20 Best Ww2 Board Games (2022 Updated)

This is one of my favorite two-player games. It has stylized scenarios based on actual battles between the Axis and Allies. Your scenario sets up the board with infantry, tanks and artillery much as it was at the start of each battle.

The board is divided into sections and you have a hand of cards that indicate maneuvers for each section. There are also goals for the players such as capturing a specific town, etc. Your player pieces have specific movements based on type and terrain.

This game mixes strategy and luck (since the movements are card-based), and the scenarios are heavily weighted toward which side won the particular battle depicted. I’ve spent many hours playing this game and own every expansion, it’s that good!.

We bought this recently for our 9 yrs olds birthday. Our family loves board games and he loves military so we thought this would be a great fit. Unfortunately after playing four scenarios we are all disappointed.

The game play seems heavily weighted in favour of one side. The disadvantaged side needs an awful lot of luck to win. Set up time is almost as long as game time and can be confusing at first trying to find all the right pieces.

There are also several Command Cards which seem very ambiguous as to how you play them – we still can’t figure some of them out. We are not short on brain cells, but even after four games we are still constantly referring back to the rule book when it comes to battle terrain restrictions, line of sight and movement.

Maybe we have got it all wrong- I like board games and I don’t like giving bad reviews but I don’t think this one will come out of the cupboard much.

Game play is simple and straightforward. Focus is on strategy – execution of battle orders are very fun. Action cards are used to affect specific troops or areas of battle. The dice roll determine the outcomes for battle.

Troop types (infantry, armor, artillery) along with Terrain conditions make the game realistic and challenging. The scenarios are well thought out and range from easy to challenging. Quality and pieces supplied are very nice.

My 12 year old learned the game quickly and taught me how to play (yes I verify the rule book). Given this products availability I would suggest getting it if you’re interested. It won’t be easy to find forever.

I’ve been playing A&A titles since the early 90s, and this feels like the culmination of all the previous editions. For those that don’t know, this title combines with A&A Europe 2nd Edition to form A&A Global, which is the biggest and most complex form of A&A that currently exists.

This is both good and bad. It’s good because all of the rules make it highly replayable, and really immerses you into the period. It’s bad because a full game of Global means you’re signing up for an all day event.

8 hours minimum. As for the Pacific game on its own, you can do that more quickly, and it stands on its own as its own game just fine, as does Europe.

So, reviewing this game. Lets start with who should and who shouldn’t buy this game(and ultimately Europe 1940 in order to play Global because thats the main reason to get this, if not then get 1942, 1941, or some other game in the franchise).

If you like history and WW2 then you may want to look deeper into this game. Now are you into WW2 AND military strategy? Yes? Then your step closer to finding out if this game is for you. Now, are you into WW2, history(following history as well), and really complicated game rules? Are you into long, very long board games? Do you have adequate space for a 70″ by 32″ baord game for Global? If you answered yes to all of these then you should consider the game.

However, if you said no to any of the questions you probably shouldn’t get this game. This leads me to the pros and cons of this game. The price is neither a pro or a con in my opinion. Cons -It takes special people to play this game so getting a group to play at the max(6 in Global) can be difficult and playing with less is possible but could take away from game play -The rules can be difficult to remember and hard to absorb and can be easily confused and complicated -The rule book has a terrible table of contents, and a terrible contents page -Feels as is if pieces could run short quite quickly so some extras are pretty vital -For a good play experience, extras are needed, counter chips, replace pesky cardboard counters, paper money, neutral standing army pieces, etc -Board could’ve used a rework, as far as making it better goes, like not cutting the board into two pieces and find a way to decrease the folding crease size so that pieces don’t fall down into it or having carriers tip over spilling the planes its carrying(a total of four pieces when Europe is added) Pros -The game board is beautifully designed, going down to extreme detail.

The colors are really nice -Each nation(for the most part) has their own sculpts, adding to realism and atmosphere -Follows history well(the game starts in 1940, so not many nations are at war with each other, like the US and the Soviet Union, whom are restricted until “1941” arrives) -The sculpts are all done in surprising detail, you can tell that Soviet Infantry are carrying the PpSH, that destroyers have less and smaller guns than cruisers or battleships, you can see the road wheels and such on tanks.

