Monster game

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A monster game is a game that is either very large, very complex, or both. [1] One criterion sometimes adopted is the number of pieces; a game which puts greater than 1000 counters into play at once may be considered to be a monster game. [2] This classification can technically be applied to any board game, but most commonly refers to the kind of non-abstract wargames in which a large amount of time is needed to play each turn as a result of a relatively high commitment to period accurate military realism. There is controversy over which would have been the first monster game in the field of wargames with many stating that Drang Nach Osten! (GDW, 1973) was pretty universally accepted as the first monster wargame. Drang Nach Osten and its companion, Unentschieden led to the Europa Series games, a giant WWII game. [3]

Contents

Wargames that are considered monster games include:

WargameCompanyYearCountersPlaying time (hours)Description
Drang nach Osten! (DNO)GDW19731,792200A game to cover Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of Russia. [4]
Europa series GDW, GRD, Mill Creek Ventures and Historical Military Services (HMS)1973-A series containing 17 war games (the first being Drang nach Osten!), which can be combined, most games classified as monster games.
La Bataille de la Moscowa GDW19751,44016A simulation game of the Battle of Borodino. It is both complex and large. [1]
War in Europe SPI 19763,6006A simulation game of the war in Europe. This game is a combination of War in the East and War in the West with additional rules and mechanics. [5]
Highway to the Reich SPI 19762,4006The game is set during the Second World War, covering ten days of Operation Market-Garden, from 17 to 26 September 1944, with two hours per turn.
War in the Pacific SPI 19783,2006A simulation game of the War in the Pacific with 7 maps. [6]
The Campaign for North Africa SPI19791,6001,000A game about the Campaign for North Africa
The Great War in Europe XTR Corp 19951,2006A simulation game of the first world war in Europe.
DAK The Gamers 19971,5406A game that covers the entire North African campaign at the regimental level
Case Blue The Gamers 20073,500 (2,660 unit counters and 840 marker counters)375A game that covers both the Axis advance (between 1941 and 1942) as well as the Soviet counterattacks (Nov 42 to Jan 43) and the German counteroffensive at Kharkov (Feb-March 1943) including the Case Blue 1942 strategic summer offensive in southern Russia between 28 June and 24 November 1942, during World War II. [7]

See also

Related Research Articles

Europa is a series of board wargames planned to cover combat over the entire European Theater of World War II at a scale that represents units from divisions down to battalions and game turns that represent two weeks of time. The series was launched in 1973, and is still in production as of 2013, with over a dozen titles published and several more still in production or planning. Most of the titles qualify as "monster games", a subgenre of wargames featuring extensive orders of battle, a complex ruleset and usually a large game-map area with a detailed representation of the terrain they cover.

<i>Fire in the East</i> Board game

Fire in the East is a monster board wargame published in 1984 by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) that simulates Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.

<i>Drang Nach Osten!</i> Board game

Drang Nach Osten! is a monster board wargame published in 1973 by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) that simulates Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. The game was the first of what was envisioned as a series of games with identical wargame rules and map scale that would simulate the entire Second World War in Europe.

<i>PanzerArmee Afrika</i> (board game) Board wargame

PanzerArmee Afrika, subtitled "Rommel in the Desert, April 1941 - November 1942", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1973 that simulates the World War II North African Campaign that pitted the Axis forces commanded by Erwin Rommel against Allied forces. The game was revised and republished in 1984 by Avalon Hill.

<i>D-Day</i> (game)

D-Day is a board wargame published by Avalon Hill in 1961 that simulates the six months of the European Campaign of World War II from the Normandy Invasion to the crossing of the Rhine. It was the first wargame to feature the now ubiquitous hex grid map and cardboard counters, and was revised and re-released in 1962, 1965, 1971, 1977 and 1991.

<i>Terrible Swift Sword</i> (game) 1976 American Civil War board wargame

Terrible Swift Sword: Battle of Gettysburg Game is a grand tactical regimental level board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that simulates the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. A second edition was published by TSR in 1986.

War In The East: The Russo-German Conflict, 1941-45 is a board game published in 1974 by Simulations Publications.

La Bataille de la Moscowa is a board wargame published originally by Martial Enterprises in 1975, later republished by Game Designers Workshop in 1977, and by Clash of Arms in 2011.

