A to Z 10 Year Update: O is for OGRE

This post has been updated since originally being published on April 17, 2012.

A to Z 2012: Gaming in the 1980s

OGRE

Since the subject of this post is "Ogre" it could be about several things - one of the monsters your character can encounter in many fantasy games, something about Shrek, the big jock from Revenge of the Nerds that goes by that nick name, a super villain from the Champions universe, or any of several other options.  Well, this post is not about any of the things I have named.  This post is about the old war game, OGRE, designed by Steve Jackson.

OGRE was one of my two favorite non-rpg games; both were designed by Steve Jackson.  I have enjoyed several of his designs over the years.  I cannot honestly say that I remember much about the rules of the game - it's been about 20 years since I played - but I do remember how much fun we all had playing OGRE.  It was one of our go to games and was played pretty steadily in our group. 

So, what is so great about the OGRE game?  OGRE has a simple premise for play.  One player controls the OGRE - an almost unstoppable war machine - that is intent on destroying the headquarters of the othe player.  The second player has an assortment of various units at his disposal to stop the OGRE and defend his headquarters. 

There is an immense replay value associated with OGRE due to the selection of units available.  If you take a look at the picture to the left, you will note that the price is $2.95.  This was probably from 1977 or within a year or two but the point is that OGRE was relatively cheap in all of its' microgame or pocket box versions.  There have been other versions available over the years and I owned several of them; I never did buy OGRE Miniatures but I would have liked to have owned the game.  I hear through the grapevine that SJG has a Kickstarter under progress for an updated version expected to be released in November of 2012.  I have also heard that it is estimated that the price may be $100!  That is quite a big difference from the price of the sets I bought over the years.  Who am I kidding?  I've started putting money back now. 

I never did back the kickstarter for the OGRE Designer's Edition because we were putting in so much overtime at work that year that I lost track of time and it completely slipped my mind.  I did, however, buy the co and nice re box of OGRE Sixth Edition during the Black Friday sale at Wizard's Asylum for half price! The old pocket box game had small counters and a paper map while this huge box comes with a fold out cardboard map and nice 3D cardstock playing pieces that must be punched out and easily assembled.  It's a great update to an old classic. If you're interested in more information, you can find it at the OGRE page of Steve Jackson Games.