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. Drang Nach Osten and its companion, Unentschieden led to the Europa Series games, a giant WWII game.[3]

Wargames that are considered monster games include:

Wargame Company Year Counters Playing time (hours) Description
Drang nach Osten! (DNO) GDW 1973 1,792 200 A 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 GDW 1975 1,440 16 A simulation game of the Battle of Borodino. It is both complex and large.[1]
War in Europe SPI 1976 3,600 6 A 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 1976 2,400 6 The 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 1978 3,200 6 A simulation game of the War in the Pacific with 7 maps.[6]
The Campaign for North Africa SPI 1979 1,600 1,000 A game about the Campaign for North Africa
The Great War in Europe XTR Corp 1995 1,200 6 A simulation game of the first world war in Europe.
DAK The Gamers 1997 1,540 6 A game that covers the entire North African campaign at the regimental level
Case Blue The Gamers 2007 3,500 (2,660 unit counters and 840 marker counters) 375 A 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]
  1. ^ a b 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.