If they added any more detail to them then the turrets on tanks would be able to rotate! -The rule book(although very hard to find specifics) is in extreme detail(if you still have questions go to axisandallies.

org and look in the FAQ or ask your question) -Game play has interesting elements that I’m still new to but I like, they help add to realism and strategy, so I like(bombing raids, kamikaze strikes when playing Pacific or Global, combined arms, convoy zones) -Multiple unit types and each have their own uses -The quality is very good So is the game worth $63? I feel as if you bought just this one and not Europe then no, not really.

I just feel as if you’d be missing out on a huge piece of the game. However, if you got both and played Global then yes, its worth it. You’d have over 1,000 pieces, a 70″ by 32″ inch map of the world circa 1940, which can make you feel as if you were in a war room, commanding armies, coordinating with your allies to bring your enemy down, so the atmosphere and the immersiveness is quite good.

The quality of even the cardboard is good, and most of the cons listed will go away after a few games and can be easily overlooked when your conquering your enemies key positioning territory or capital and your having a good time with friends.

Do you enjoy Risk? Then you’ll go bananas over A&A. I would describe this game as Risk but realistic. It’s not enough to simply sit in Australia and build up forces until you can conquer the world. Now you must deal with other players directly, neutral countries, enemy nations, and surprise attacks.

Your hordes of infantry may look fearsome, but a quick armored attack will send them reeling in defeat. I would recommend this game to anyone who considers themselves an Armchair General. Please be advised, this game is rather complex, and is not for the faint of heart.

If you’re buying either Europe or Pacific 1940, MAKE SURE to buy the other as well! Both games combine into a single massive world-map, that allows 10 players to re-create the entire second World War.

Every faction is included, from France, to Britain, to China.

First off, this box holds a LOT of stuff. Tons of greatly sculpted minis (the skeleton archers are really cool and have great poses!), tokens, rule book, and even a lore book (which I totally LOVE!) I have not built all the minis yet, but so far they are simple to put together.

My only gripe is the human hero lady. She was easy to put together, but kinda wonky with how they designed her separate pieces. Not a big deal; personal preference. If you are looking for some great fantasy adventures, a new game to try, or even just a ton of awesome minis for Dragon Rampant or D&D, then this is a great buy!.

Mostly bought these for the miniatures, the game itself is pretty nice and with the right expansions has a ton of diversity! The miniatures themselves are of good quality, I did have to use glue on some of the skeletons, and be careful with storage as the spears on some of my soldiers now resemble much closer to lightning bolts than javelins/spears! But the models themselves are durable and VERY flexible.

I can grab one of them, throw it at the wall with medium-high strength and have them receive 0 noticeable damage. The except might be the skeleton with a bow, but we’re talking about a bow that at places (such as the arrow) has at most 1.

5 mm of thickness, so these is exceptional all things considered! Planning on buying a few more once I have the money, mostly for the skeletons, but also for potentially getting into the game! :).

This game is just getting its legs as far as a miniatures tabletop game goes, but it hits the ground running. The rules are complex enough for most gamers, easy to learn, and fairly intuitive overall.

I suggest a quick read through, then play a small skirmish, then reread the rules. Rinse and repeat and the game will make complete sense at that point and you can graduate up to full battles. The two starter armies look to be a foundation for armies to come.

Hopefully the units and miniature ranges will expand as the game evolves and each army will even further develop its identity. I also hope they Fantasy Flight will offer 3D versions of the ‘terrain’ that comes in the starter box.

If not, I will build myself (already started construction and watch a few tutorials on the internetz on construction ideas for them). Overall, having recently abandoned another fantasy miniatures game, I was excited for this game’s release for months, and now that it is available and I have played several games, I give it the thumbs up.

So far, so good, and I trust Fantasy Flight will work to improve upon a solid foundation. For now, I recommend splitting the starter set with a friend and going from there.

