Attack! (board game)

Lore & Background

Attack! allows 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, though victory conditions differ from world domination. In the original game, the victor is determined by how many territories each player has; when a player is knocked out or a pre-determined time limit is reached, territories are tallied and the player with the most wins. The expansion adds victory points, with the player having the most victory points by the end of the game winning. Victory points are tallied differently depending on government type. Players start with 12 infantry, six tanks, four artillery, two planes, one battleship, two destroyers, and two subs. Each player chooses four territories and sets a capital on one. Three actions are possible per turn: a move, a Blitzkrieg move, an attack, a diplomacy, or spend on units. Minor powers can be attacked by drawing an economic card, or peacefully annexed.

Reader's Guide

Attack! occupies a niche between the simplicity of Risk and the complexity of Axis and Allies, making it accessible to players seeking a moderately strategic war game. Its 1930s setting and inclusion of plastic pieces for tanks, planes, infantry, and artillery provide a tangible, thematic experience. The game's victory conditions—territory count in the base game and victory points in the expansion—offer alternative paths to winning beyond total conquest. The expansion significantly deepens gameplay with technology cards, trade route cards, Production Points, and political cards, adding layers of economic management and strategic choice. The trade route system introduces naval warfare and economic disruption, while technology cards provide lasting advantages. Attack! received recognition from the Origins Award, indicating its impact within the historical gaming community. Its design by Glenn Drover and publication by Eagle Games helped establish it as a notable entry in the light war game genre.

Did You Know?

• Attack! won the Origins Award for Best Historical Game 2003.
• The game is loosely set in the 1930s and includes plastic pieces for tanks, planes, infantry, and artillery.
• In the expansion, technology cards are gained by rolling a 10 or higher with blue dice, and the required roll decreases for every 5 Production Points spent.
• Trade route cards are auctioned starting at 20 Production Points and can be sunk by submarines with two hits.

Origins & Design Philosophy

Attack! emerged in 2003 as the brainchild of designer Glenn Drover, brought to the table by Eagle Games. From its inception, the game was conceived as a light war experience that deliberately positioned itself in the middle ground between the sprawling complexity of Axis and Allies and the more accessible framework of Risk. This deliberate middle path gave it a unique identity in the strategy genre. The game is loosely anchored in the pre-World War II era of the 1930s, giving players a historical flavor without demanding strict adherence to real-world military history. On the table, the experience is tactile and colorful, with plastic miniatures representing tanks, planes, infantry, and artillery that players deploy across a world map divided into territories. Rather than representing a single nation, each player forges their own military state from scratch, choosing territories and establishing a capital. This open-ended nation-building approach, combined with the era-appropriate aesthetic, gave Attack! a distinctive character that set it apart from both of its inspirations.

Core Gameplay & Victory Conditions

Each player in Attack! begins with a modest but diverse arsenal: twelve infantry, six tanks, four artillery pieces, two planes, one battleship, two destroyers, and two submarines. From this starting force, players select four territories of their choosing on the world map and designate one as their capital. Turn structure revolves around three actions per round, drawn from a menu that includes a standard move, a Blitzkrieg move, a direct attack, a diplomatic action, or spending resources on new units. Turn order is determined by a die roll, with the highest result going first, and play then proceeds in a circle. Victory in the base game is not about total world domination. Instead, a player is eliminated when they lose every territory they hold, or a pre-set time limit expires. At that point, all remaining players' territories are counted, and whoever controls the most is declared the winner. Minor nations on the board can be conquered by drawing an economic card that reveals their unit count and defeating them in combat, or they can be peacefully annexed without a fight.

The Expansion & Its Innovations

The expansion for Attack! dramatically broadened the strategic landscape. It introduced Production Points as the game's currency, earned by totaling the money values on economic cards at the end of each round, and spent to purchase units like battleships and infantry. Technology cards became available when a player rolled ten or higher with the blue dice, and every five Production Points spent reduced that threshold by one. These cards granted tangible advantages, such as tanks requiring three hits to destroy or planes earning an extra die roll in combat. Political cards were awarded for successful diplomatic blitzes or at the end of a round. Perhaps most excitingly, the expansion added the Eastern half of the world to the existing western map, creating a single gigantic board representing Earth circa 1935. Trade Route cards, auctioned starting at twenty Production Points, placed a bold-print sea zone on the board that could be torpedoed by submarines in two hits, though carriers and destroyers could guard them. If a player controlled the oceans entirely, all trade and movement could be halted. Victory shifted to a points system where the tally depended on the type of government a player had chosen.

Legacy & Recognition

Attack! earned immediate critical recognition upon its 2003 release, taking home the Origins Award for Best Historical Game that same year. This accolade validated Glenn Drover's design philosophy of creating a war game that sat comfortably between the accessibility of Risk and the depth of Axis and Allies, proving that a light strategy game could still carry historical weight and strategic richness. The game's placement in that middle ground gave it a dedicated niche in the board game community, appealing to players who wanted more tactical depth than Risk offered without committing to the lengthy sessions of heavier wargames. Its 1930s setting and the tactile plastic miniatures of tanks, planes, infantry, and artillery gave it a visual and thematic identity that resonated with fans of the era. The game found a permanent home in the broader board game community, with a dedicated listing on BoardGameGeek where enthusiasts could discuss strategies, share expansions, and keep the title alive in the years following its publication. The Origins Award cemented Attack! as a notable entry in the historical gaming genre of the early 2000s.

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