions. But for the price, it is more than worth it.