As an owner of the OG and expansion I had to pick this one up for the new rule sets and game mode and of course for the beautiful minis! Still one of the best co-op card titles out there in my opinion.

The components are all top notch and the minis are so nice! They make a great bit of swag and looking at them can spark a desire to play with a glance! It somehow manages to capture the feeling of exuberance of heading of to war with high hopes in the early stages and the transition to dread at every mission and doubt about reaching the end.

You begin to take your command decisions to heart as you try to do best for your friends in choosing mission difficulty or choosing when to retreat. Winning is never easy and a win really feels like one.

I can’t recommend this game enough, easy to teach and a fairly small footprint. The new game mode stirs up the formula a bit and is a good edition AND all of the components are there of course to play the OG version if you like.

If you happen to have difficulty with the rules which some people do, i highly recommend watching the “watch it played” of the game on YouTube, it really makes so much more sense after. So, put on a pot of coffee and keep your head down and together we can make it!.

We very much enjoy this game. It is cooperative, which is refreshing. It is also almost an anti-war game in that it focuses on the experiences of the men as opposed to attack and defense capabilities.

The learning curve is moderately steep but the game gives step-by-step directions that get progressively more intricate and introduce more advanced concepts. One difficulty is that the rules are sometimes ambiguous in their wording leading to confusion and frustration.

I rated this game as 5 stars, but I would still like to see the rules clarified for some of us dunderheads.

I don’t have the original Grizzled, so this is my only experience with it. First off the production of this game is amazing. The campaign game play is very good, it eases you into the game. Once your done regular game play isn’t a hassle like many reviews I’ve seen.

I think this is definitely more interesting than the Crew, but it has more going on so a little more difficult to learn.

This game lives up to what it claims to be. Of course, you don’t go through the minutiae of hits vs. misses, terrain effects, etc. However, this gives you the “top brass” perspective of wholistic war.

1 token placed down is a minor battle on 1 front, but you’re trying to win the entire war as a net victory across all fronts. Sure, there’s a bit of luck involved, with how you pull things out of the bag.

Having said that, if any game is going to have a luck element that involves drawing from a pool of known resources, a war game is the best place for it. There’s a reason the complicated war games have so many complex decisions to make, but battles still come down to rolling dice.

All in all, I loved my first few games and am excited to play more.

Only gave it four stars because there are probably better 2-player games? I just haven’t played them. Theme is excellent and components are as expected. The bags are very nice. Game play is simple and incredibly straight forward but the outcome of turns is very fulfilling.

Can’t wait to try the alternate board it comes with. Tried the solo mode as well and it was not bad at all. A bit difficult at first to figure out what the opponent’s move should be but you get the hang of it after 5 or 6 turns or so.

I’m incredibly happy with the purchase. This one will be in my collection for a long time.

After hearing good things about “Blitzkrieg”, decided to buy. Very happy with purchase. All the choices make a simple mechanic very enjoyable, and intense. As you choose where to put your counters, your opponent might force you to choose another area.

Great interaction between players. The random draw of your choices also adds a level of fun and frustration via luck. We had one game where my opponent would auto-win if he drew the correct tile. This situation went on for 5 turns and we both knew what was at stake.

Fortunately, he didn’t get it!.

Very much enjoying the game so far!y wife and I have played 2 games, using 3 decks (she repeated her deck). She could feel a drastic improvement, knowing what to expect in her deck the second time around.

Both of our games were very close, ending with only a couple of life points on our summoners. Love the art design and the balance so far seems to be excellent. The production quality of the pieces is not the highest though.

I have noticed a few of the cardboard tokens are rough on the edges and have thick layers that can easily peel. Luckily, there are more than enough tokens for the game. My biggest gripe with the production quality is the box insert.

It is almost entirely unless. It is just two large areas not sized for the cards. I have ordered a Folded Space LCG insert for the game that I hope will serve to much better organize the box. Overall, I am very pleased with this 2-player experience, and I see a lot of plays coming in the near future!.

