Ogre (game)
Encyclopedia
Board wargame
A board wargame is a wargame with a set playing surface or board, as opposed to being played on a computer, or in a more free-form playing area as in miniatures games. The hobby around this type of game got its start in 1954 with the publication of Tactics, and saw its greatest popularity in the...
first released in 1977
1977 in games
This page lists board and card games, wargames, miniatures games, and table-top role-playing games published in 1977. For video and console games, see 1977 in video gaming.-Significant games-related events of 1977:...
as the first Metagaming Concepts
Metagaming Concepts
Metagaming Concepts was a publisher of board games from 1975 to 1983 owned by Howard Thompson. Metagaming created and popularized the microgame format. It specialized in science fiction wargames; titles included Ogre, G.E.V., Godsfire, Stellar Conquest and WarpWar...
Microgame
Microgame
A microgame is a board game or wargame packaged in a small set. Microgames enjoyed popularity during the 1980s...
, designed by Steve Jackson
Steve Jackson (US)
Steve Jackson is an American game designer. After working for many years at Metagaming Concepts designing such games as Ogre and The Fantasy Trip, he left to found Steve Jackson Games in the early 1980s...
.
Its basic premise is that it is an asymmetric-forces game
set in the late 21st century.
One player has a single giant robot
Autonomous robot
Autonomous robots are robots that can perform desired tasks in unstructured environments without continuous human guidance. Many kinds of robots have some degree of autonomy. Different robots can be autonomous in different ways...
tank (called an "Ogre") pitted against a second player's headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
, defended by a mixture of conventional tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s, infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
, and artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
.
The concept was strongly influenced by Keith Laumer
Keith Laumer
John Keith Laumer was an American science fiction author. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, he was an officer in the United States Air Force and a U.S. diplomat...
's novel Bolo (1976), and Colin Kapp
Colin Kapp
Colin Kapp was a British science fiction author.A contemporary of Brian Aldiss and James White, Kapp is best known for his stories about the Unorthodox Engineers.- Cageworld series :...
's short story "Gottlos" (1969). The Ogre itself is named after the large and strong mythological beast ogre
Ogre
An ogre is a large, cruel, monstrous, and hideous humanoid monster, featured in mythology, folklore, and fiction. Ogres are often depicted in fairy tales and folklore as feeding on human beings, and have appeared in many classic works of literature...
.
Since its initial release in 1977 Ogre has been reprinted many times, most recently in 2000.
After Jackson founded his own company, Steve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games
Steve Jackson Games is a game company, founded in 1980 by Steve Jackson, that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games, and the gaming magazine Pyramid.-History:...
, Ogre, its sequel G.E.V., and further expansions were published in the Pocket Box
Pocket Box
thumb|An empty pocket boxA pocket box is a small box or pocket-sized container, so named to emphasise its portability.In the 1980's pocket box was used by Steve Jackson Games to describe the plastic boxes designed to hold a rulebook and related game components. They replaced ziplock bags...
format. On March 8, 2008, Steve Jackson Games announced the planned production of Ogre 6th Edition.
Game description
Ogre uses a hex mapHex map
A hex map, hex board or hex grid is a gameboard design commonly used in wargames of all scales. The map is subdivided into small regular hexagons of identical size.-Advantages and disadvantages:...
depicting barren terrain with only ridgelines and large, radioactive craters as obstacles. The defender sets up his forces in the more congested part of the map and the Ogre enters the opposite side at the beginning of the game.
The basic version of the game has the attacker using a single Ogre heavy tank (referred to as a "Mark
Mark (designation)
The word Mark, followed by number, is a method of specifically designating a standardized, integrated, assumed to be functional and unique version of a mechanical and/or electrical hardware product that has completed the design process and has been approved to be put into final production, as well...
III Ogre"), while the advanced scenario gives the attacker the larger, more powerful "Mark V Ogre" tank versus an increased number of defenders. The defender is allocated a certain number of infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
and 'armor units', but gets to decide the exact composition of his own armored forces.
