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 | 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 | 16 | A simulation game of the Battle of Borodino. It is both complex and large. | ||
| War in Europe | SPI | 1976 | 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 | 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 | 6 | A simulation game of the War in the Pacific with 7 maps.[6] | ||
| The Campaign for North Africa | SPI | 1979 | A game about the Campaign for North Africa | |||
| The Great War in Europe | XTR Corp | 1995 | 6 | A simulation game of the first world war in Europe. | ||
| DAK | The Gamers | 1997 | 6 | A game that covers the entire North African campaign at the regimental level | ||
| Case Blue | The Gamers | 2007 | (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] |
. Jim Dunnigan. The Complete Wargames Handbook. 1992. 0-688-10368-5. New York. Quill. .