If you ever wanted to get into tactical skirmish games, but didn’t want to deal with gluing and painting miniatures, this is the game for you. All characters are represented by cards rather than minis.

The art is good and the components are always great with Plaid Hat Games. Rules are simple to learn; the different factions give a good amount of replay value just in the box, but expansions will give even more.

Highly recommend picking this game up if you ever played or had interest in playing table top games like Warhammer but could get past the fiddliness of the rules or expense of playing. All the factions are interesting and well balanced and the deck building, if you’re interested in it, is very simple and quick as well.

I love how streamlined the rules are and how all rules are oriented towards increasing the pace of play. Immediately one of my favorite games.

This game has been really fun to tinker with. It’s a wonderful production, especially for the price, and the mechanics in it are so unique to a solo experience. Every round feels like you’re making intense interesting decisions that will affect your outcome for better or worse.

This makes each pull of the bag that much more interesting. With the token trays being so well designed, the game is quick to set up and even quicker to break down for each session. I’m excited to pick up the acrylic tokens for it to make the sensory experience all the more pleasing.

The gameplay is built around drawing tokens from a bag and using them to defeat enemy ships and ultimately destroy a capital ship. Each of the 4 ships you pilot has an assortment of special “power” tokens that have different abilities, and there are skill cards that give you a one-time bonus if you use certain tokens to activate them.

There’s also a book that gives you a backstory on the character you play as and helps you choose your setup. It’s easily my favorite solo game, though I have yet to defeat any of the enemy capital ships beyond the easiest one.

Warp’s Edge is a well thought out bag builder for solo players. A handful of different puzzles to solve each with unique decisions and ways to adapt strategy. I played 3 times and immediately bought the upgraded tokens, because I’m going to wear out these cardboard ones.

Perfect little game to bring on our summer vacation.

If you’re like me and you’re looking for good solo options to fill the time between group play, this should probably be one of your first picks. It’s a sort of dice/worker placement game, with a little bit of push your luck to it, and an efficiency puzzle.

It looks like space invaders meet Independence Day, but while the theme is strong that’s not really what the game plays like. Even with the dice, there isn’t strictly speaking a lot of luck to it since you get rerolls and where you place the dice is just as important as the value you roll.

This game is more of a puzzle. Where do you need to put the dice in order to position the alien ships so that you can shoot down multiple of them in one go, while still making sure you have time to research and gain energy, and you have to be careful about how you position the dice because they can’t share columns so choosing to do one option will cut off your other options.

What makes this game work is that everything is so tightly bound together, that every decision you make will have an effect on every other decision you could have made. I haven’t found this to be a brain burner yet, at least on the easier difficulties, because ultimately while there are bad options and slightly worse options and good options and perfect options, it is more about tradeoffs so you’ll find yourself saying “maybe this isn’t the ideal choice, but it’s a good choice at least” and that may be enough to win the game.

At higher difficulties, you will probably have to make ideal decisions every time to win if that’s your thing. If not, then just don’t play the higher difficulties, I know I probably won’t. Aside from gameplay, at the end of the day they packed a lot in this box for a surprisingly low price.

There’s a ton of extra campaign stuff that you may or may not choose to use including different abilities for your cities you defend, characters, etc. This game may not be for everyone, but if you like solo gaming, you don’t mind a sort of euro-y efficiency puzzle, but you also like chucking dice and blowing stuff up, this game will probably worth it for you.

This game is very enjoyable with quite a bit a variability once you open up the campaign materials. The game is like a board game version of Galaga or Space Invaders as you defend earth from aliens descending slowly upon the earth.

The game involves rolling dice, but does not feel luck based at all as the dice rolls usually just give you a puzzle to have to sort out as to the ideal placement to mitigate what the enemy does, while maximizing what you can do.

Occasionally, you need a certain number to come up, but seldom does it come down to that. plus you do reroll during certain die placements. I highly recommend this to the solo board gamers out there, especially if you like the nostalgia that the theme brings.

Comes with nice quality wood components. I would like to have seen a white board like shown on front of box but I knew that it was going to be the dark board like on back of boxes. Tried with 2 players and it worked great.

