OGRE

From MicroGame to Maxigame:

The History of Ogre and GEV

Timothy Swenson
 Copyright 2014
Timothy Swenson

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 Table of Contents
Preface .......................................... 1
Introduction .......................................... 2

Part 1 : Metagaming
The Microgame .......................................... 4
The Inspiration .......................................... 5
Ogre : The Game .......................................... 6
Ogre : The Reviews .......................................... 9
After The Launch : Second Edition .......................................... 11
GEV : The Game .......................................... 13
Breakup .......................................... 16

Part 2 : Steve Jackson Games

Steve Jackson Games .......................................... 18
Ogre/GEV 3rd Edition .......................................... 19
Ogre Book .......................................... 21
Shockwave .......................................... 22
Ogre Reinforcement Pack .......................................... 22
Ogre Deluxe Edition .......................................... 23
Ogre Japanese Edition .......................................... 23
OGRE/GEV (1990) .......................................... 24
Ogre Miniature Rules .......................................... 24

Part 3 : Y2K Revival

Y2K Revival .......................................... 26
OGRE/GEV (2000) .......................................... 26
GURPS OGRE .......................................... 27
Ogre Battlefields .......................................... 28
Ogre Book (2nd Ed) .......................................... 29
Ogre Scenario ­ Book 1 .......................................... 30
Deluxe OGRE/GEV .......................................... 30
Diceland : Ogre .......................................... 31

Part 4 : Ogre Miniatures

Ogre Miniatures .......................................... 34
Martian Metals .......................................... 34
T­Rex Miniatures .......................................... 35
Grenadier .......................................... 35
Ral Partha .......................................... 36
Detailed Casting Products .......................................... 38
Soldier and Sword Miniatures .......................................... 38
Steve Jackson Games .......................................... 38
Grey Cat Castings .......................................... 39
Ogre Macrotures .......................................... 39

Part 5 : Ogre : The Computer Game

Ogre : The Computer Game .......................................... 42
Ogre Computer Game (SystemSoft) .......................................... 46
Ogre Warroom .......................................... 47
Unlicensed Software .......................................... 47

Part 6 : Announced Items That Never Came Out

Announced Items That Never Came Out .......................................... 49
Battlesuit Miniatures .......................................... 49
Ogre Decals .......................................... 49
Ogrethulhu .......................................... 49
Munchkin Ogre .......................................... 50
Paneuropean Force & Killing Zone .......................................... 50

Part 7 : Fan Support

Fan Support .......................................... 52
Discussion Boards .......................................... 52
Mailing List .......................................... 52
Fan Writing .......................................... 53
Kwanchai Ogre .......................................... 53
Ogre for PalmOS .......................................... 55
Ogre/GEV Game Aids .......................................... 56
Ogre Map .......................................... 56
Ogre Ops .......................................... 56
Other Play Aids .......................................... 57
Play by E­mail Systems .......................................... 57
V_MAP .......................................... 57
JV_MAP .......................................... 57
Cyberboard .......................................... 57
Vassel .......................................... 57

Part 8 : Ogre 6th (Designer's) Edition

Ogre 6th (Designer's) Edition .......................................... 59
Reviews of 6th Edition .......................................... 62
Ogre: Pocket Edition .......................................... 64
Part 9 : Not The End of the Story
Not the End of the Story .......................................... 67

Appendix 1 : Board Game List .......................................... 69

Appendix 2 : Miniatures List .......................................... 76

Appendix 3 : Bibliography .......................................... 81

Appendix 4 : Ogre Swag .......................................... 89

Preface
In the winter of 1978, I was a freshman in high school and had a been reading science fiction for a couple of
years. For Christmas, I got a years subscription to Analog magazine, covering both "Science Fiction and
Fact". On the inside front cover of the magazine was an ad from a company called Metagaming, advertising
their games and The Space Gamer magazine. The games sounded interesting and the prices were not too bad.
Eventually, I ordered two games; Warp War and Black Hole. This was my first experience with Microgames.
I found the games interesting, but I really enjoyed the reading the rules and seeing how they simulated reality
in a simple way.

A friend in high school also had some Metagaming Microgames and showed me Ogre. I only got a minimal
exposure to the game as I was explained the rules and did not have them to read. It was later when the 3rd
edition of Ogre and GEV came out, that I really took an interest in the game. I also started reading The Space
Gamer and bought The Ogre Book. Over time, I could afford to buy some of the Ogre miniatures. To use the
miniatures, I created my own large hex map on matte board.

There was something about Ogre that I found attractive. The rules were clean and uncomplicated. The game
was relatively simple, but the choice of defensive units mixed in a little complexity. Tanks were interesting
for wargaming and the Science Fiction background piqued the Science Fiction fan in me.

As the years went by, I found other things to distract me, mostly work and family. I kept wandering into
gaming stores and when I found something new dealing with Ogre, I usually bought it. I unwittingly became
an Ogre collector. I was even able to pick up an Ogre miniatures poster at a convention, when they were done
using it.

I heard about the Kickstarter for Ogre 6th edition too late to join, but I did keep an eye on the progress of the
game. I told my local game store that I wanted a copy and to see if he could order it for me. It was then that
my collecting took off. I hit eBay and started picking up all versions of Ogre and GEV before the 3rd edition.
I picked up other editions that I did not have. If Steve Jackson Games had something with an Ogre printed on
it, I bought it (Ok, I did kind of draw the line at the large Ogre banner). Eventually the local game shop
called and said my copy of the 6th edition had arrived. It became the biggest single Ogre item in my
collection.

For the last 15 years my main hobby has been researching and writing local history. I've picked up the skills
how to dig into a subject matter to find out the most about it, collect information from all sorts of sources,
then bring it together in some rational fashion. As I bought the older editions, I wondered about the history of
Ogre, how it came about, and the background story of the different Ogre related products. Using old copies
of The Space Gamer as a start, I went through them gathering anything Ogre related. Google searches
revealed more information in web pages and magazines. Eventually I was able to piece together a fairly
coherent history of Ogre.

The research felt like a treasure hunt. Every now and again, I would find some interesting bit on Ogre buried
somewhere on the Internet, and I could gleefully add it to the material that I already had. I sought out any
articles on Ogre, including reviews, expanding upon the article list published by Steve Jackson Games.

In the end I hope that I have a fairly comprehensive document that covers the history of Ogre.

Page 1
Introduction
In January of 1977, Metagaming Concepts released a new game in a new type of format. Both the game and
the format would change the gaming industry. A game designer and publisher, Howard Thompson, created a
new format for publishing board games. Steve Jackson, just a few years out of college, created a simple
wargame that would live on for more than 35 years.

The initial concept for Ogre took less than a week to derive. Development took a little longer, but due to the
simplicity of the game when compared to the typical wargame at the time, that time was fairly short. With
two main scenarios, game balance was fairly easy to work out. Testing honed the game until it was ready for
publication.

