Classic Axis & Allies Game Returns This Year

Renegade Games Studio has announced the return of Axis & Allies: WW1 1914 later this year. The Axis & Allies variant is the first in a planned series of re-releases and new games meant to revitalize the classic wartime strategy game. The game differs from the original Axis & Allies game partially because of the strategies employed. As stated in the original rulebook, "there are no massive sweeps across continents with blitzing armored divisions and aircraft. Instead, there are a series of determined offensives resisted by equally determined armies dedicated to holding the line." Obviously, the game is geared towards infantry and artillery combat, with tanks and aircrafts having a much smaller role than they did in the original Axis & Allies game. 

Axis & Allies is a franchise of wartime strategy games in which players develop and deploy armies throughout various theaters of war. The game was first published in 1981 and focused on the global WWII conflict, with players choosing one of several major world powers to control. The base objectives of each version of the game remains the same – players must control a certain number of enemy capitals until the end of a round. Some versions of the game include alternate win conditions – for instance, Axis & Allies: WW1 1914 requires certain capitals to be among the ones held by an enemy – the Allies must capture Berlin to win, while the Axis powers must control either London or Paris. 

While Axis & Allies is owned by Hasbro, Renegade Game Studios licensed the game (and several others) late last year. As a part of the revitalization effort, Renegade plans to launch a world championship for the franchise and also republish several versions of the game that have long been out of print. 

Axis & Allies: WW1 1914 will return to shelves in August.