Then tried with 4 players and it was just a mess with all the walls and I feel like it took a lot of strategy away. I would recommend if you mainly will be playing with 2 players.

This is an amazing game. The product quality is excellent. Seems to be mostly wood that is carefully milled and painted. We keep it out on the coffee table because it looks so cool. The game play is great.

Each time we play, we see another layer deeper into the possibilities. A fun strategy game that keeps revealing subtle new approaches every time you play. Easy to learn. Easy to play. Difficult to master.

It keeps you thinking.

This is a fun and quick game with fantastic components. In a world of cardboard games, the quality of the wooden board and pieces stands out and justifies the price point. The rules are simple, and at 5-10 minutes a game it makes a fantastic filler or best-of-three game.

Battleship is the classic game for almost all ages. This version comes in a very convenient case so you can bring it anywhere you go. I love the compartments making hard to lose any pieces. They make the pieces in its classic colors so it’s easy to keep track and making it easier to play with.

I love playing with my kids and the best thing is that they don’t get old playing it even though we’re all getting older. Truly a family and classic game.

I loved this game as a kid and was so excited to get it for my kids. My 9 yo son especially loves it as does my 11 yo daughter. It’s hard to get their attention off screens but this game certainly does.

The rounds go pretty quickly and there is enough strategy to make it interesting but not overly complicated. I like that everything folds up nice and neat. My only complaint is that the quality isn’t what it used to be – but I guess that’s universal.

Bought this for a birthday present. I would have given it 5 stars except one of the boxes doesn’t close properly and so when it is supposed to be closed it opens up and all the bits fall out. I couldn’t return it as the little girl had opened it and thrown all the packaging away before I realised that it had a fault.

She now has to secure it with sellotape !! Such a shame as it is now not good to be used in the car or outside for fear of losing half the bits and pieces. I would recommend the game but check the boxes close properly.

Being a lifelong Axis&Allies fan and devotee from the original game released in 1984(Hasbro), I was very dubious of a WWI version of the game. I finally decided to pick this release up and am very surprised at how good it is.

For the other reviewer: Yes, we all know that the term Axis wasn’t used untill WWII(it’s called branding: the successful brand name’ mechanics of play come from the axis and allies series, Triple Entente vs.

Central Powers just doesn’t have the same ring to it or appeal). But i digress from someone else’s hieghty dropping of knowledge on us common folk. Here is what really metters: the soldiers all have there completely seperate sculpts, all other pieces share molds.

The board is well done and laid out cockeyed to present the best angle to show the AXIS:Central Powers-Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Ottoman Empire(Turkey) at their heght versus ALLIES-France, U. K. , Italy, and U.

S. on all sides. Overal game play mechanics are all here in spirit of the brand game that it is. Here is one caveat:this is not your father’s or older brother’s Axis&Allies. It is WWI, some units aren’t here because they werent even made yet(historically speaking).

The main piece for the battlefied is the Infantry(not the tank)Infantry holds supreme in this game and will be put through the meat grinder. (only one round of combat to simulate the trenches and stalemate.

Territories can be contested with armies from both sides duking it out for that territory, and occupying it at the same time. ) Artillery supports and promotes infantry, and later tanks. Tanks absorb hits and support infantry to achieve dominance on the field along with the fighter(the precursor to the famous planes of WWII).

Tanks and fighters abilities are limited due to their prototypical nature in WWI. Some famous aspects of previous axis&allies games are left out. No technology development for example. And no paper money.

The basic gameplay of A&A is still evident here, as well the new concept of combining arms. Units get bonuses just by working with other units in combat. (all three types of units- land units, naval units and air fighters are all here).

New rules unclude the Russian Revolution and U. S. nuetrality. In my opinion, great game of WWI, Good game in the A&A family, and I believe one that would be good to get someone that is new to Axis&Allies to start playing.

If there is some negatives or drawbacks they are: no paper money, not enough counting chips, and some powers(Germany)are short on pieces right after setup. Overall quality of box and map is very high, and presentation with each power having a box for its pieces is also very good.

