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From Avalonhill web site:
German tanks thunder into the snow-covered Ardennes forest, opposed only by a few unsuspecting divisions of exhausted American troops. As Axis forces plunge into the countryside, Allied troops must struggle to hold the front line in order to repel the all-out offensive. Axis & Allies: Battle of the Bulge challenges you to control territory and contend with supply shortages, while directing infantry, artillery, tanks, and aircraft in one of the most decisive conflicts of World War II.
Scheduled for release in November, 2006, Axis & Allies Battle of the Bulge will feature detailed game components including a new truck piece, a hex-based game board with new original artwork, and original artwork commissioned exclusively for the Battle of the Bulge game box. Other elements of this new Axis & Allies variant include crucial elements that were key factors in the historical battle, such as supply shortages and late-battle air support, mechanics for overland vs. road movement and randomized casualties of war
Axis & Allies depicts Wacht am Rhein (Watch on the Rhein), the German code name for this counteroffensive that took place toward the end of World War II. The objective: to capture the port city of Antwerp. It was expected that the capture of Antwerp would cause a great disruption in the flow of Allied supplies, and also have the effect of breaking apart the great Anglo-American alliance.
One player controls Germany, whose massive build up of forces have gone undetected by the Allies and are poised to unleash all their fury on the Allies. The other player controls the forces of the United Kingdom and the United States and they must stem the tide of German armor and hold their positions until reinforcements arrive.
Axis & Allies Battle of the Bulge is designed for two players and can be played in three to four hours. Axis & Allies Battle of the Bulge is the fourth Axis & Allies variant, following the successful Axis & Allies D-Day, Axis & Allies Europe and Axis & Allies Pacific versions. Axis & Allies Battle of the Bulge is available on November 17th, 2006.
Box Dimension: 15.8 x 10.5 x 3
Part of the Axis & Allies (Avalon Hill) family — see Axis & Allies: Europe for the combined view.
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Images
- Captures the feel of the Battle of the Bulge
- Interesting combat system
- Strategic supply line mechanic
- German offensive vs. Allied defense
- Battle of the Bulge, WWII Western Front
- Asymmetrical warfare with supply lines
- Axis & Allies
- North Africa game
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Dice combat with order of destruction — rolling uh the dieice and then you're placing them kind of on these strips uh that indicate the order in which units are destroyed.
- Front-line movement — you got kind of a front line, and as the Germans advance, you um will move that front line.
- Objective Capture — every step they move forward uh they're capturing towns and they're they're they're going up there. This one this one on their victory points are going up.
- Supply lines — your units kind of need to be in supply and they need to have supplies around them in order to to function effectively.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- This is a great war game set in the Seven Years War.
- You can only play those suits in those those areas.
- This is a great game about the American Revolution.
- The die is just as likely to hurt you as to hurt the enemy um or cause you to retreat.
- It's a very accessible, very easy game to get into, but it still packs a huge punch.
- This is, I think, one of the only games, if not the only game on this list that is a dedicated campaign game.
- I'm not a huge fan of campaign games generally. I'm just I'm not. But I love this one.
References (from this video)
- classic war-game feel with modern production
- large number of miniatures enhances immersion
- two-player head-to-head hex-based warfare
- World War II battle in the Ardennes
- historical/operational
- Axis & Allies
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Hexagon Grid — Hundreds of plastic miniatures for terrain and units.
- multi-miniatures warfare on hex grid — Hundreds of plastic miniatures for terrain and units.
- two-player head-to-head — Direct competition between two sides to control territory.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I am an optimistic person. So I think we will figure this out.
- Happy gaming out there. Grant with GrantsGameres.
References (from this video)
- Germans are strong and tough at the beginning
- Allies are scattered and weaker initially
- Physically moving the front line marker
- Excellent supply management
- Fun and different combat system with combat strips
- Great abstraction of the actual battle
- A lot of fun
- The Battle of the Bulge
- World War II
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Combat Strips — You have these combat strips you pull out and you roll the dieice and you you kind of put the um dice in the appropriate places on the combat strips.
- hex grid — It's hex not hexen counter hex and figure, right? But it's hex's which is something new.
- Line Marker — You're actually physically moving this line marker. You're actually moving your uh uh line or front line forward as the Germans.
- supply management — This does an absolute great job with uh supply and managing supply because that was such an important part of the Battle of the Bulge.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I really like this game because you got the the the Germans are really strong and tough at the beginning and the allies are scattered and they're weaker.
- And again, this does an absolute great job with uh supply and managing supply because that was such an important part of the Battle of the Bulge.
- But I like too combat here's a little different. you have these combat strips you pull out and you roll the dieice and you you kind of put the um dice in the appropriate places on the combat strips.
- Axis and Allies Guad Canal. Guad Canal is a great primarily navalbased game, although you are taking the islands with with infantry, what have you.
- Artillery on the islands can fire in the naval battles. It's just a lot of fun.
- I love the naval focus. Some of my favorite battles are naval battles. I love it when you're bringing in the carriers and the battleships and the cruisers and the subs and the destroyers.
- But here in the Pacific, you feel like the whole board is being used and and and potentially threatened and an avenue to victory.
- Axis and Allies Anniversary Edition is awesome.
- It's got Italy as its own player. This is the first one that introduced uh Italy as its own player. So, it's a sixplayer game.
- To me, this is the best the definitive edition certainly of kind of a global game.
- I never go back to the paper money or the regular dice again. I love such a quality life of improvement.
- If you really enjoy access and allies, you should really look into acquiring uh the the poker chips and the hit dice because they're just fantastic for any game of access and allies.
References (from this video)
- Interesting ideas
- Solid version
- Don't want to play this one all the time
- Battle of the Bulge
- Axis & Allies
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Logistics — The game is all about logistics.
- Reprint — A reprint of a classic Axis & Allies game.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I tell you what I think about the games now if I think about them at all.
- It is that fantastic of a game, No Thanks.
- There are some really terrible Princess Bride games out there.
- This is one of the bad ones.
- It's too little too late, honestly, this this thing.
- Mean mean mean mean little game.
- Very mechanical game. Very lack of theme almost as you put these tiles in your pot. But it works.
- Mama Mia is one of those games that I bring out at conventions and play with people, little memory game which I like a lot.
- It's an amazing game.
- What a terrible roll and write style game.
- It's just awful.
- It's not great either. Just misses the mark.
- It's all about logistics.
- Really impressed with this one. Bright, cheerful, fun, fast.