Title Simplified Axis & Allies
If you have never played Axis & Allies before, playing the game out of the box can be overwhelming. This variant greatly simplifies the game, while retaining its essential elements.
GAME BOARD
The game board has land territories and sea zones. Each territory has a point value which represents how much money you receive from each turn. Sea zones have no point value. They split up the board for ship movements. The sea zones on the left and right sides of the board are considered to be next to each other. Moving ships through the Suez & Panama canals counts as one move. Land forces and planes can cross over it from Egypt to Syria for one move.
There are five nations on the board. Each nation has a capital territory marked by its national symbol. Each nation's starting territories are a different color on the board. The nations should be divided fairly among the players. Neutral territories can't be entered.
PIECES
Simplified Axis & Allies uses only 4 types of pieces: Infantry, Armor, Planes & Ships. You can use both types of planes in the box interchangeably and any type of ship as a ship. You also use artillery pieces as infantry.
| Unit | Attack | Defend | Move | Cost | Type |
| Infantry | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | Land Unit |
| Armor | 3 | 3 | 2 | 6 | Land Unit |
| Plane | 3 | 4 | 3 | 10 | Air Unit |
| Ship | 2 | 2 | 2 | 15 | Sea Unit |
ORDER OF PLAY
Each nation has its turn in the following order:
- Russia
- Germany
- Britain
- Japan
- United States
Each nations turn consists of the following actions in order:
- Movement
- Combat
- Land planes
- Buy new units
- Collect Income
MOVEMENT
Land Movement Land units can move a number of areas equal to their move number on land. They must stop upon entering an area with enemy units. They may move through a vacant enemy area, capturing it as they pass through.
Sea Movement Sea units can move a number of areas equal to their move number at sea. They must stop upon entering an area with enemy units. Sea areas are not controlled. Ships never enter ports, they are always at sea.
Air Movement Air units can move a number of areas equal to their move by land or sea. They ignore enemy units when moving. They can't capture an enemy area, even if they are the only surviving units after a battle. After combat, they must move again, landing in any friendly area except those captured this turn or on a fleet. If a plane doesn't attack, it can move double its normal move. No more than 2 planes may land on each ship. Planes attacking from a ship ignore the ship's own movement for measuring distance.
Amphibious Movement Land units may move onto ships. Each ship may carry 2 infantry or 1 infantry + 1 armor. This is in addition to its ability to carry planes.
Once loaded the ship may be moved. After the ship moves (the ship does not have to move), the land units may be unloaded. If you unload into a vacant enemy-controlled area, you capture it. If you unload into an enemy-occupied area, a battle ensues. Ships can't move after unloading, they can move before loading.
COMBAT
When your units enter an enemy-occupied area, a battle will take place. Combat takes place in a number of rounds. During each round, a player rolls 1 die for each unit in the battle. If the roll is less than or equal to the strength of the player's unit, a hit is scored on the enemy. Note that infantry and planes have a greater strength on defense.
The attacker rolls first each round. However, any defending units he destroys still fire back during the round. The player who owns the units that are hit, decides which unit is destroyed.
The battle continues until one or both sides are destroyed. If the attacker has an infantry or armor unit left at the end of the battle, the attacker gains control of the area.
Infantry and armor do not participate in battles at sea. They die if the unit carrying them is destroyed. Planes do participate in the battle. If at the end of the battle, there are insufficient ships to carry the planes, the extra planes are destroyed.
BUY NEW UNITS
At this point in your turn, you can purchase new units. New units are normally placed at your capital. Sea units are placed in an adjacent sea zone. Each nation has limited ability to place new units elsewhere. New units can only be placed in areas you controlled at the start of your turn and the start of the game. The ability to place 1 unit refers to the total number of units, you can't place 1 in each area.
- Russia can place 1 unit in any of its starting areas
- Germany can place 1 unit in Southern Europe
- Britain can place 1 unit in Australia, India, Egypt, South Africa or Canada
- Japan can only place units in Japan
- The USA must divide the total number of units placed equally between the Eastern USA & Western USA. Odd units are the player's choice. If the US player does not control the Western USA, all units are placed in the Eastern USA. In addition the US player can place 1 unit in the Chinese areas held at the start of the game (ignore this unit when splitting units between the coasts).
COLLECT INCOME
Add up the value of all the areas you control. Your receive that much of the game's money. You cannot give money to your allies.
WINNING THE GAME
The game is won by the alliance that first takes an enemy capital.
SETTING UP THE GAME Axis and Allies uses more units than this simplified version. When using the setup charts, substitute the pieces as follows:
- Infantry: Infantry, Artillery
- Armor: Armor, Industrial Complex
- Plane: Fighter, Bomber, AA Gun
- Ship: Transport, Submarine, Carrier, Battleship, Destroyer. When substituting, divide by 2, rounding fractions up (for example, a Transport and 2 Destroyers, would be replaced by 2 ships).
These rules are designed for the Revised edition, but can be used with other versions as well.