Overall I was pleasantly surprised by this game.

This is an awesome game and captures the feel of ww1 very well. The scale of battle are HUGE! and take a while and often will end up in either a stalemate or a very minimal amount a ground being won.

The rules have been slightly altered to slow down gameplay for that realistic feel. Pro’s: -Large scale battle’s -A&A quality components and beautiful map -Up to 8 players -Captures the era fantastically.

-Loads of fun Con’s -Not very friendly to people wanting to get into the genre. -Doesn’t come with enough pieces(you will find you starting running short of things at around round 2 as the German player, however this can be easily resolved by using other pieces from another game or contacting Wizard of The Coast for extra pieces).

-Can get chaotic and you’ll have so many units in one spot they don’t fit. – Playtime is not short! I had a game take an entire weekend (this can be a positive if you like that). So with all that said its still a great game.

However if your new and looking at getting into A&A this is not your game! Get A&A 1941 instead and go from there to 1942 then come here.

I’ve played the 1941 version of Axis & Allies with my kids three times now and I have really enjoyed the experience. 1941 has a very streamlined rule book and that is easy to read and has lots of visual examples of play.

Each player takes the role of a major power (or coalition of powers) and game play itself is fairly intuitive – you plan troop builds- Army, Navy, Air Force (each having unique units with special abilities), then conduct military operations on a global scale and finally place your reinforcements and collect economic power.

The game does a very good job of recreating the ebb and flow of the Second World War. Players have lots of opportunities to change history – What if the Germans had gone after Moscow instead of turning south? What if Japan had opted to focus more on the land war in Asia or attacked the USSR? – lots of interesting options.

The game is not without a few issues – first, be aware that the game takes much longer than the time listed – to be fair my games have gone long because we spend a lot of time discussing the real war when we play, but even so, plan on a long Saturday or leaving the game set up for a few days.

The major issue is that the initial print run has some incorrect information on the game cards – The US card should list the starting resource points at 17 (not 15) and is missing a 1 Destroyer flotilla off the US East Coast and 1 US Infantry in North China.

The Russian card should list 6 Infantry in Russia (not 3). Search the designers website for confirmation. It it a good game. The End.

As with other A&A boardgames, WWI 1914 captures the military struggle and dilemma of the stability of Europe during the Great War extremely well, but unlike most of the other titles in the A&A series, this game also takes into account certain political events that could possibly still play out as in history, or be prevented/encouraged in order to play to one’s own strategy (America’s late entrance into the war, and the Russian Bolshevik revolution).

With eight powers involved in the game, this also allows for a larger group than normal with past titles. Play is very easy to understand after a few rounds and makes for a great all out game night with deep strategy and a variety of units at your disposal, including infantry, air support, artillery, naval units, and tanks introduced later in the game to match history.

I have had extreme fun playing this and highly recommend it for those who are fans of Axis & Allies.

This game is an awesome attempt to a WWI game and great addition for any veteran axis and allies player. I use the word attempt because although the game is great, and for me it was a very nice mix up from the 1940 global I had been playing frequently, there are shortcomings that hinder the game.

To start, there just aren’t enough pieces for many of the countries. Germany runs out of infantry after set up. This is a very annoying setback for the game. You are almost required to buy more pieces.

Second, the axis powers, mainly Austria-Hungry, can obliterate Russia and Italy while the Germans hold off France and Britain. I have played with my group of friends a few times, and all of us playing different powers each time, and the Austria-Hungry just can win the game before America even gets in.

Now that I have completely turned you away from the game, I must say this; I love this game. After finding ways to get more pieces and a few house rules to even the playing field, this game has turned out great.

It can get bogged down in some areas, but that is how WWI went. That, in my opinion was a great job down by wizards. I hope the come out with a altered set up list and maybe next time not be so cheap with the pieces.

Love the game. Love axis and allies in general.

I love the game. Best Military Strategy game ever made, and I own more than my share of them. The only thing that is disappointing is the prior quality standard the Axis and Allies Brand had previously established with their other games.