Over the years, the game was expanded, with additional rules, units, and maps. GEV was the first expansion
and it added a whole new map and terrain, new rules and new units. A total of 6 different editions of the
game have been published. Three different supplements, miniature rules, role playing rules, two books, and
numerous additional secondary items have also been released. In total, over 200,000 copies of Ogre/GEV
and the different supplements have been printed and sold.

Steve Jackson graduated from Rice University in 1974, majoring in Biology and Political Science and was
editor of The Rice Thresher, the university newspaper, for two years. After college, Steve started law school
at the University of Texas Law School, but dropped out of the program to seek a career in game design.
When he designed Ogre, Steve was 26 years old.

Metagaming Concepts was a gaming company started in 1974 by Howard Thompson to produce his game,
Stellar Conquest. Metagaming produced a number of other products, including The Yithri, Monsters!,
Monsters!, and Godsfire. Howard started the company while still working his day job. In 1976 or 1977, he
quit his day job and made Metagaming Concepts his full­time employment. Howard was 32 when Ogre was
created.

Steve worked as a freelance game designer, mostly for Metagaming Concepts, but he did do work for SPI and
wrote a number of magazine articles. In his Linkedin resume, Steve describes his work at Metatgaming
Concepts as "game design and development, marketing, layout and production, art direction, editing,
convention travel, proofreading, and even some singularly inept and low­tech graphics work." The two main
projects that Steve worked on in 1975 and 1976 was "Monsters! Monsters!" designed by Ken St. Andre,
edited by Steve, and "Godsfire", designed by Lynn Willis and developed by Steve.

In 1976, Steve Jackson designed his first wargame, Ogre. It was published in 1977 in the MicroGame format
and was a monster hit. Since then, a number of editions of Ogre has been released, including a computer
version. In late 2013, after many years of development, the 6th edition of Ogre (also known as the Designers
Edition) was released. It is a monster of a game. The first edition of Ogre came in a 4"x7" ziplock bag, had a
8.5"x14" map, hardly had any weight, and sold for less than $3. With the 6th edition, the box is 24 inches
long, 20 inches wide and 6 inches deep. The whole package weighs over 25 pounds. The maps cover over 31
square feet of tabletop. It has both 2D and 3D counters, with 1,100 2D counters and 104 3D counters. The
game that started as the smallest game on the market is now the largest game on the market. In the wargame
market, there are not many games that after 37 years, still have a strong following, strong enough to create the
demand for huge version like Ogre.

Page 2
 Part 1
Metagaming

Page 3
The Microgame
The concept of the Microgame was created by Howard Thompson. The specifications of a Microgame are;
map to be 8.5" x 14" (legal sheet of paper), no more than 112 counters, and no more than 18 pages of rules (in
a 4" x 7" booklet). In The Space Gamer #8 (Oct­Nov 1976), Howard Thompson discusses the feedback on
Microgames from a survey in the previous issue:

"Our MicroGames were the surprise hit of the last issue's feedback. All segments of our readership were
favorable to the idea except for the complexity/sophistication buffs where reaction was still fair.

With a little luck and your support TSG #9 (Jan/Feb) may see the announcement of the first of a series of
MicroGames. With pricing is a sensitive factor don't look for super components. Counters won't be full die­
cut but there will be a color cover booklet and map. Most effort will go into making the rules work."

The advantage of the Microgame was the initial cost. A product that cost $2.95 at retail, is cheaper to produce
than, say, Stellar Conquest, which retailed at $9.95. The average Avalon Hill Bookcase game was also in the
$10 cost range. Most of these more expensive games had thick full die­cut counters, a board laminated to a
cardboard backing, and were in a sturdy cardboard box. To equate those prices into 2014 dollars, a
Microgame would cost about $11.50 and the other games would cost about $38.99.

An early ad for Microgames in The Space Gamer described a Microgame this way:

How about a $2.95 quickie?

If you've been spending too much money on games you never got to finish, this is for you. Too many
gamers don't have the time for all­day play sessions. Metagaming has the answer.
Our new MicroGames are designed for quick understanding, quick setup, and quick action. You'll be
playing within an hour after you open the package.
But quick does not mean trivial. These aren't kid stuff. The MicroGame series will mean the same
high­quality games as Stellar Conquest and the rest of the Metagaming line. Enough careful planning and
imagination to give you the rules for a realistic alternate universe ­ and enough playtesting to make sure the
bugs are out. These games are as good as any you'll find. They're just smaller. Quicker. And cheaper. $2.95
­­ or $2.50 for The Space Gamer subscribers.
You'll get a clear, well­organized set of rules, attractive components, and a playing time of about an
hour. Which is great for novices ­ or for experts on their lunch hour.
Check out MicroGames. You just might wind up getting more play for less money.

Howard Thompson and Steve Jackson

playing Ogre in 1978.
(Texas Monthly, July 1978)

Page 4
The Inspiration
In the preface to OGRE, Steve Jackson clearly defined the sources of inspiration that OGRE sprang forth
from. He credits the following books:

"Bolo" Series, Keith Laumer 1960 ­ 1969

"Gottlos", Colin Kapp 1969
"Starship Troopers", Robert Heinlein 1960
"Forever War", Joe Haldeman 1974
"Tank: A History of Armored Fighting
Vehicles", Mackey & Batchelor 1971

The Bolo series were a number of related stories written by Keith

Laumer and published in different science fiction magazines from 1960
to 1969. The stories were collected into a single anthology and
published in 1976. The main layout or design of the Ogre is clearly
picked up from Bolo, including designating the different stages of
Development by using Mark number (ie. Mark III, Mark V, etc). Bolo's
in the later stories can be quite huge, were as Steve decided to not
create such large monsters for the game.

Gottlos is a story about a new, different and devastating cybertank that

is unstoppable as it attacks and goes for the command post. The normal
cybertanks in Gottlos are under remote human control, but the one, the
Gottlo, is not. The goal of the Ogre to destroy the command post is
clearly taken from Gottlos. It provides a simple and clear goal for the
game.

Given the description of the infantry

in Ogre, they are inspired by the Analog cover showing Gottlo
Mobile Infantry of "Starship
Troopers" (the book, not the movie). The Mobile Infantry fight in armored
suits that provides a sealed environment, yet are powered to give the human
massive strength. Inputs from the human muscles are amplified, allowing a
Mobile Infantry man to jump in one mile hops. The Mobile Infantry in
Robert Heinlein's story do not fight on a battlefield similar to the world of
Ogre, but the design of the powered suit is exactly what the infantry in
Ogre need.

