Attack!
Encyclopedia
Attack! is a board game
created by Glenn Drover and published by Eagle Games
in 2003
. It is a light wargame
that is midway between Risk
and Axis and Allies
in complexity. The game is loosely set in the 1930s and includes plastic pieces featuring tanks, planes, infantry, and artillery. Attack! won the Origins Award
for Best Historical Game 2003.
, Attack! allows the players to create their own military states on a board showing a map of the Earth divided into territories and attack other players in an attempt to conquer the world, although the victory conditions for Attack! are a bit different from world domination. In the original game the victor is determined by how many territories each player has. When a player is knocked out by losing all of his or her territories or a pre-determined time limit is reached, each players' territories are then tallied and the player with the most is the victor. In the expansion to the board game, victory points are added. Whichever player has the most victory points by the end of the game wins. Victory points are tallied differently depending on what government type one has. The game is supposed to be set in the pre-World War II
era.
Players start with 12 infantry
, 6 tanks
, 4 artillery
, and 2 planes
. They also start with 1 battleship
, 2 destroyers
, and 2 subs
. Each player chooses 4 territories of their liking, and sets their capital on 1 of the four territories. You choose to do one of these actions: a move, a Blitzkrieg
move, an attack, a diplomacy
, or spend on units. In one turn, player is able to do three actions. Each player does his/her turn in a circle, the person with the highest die roll going first.
You can prevent trades and movement if you control the oceans. You can attack minor powers. The economic card you draw shows the number of the minor nation's army. You annex it if you defeat its vast army. You can also peacefully persuade the minor power to join your "great” cause. In the Expansion version of Attack technology cards, trade route cards, and p.p (Production Points) are added to your cause. Technology cards are gained by a player if he or she successfully rolls a 10 or higher with the blue dice. Every time you chip in 5 P.P, the dice roll number needed to win a technology card is subtracted by one. The technology cards give you vital advantages like tanks take three hits to destroy or planes get one extra die roll in battles. Trade Route cards are actioned cards starting at 20 p.p. every player attempts to gain it by bidding higher. The highest bid wins. You place the trade route card on the sea zone listed in bold print on the card. Subs can attempt to torpedo the precious trade route card until it’s gone. Two hits sink the trade route cards. You can, however attempt to stop this threat by guarding the much needed trade route card with carriers and destroyers. P.P is paper money that you spend on war materials such as battleships and infantry. You get more at the end of the round when you total up your economic cards' money value.
Another vital factor in the expansion is political cards. With these cards, you can wreak havoc on your enemies or aid yourself or your allies. Every time you successfully launch a diplomatic blitz or at the end of the round, you gain a new political card. Some political action cards can block other political action cards. The expansion includes the Eastern side of the world which you can add on to the western map board to make a gigantic map of the world Earth circa 1935.
Board game
A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve...
created by Glenn Drover and published by Eagle Games
Eagle Games
-Background:Founded in 2001, the Eagle Games company is based in Plainfield, Illinois and was found by Glenn Drover.In 2007, the company was bought by Ashland, Oregon-based Gryphon Games. In 2010, the company produced 28 new board games designed principally by other gamers from around the world...
in 2003
2003 in games
This page lists board and card games, wargames, miniatures games, and table-top role-playing games published in 2003. For video and console games, see 2003 in video gaming.-Game awards given in 2003:*International Gamers Award: Hammer of the Scots...
. It is a light wargame
Wargaming
A wargame is a strategy game that deals with military operations of various types, real or fictional. Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of such games, which can also be called conflict simulations, or consims for short. When used professionally to study warfare, it is generally known as...
that is midway between Risk
Risk (game)
Risk is a strategic board game, produced by Parker Brothers . It was invented by French film director Albert Lamorisse and originally released in 1957 as La Conquête du Monde in France. Risk is a turn-based game for two to six players...
and Axis and Allies
Axis and Allies
Axis & Allies is a popular series of World War II strategy board games, with nearly two million copies printed. Originally designed by Larry Harris and published by Nova Game Designs in 1981, the game was republished by the Milton Bradley Company in 1984 as part of the Gamemaster Series of board...
in complexity. The game is loosely set in the 1930s and includes plastic pieces featuring tanks, planes, infantry, and artillery. Attack! won the Origins Award
Origins Award
The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so the 1979 awards were given at the 1980 Origins.The Origins Award is commonly...
for Best Historical Game 2003.
Overview
Like RiskRisk
Risk is the potential that a chosen action or activity will lead to a loss . The notion implies that a choice having an influence on the outcome exists . Potential losses themselves may also be called "risks"...
, Attack! allows the players to create their own military states on a board showing a map of the Earth divided into territories and attack other players in an attempt to conquer the world, although the victory conditions for Attack! are a bit different from world domination. In the original game the victor is determined by how many territories each player has. When a player is knocked out by losing all of his or her territories or a pre-determined time limit is reached, each players' territories are then tallied and the player with the most is the victor. In the expansion to the board game, victory points are added. Whichever player has the most victory points by the end of the game wins. Victory points are tallied differently depending on what government type one has. The game is supposed to be set in the pre-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
era.
Players start with 12 infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
, 6 tanks
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
, 4 artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
, and 2 planes
Fixed-wing aircraft
A fixed-wing aircraft is an aircraft capable of flight using wings that generate lift due to the vehicle's forward airspeed. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft in which wings rotate about a fixed mast and ornithopters in which lift is generated by flapping wings.A powered...
. They also start with 1 battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
, 2 destroyers
Destroyer
In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against smaller, powerful, short-range attackers. Destroyers, originally called torpedo-boat destroyers in 1892, evolved from...
, and 2 subs
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
. Each player chooses 4 territories of their liking, and sets their capital on 1 of the four territories. You choose to do one of these actions: a move, a Blitzkrieg
Blitzkrieg
For other uses of the word, see: Blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg is an anglicized word describing all-motorised force concentration of tanks, infantry, artillery, combat engineers and air power, concentrating overwhelming force at high speed to break through enemy lines, and, once the lines are broken,...
move, an attack, a diplomacy
Diplomacy
Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
, or spend on units. In one turn, player is able to do three actions. Each player does his/her turn in a circle, the person with the highest die roll going first.
You can prevent trades and movement if you control the oceans. You can attack minor powers. The economic card you draw shows the number of the minor nation's army. You annex it if you defeat its vast army. You can also peacefully persuade the minor power to join your "great” cause. In the Expansion version of Attack technology cards, trade route cards, and p.p (Production Points) are added to your cause. Technology cards are gained by a player if he or she successfully rolls a 10 or higher with the blue dice. Every time you chip in 5 P.P, the dice roll number needed to win a technology card is subtracted by one. The technology cards give you vital advantages like tanks take three hits to destroy or planes get one extra die roll in battles. Trade Route cards are actioned cards starting at 20 p.p. every player attempts to gain it by bidding higher. The highest bid wins. You place the trade route card on the sea zone listed in bold print on the card. Subs can attempt to torpedo the precious trade route card until it’s gone. Two hits sink the trade route cards. You can, however attempt to stop this threat by guarding the much needed trade route card with carriers and destroyers. P.P is paper money that you spend on war materials such as battleships and infantry. You get more at the end of the round when you total up your economic cards' money value.
Another vital factor in the expansion is political cards. With these cards, you can wreak havoc on your enemies or aid yourself or your allies. Every time you successfully launch a diplomatic blitz or at the end of the round, you gain a new political card. Some political action cards can block other political action cards. The expansion includes the Eastern side of the world which you can add on to the western map board to make a gigantic map of the world Earth circa 1935.