David,

Let me first say we all really appreciate the time and energy you spend on Axis and Allies and on this very forum.

Still, I ask: when can we expect Part Two of this interview…

And it’s there: https://www.axisandallies.org/p/qa-with-axis-allies-zombies-game-designer-scott-van-essen-part-2/
Thanks for posting, David. Nice read!

@Krieghund

Yes. I have seen copies like these: green Germans and gray Americans.

@Midnight_Reaper Thanks for the kind words. I spent so much time on that site… But got so much reward from people around the world. The internet was rather new back then. It was so nice having seen it emerging…

On Europe at War: between Axis and Allies Classic and Axis and Allies Europe no new games were released by MB/Hasbro. In that very era, say mid-80s and 2000, we were stuck with this standard Axis and Allies and… ourselves. So that is what we did: scenarios, house rules, map modifications… So many people sent me their own house rules and own scenarios.
I guess most of it can be found through archive.org (great site BTW).

Edit: fix typo

Just wondering…
The Scott van Essen interview - when will part 2 be posted?

I found a scan of the inquiry form / customer survey card.

Someone (thanks!) posted this is a forum:

https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/milton-bradley-gamemaster-series-boardgames.141832/page-2

Direct link to the file:

http://imagizer.imageshack.com/a/img842/7057/w0vt.jpg

Very pleased to just read the breaking news:
https://www.axisandallies.org/p/announcing-axis-and-allies-online/

This is very good news. Curious how some of the specific rules turn out (OOL indeed).
And yes, I hope there will be an add-on for AAZ…

But for now: looking forward to this!
Thanks for posting, David!

BTW: Brief article about AAOL at TechRatpor:
https://techraptor.net/content/axis-and-allies-online-announced

This is a question regaring receiving the 1 infantry bonus for liberating a Z-held territory.

This is how we interpreted this rule:

If you cleared a territory of ALL Zs then you receive a free infantry on that specific territory.

Now, it seems we interpretated this rule wrong. See: https://www.axisandallies.org/forums/topic/32350/axis-allies-and-zombies-q-a

Is it really the case that:

You can attack a Z-held territory. Have one round of combat (of course the Z will first ‘attack’ and you must remove a casualty immediatelly). Then after that call off the attack and - presuming you got one surving land unit - liberate/conquer the territory and gain that additional free infantry while there are still Zs present in this very area. ?

@Slip-Capone ,

Interesting ideas. So we basically got:

(1) North Africa -only map. More campaign based. This can get close to a kind of D-day game.

(2) A bigger map:
(2a) All of Eastern Med: so also battling it out for say Malta, maybe even Cyprus. Allies possibly invading Italy…
(2b) More of Africa: so maybe even including Italian East Africa (and some Vichy France / Free French areas).

Thanks for input!

@thrasher1

Are you sure that it is impossible to purchase more units than you can mobilize, in Classic? As I said, this is not really something that it is going practically to happen, but, at least in the 2nd Edition of Classic, I’m thinking about these cases:

• Purchasing sea units that you have no chance to place because you cannot possibly clear the required sea zones.
• Purchasing more sea units than the total placement capacity adjacent to sea zones (to the extreme of purchasing sea units when you only have IC in land zones adjacent to no sea zones).
• Purchasing AA that you have no chance to place because of the presence of other AA you cannot possibly move out (for example, Japan has only its capital and no sea units remaining, and purchase an AA while having already one).
• Purchasing more IC than the number of territories without an IC you own (to the extreme of purchasing an IC when you only own your capital).

I absolutely love all these cases. Can anyone - as a more ‘academic’ excercise - come up with more examples?

Reminds me of me… coming up with the shortest possible Axis and Allies Classic game

@imperious-leader ,

Re: Buck Rogers we might agree.
My friend and I changed the rules. We introduced elements of both Axis & Allies and Shogun to BRB25C.

These house rules can be found through the Internet Archive:

https://web.archive.org/web/20060517054637/http://www.wargamer.com/axisandallies/OtherBoardGames/TSR/BuckRogers/houserules/BR_house_rules_rusty-thrasher.html

@imperious-leader

Not all have Axis and Allies equivalents. But yes, I think a Space Game of A&A complexity would have been a very nice member of the Gamemaster Series family.