No currency ? Card board chips instead of plastic ones? Why hurt the incredible brand the Series has already established?.

I’m a big fan of the series and this is one-half of the ultimate official Axis and Allies experience. New sculpts for Italy compared to the 1st edition. AA pieces for each nation instead of tokens. Pair with Pacific 1940 to make Global 1940.

Combine this with the Axis & Allies: Pacific 1940 and you can play Axis & Allies: Global 1940, which is the closest thing that you can get to playing the original Axis & Allies game that came out in 1984.

The 1984 version is the best version of Axis & Allies and this game is 1/2 off that. My recommendation is to get this game and Axis & Allies: Pacific 1940 and play the Global version. It’s the best WWII strategy game I’ve ever played and I’ve played them all and have been gaming since 1982.

I wondered what the hype around this game was. It’s a 2 player game that was #1 on BoardGameGeek (as of this writing Gloomhaven is the current #1). This game has a LOT of strategy to it, although you can pick up and start playing with only a moderate learning curve.

An experienced player who can plan for what is coming next will have a HUGE advantage. If you don’t handicap (either by points or starting influence) a highly experienced player will almost always win.

The first few games will likely go quickly with one player winning early. This is a cold war game where USA and USSR do proxy battles for influence around the world. The events fit and this game has a wonderful thematic feel.

Younger players born after the end of the cold war might not appreciate it fully.

Deceptively complex, but easy to pick up. A friend and I played through the early years of the Cold War over the weekend, following the set-up and rules appendices with ease! Magnificent representation of the chaotic, reactionary history of the Cold War as represented through mechanics, historically accurate event cards, and neat (horrifying) features like the Defcon tracker.

If you enjoy games with a lot of strategic thinking and high stakes decision making, this game is for you. Also, if you enjoy games that have historical themes, enjoy. If you are someone who likes fantastical art/ themes and having a bit of freedom to choose your own path, move along.

The outcome of this game is very dependent on your choices and the cards you receive. It is intense and a brain burner, but loved by a lot of people- it just depends on what you’re into. Good for 2 players.

I’m not into the art/ theme and I like having more freedom/ creativity which is why I give it 4 stars, but I can appreciate the mechanics/ gameplay.

Order #223972 Just opened this game this weekend and am very impressed by the level of detail in the game pieces and having the much larger board really makes the game feel better. It’s a quality of life thing.

Also being able to play the game with the 1942 rule set allows you to merge this with axis and allies and zombies. It was being able to do this that allowed me to sucker. i mean convince. my friends into playing, and they absolutely loved it that we have made plans to play again.

I must say the little changes that help stream line the game make it really good. Okay there was some small issues I did have though. the naval ships are not very clear and you really need to stare at them to figure out which is which.

(I know. I’m nitpicking here) and just the sheer amount of time it takes to set up, but that comes with the territory of massive games like this. And that’s it. Am I happy with the game. HELL YEAH! Specially when you can play it in so many different configurations (I especially recommend you get the zombies version just to play it on this bigger board) 45 glomboaldorbs out of 21 alphabet cookies.

This is a game for both non war-gamers and seasoned war-gamers alike to easily learn and sink their teeth into, involving politics/partnerships, industrial production (ie. money), area control/influence, movement and strategy more than several movements ahead (requires brain cells).

It has the largest playing board and over 600 detailed playing pieces (of ok quality plastic-wise). Production of this game overall is still impressive. This game will provide MANY hours of play and will enable players to re-enact WW2 scenarios or to completely change it’s course over and over.

I’ve played the NLA Spring 1942 version from the 80’s, the 1941 game (cheaper), and the NLA 50th Anniversary game, which is basically unobtanium unless you won the lottery. I really like this version and think it’s a better value than the 1941 game.

The 1941 version has half the piece count, which hampers play. The old 1942 version had nice pieces, but the rules favored one side over the other – especially if one side got certain technology advances.

The 50th anniversary edition is the best (for game play and piece count), but at a starting cost of around $300 used, it is hard to justify the cost. So really this second edition 1942 version is the best value and has good play balance (rules) so that either side can actually win.

