Absolute Victory: World Conflict 1939-1945

About this board game

Absolute Victory: World Conflict 1939-1945 is a two-player global World War II game with an approximately 1,200-minute play time. Designed by Ben Madison and Wes Erni, the game focuses on the military and strategic aspects of the war across a world-spanning map system.

Three large maps, each measuring 39×26 hexes, cover the entire world on a sliding scale. Regions that saw the most fighting, such as Europe, receive greater attention, while areas including South America occupy less space. This approach creates a worldwide view while emphasizing the principal theaters of conflict.

• More than 1,700 counters represent land, naval, and air forces from over 90 nations.
• A chit draw system includes more than 2,500 random events.
• Simple production rules avoid extensive resource accounting.
• Land combat features a tense system built around different battle modes.
• Alternating military and political pulses reduce downtime for the non-phasing player.

The random events plunge players into the unstable wartime world of the 1940s, where competing agendas, uncertain nations, and untrustworthy allies can affect the course of the conflict. Rather than concentrating on detailed administrative tasks, the design keeps attention on decisions at the military and strategic levels.

Turns unfold through alternating pulses, some military and some political, so both players remain closely involved. With its broad geographic scale, extensive counter mix, and unpredictable event system, Absolute Victory presents a substantial interpretation of the 1939-1945 global conflict.