War in Europe (game)

Board game

War in Europe is a grand strategic "monster" board wargame published by Simulations Publications Inc. (SPI) in 1976 that attempts to simulate the entirety of the European theatre of World War II from 1939 to 1945. One of the largest wargames ever produced, War in Europe features 4000 counters, four rulebooks, and nine maps that when placed together cover an area of 38.5 ft2 (3.6 m2). The game is nominally a three player game (Allied, Axis, Soviet), but each side can be represented by teams of players. SPI estimated the full game would take at least 180 hours.

In 1974, SPI had produced War in the East, a "monster" wargame (having more than 1000 counters) that simulated the Eastern Front conflict between Germany and the Soviet Union from "Operation Barbarossa" in 1941 until Germany's surrender in 1945. Two years later, in 1976, SPI published War in the West, which covered the Allied German conflict in Western Europe and North Africa. Later the same year, SPI published War in Europe, which combined a revised version of War in the East (henceforth called War in the East, 2nd edition) and War in the West. Players can either play one or the other, or can combine both games into one massive campaign covering the entire European Theater called War in Europe.

Poland 1939: four turn introductory scenario designed to teach the rules. Dunnigan revised the game and in 1976 released a slimmed down second edition that had only 1000 counters. Critic Freeman called this version "a lot more manageable." War in Europe never entered the Top Ten. In 1977, SPI released a game extension called The First World War designed by Frank Davis, that used the War in Europe maps. Hobby Japan published a licensed Japanese version in 1979. Following the demise of SPI, Decision Games acquired the rights to War in Europe, and produced a new version with streamlined rules in 1999. Decision also published a computer version of the game.

In the five years following the publication of War in Europe, over two dozen articles containing in depth analyses, variants and game replays appeared in Battle Plan, Moves, Fire & Movement, JagdPanther, Adventure Gaming, Battleplan, Boardgame Journal, American Wargamer, and Wargame News. In the October 1976 edition of Airfix Magazine, Bruce Quarrie reviewed War in the West, and commented on the game's physical size, saying, "the big problem is the game's sheer unwieldiness. The playing area is composed of no fewer than nine maps [that] occupies practically the whole of any normal room's floor! Similarly, there a no fewer than 2,400 game counters [ ] while to replay the entire war in the West requires some 300 game turns. For the average board wargamer, this is far too much to cope with." Quarrie concluded "if the basic space and time is available, War in the West could undoubtedly be one of the most absorbing and challenging board games yet produced." In The Guide to Simulations/Games for Education and Training, Martin Campion commented on the difficulties of using this game in a college setting, saying, "the only way to play the game properly in a classroom situation would be to devote almost all the classroom time for a semester to it. It would also require its own room, which could not be used by any other classes." However, he pointed out that "the possibilities for role assignments are almost endless. [ ] individual rules could be taught only to those people whose roles require the knowledge. The German production chief, for example, would learn about production but would not have to be concerned with the rules for combat." Campion concluded with a further warning: "this game would require a great deal of activity on the party of the instructor/referee." In Issue 50 of Moves, in a survey of wargames covering the Russian Front, Steve List called this "the biggest game of all [ ] which could become a way of life." He concluded by giving the game a rating of B−, saying it was "a game no collection of multi map monsters should be without." Fire & Movement named War in Europe one of the Top Ten wargames of all time.

At the 1977 Origins Awards, War in Europe was a finalist for two Charles S. Roberts Awards, in the categories "Best Strategic Game of 1976", and "Best Graphics and Physical Systems of 1976".