Gamemaster (board game series)

Lore & Background

The Gamemaster Series consisted of five titles: Axis & Allies (1984), Conquest of the Empire (1984), Broadsides and Boarding Parties (1984), Fortress America (1986), and Shogun (1986). All five games were originally published by Milton Bradley as part of the Gamemaster Series, not by smaller publishers. The designers were not credited until later re-releases: Axis & Allies and Conquest of the Empire were designed by Larry Harris; Broadsides and Boarding Parties and Fortress America by Mike Gray; and Shogun by Larry Harris.

Axis & Allies, a strategic-level World War II game, was the most successful, spawning revised editions, spin-offs, computer games, and a miniature wargaming series. Conquest of the Empire, set during the Crisis of the Third Century, featured a Caesar capture mechanic and an inflation system. Broadsides and Boarding Parties was a two-player tactical naval duel, the only game in the series without grand-strategy elements. Fortress America presented an asymmetrical invasion of the United States, while Shogun (later renamed Samurai Swords and then Ikusa) focused on feudal Japan with hidden bidding and randomized action selection.

Following the discontinuation of the Gamemaster branding in the early 1990s, Hasbro absorbed the intellectual property rights. In 1999, Axis & Allies was moved to Hasbro's Avalon Hill imprint, which later became a subsidiary of Wizards of the Coast in 2004. Shogun was also published by Avalon Hill under the title Ikusa. Conquest of the Empire was re-released by Eagle Games in 2005, and Fortress America was licensed to Fantasy Flight Games for a 2012 re-release.

Reader's Guide

The Gamemaster Series holds significance as a bridge between niche wargaming and mainstream board game audiences. By republishing titles from smaller designers under the Milton Bradley brand, the series brought complex strategic gameplay to a wider market. Axis & Allies, in particular, became a flagship product that sustained decades of revisions and expansions, influencing later wargame design. The series also demonstrated the viability of asymmetrical and historical conflict games in a mass-market context. Although Broadsides and Boarding Parties was never reissued, the other four games saw continued life through various publishers, with Axis & Allies remaining a staple of the Avalon Hill line. The series' legacy is evident in the ongoing production of Axis & Allies editions and the periodic re-releases of its companion titles, ensuring that the Gamemaster name remains recognized among board game enthusiasts.

Did You Know?

• Broadsides and Boarding Parties was the only Gamemaster title not subjected to subsequent reissues or revisions.
• Shogun was renamed twice: first to Samurai Swords in 1995, then to Ikusa in 2011.
• Fortress America's cover art was revised in a later reissue to remove Saddam Hussein, but the original 1986 Gamemaster Series cover did not feature him.
• Axis & Allies was one of three board games re-released for Avalon Hill's 50th anniversary in 2008.