Page 5
OGRE : The Game
In 1976, Steve Jackson was approached by Howard about a Microgame. Steve described the start of it all;
"Howard Thompson originated the Microgame idea. He asked me if I thought I could design a game with
counters fitting on a 4x7 sheet, a map on legal size sheet of paper, and short rules. I said 'sure' and brought
him Ogre the next week." A short article in Texas Monthly stated that Steve designed the game in 2 days.

As much as the general concept of the game might have been designed in one week, development of the game
took much longer. While working on the game, Steve attended a class at the University of Texas at Austin,
taught by Nick Schuessler. Nick took the 20 students in the class, through a discussion of what a wargame is
and its various components, over the course of 8 weeks. Later, Nick recalled that during the class, Steve was
working on Ogre and had it in the play test stage. Steve might have used Ogre as his class project, and he did
have the teacher involved. Nick Schuessler is listed in the credits of Ogre as one of the named test players.
The other test players were Howard Thompson, Elton Fewell, Ben Ostrander, Robert Taylor, Mark Huffman,
Frank Blazek, Stuart Norris and Susan Tunnell.

By November 4, 1976, version 3.1 of the draft rules had been produced.

Winchell Chung was a high school student that had done some illustration work for Metagaming, starting in
1975. He had done the cover art to "The Ythri" game, and covers to The Space Gamer #3 and #6. For the
cover to Ogre, Howard Thompson turned to Winchell, providing him with a very rough sketch from Steve and
an early draft of the game rules. Winchell described the assignment as this:

"I received this crude sketch, and a set of the draft rules describing the
awesome robot tanks. All I knew was that the behemoth would display two
main guns, six secondary guns, twelve anti­personnel weapons, six missiles,
and lots of treads."

Winchell worked on a number of rough sketches of existing tanks to get a feel

for them. Of how the cover art came about, Winchell said this:

"One fine day, I was drawing without even thinking and this picture popped
out. This had the two ingredients that made the classic Ogre "look": the
massive, sloping, invulnerable looking front, and the two main batteries set in
ball mounts, looking like huge evil eyeballs. I believe the ball mounts were
inspired by the ball joints of the robots featured in MAGNUS,ROBOT
FIGHTER comic books."

With this one piece of cover art, Winchell was set in the annals of gaming
history. Not only did he design the look of the Ogre, but he designed a Original cover drawing by
number of the armor units too. Later Steve would write about Winchell and Steve Jackson
the famous cover art: (Courtesy Winchell Chung)

"Many people over the years have commented on the unique look of the Ogre. I had nothing to do with that,
except to say 'Neat!' when the original drawings came in. The man who set, for all time, the appearance of the
Ogre is Winchell Chung. In 1976, Winch was a gamer and fan­artist who had contributed some drawings to
The Space Gamer. Metagaming asked him to create a cover for OGRE, and I sent him a smeary,
Page 6
impressionistic red­and­black sketch of a battle scene. But my tank was just a big tank. Winch added the tower
and the bulging front turrets, and tied it all together into the menacing and memorable whole."

From a note dated December 16, 1976, from Howard to

Winchell, where he is asking about the cover art, we can
surmise that it was sometime in late December when the
cover was created. Howard mentioned that the plan was for
Ogre to go to press on January 7th, 1977.

Original playtest counters In The Space Gamer #9 (Dec. 76 ­ Jan. 77), Howard
(Courtesy Jeffro) Thompson mentioned that "Ogre is due back from the
printers in 7­10 days."

The first time the game was shown to the public was at WarCon III, at Texas A&M University, a gaming
convention held January 28 ­ 30, 1977. Howard Thompson, Steve Jackson and Robert Taylor, all of
Metagaming Concepts, attended the convention. On the 28th, Friday night, Howard and Steve demonstrated
Ogre to the crowd. The next day, the very first Ogre tournament was held, with 36 players. After some initial
introduction to the game, the tournament was off. Robert Taylor described it as such:

“Everyone enjoyed its quick play and fast moving action.... As gamers often do, the Ogre players were quickly
caught up in the spirit of the game. 'Kill, crush, maim, destroy.' cried one player as he urged his Ogre into
battle. I asked this particular player if he liked the CRT. 'Oh, yes,' he replied, 'It's nice and bloody!' "

After a number of hours, the tournament was over and two were selected as winners. Vernon Unger won first
place, and Ed Tatum won second place.

At the seminar on Saturday night, Steve Jackson used OGRE as an example of the game development
process, and how the games goes from just an idea to a full fleshed out game. Feedback from the audience
was favorable to the talk.

On the next issue of The Space Gamer (#10, Feb ­ Mar 1977), Howard Thompson said this about the success
of Ogre:

“Ogre, the first MicroGame, is already a smash best seller by MCG standards. In the six weeks since it's
introduction at Texas A&M's Warcon it has already sold as many copies as Stellar Conquest did in it's first ten
months. We haven't even had any of our major advertising hit yet.”

The first advertisement for Ogre in Space Gamer #9, described the game this way:

Ogre is a tactical ground combat game set in the the next century. In 2085 AD, antimissile technology has
made armor vehicles practical once again. Hovercraft, tanks, and power infantry slug it out with tactical
nuclear devices. But the most feared weapon of all needs no human guidance. It's the giant, cybernetic tank
called the Ogre.

The basic version of OGRE gives one player a force of infantry and armor, and a command post he must
defend. The other player has only one unit... but it's an Ogre. It's an even match.

Page 7
Advanced scenarios allow for solitaire or multi­player action ­ with Ogres on both sides. Optional rules
include concealed units, limited sensor range, mines, and self­destruct.

In the Craft, Model, & Hobby Industry Magazine, July, 1977, there was an ad for Ogre and Chitin 1, the first
two Microgames. The text describing Ogre said "Ogre can be thought of as a tank warfare as it could take
place with futuristic weapons."

For the low price of $2.95, what a gamer got in Ogre was a rule booklet, a sheet of 112 uncut card stock
counters, and an 9"x14" thick­paper folded map. The booklet had a card stock cover and 16 paper pages. The
counters are broken down thus:

77 gray counters
2 Command Posts, 3 Ogre Mk III, 2 Ogre Mk V, 6 Howitzer, 16 GEV, 12 Heavy Tank,
12 Missile Tank, 12 3/1 Infantry, 6 2/1 Infantry, 6 1/1 Infantry.

30 dark gray counters

3 Ogre Mk III, 2 Ogre Mk V, 6 GEV, 4 Heavy Tank, 4 Missile Tanks, 5 3/1 Infantry, 3
2/1 Infantry, 3 1/1 Infantry.

5 white counters
3 Ogre Mk III, 2 Ogre Mk V.

