And if you like all those games, or just parts of those games, you will probably like Attack! from Eagle Games. This game of world domination is an amalgamation of several good board games rolled into one.
The Pieces
Attack! comes with a very large board that represents most of the world around 1935. There are also eight special dice depicting tanks, soldiers, planes and artillery, plus two normal dice. Six sprues of plastic figures contain all the army pieces you will use to sweep across the board, and a deck of navy cards shows the various seagoing vessels you will use to wage war on the sea. Finally, a deck of economics cards shows just how well your conquered territories can power your war machine.
The board is gorgeous. The map includes North and South America, Europe and Africa. Asia and Australia have gone missing, since they are part of the Attack! Expansion. Colored lines delineate different regions, and gray lines connect shipping points that can be used to send soldiers across the Atlantic. The art is beautiful here, with faded illustrations around the outside showing paratroopers and bombers, tanks and artillery.
The army pieces for the game come in six colors. Oddly enough, two of the colors are gray and khaki, which are not particularly vibrant colors. Of course, lilac and turquoise might have been a little out of place in a game about global conquest.
The pieces are nice, but not awe-inspiring. They do a thoroughly adequate job of letting you see at a glance which troops are where. Each army type – plane, tank, artillery and infantry – comes in two sizes, with the bigger size representing five armies. The tanks and artillery pieces work well, but the infantry and plane pieces are not different enough in size. We found ourselves just putting five armies on the board, since the high rate of attrition meant they weren’t going to be there long, anyway.
The cards are very nice. The economics cards in particular are great, showing industrial machines, mining enterprises and other resources. The navy cards are decent, but their visual design is slightly less than stunning. Above average, maybe, but not dazzling.
The rule book is very succinct, with full-color art throughout and several excellent examples. We rarely found ourselves searching for rules after the first fifteen minutes of play, because the art complements the rules very nicely and makes them easy to find and remember.
The Game
Attack! is relatively simple to play. Each player begins by selecting four regions and reinforcing them, then taking economics cards for each. Each player also gets a navy with which he can attempt to take control of the seas.
On a player’s turn, he may do three things. There are many to choose from, but a player takes exactly three actions per turn, choosing from a list. These actions are:
Move any or all armies, then fight resulting battles. Blitzkrieg move a second time, but this time only tanks and planes may move. Strategic move armies into position by moving only through friendly regions, to reinforce key areas. Naval battle to wrest control of the seas from another player. Diplomatic blitz a neutral country to make it an ally. Build new units. Trade cards or favors with other players.
The limit of three actions means that every turn must be planned with care, to prevent a scenario in which the bulk of your forces are stranded far from poorly-defended areas, or to allow the maximum gain in resources. This strategy goes forward throughout the game, ensuring tense moments for all.
Battle are difficult to explain, but ridiculously easy to play out. Players initially put forth four army pieces for each side, then take turns rolling the special dice, with one more die rolled than armies present. Each die that matches a type of army present on the attacker’s side destroys one unit from the defender’s side. Players reinforce their armies, which grow as the battle progresses, until only one side has pieces left. This results in massive battles that often cost both sides most of their armies, especially in closely-matched fights.
When a player moves into a neutral region, he draws an economics card that shows what forces oppose him, as well as the reward for his efforts should he succeed. Another player acts as the defending neutrals, battling as normal. If the player succeeds, he adds the economics card to his hand.
One key strategic factor is controlling the seas. The player that controls the seas may block other players from transporting armies across the ocean. In a two-player game, that simply means that the player that does not control the sea cannot cross the Atlantic, while the other play can. In a larger game, players may trade favors or economics cards for the privilege of invading each other, giving rise to devious and convoluted trading schemes and bids for power.
Naval battles occur when one player challenges the existing ruler of the seas for control. These battle are also simple – each player puts out the same number of ships, faces them off against each other, and rolls the two normal dice. A sort of rock-scissors-paper relationship exists between the ships, with destroyers gaining a bonus against submarines, subs gaining the advantage against battleships, and battleships having the edge over destroyers. Aircraft carriers have the advantage against anyone. Unlike land battles, a losing player may elect to pull his remaining ships and cede victory to his opponent.
Diplomatic attempts to gain regions are very simple, and are the only action that may occur more than once per turn. The attempting player simply rolls the two dice, and if the region is adjacent, an 8 or better grants him a free infantry unit in that region and an economics card. If the player fails, other players may attempt to take the region, but they generally need to roll 9 or more. If everyone fails, the region remains neutral. This action is often used at the end of a turn when a player is out of options, and needs one more action to finish his turn.
Whenever a player wants to build new units, he counts up his economics cards to determine how many production points he has available. He may spend these points on army or naval units, reinforcing any regions he controls. Since this counts as one of a player’s actions, it does not happen as often as most players would probably like.
Trading can only occur on a player’s turn, and also counts as an action. For instance, if it is Bob’s turn, Jane and Eddie cannot transact. If they do wish to trade on Jane’s turn, Jane must use one of her actions to perform the trade. Favors or economics cards can be up for trade, from temporary alliances to the right to cross the seas, and anything between.
The game ends when one player is eliminated, or at a set time. When the game ends, the player with the most regions wins. There are no complicated scoring procedures, and in case of ties, the player with the most army units takes the day.
Observations
This game is far more fun than it sounds in a quick summary of the rules. The battles are exciting, with enormous consequences for failure or success. Ruling the sea takes on incredible strategic importance, as the player who controls the seas can maraud across a continent at will, sure in his knowledge that his foes cannot take cross the Atlantic and come in his back door. On the other hand, a player who can steal the seas can move across them, often surprising other players who believe their rear guard is safe.
All told, strategic options abound in Attack! The game moves incredibly quickly, with turns rarely taking more than a few minutes. Since other players are almost always involved in the active player’s turn, the game never gets boring, even with a large group. While the game can be enjoyed by two people, more is definitely better.
A few aesthetic issues serve to make Attack! a little less appealing. For one thing, the infantry units will not stand up unless every one is trimmed to remove the flash at the base. For another, it is difficult to tell the difference between a 5-unit infantry piece and a 1-unit piece, because they are too close in size. While all of the art is fantastic and very appropriate, the actual design on some of the cards leaves something to be desired.
Finally, the game does not have a tray or caddy. If you trim out every one of the pieces from their sprues (a task that could take you hours), you will have several hundred pieces rolling around in the box. A simple cardboard divider would have made this game a lot easier to set up and store.
Summary
With exciting and deep strategic play, Attack! is an exceptionally fun game that will appeal to a wide variety of board gamers. While the visual design is not up to snuff with some of the bigger game makers, it is still very attractive and better than many I have seen.
Style: 4 – Great art compensates for a few slight design decisions, and even comes close to making up for the lack of any kind of storage device.
Substance: 5 – A surprisingly fun game that is easy to learn and will appeal to a wide range of board game fans.