Steve Jackson, an amateur enthusiast of military history as many gamers are, derived several concepts reflected in his 1977 game from the last armor intensive conflict fought in the preceding years, the 1973-October War; most notable of all is the complete absence of any kind of airborne units (which were never featured in any of the different game's iterations), said to have been made obsolete and unfeasible by continuous development and refinement of lethal SAM technologies.
The different types of units encourage a combined-arms approach with each type being better than the others in different aspects.
Heavy tanks have high attack and defense with moderate speed and low range. Missile tank
Missile tank
A missile tank is an armoured fighting vehicle fulfilling the role of a main battle tank, but using only guided missiles for main armament. Several nations have experimented with prototypes, notably the Soviet Union during the tenure of Nikita Khrushchev , but only the West German Jaguar 2 saw...
s have moderate attack and defense with moderate range and low speed. G.E.V.s ("ground effect vehicles"—roughly, heavily armored hovercraft
Hovercraft
A hovercraft is a craft capable of traveling over surfaces while supported by a cushion of slow moving, high-pressure air which is ejected against the surface below and contained within a "skirt." Although supported by air, a hovercraft is not considered an aircraft.Hovercraft are used throughout...
) have very high speed (moving twice per turn), low attack, low range, and moderate defense. Howitzer
Howitzer
A howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
s have very high attack and range but are easily destroyed (once an attacker has managed to get close enough), immobile, and expensive. However, according to the game's designer, this balanced mix of units wasn't quite right in the first edition; the second edition sped up heavy tanks, slowed down G.E.V.s, and changed the defender's purchasing from 'attack factors' to 'armor units' (everything is considered equivalent, except howitzers, which are worth two of anything else).
Critical reception
Martin Easterbrook began his 1977 review of Ogre (first edition) by saying "Be warned: this game could become a craze" adding that "the idea of the microgames themselves is remarkable enough in itself." He rated the game 8 out of 10 but criticized the game's title and "flimsy equipment, weak infantry".Reviewing the first Steve Jackson Games editions of Ogre (after the designer had moved away from Metagaming), Tony Watson called Ogre "a legend in the ranks of SF gamedom, and deservedly so... as well as being a lot of fun to play, it's an interesting extrapolation on high-tech armoured warfare". It was noted that the rules had remained essentially the same in the new edition, and the most significant changes being to the physical design - with larger (still black and white) counters, and full colour maps by Denis Loubet. Watson also welcomed the retention of the original artwork alongside new pieces - "no one draws a GEV or Ogre like Mr. Chung."
Reviewing the combined edition of 1991, Allen Varney
Allen Varney
Allen Varney is an American writer and game designer born in St. Louis, Missouri. He has a dual B.A. in English and History from the University of Nevada, Reno....
stated: "[Ogre and GEV :] two simulation board games of armored combat on a future battlefield are among the best the field has ever seen: fast, elegant, and endlessly replayable." Whilst praising the production values of the 2-color playing pieces Varney found the box somewhat 'flimsy'.
In his 2007 essay, game designer Erick Wujcik
Erick Wujcik
Erick Wujcik was an American designer of both pen-and-paper and computer role-playing games, and co-founder of Palladium Books.- Gaming career :...
said "I think [Ogres] success really boils down to four essentials: Ogre is fast, ... asymmetrical, ... open-ended, ... [and] is a teaching tool. Ogre had restructured my mind pretty completely ... but it wasn't until 2002 ... that I realized how effective Ogre is at getting across so many important component mechanisms of play and design."
Editions
An edition called OGRE: Deluxe Edition was released in 1987. The rulebook cover artwork was the Denis Loubet illustration that was also used for the Ogre computer game (see Spinoffs below). The board was sturdier than the previous edition's paper map, and the counters were provided with stand-up plastic bases. G.M. magazine's 1989 review of OGRE: Deluxe Edition highlighted the game's ease of introduction and short playing time, but pointed out that most gamers either like the game or loathe it.