First Ogre ad in The Space Gamer #9

Page 8
Ogre : The Reviews
The first review of Ogre appeared in The Space Gamer #11 (Apr­May 1977), written by Robert C. Kirk. The
review starts off with "Ogre is a lot of game in a little package." Kirk was surprised by the size of Microgame
format. The review is less than a page of text, but it covers the game fairly well, and does include a hint on
strategy on going for the Ogre treads early in the game. The review ends with "Ogre is attractive, easy to
learn, inexpensive, and fun to play. What more can a gamer ask?"

The second review was in The Space Gamer #12 (June­July 1977), written by William A. Peterson. The
review discusses the different aspects of the game, such as game mechanics, graphics, rules clarity, game
balance, and so on. The reviewer gave low marks for realism, physical quality and the graphics. High marks
were given for game mechanics, game speed, and game balance. There were points in the review that were
fairly negative; “What do you get for $2.95? Just from appearances, the answer is 'not much'.” The artwork
on the front cover and the map was not spared from the reviewers wrath, “The color illustration is red and
black­on white, and it looks awful, the map has, for terrain, solid block hexes (craters) and solid black
hexsides (rubble) which might as well not been there.” Through out the review William compares Ogre to
GarGarouk, a game by Eagle Games, which was known for low quality and counters that had to be made by
the gamer. In the end the review is actually positive;

"Basically, I like Ogre. It is fast, simple and fun. It's bad points, while annoying, can be ignored.”

In Dragon #7 (June 1977), in the "Editor's Library" column was a very short review of Ogre. It said that
Metagaming might have "scored another dandy" in reference to Ogre. It also said "All this for $2.95 would
make it a good buy even if it is only a fair game. In fact, it is an outstanding game."

In Urf Durfal #26/27 (1977), Greg Costikyan provides a short and rather oddly worded review:

"Ogre is an interesting game system, but I hardly think it should be put in the same categories with BFM and
L&W. The map is childish, the rules are printed strangely, and the pieces are too thin. (so much for the
graphics. The game rates an 8.1 on SPI's rating system ­­­ higher than any other game ever, with the sole
exception of Terrible Swift Sword. It has received raves every place I've seen it reviewed, and Metagaming
reports that it's selling like hotcakes. It is a delightfully, quick­moving little game.)"

In MOVES magazine, Phil Kosnett wrote a short review of Ogre. The comments were "And it is a good
game, fast and bloody, with elimination for small units and Bolos being shot apart piece by piece, At the
price you can't go wrong." Phil had noticed that the game was heavily influence by Keith Laumer's Bolo
series, and found it mentioned in the game notes.

It took a few months but Ogre made it to England and the August/September 1977 edition of White Dwarf
had a review, written by Martin Easterbrook. The first sentence sets the tone of the review: "Be warned: this
game could become a craze." The review covers the details of the game, comments on the packaging and
components of a Microgame, and ends with this:

This particular game is very good and the microgames idea looks like being a winner. It certainly lives up to
the microgame's slogan, 'More play for less money'.

Page 9
In an article in Dragon #17 (August 1978), Jerry Epperson goes over each unit in Ogre and discusses it's
strength, weakness, and hints on use. The opening paragraph is a little statement on this feelings about the
game:

"Ogre is one of those games that get their hook in you the minute you play them. Some of the reasons why
this happens are: 1 ­ the game can be learned in less than an hour; 2 ­ it doesn't take a long time to play a
single game; 3 ­ it doesn't take up a lot of space (you can set up the game in a 1 x 1 foot area). But hidden in
the game are small subtleties that can only be found after playing Ogre several times."

In "The Complete Book of Wargames" there is a review of the second edition, second printing, version of
Ogre. The comments section of the review had this to say:

"Ogre is the game that made Metagamings 'MicroGames' one of the best commercial ideas in recent game
marketing. It is ridiculously inexpensive ­ almost disposable. Despite it's size and price, it is well produced
and reasonably presented. The map is thick enough to last; the counters are printed on kraft stock and, while
cut in only one direction, are easily separated with scissors. Most significantly, perhaps, it's an exceptionally
fast and interesting game."

First UK Ogre ad from White Dwarf #2

Note the price in Pounds

Page 10
After the Launch : Second Edition
The reviews and sales showed that Ogre and the microgame concept were a winner. Ogre was simple in its
looks, with a black­and­white map, grey and white counters, only a two color front cover (black and red).
Despite its simple look, the playability of the game made it successful. The low cost made buying Ogre a no­
brainer of a decision.

Despite the amount of work that went into development and the hours of play testing, Ogre still had some
issues. In The Space Gamer #15 (Jan/Feb, 1978), just a year after its first release, the article "Ogre Update"
was published. In the article, Steve Jackson detailed the changes between the first and second edition of
Ogre. The major changes were “the increase of the Heavy Tank's movement from 2 to 3 hexes and the cutting
of the GEV's second movement phase from 4 to 3 hexes.” The map was also shortened by three hexes. The
bulk of the article was a form of errata, giving the text of the changes between the editions, so that owners of
the first edition had the changes and did not have to purchase the second edition.

There was an issue with the counters. It turned out that more counters could be printed for the game. The
counters were in light grey, dark grey, and white. Due to a problem at the printers, the light grey and dark
grey look the same, making more GEV's available than expected. This led to some players using heavy GEV
forces against the Ogre and winning fairly often. This helped lead to the changes in the GEV movement
change.

Besides the rule changes, the second edition also had a new full color cover, drawn by Clark Bradley. In the
first edition map, the craters were just blacked out hexes. In the second edition, the map was still two colors,
but the craters looked like craters and the rubble sort of resembled rubble.

The first edition of Ogre had a print run of 8,000 units. Metagaming Concepts was not expecting the success
of Ogre and had to quickly get the second edition to the printers and onto the market. The second edition had
a print run of 20,000 units and was printed at the end of 1977.

The second edition game components were basically the same as the first edition with a few minor changes.
The rule booklet cover was now printed on glossy card stock and had a full color illustration by Clark
Bradley. There are the same 112 counters, but the dark grey counters were now white on black, and the
previous white on Black Ogre counters were now grey. The mix of counters were slightly changed:

77 gray counters
2 Command Posts, 3 Ogre Mk III, 2 Ogre Mk V, 6 Howitzer, 16 GEV, 12 Heavy Tank,
12 Missile Tank, 12 3/1 Infantry, 6 2/1 Infantry, 6 1/1 Infantry.

30 dark gray counters

3 Ogre Mk III, 2 Ogre Mk V, 6 GEV, 4 Heavy Tank, 4 Missile Tanks, 5 3/1 Infantry, 3
2/1 Infantry, 3 1/1 Infantry.

5 white counters
3 Ogre Mk III, 2 Ogre Mk V.

