Axis & Allies - WWI 1914 (English)

This is not World War II. Progress during "The War to End All Wars" was measured in yards, not miles. The Italians were on the side of the Allies, while Turkey - then at the center of the Ottoman Empire - was one of the members of what was known as the Central Powers. The German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire were the other two main Central Powers.

The great Allies, sometimes called the Entente, consisted of the British Empire, France, Italy, the USA, and Imperial Russia. The alliance included other historical members, but they fell more or less under the command and control of one of these great powers. In fact, even the American army would have found itself merely as replacements for French and British troops if General Pershing had not insisted that its integrity be maintained.

Axis & Allies: WWI 1914 puts players in charge of one of the great powers, each with its own infantry miniature; other miniatures represent artillery, tanks, aircraft, and naval formations for either the Allies or the Central Powers.

As designer Larry Harris notes: "While playing this game, you will quickly realize that this is not World War II. There are no massive sweeps across continents with blitzing armored divisions and aircraft. Instead, there are a series of determined offensives resisted by equally determined armies dedicated to holding the line. You will discover that your dwindling resources of men and artillery must be deployed with great thought and efficiency. You will fight much the same way that mankind has fought each other for thousands of years - only this time the ability to kill your enemy, and for him to kill you, has become unbearably efficient."

Regardless of what is stated on the back of the game about the playtime (1-3 hours), the actual playtime is probably closer to 8 hours of gameplay for this game!