World War II
1939 – 1945
Six powers on a global board, which means the war is never one war — the Pacific and the Eastern Front run on separate clocks and reinforcements have to be chosen between them. The classic mistake here is winning both theatres slowly instead of one of them quickly.
The era at a glance
- Period
- 1939 – 1945
- Factions
- 6
- Board
- World War II (1939–1945) — 42 territories
- Regions
- 11
- Players
- 2–8, any mix of people and AI
- Price
- Free. No download, no account required.
Who you can play
Each faction has its own passive strengths and one ability that changes how it fights. They are asymmetric on purpose — the same board plays differently depending on who you take.
- Third Reich
-
Blitzkrieg doctrine — after a successful capture, may make one immediate bonus attack per turn.
A mechanized war machine built on shock and tempo, Germany seeks to collapse fronts before attrition can catch up.
Ability: Blitzkrieg: once per turn, after capturing a territory immediately execute a free additional attack from that territory.
- Soviet Union
-
Vast reserves — +2 reinforcements per turn; wartime_logistics allows 3 fortify moves.
Factories beyond the Urals and endless manpower let the Soviet state trade land for time and return with crushing mass.
Ability: Mass Mobilization: once per game, place 5 extra units on any owned territory.
- United States
-
Industrial supremacy — +1 production unit from every owned territory per turn.
Protected by oceans and powered by industry, the United States converts economic depth into global military reach.
Ability: Arsenal of Democracy: once per turn during draft, spend 5 production points to place 3 extra units.
- United Kingdom
-
Island fortress and global empire — recovers stability quickly in contested ground.
Britain survives through naval control, imperial links, and the stubborn advantage of making every approach expensive.
- Imperial Japan
-
Pacific supremacy — sea-lane attacks use 3 dice; +1 attack die in Pacific or Asia regions.
Fast carrier warfare and aggressive expansion define Japan at its peak, where initiative matters more than margin for error.
Ability: Banzai Charge: once per turn, one attack exchange uses 4 attack dice (maximum).
- Chinese Nationalists
-
Guerrilla resistance — +1 defense die; can spend production to place hidden reserve units.
Fighting across fractured provinces, Chinese resistance depends on endurance, local knowledge, and refusing decisive collapse.
Ability: Guerrilla Warfare: once per turn, place 1 unit on any owned territory for free.
Regions and what they pay
- Western Front
- 0 territories · +5 per turn
- Eastern Front
- 0 territories · +5 per turn
- North Africa
- 0 territories · +4 per turn
- Pacific Theatre
- 0 territories · +5 per turn
- China Theatre
- 0 territories · +4 per turn
- Atlantic
- 0 territories · +2 per turn
- Middle East
- 0 territories · +4 per turn
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- 0 territories · +2 per turn
- Remote Frontiers
- 0 territories · +2 per turn
- Southern Ocean
- 0 territories · +2 per turn
- Antarctica
- 0 territories · +3 per turn
Play this era
Start a game and pick the era in the lobby, or let a full campaign carry you through the whole arc — a single game can begin with legions and end in orbit. Guest play needs no account.