Page 11
The second edition sold well, enough that there was need for a second printing of the second edition. The
second edition was more than just a re­print. The cover artwork was changed and the layout of the booklet
was changed. The new cover art was done by Brian Wilson. The center of the booklet had a large black and
white version of the original cover from the first edition of Ogre, by Winchell Chung. The back had two
pages of ads for other Metagaming games, including Melee and Wizard of The Fantasy Trip. The print run
for the second edition, second printing, was 20,000 copies.

In the July, 1978, issue of Texas Monthly, it reported that that Metagaming has sold 31,000 copies of Ogre.
This would include the first edition, second edition (1st printing), and part of second edition (second printing).

In Different Worlds #2 (June/July 1979), Steve Jackson was asked to contribute to a series of articles entitled
"My Life and Role­Playing". Surprisingly, Steve talked about Ogre:

"My own first design, Ogre, was a role­playing game. I didn't (consciously) realize it at the time ­ but that's
exactly what's going on. One player takes the role of the Ogre. Not just an ordinary tank ­ but a gigantic,
nearly unstoppable, murderously­armed killing maching of incredible power. An Ogre is not only capable of
mass destruction ­ it's supposed to indulge in just that."

"When some people tell me how much they like 'being the Ogre' or 'being the defense' ­ not 'playing', but
being ­ I know it's the role­playing that's got them. To me, that accounts for a lot of Ogre's popularity. Yes,
It's a quick, and the rules are relatively clean... but it's very simple, and contains one little bitty innovation,
(the one unit side). Yet it's still very popular. I think it's the role­playing that does it. I know I'd still rather
play Ogre, myself, than most other games, although by rights I ought to be tired of it. And, while I'm quite
willing to be the defender, I'd much rather be the Ogre ­ especially against someone who thinks he has the
perfect defense."

Ogre 1st Edtion Map Ogre 2nd Edition Map

Page 12
GEV : The Game
Ogre was a fairly simple game with a fairly simple premise of one single large unit fighting a bunch of
smaller units, with the simple goal of destroying a command post. The additional scenario's expanded beyond
this premise. Given how popular Ogre was, it did not take much thinking about expanding the game and
making it cover a large battle set in the future. One of the key changes was the type of terrain on the map.
Ogre had three types of terrain that only blocked movement. GEV added natural terrain, like forests, swamps,
and water, and man­made terrain, like roads, cities and railroad tracks. The number of units expanded. The
scenario's expanded to have whole armies comprised of many different units all fighting each other. The rules
also expanded to make combat a little more complex, and a little more realistic.

With the new rules, units, and terrain, the complexity of the game grew hugely. The amount of time needed to
test the game and the game balance of the scenario's, was far more than what it took for Ogre. The overall
development time was longer than Ogre.

The new units were the Light Tank, Mobile Howitzer and the Ogre Mark IV. Although there was a new Ogre
in the rule book, the GEV rules did not include any sections on Ogres. New rules, such as overruns, did
include sections for Ogres. This meant that those that want to use Ogres with GEV really needed to have the
Ogre rules too. Another major change between Ogre and GEV was the addition of stacking, meaning that
more than one counter/unit can be in a hex at one time.

The first edition of GEV had a 24 page booklet (counting the cover), 135 counters, a 12"x14" two color light
card stock map and had a print run of 30,000 units. The game had the following counters:

70 Blue on White Counters

3 Command Posts, 2 Mark IV, 4 Mobile Howitzer, 4 Howitzer, 8 Heavy Tank, 8
Missile Tank, 10 Light Tank, 8 GEV, 10 3/1 Infantry, 10 2/1 Infantry, 10 1/1 Infantry, & 4 trains

54 White on Blue Counters

2 Command Posts, 2 Mark IV, 4 Mobile Howitzer, 4 Howitzer, 4 Heavy Tank, 4 Missile
Tank, 4 Light Tanks, 16 GEV, 6 3/1 Infantry, 4 2/1 Infantry, 4 1/1 Infantry

In "Where we are going" TSG #15 (Jan/Feb 78), Howard Thompson wrote that:

"G.E.V. is going to carry a $3.95 price tag. Initial estimates indicated that this is what would be needed to
cover the 24 page rules book and 50% larger map. ..... The extra cost of G.E.V. ends up being for the map,
inflation, and mostly for heavy development costs. Most gamers have noticed Microgames are above average
in design quality and rules clarity. All that quality isn't free. G.E.V. is the first microgame that fully reflects
development costs."

The first advertisement for GEV was in The Space Gamer #16 (March/April 1978) and the text of the ad said:

"MicroGame 8... G.E.V. Sequel to OGRE ­ a game of armor and infantry combat set in the same future.
More complex and challenging than OGRE ­ includes larger, 2­color terrain map. Fully compatible with
OGRE."

Page 13
The back section of the second edition (first printing) of Ogre had a little text on GEV that said:

"If you enjoy OGRE, watch for G.E.V. ­ a game of high­speed city assault in the year 2085. You can play
G.E.V. on it's own.... or combine it with OGRE. Available in mid­1978 from Metagaming"

In The Space Gamer #17 (May/June 1978) Steve Jackson wrote the article "G.E.V ­ A Designer's
Introduction". The fairly long article discusses the major features of GEV when compared to Ogre. When
writing about his reasons behind doing GEV, Steve said:

"I enjoy Ogre, but it only covers one type of situation. The idea of interactions between the 'little stuff'
fascinated me: Are GEV's good against anything except an Ogre? Are Infantry good for anything at all
except sacrifices? What's the best defensive 'line' you can put together with Ogre units."

With the popularity of Ogre, GEV had a built in fan base. All of those that had bought Ogre were ready to
buy GEV. Many Ogre players were ready to go beyond the simplicity of Ogre and were eager to see the Ogre
and armor units in a more normal setting. GEV was more complex than Ogre, but most of the complexity
was simple enough to understand, including different terrain affecting movement and the expanded combat.

The two games were advertised together, encouraging gamers to buy both, or showing existing Ogre owners
that the two games are linked. An ad in The Space Gamer #21 (Jan/Feb 1979) had this to say:

SUPERTANK.....
The command post is well guarded. Tanks, armed hovercraft, missile cannon, infantry in powered armor ­­
all with one mission: to defend that vital spot. And your job is to go in and destroy it. Alone.

But when those defenders see you, they'.. wish they were somewhere else. Because you're not a man. You're a
thinking machine ­­ the deadliest device on any battlefield.

You're the OGRE.