<i>Blue & Gray: Four American Civil War Battles</i> Collection of four board wargames published in 1975

Blue & Gray: Four American Civil War Battles is a board wargame originally published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates four battles from the American Civil War.

<i>Wacht am Rhein</i> (game) Grand tactical monster board wargame

Wacht am Rhein is a grand tactical monster board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1977 that simulates Germany's Battle of the Bulge offensive in late 1944 during World War II.

<i>Unentschieden</i> Board wargame published in 1973

Unentschieden is a board wargame published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) in 1973 that simulates combat on the Eastern Front during World War II. The game is a expansion of GDW's popular "monster" wargame Drang Nach Osten!, and was the second game in the Europa series that was planned to eventually cover all operations in the European Theatre.

<i>Narvik: The Campaign in Norway, 1940</i> Board wargame

Narvik: The Campaign in Norway, 1940 is a board wargame published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) in 1974 that simulates Operation Weserübung, the German invasion of Denmark and Norway during World War II. The game was one of the first in the Europa series of twenty interlocking games envisioned by GDW that would cover the entire European and North African theatres from the start to the end of World War II, using identical map scales and similar rules.

<i>Crimea: The Dawn of Modern Warfare</i>

Crimea: The Dawn of Modern Warfare is a board wargame published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) in 1975 that simulates the Crimean War.

<i>Kursk: Operation Zitadelle</i>

Kursk: Operation Zitadelle is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1971. It was the first wargame to simulate the Battle of Kursk, the large tank battle during World War II.

<i>MechWar 77</i> Board wargame

MechWar '77, subtitled "Tactical Armored Combat in the 1970s", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates hypothetical tank combat in the mid-1970s between various adversaries, using the same rules system as the previously published Panzer '44.

<i>Napoleon at War</i> Board wargame published in 1975

Napoleon at War, subtitled "Four Battles", is a collection of four board wargames published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1975 that simulates various battles fought by Napoleon.

<i>Battle for Midway: Decision in the Pacific, 1942</i>

Battle for Midway: Decision in the Pacific, 1942 is a board wargame published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) in 1976 that simulates the Battle of Midway during World War II.

<i>Austerlitz</i> (wargame) Board wargame

Austerlitz, subtitled "The Battle of Three Emperors, 2 December 1805", is a board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1972 that simulates the Battle of Austerlitz between Napoleon's French forces, and the Austrian-Russian forces of the Third Coalition.

<i>The Battle of Raphia, 217 B.C.</i> Board wargame

The Battle of Raphia, 217 B.C. is a board wargame published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) in 1977 that simulates the Battle of Raphia during the Syrian Wars. The game was the first in GDW's "Series 120", which featured shorter and less complex games containing only 120 counters that supposedly could be played in 120 minutes.

<i>Guilford Courthouse</i> (board wargame) Board wargame

Guilford Courthouse is a board wargame published by Game Designers' Workshop (GDW) in 1978 that simulates the Battle of Guilford Court House during the American Revolution. Reviews of the game were mixed: critics liked the rules system but found the game predictable, with only a few strategic options open to either player.

References

  1. 1 2 Palmer, Nicholas (1980). "Chapter 3 - The First Thousand Hours are the Hardest: Monster Games". The Best of Board Wargaming . New York, N. Y.: Hippocrene Books. ISBN   0-88254-525-6.
  2. ↑ Palmer, Nicholas (1980). The Comprehensive Guide to Board Wargaming. London: Sphere Books.
  3. ↑ the Staff of Strategy & Tactics Magazine (1977). Wargame Design: The History, Production and Use of Conflict Simulation Games. New York: Simulations Pubublications, Incorporated. ISBN   0-917852-01-X.
  4. ↑ Freeman J, The Editors of Consumer Guide (1980). The Complete Book of Wargames . New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN   0-671-25374-3..
  5. ↑ Dunnigan, James (1992). The Complete Wargames Handbook. New York: Quill. ISBN   0-688-10368-5..
  6. ↑ Perla, Pewter P. (1990). The Art of Wargaming . Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN   0-87021-050-5..
  7. ↑ "Case Blue (2007)". Boardgamegeek. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
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