Fatal Alliances: The Great War 1914-1918

About this board game

Fatal Alliances: The Great War 1914-1918 is an all-encompassing World War I strategy game for 2-6 players, with games lasting about 1200 minutes. Released in 2016, it places the fate of nations in the hands of players making decisions across every theater and aspect of the First World War.

Although trench warfare dominates the image of the conflict, the war represented here is far more dynamic. Battles unfold across the Western and Eastern Fronts, the Middle East, the Balkans, the Caucasus, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. Military operations must adapt to major technological changes on land, at sea, and in the air.

• Coordinate artillery, infantry, cavalry, shock troops, engineers, gas units, early tanks, and elite ace-led air forces.
• Manage naval and air warfare while protecting your nation’s will to fight and weakening the enemy’s.
• Use international politics to sway minor and major powers, including Italy, China, South Africa, and Japan.
• Contend with civil unrest, military revolution, troop refusals, colonial control, and Russia’s potential revolution.

The diplomatic and civilian fronts are central to victory. Germany’s forces operate in Africa, the Ottoman Empire faces enemies in the Caucasus and around the Suez Canal, and Japan’s expansionism can conflict with Allied interests. Meanwhile, China is in turmoil and Russia’s Bolsheviks and Tsarist forces struggle for control.

With 1,680 counters representing the armies, navies, and air forces of the Great War, every decision carries weight. In Fatal Alliances, players decide what to produce, where to commit forces, and when to act—while coping with unforeseen consequences. No two games play the same, and no strategy is foolproof.