You probably are familiar with the Buck Rogers: Battle for the 25th Century game?

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/548/buck-rogers-battle-25th-century-game

This REALLY is almost like a sixth Gamemaster Series game…

(David, if this gets to much removed from Axis and Allies Classic then please move this discussion to a place more suitalble )

@midnight_reaper

Re: Shogun. Yes the first incarnation was Shogun. Got that one.
Then it was re-released as Samurai Swords. Wish I had bought an extra copy. Then later: Ikusa.

Personally I do not think that last one is a ‘strong’ name.

@midnight_reaper I prefer a space game of alien empires.

What setting you had in mind?

@midnight_reaper I was even looking at making and plotting star systems in such a way that exactly mirrored 1942.2 space by space. Then getting some guy to 3D small scale ships. The game could have alot more technologies and even races with unique qualities ( like the Cylons). Of course this is with D12 dice so their is good differentiation of warship classes.

Interesting approach. But why ‘clone’ that very map?

PART II

Question (8) continued…

(8) Categories / Setting / Period

SCIENCE FICTION / SPACE:

• Earth vs. Other Planets
• Battle of Alien Races

I defenitely would have voted for Earth vs. Other Planets here. Personally I cannot image the other option to be very interesting/attractive for most players. Except when there was a very interesting backstory/setting maybe…

(D) FANTASY:

• King Arthur
• Dragons, …
• Road Warrior, Future Earth

This would be an easy one: I would surely vote for the Road Warrior option. A near future (maybe post-apocalyptic) game could be very interesting? Clans vs. each other? Survivalists vs. invaders? Citizens vs. the state?

(9) Chose one category

This is a hard one… But I think I would have voted for ‘historical’ here.

To all: please tell us what you should have voted back in the 1980s or early 1990s. Or what you would vote for now.

Well, it is a bit late… after 30 years. But why not answer these questions MB asked is now

Please all do and if you have any idea what could realistically have been expected for this sixth Gamemaster Series game: please post here.

(7) Number of Players

Defenitely 3-5 players. Probably individual ‘sides’ could be teamed up in groups or alliances. So most multi-player games would have rules for two persons.
Solitaire play I do not see so much for a Gamemaster Series game to be honest.

(8) Categories / Setting / Period

(A) HISTORICAL:

• Napoleontic
• American Revolution
• Civil War

I would probably have voted for the Napolean option here. But I can imagine that in the US most people would favor a Civil War game. So I think had MB opted to continue the line the next game in the series would have been a civil war game. Blue against Gray? A Nation Divided? Or simply: The Civil War?
Also: probably only Union and Confederate units. Do not think this Civil War game would include other powers like US or France (European intervention) or Native Americans.

The American Revolution would also be very nice. That probably would have included French troops.
Question: I am not from US so please explain to me… why Civil War is so much ‘popular’ then the American Revolution.

(B) MODERN

• WWI
• WWII
• WWIII

I would have voted World War Three here I guess. Hey it still was time of the Cold War. Then again, could that USSR vs. NATO provide a ‘good’ setting for an Axis and Allies like game. Maybe… A problem I see is the use of nukes.

Regarding the option WWII: what would have been the plans for a ‘new’ WWII themed Gamemaster Series game? Axis and Allies part II? Or a new game with a new game mechanic? We can only speculate?

Regarding option WWI: We finally got an Axis and Allies 1914 game. But to be honest I do not think MB would opt for such a game for the next Gamemaster Series game.
Maybe if the line was very successful and there was enough ‘room’ for more games. Then maybe a WWI game was an option.
So what do you think? What would MB have choosen? WWIII? But Fortress America was already there…
Axis and Allies part II? Please share your thoughts here.

@thrasher1

I found a scan of the inquiry form / customer survey card.

Someone (thanks!) posted this is a forum:

https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/milton-bradley-gamemaster-series-boardgames.141832/page-2

Direct link to the file:

http://imagizer.imageshack.com/a/img842/7057/w0vt.jpg

@midnight_reaper

Yes. I hope the will eventually release a FAQ for AAZ and the correct setup for 1942 scenario.