If you want to improve what you get in the box, I recommend buying a set of white dice to augment the black and red dice that come with the game. I also bought some old plastic factory pieces from an auction site because the cardboard ones in the game are not as nice as I’m accustomed to with the older versions.

I bought a candy bar to get me free shipping and then Walmart came through with faster than advertised shipping.

Exactly as described. One of the best boardgames I have ever played. Teaching the next generation how to play the game and they accidentally learn some history along the way.

You can not beat a classic board game, sure theres new games made every year but you will probably never revisit them like a classic one. Risk is one of a few that will surely engage all ages of the family (who are above 6 years old) and once your child has grown up they would still enjoy this game.

I was brought up with this being one of my familys games and now Ive moved out I had to get the identical one for myself, the premise of this is simple and easy to learn but like chess if you have a member strategically inclined your games will be that much harder and enjoyable.

After a while I found my family trying diplomacy to ally themselves against my conquest unfortunately for them they still failed because alliances tend to conflict with each players missions.

Versions differ in design of parts from simple blocks of different shapes to these moulded cavalry/etc but the game is still pretty much the same. There are versions with different instructions giving different ways of playing but for VFM I just wanted to relive my youth.

There are some fantastic versions available in USA and very low prices BUT shipping and customs make that prohibitive!.

So much fun!!! One of the longest board games I’ve played but you’ll be entertained the whole time. It is a strategic game so you have to plan your moves but winning really depends on the number you roll.

Used to play this with my brothers when we were younger. Now I play with my son. The more people playing, the better.

I have played a number of games that use the Commands & Colors system including Battle Cry, Memoir ’44 and from GMT, Ancients, and have enjoyed them all, but felt that in most cases your success could be rather arbitrary based on whether or not you received a good hand of the Command Cards.

Samurai Battles is clearly an entry in the series where GMT has learned a great deal from it’s predecessors and improved an already well regarded rule set. Smaurai Battles is simple but has all the nuances of the previous games and with the Addition of the Dragon Cards and resource management with Fate & Honor tokens makes a game that is filled with a lot of tactical and strategic decision making that feels anything but arbitrary.

There are still the dice rolls that can and will overturn your well laid plans, but that serves more to simulate the chaos of the battlefield then make you think its all based on luck. This is the first Command & Colors game I’ve ever owned, and I am now hooked and want to get all of the games from GMT for the series.

I would highly recommend it to anyone who has an interest in the subject matter (the Japanese Civil Wars of the feudal era) and enjoys the C&C system. If I had any criticisms, is that none of the absolutlely huge number of scenarios (40!), there are none that cover the battles of Kawakajima which is a fairly iconic series of battles from that time period.

I do however suspect this might be the focus of a future expansion that I would be sure to snag when it is available.

This is an updated version of Zvezda original release that retains the Art of Tactics and Command & Colors game systems but replaces the 122 fragile plastic soldiers with sturdy, wooden blocks (which come with stickers you must apply- so technically, this game is NOT ready to play out of the box).

This is an very good implementation of the Richard Borg card-driven order format that focuses on the Japanese “Warring States” period of political unrest. The player will be able to deploy mounted Samurai calvary, archers and ashigaru matchlocks and maneuver these pieces across the board over the course of 40 included scenarios (meaning this game has a high replayability factor).

The Command cards are typical fare for a Borg design, but are also supplemented by the Dragon cards (purchased with the Honor “currency”) that provide asymmetric abilities that can sway the outcome of battle.

Short take: If you like Memoir ’44 or any other C&C title and are also a fan of Japanese martial culture, Samurai Battles may be of interest.

Commands & Colors: Samurai Battles is an excellent entry into the Commands & Colors series of table top war games. Players will command Samurai armies during the Warring States period of Japan. The game includes 40 historical battle scenarios.

The major battles of Nagashino and Sekigahara recieving multiple scenarios. Units are stickered wooden blocks like those in other C&C games. Orders are resolved through play of Command cards and combat resolved with dice.

Overall this is a great war game that will play well for new or experienced gamers.