OGRE has become a classic in two short years. It has pleased nearly 50,000 gamers and science fiction fans.
OGRE proved that a $2.95 game could match any for sheer playing fun. If you haven't experienced this gem,
you owe yourself. Or, just maybe, you're one of the many who has "worn­out" his first copy and needs
another.
"Components include:
­ 24 page illustrated rules booklet
­ 8" x 14" terrain map
­ 112 unit play counters

SPEEDING DEATH....
In the year 2085, a tank duel lasts only seconds. An entire battle ends in minutes. Nuke­firing infantry men
dodge across the battleground in powered suits, trying to come to grips with the enemy armor. And those
armor units, both tanks and hovercraft, are deadly. Only a direct hit will take one out ­­ a miss might stun the
crew, but their machine will keep trying to kill you.
G.E.V., sequel to OGRE, adds more detail to Metagaming's fast­moving simulation of armored combat in the
next century. G.E.V. is a new game, but it is wholly compatible with OGRE. Stacking and terrain rules, new
unit types, the Mark IV Ogre, and more.... Scenarios include Raid, Breakthrough, Ceasefire Collapse, and The

Page 14
Train. And within hours, you'll be creating your own.
Experienced gamers will be most pleased with G.E.V.'s competitive play balance. The MicroGame format is
excellent for raid scenario's. And G.E.V. is a popular tournament­tested success. If you want a fast playing,
tactical challenge, don't miss G.E.V.
Components include
­ 24 page illustrated rules booklet
­ 12" x 14" three color terrain map
­ 135 unit play counters

In The Complete Book of Wargames, the review for GEV had this to say:

"GEV suffers from the problem of all sequels: it's hard to live up to the reputation created by the original.
Since Ogre is one of the most remarkably successful games ever, GEV has a hard act to follow. It can perhaps
be forgiven its small failures. As a game in its own right, it's somewhat dull. Though the situation is
hypothetical, the feel is exceptionally conventional. The battles could almost be lifted whole from
PanzerBlitz. Only when Ogres are added and the situation is reduced to the uncomplicated objectives of the
earlier game does it come to life. It's a good expansion kit, but only a fair game. If you have Ogre and like it,
you'll want this. If not, get Ogre first."

GEV sold well, enough to require a second edition, just a year later. The second edition was similar in the
cover art of OGRE Second Edition (Second Printing) being by Brian Wilson. The game came in a cardboard
box, with a rule booklet, map, full die­cut counters on real cardboard, and a small 6­sided die. The counters
were as follows:

76 Blue on White Counters

3 Command Posts, 1 Mark IV, 4 Mobile Howitzer, 4 Howitzer, 8 Heavy Tank, 8 Missile
Tank, 9 Light Tank, 7 GEV, 10 3/1 Infantry, 8 2/1 Infantry, 9 1/1 Infantry, & 3 trains

53 White on Blue Counters

2 Command Posts, 1 Mark IV, 4 Mobile Howitzer, 4 Howitzer, 4 Heavy Tank, 4 Missile
Tank, 4 Light Tanks, 16 GEV, 6 3/1 Infantry, 4 2/1 Infantry, 4 1/1 Infantry

GEV 1st Edition Map

Page 15
Breakup
Steve Jackson and Howard Thompson had different ideas about game design and game production that led to
a major disagreement. Steve Jackson was working on his version of a role playing game. After playing
Dungeons and Dragons, Steve had some ideas about how to do it better. The first product of this design was
Melee, the game of personal combat. The follow on game was Wizard, which gave the rules for magic in
combat. The overall system was called The Fantasy Trip, and Melee and Wizards were just the first parts of
the RPG system. Steve started work on The Fantasy Trip in 1977 and to Howard Thompson, the project
seemed to drag on for years. Discussion in the industry was that disagreement was based on the format of
how The Fantasy Trip was to be published and review of the final proofs. Steve had promised a boxed set and
Howard produced only booklets. Steve decided to make a break and do his games his way.

Three booklets that formed the rules for The Fantasy Trip

Page 16
 Part 2
Steve Jacskson Games

Page 17
Steve Jackson Games
In early 1980, Steve Jackson struck out on his own. He purchased The Space Gamer and started Steve
Jackson Games. The first Space Gamer that was produced by the new company was issue #27 (March/April
1980). Steve Jackson Games was in stealth mode and not mentioned in The Space Gamer for many months.
In The Space Gamer #32 (Oct. 1980), Steve announced the new company to the world and listed three games
that were being produced and Cardboard Heroes, the colorful paper miniatures. Steve made the
announcement like this:

"Yes, it had to happen, Steve Jackson ­ designer of OGRE, G.E.V. and THE FANTASY TRIP ­ is now in
business on his own. An independent publisher. Designing the kind of games you want to play ­ and
producing them with the quality you'd expect from far more expensive packages. Full­color maps and
covers... illustrated rules..... multi­color counters.... at $3 per game."

First advertisement for Steve Jackson Games from The Space Gamer #32

Page 18
Ogre/GEV 3rd Edition
Since the break up with Metagaming was not an easy break, there were some issues to sort out about the
rights of Ogre and GEV. The copyrights for Ogre and GEV were clearly Steve Jackson's as each version of
the game clearly stated that. The first edition clearly says Steve Jackson owns the copyright. In the second
edition, it says the same, with an additional line that says "published by Metagaming." Metagaming was not
going to let its biggest seller go to another company with out some fight.

The legal rights to Ogre and GEV had to be decided by a court. A court date was set for October 12, 1981. In
The Space Gamer #46 (December, 1981), Steve Jackson mentioned in "Where We're Going" that the rights
issue had been settled and that an agreement was signed on November 17, 1981. In summary, Steve stated
that the issue is "basically a case of me saying, 'I bought these two games last year,' and Metagaming saying,
'You did not either!'"

With the rights issue resolved, work could start on the 3rd edition. The rules were revised on both games to
"answer the most commonly asked questions."

The biggest feature about the 3rd edition was the full color maps created by Denis Loubet. These have
become the standard style of Ogre and GEV maps. All editions after
the 3rd used these same maps. Another addition was double sided
counters. The back side of armor counters showed the unit in a
disabled state and infantry showed a different number of squads.

The previous editions of Ogre and GEV had used both plastic bags
and cardboard boxes. The plastic bags came across as a little cheap
and the cardboard boxes were not strong enough to not get crushed or
damaged in normal use. Steve Jackson Games thought they would do
it better and came up with the Pocket Box, a plastic clam­shell box,
just slightly larger than the 4"x7" games. The boxes had full color
front and back covers and they were strong enough to actually put
them in a pocket. The boxes did have an issue in that over long term
use, the small plastic locking mechanism wore out with use, but it did
take a few years for this to happen.

In The Space Gamer #47 (January 1982), the first advertisement for
the new Ogre and GEV was printed on the back cover. By March of
First advertisement for 3rd edition of
1982, the 3rd edition was back from the printers, but the new Pocket
Ogre & GEV
Boxes were not ready. By the next month, the Pocket Boxes were
available and were shipping. The cost of the games had risen to $5, reflecting the cost of the color
components, the Pocket Boxes, and a little inflation.

