TripleA Axis and Allies [Game Saturday]

TripleA is an open source Axis and Allies boardgame remake for the PC. It is available for Windows, Mac and Linux systems and requires Java to run.

If you never came into contact with the game before let me explain what it is. TripleA is Risk on steroids, more or less. In TripleA, you select a nation of World War II that you want to play which is different from Risk where you are starting all over the map.

Each nation, Germany, Japan, USA, UK and Russia for instance and depending on the scenario that you play, starts with its own set of territories, troops and industry production.

When you look at the available units, you immediately notice the great variety of them. You have land, air and sea units at your disposal, tanks, submarines and fighter jets for instance so that it is usually important to go into battle with a mix of different unit types.

Each turn you perform the following tasks in order:

• Buy new units. Your industry production, PSU, determines what you can and can't but. Infantry units for instance costs 3 PSU, tanks 5 PSU and Battleships 24 PSU making them the most expensive unit in the game. You can also build factories that allow you to place units in territories they are placed in. PSU are earned from territories that you occupy and are different for each region of the world.
• Combat phase. You move your troops into territories to attack. Units have different ranges. Infantry for instance can move one territory per turn while tanks can move two and bombers six. Once you have moved your units you get to pick each battle which plays out like in risk. Units have different strengths. Infantry units for instance need to roll a one on six sided dice to hit enemy units, while tanks do the same on a one, two or three. Chances to hit may also differ depending on whether a unit is attacking or defending. Defending infantry hits enemy units if a one or two is rolled for instance. If units still stand after a combat round, it is up to the attacker to decide whether to continue with the assault or to retreat.
• Non-combat move. You need to move fighter plans and bombers out of territories they attacked. You may also move units that have not moved yet around.
• Place production. You place the units that you have bought on territories with factories. Keep in mind that they are limited in the number of new troops that can be placed in those territories. The only exception is the capital territory where you can place as many units as you want.

You can play the game locally against friends or computer opponents, or online against Internet players. What makes the game engine special is that you can download many maps for the game that you can use to play different scenarios that do not necessarily have to be WWII related. While you get lots of scenarios that are, that may begin the war at a different date for instance, you also get scenarios that play in the first World War or in the Napoleonic era.