A "new" Deluxe Ogre (2000) was a re-issued version of the original Ogre, packaged with miniatures rather than counters
Counter (board wargames)
Boardgame counters are usually small cardboard squares moved around on the map of a wargame to represent armies, military units or individual military personnel. The first modern mass-market wargame, based on cardboard counters and hex-board maps, was Tactics, invented by Charles S. Roberts in 1952...
, and the original 'crater' map printed on a larger scale. Deluxe Ogre won the Wargamer Award for Excellence in 2001.
In 2011 Steve Jackson announced a sixth edition combining OGRE and GEV with larger full color flat counters for most units and constructable cardboard figures for the Ogres.
Spinoffs
Ogre spawned a sequel, G.E.V., focusing on the G.E.V. hovertank and the other "conventional" armor and infantry types. G.E.V. introduced more realistic map terrain rules than Ogre's "clear land and craters" system, as well as rules for overrun combat, spillover fire, and cover.It also introduced a points-based victory condition system which made possible a variety of symmetrical and asymmetrical scenarios. (G.E.V. had specifications for an Ogre tank unit, the Mk IV, and had rules detailing interactions of Ogres with the new rules in G.E.V.)
Other games based on Ogre include:
Miniature wargaming
Miniature wargaming is a form of wargaming that incorporates miniature figures, miniature armor and modeled terrain as the main components of play...
, using 1:285 scale
1:285 scale
1:285 scale or 6 mm figure size is a US Army scale introduced in the late 1960s, and used for wargames and some scale model dioramas. It is used in miniature wargaming to depict large battles in a relatively small gaming area...
miniatures. This adaptation won the 1992 Origins Award
Origins Award
The Origins Awards are American awards for outstanding work in the game industry. They are presented by the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design at the Origins Game Fair on an annual basis for the previous year, so the 1979 awards were given at the 1980 Origins.The Origins Award is commonly...
for Best Miniatures Rules. In addition to miniatures from Steve Jackson Games, a set of Ogre miniatures was also developed by Ral Partha which won the 1992 Origins Award for Best Vehicular Miniatures Series. The first set of Ogre miniatures, produced by Martian Metals under license of Metagaming Concepts in 1979, won the H.G. Wells Award for Best Vehicular Model Series of 1979. Diceland
Diceland (dice game)
Diceland is a tabletop game played with collectible sets of dice designed by Toivo Rovainen and James Ernest and released in 2002 by Cheapass Games.Players roll paper cut-out octahedral dice into a combat arena....
: Ogre, a paper dice game by Cheapass Games
Cheapass Games
Cheapass Games is a game company founded and run by game designer James Ernest, based in Seattle, Washington. Cheapass Games operates on the philosophy that most game owners have plenty of dice, counters, play money, etc., so there is no need to bundle all of these components with every game that...
.
- Computer adaptations, including the 1986 release by Origin Systems, Inc.Origin SystemsOrigin Systems, Inc. was a computer game developer based in Austin, Texas that was active from 1983 to 2004...
for Apple IIApple IIThe Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
, AmigaAmigaThe Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
, Atari 8-bit, Atari STAtari STThe Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
, Commodore 64Commodore 64The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, DOSDOSDOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
, and MacintoshMacintoshThe Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
, ranked 130 in
Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
s 1996 list of 150 Best Games of All Time.
Books
The OGRE Book (1982) was a collection of articles and rules variants from The Space GamerThe Space Gamer
The Space Gamer was a magazine dedicated to the subject of science fiction and fantasy board games and role-playing games. It quickly grew in importance and was an important and influential magazine in its subject matter from the late 70s through the mid-80s...
. It was reissued in 2001, expanded from 40 pages to 128 with further retrospective from Steve Jackson.
GURPS Ogre (2000) was a supplement for the role-playing game GURPS
GURPS
The Generic Universal RolePlaying System, or GURPS, is a tabletop role-playing game system designed to allow for play in any game setting...
.