In Dragon Magazine #64 (August 1982), Tony Watson reviewed the new editions of Ogre and GEV. The title
of the article was "OGRE roars back onto the scene." In the introduction he mentions the concept of the
Microgame and how that format became popular enough that other game manufacturers had to do something
similar. He also said "the success of the first Microgame was not due solely to the new format, however; the

Page 19
game itself has gone on to become something of a legend in the ranks of SF gamedom, and deservedly so.
That game is Ogre."

As the review gets into the meat of the issue, Tony talks about what has changed; "To sum it up, there are no
changes in the mechanics; all the rules are essentially as they were in the last Metagaming editions. The
physical quality, however, has been improved considerably." He pointed out that the counters for both games
in done in black and white, so that they could be easily used between the games. Another plus on the counters
were that they were larger (1/2") and thicker, but on the downside, they were not fully cut out. Tony said that
the maps "constitute a major, and very eye­pleasing, change from the older editions." He even went over the
Pocket Box and worried about the longevity of the locking mechanism. He also made a comment about the
graphics in rule booklet; "SJG should be especially commended for retaining Winchell Chung's illustrations
for the rules books; no one draws a GEV and Ogre like Mr. Chung."

Color maps from the 3rd edtion of Ogre and GEV, created by Dennis Loubet

Page 20
Ogre Book
By 1982, Ogre had been out for 5 years. A number of articles had been published in The Space Gamer
discussing the game, including strategy, new units, new rules, and even some fiction. The circulation of The
Space Gamer was fairly low in the early days, so those that were discovering Ogre with the third edition were
not able to find these articles.

When Steve Jackson purchased The Space Gamer, he purchased the rights to
all of the past issues and articles. This gave him to ability to reprint all of the
past articles from The Space Gamer into a book form, to create The Ogre
Book.

The Ogre Book was a "collection of Articles, Variants, Fiction and Scenarios
for OGRE and G.E.V." comprised of 19 articles from The Space Gamer from
1977 to 1980, all reviewed and revised (if needed). The cover had new
artwork by David Martin in a redoing of the original Ogre cover art. The
book was 40 black and white pages, with a two color cover slightly thicker
paper. The inside covers had advertisements for Steve Jackson Games games
and magazines. The book is dedicated to "all the wargamers who have tried
'just one more time' to get that Command Post..."

One item of note, in the Ogre Book, Steve Jackson mentioned that there were over 100,000 copies of Ogre
and GEV in print, and he says that the book is the "first book entirely dedicated to commentary on one
wargame system."

The Ogre Book was prepared at the same time as the 3rd edition of Ogre and GEV and was released at the
same time (and the same price, $5). The first ad for the new Ogre and GEV also mentioned the Ogre Book.

Battlesuit
Battlesuit is a game set in the Ogre universe, but at a much different scale than Ogre and GEV. The game
deals with infantry combat in the world of Ogre. Each unit is a single infantry man, decked out in a armored
suit. The game was originally called "Iron Men" but had to change names at the last minute because it was
too close to the "Iron Man" name owned by Marvel comics.

The game was published in The Space Gamer #59 (January 1983),
but the idea for the design must have come much earlier. The cover
to The Space Gamer #43 (Sept. 1981) showed two men in armored
battlesuits and the title of the cover was "Iron Men".

In the same issue that the game was released, Steve mentioned that
Battlesuit was also to be released as a Pocket Game. Battlesuit was
released later in the year, in a Pocket Box format. The released
game had a larger map, larger counters, and more counters.
Section of Battlesuit Map

Page 21
Craig Sheeley wrote a capsule review for The Space Gamer #63 (May/June 1983). He had two gripes. He
said the map was not worthy of Dennis Loubet and that there was no mention of vehicles in the game. Given
the high number of vehicles in Ogre and GEV, he thought at there would some mention of vehicles. Despite a
decent review, there has been little follow on support in the gaming community. Of the Ogre/GEV games,
Battlesuit is the least popular.

Shockwave
In the first edition of GEV, there is a notice that mentions an GEV expansion set with "new units, maps,
scenarios." Five years later in The Space Gamer #65, Steve mentions that the "very­long­awaited Ogre/GEV
supplement" that was supposed to by out by Origins 1983 was still not out. In the spring of 1984, Steve
announced that "Shockwave, the long­awaited expansion set for Ogre and GEV, is a almost complete. It will
contain a rulebook, full­color map (designed to link to the GEV map, and done in the same size and style),
and counters. We also expect to be able to get two counter sheets in there."

Shockwave was released in 1984 and came in the standard ziplock bag. The expansion contained a number of
new units and buildings; Cruise Missile, Laser Tower, 3 types of GEV(Light, GEV­PC, Hover Truck, and
Superheavy Tank, Missile Crawler (for Cruise Missile), Marine Battlesuits, Truck, Reactor, Strongpoint, and
Administration Building. A counter sheet with 224 counters included counters for these new units and
buildings, and some counters for rubble, craters, and destroyed bridges. A new GEV­like 13”x14.5” map was
included. The map was designed to fit any side of the existing GEV map (making the pair of maps
geomorphic). Keeping the costs down, the rules were printed on a single 12”x14” sheet of paper.

Shockwave was nominated for the Origins Award for Best Science Fiction Game of 1984, but it lost out to
"Web & Starship" by West End Games. In May 2000, Shockwave was re­released. RPG.NET, a gaming web
site, has a review of the re­released version of Shockwave. The reviewer, Walt O'Hara has this to say:

"The new units are not exactly a case of having your cake and eating it too; they are, on the average, very
expensive compared to the GEV/OGRE standard issue. I personally prefer the expanded options of 2 Light
Tanks (or Light GEVs) for every 1 Heavy Tank or Regular GEV. Your opinions may differ. The Laser Towers
and Laser installations add a very nifty grand tactical feel to the game, which had always been close­tactical
before."

Ogre Reinforcement Pack

The Ogre Reinforement Pack was released in 1985 and reprinted in 1987 and 2000. Most of the pack are
items that have been released before. There are duplication counter sheets from Ogre, GEV and Shockwave.
There are two duplicate maps from GEV and Shockwave. The pack does have some new rules for towing and
a few scenarios, on a single 11”x17” sheet of paper. The idea was to provide extra counters and maps in case a
gamer wanted to run a huge game. It was also useful if a gamer had a board or counters that had been
damaged and needed replacing. Development was done by Steve Jackson and David Ladyman.

Daron “Dan” Patton reviewed the 2000 release for the RPG.NET website. In his review he has this to say
about one of the scenarios:

Page 22
"BODY BLOW is a simply mindboggling mission where commanders take charge of huge units to
defend/attack a fortified city position; the set­up says at least 1 hour plus 4 or more hours to play (there are
four maps locked together for this battle royale!). Please note that, this mission is really only for experienced
players. More specically, its for veteran OGRE players who have always wanted to see what it's really like to
command massive forces."

