Latest Axis & Allies miniatures bring the ‘War at Sea’

by Michael Erb
Staff Writer
The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
www.newsandsentinel.com

PARKERSBURG — Some of the greatest battles of World War II were fought not on land or in the air, but at sea.

‘‘Axis & Allies: War at Sea’’ is a two-player collectible miniatures game using maps, miniatures and dice to simulate some of the most dramatic and pitched naval battles of World War II. Each player chooses a side — Axis or Allied forces — drafting teams of ships, planes and submarines and competing to complete scenarios or capture checkpoints while destroying enemy ships and aircraft.

Each vehicle is represented by a highly-detailed plastic miniature and a stat card that contains information on the ship or plane, how it works in the game, and a piece of historical information on the actual ship or how the vehicle was used during the war.

Each piece also has a point value, which is a measure of how effective and versatile the piece is in game play. A monstrous carrier like the Japanese Akagi is worth 27 points because of how hard it is to sink, its ability to carry aircraft into battle and its large guns, while an American PT Boat is worth only six points. Each ship, however, plays a different role in the game, and a properly placed and utilized PT Boat could wind up putting the hurt on even a huge behemoth like the Akagi. A force comprised of a good mix of vehicles often has the best chance of adapting to new situations and winning the day.

Vehicles have a handful of possible attacks, which vary depending on the kind of vehicle you are using. Most of your big ships are equipped with large guns, labeled Gunnery attacks, and some have several guns with varying levels of range. The attack value represents the number of six-sided dice you roll when making the attack.

Anti-aircraft allows ships to shoot at planes, and not all ships have this ability. Planes usually have high anti-aircraft numbers, allowing them to dogfight other planes. Some aircraft even have the ability to drop bombs — high-damage but low-range attacks — which make those ship-mounted anti-aircraft guns all the more important.

As in the actual battles of World War II, torpedoes are the ultimate in ship-killers. Ignoring armor, torpedoes have short range but the ability to quickly cripple or destroy even the largest of ships. The only way to damage subs is to make an Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) attack, the equivalent of a depth charge. Since not all ships have this ability, it is best to have a ship or two capable of taking on submarines as part of your fleet.

I mentioned earlier how torpedoes can ignore armor. There are actually two kinds of armor in the game: regular and vital. Regular armor represents how many successes an attack must get in order to cause damage. Vital armor represents how many successful hits at one time are required to instantly destroy a ship. Any damage that gets past armor is subtracted from a ship’s hull points, and when those are reduced to zero, the ship sinks or is destroyed.

The game is played on grid maps that represent either open sea or island/coastal areas, depending on which side you use. Scenarios contained within the game call for different maps, and a game’s victory conditions are dependent on the scenario chosen. For example, one scenario might call for players to try and dominate sections of the map, called sectors. Another scenario may place one side in the role of an escort, while the other player tries to pick off as many ships as possible before the opponent reaches the opposite end of the map.

Players earn points for achieving objectives and for destroying enemy vehicles, so there are multiple ways to win, and games can be scaled depending on how many ships you want to use and the scenarios you choose.

Altogether, the game is very fun and requires a lot of thinking. Your tactics can vary widely based on the ships you and your opponent choose to use. There is a real feeling of historical accuracy in how the vehicles differ and the special rules each use.

My only gripe is the same complaint I have with all collectible games: The cost. Wizards of the Coast was kind enough to send me a starter set and two boosters for my review, about $55 worth of product, and between the three I had a collection of 18 vehicles to use. But when the points were tallied, I still only had 88 points of Allied vehicles and 95 points of Axis vehicles, along with a 56-point monster of a ship that really could be used with either side. Since the basic scenarios called for 100-point-or-less teams, it was a little frustrating to fall just a few points short.

However, I have to say I really did enjoy the game and I most likely will buy another booster to help round out my forces. The basic set costs about the same as the game ‘‘Battleship’’ but is intensely more flexible and enjoyable. Whether you are a wargamer, a collector or just looking for a different kind of two-player game, ‘‘Axis & Allies : War at Sea’’ is a great place to start.

The ‘‘War at Sea’’ will be available in stores beginning March 16. For more information on the game, other Axis & Allies Miniatures sets, or other Wizards of the Coast products, visit www.wizards.com.

Contact Michael Erb at merb101@gmail.com.

Edit: A review copy of the game was provided for this article.

I had some questions on the scenarios. How many are there(in one set), are they only found in the starter sets, and will there be future ones? Good review. Are the scenarios divied into Atlantic and Pacific?

There are three scenarios, all in the rulebook which comes with the starter set.

The 'standard' scenario is 100pts of ships on each side and a map randomly generated by a d6 roll. This will determine which side of the mapsheet you will use (the one with shoreline or open sea) and where the islands/shoals/objectives will be placed. VPs are given for capturing objectives (no enemy in or adjacent) and sinking enemy ships. 150 points for the win.

The second scenario is a convoy type mission where one side is trying to run a merchant across the map and the other is trying to stop them.

The third scenario is similar to the first but with larger fleets (200-500 points).

Nothing historical and no mention of offical scenarios to come but it dosent seem unlikely.

There are also fleet building limits--i.e. Ger/Jap cannot be in same fleet, It can be in Allied fleet after 1943, as well as limits on how many of certain ships you can have (like 1 Bismark).

Thanks Jesse,

I had completely forgotten to get back with Steve on this.

Good, complete answer too. Thanks again.

I have a feeling now that the game it out, we will be seeing more scenario support online, both from Avalon Hill (WotC) and fans.

ME

I enjoyed the game too, but was left dumbfounded by the price! From a starter and two boosters I could hardly put together a reasonable scenario. My starter had the Yamato which left me in a tough situation to find any opposition to touch it.

One of my two boosters had an uncommon Catalina aircraft, common PT boats, Kate aircraft and a subchaser. This is about what I would expect to get from a two-bit gumball machine with a couple quarters. The rare was the Italian Bolzano. Whoopee. I'm not going to run to the wife and say "Honey look what I just spent $15 on" but rather embarassingly slip them in to the box and gamble on better results from the next booster.

Magic boosters are getting very pricey, but War At Sea goes leaps further for what you get. Fortunately the rule book for WAS illustrates many ship cards (other card illustrations can be found in the Wizards website articles on WAS), so I'm going to proxy them into the game with some card board cut outs and play WAS on the cheap. I've already fought the Battle of the River Platte even though I only own the Exeter. Graf Spee won.

The game is fun. Just way too expensive.

To solve the pricing issue, a lot of gaming stores, both brick and mortar and eBay, are selling the figures separately. You can usually pick up the commons for $.50-$0.75 each, allowing you to build up a numerous fleet quickly. The rares will go for $12-15 but there are only so many of them...