The primary goal of this game design was to reimagine the classic board games "Risk" and "Axis & Allies" by targeting and replacing or eliminating their least enjoyed mechanics and elements, while retaining and building around their best qualities (particularly "Risk".
The game is played on a map of Earth, including all seven continents, broken into 8 different land "Regions" and 6 ocean "Regions". Similar to Risk or A&A, players control factions and compete for power, influence, and resources and use dice to resolve conflicts.
Unlike the parent games, Global War embraces a multi-purpose card system whereby new reinforcements can be claimed OR players can interact and modify dice rolls - even on other player's turns.
Also unlike the parent games, Global War has a "double elimination" mechanic; where a newly eliminated faction enters a "Piracy" stage - where they can utilize the game's built-in naval warfare mechanics to continue influencing the final outcome of the game (and potentially still win!)
The game also has a variety of selectable win conditions and is semi-modular to allow for simpler, quick strategic gameplay, or more complex, longer games that have a similar feel to classic wargaming.
—description from the designer