Ogre Deluxe Edition

In 1987, Ogre Deluxe Edition was released. It is a boxed version of Ogre with larger and nicer components.
The box used the image of an Ogre with the mushroom cloud in the background. This was the same art on
the cover of Shockwave. The graphics on the box were very similar to the graphics on the box for the
computer version of the game (see later). The box was 9" x 11
3/4" in size and similar to game boxes made by other game
companies. The rule booklet is 8.5" x 11". The board uses the
same graphics as the 3rd edition, but it is 22.5" x 18" and is
mounted on cardboard. The mounters are larger and are designed
to stand vertical using plastic "mounts". The counters all had a
brown background with colored diagrams of the units. For
infantry, the old Army infantry symbol used in earlier editions was
not used and a image of a man in battlesuit was used. The Ogre
counters were larger than the normal counters, but still had the
same brown background. There were no changes made to the rules of the game. The rule booklet was
changed slightly with examples of play, oriented at the beginning player. The counter count was:

79 Counters
1 command post, 2 Mark III, 2 Mark V, 5 Howitzer, 12 Heavy Tank, 13 Missile Tank, 11
GEV, 33 infantry.

Games magazine creates a list of the top 100 games for the year, selected by the editors of the maganzine.
Ogre: Deluxe Edition was listed in the Games 100 list for 1987, under the Fantasy and Science Fiction
category.

Ogre Japanese Edition

Hobby Japan is a Japanese gaming company that runs hobby magazines, stores and imports hobby and
gaming materials into Japan. In 1988, Hobby Japan licensed the Japanese rights to Ogre. Hobby Japan
translated the rules to Japanese, and created its own version of Ogre.
The full color cover is based on the original Ogre cover, but redone by
their own artist. The counters are green and white and look the same as
the original counters. There is only one single good quality image of
this version of the game and it appears to have counter trays and be
boxed, although the cover art is not as large as the box.

Page 23
Ogre/GEV (1990)
The next version of Ogre and GEV were combined into a single product. The Ogre rules were designated as
4th edition and the GEV rules were designated as 3rd edition. The rules were combined into a single 5 3/8" x
8 1/2" booklet. The rules were printed so that the booklet was flipped over to see the other rules. The maps
were the same as the 3rd edition maps for both Ogre and GEV, except that they were printed on the same
sheet of paper (23 3/8" x 17 1/2"). It was expected for the gamer to separate the maps with scissors.

The game came in a box, but the box was fairly flimsy. A total of 9,000 copies were printed, but issues with
the boxes led to only 7,000 games being assembled and sold. In 1995, a new box was printed, on sturdier
cardboard, and the remaining 2,000 games were assembled and sold.

In "Role­playing Reviews" by Allen Varney in Dragon Magazine #172 (August 1991), Allen reviews this
version of the two games:

"Steve Jackson's first design, the action­packed OGRE game, pulled me into this hobby back in 1977, and I
wish I'd held up as well as it has. Its sequel, the G.E.V. (ground effect vehicle) game, adds new units and
rules that give its hovercraft and power­armor infantry a better chance to stop the unstoppable, intellegent
cybertank called the Ogre. With great maps, new two­color counters, and a new (if rather flimsy) box, these
twin classics shouldn't be missed."

Ogre Miniatures Rules

Ogre miniatures have been produced from the late 1970's. The miniatures were too large to use on the Ogre
map, so a number of gamers created their own large scale Ogre map to fit the miniatures. A few (myself
included) created their own set of miniature rules. Eventually, Steve Jackson decided to write his own set of
rules and thus came about Ogre Miniatures, published in 1992.

The miniature rules transitioned the game from hex­based to distance­based,

using an inch to represent the size of a hex. A unit that had a movement of 3, is
able to move 3 inches. The rules follow the main Ogre rules and the only
changes are when hexes are involved. The players need rulers to gauge
movement and range. The section on terrain also includes discussion on how to
model the different terrain. The booklet has a section on the Ogre time­line,
unit organization and how to paint the miniatures. The 64­page booklet is
peppered with full color photographs of the miniatures being played on a
realistic looking miniature table. The pictures really show how good the game
can look if one invests the time and money on the playing surface. The cover
includes a new Ogre drawing by Jeff Mangiat. The back of the booklet had a
card stock pull out section with one page of tables and one page of punch­out
games aides, including a ruler, spill­over fire templates and crater markers.

At the Origins show in 1993, Ogre Miniatures Rules won the award for the Best Miniature Rules of 1992.
This is also the same year that the Ral Partha version of the Ogre miniatures won for Best Vehicular Miniature
Series. The rules were reprinted in 2000 and made available as a PDF download in 2012.

Page 24
 Part 3
Y2K Revival

Page 25
Y2K Revival
In the year 2000, Steve Jackson Games renewed their interest in Ogre and started re­releasing older material
and releasing new material. Steve Jackson announced a Y2K assault in the Daily Illuminator on Feb. 8, 2000:

“Hearing that rumbling? The Ogres are coming back... One of our March
releases will be a new edition of Ogre/GEV. This is an opening salvo of a
whole new Ogre assault. Look for plenty of supporting fire, starting with …

Shockwave (May 2000) – More maps, more units, and more scenarios for
GEV.
GURPS Ogre (June 2000) – Roleplaying in the world of Ogre. Jonathan
Woodward is writing this, and his first draft is already in. It's going to be ...
interesting."

In 2000, Steve Jackson Games re­released; Shockwave, Ogre Reinforcement

Pack, Ogre Blueprint poster, and Ogre/GEV as a combined game in a single
box. They also started up production of the Ogre metal miniatures and
released Deluxe Ogre and Deluxe GEV. They also released Gurps: Ogre.
Poster announcing Y2K
In 2001, the company released Ogre Battlefields, Ogre Book 2nd Edition, and release of Ogre Products
the Ogre Scenario Book. They also released an Ogre T­shirt with a very bright green Ogre and large bright
orange OGRE letters.

OGRE/GEV (2000)
After 10 years since the 1990 re­release of Ogre/GEV, the game was released again. The game came in a
VHS style box with a full color cardboard sleeve. Inside the box was a 4”x7” 44­page
rule booklet with the rules for Ogre on one side and the rules for GEV on the other, three counter sheets, an
GEV map and Ogre map printed on the same sheet of paper, and a six sided die. The rules were labeled as the
5th edition. The game came with 3 copies of the same counter sheet, comprised of the following counters
(per sheet):

53 black on white counters

3 Command Posts, 1 Mark III, 1 Mark V, 3 Howitzer, 3 Mobile Howitzer, 6 Missile
Tank, 6 Heavy Tank, 6 Light Tank, 9 GEV, 13 Infantry, 2 Train.

48 white on black counters

3 Command Posts, 1 Mark III, 1 Mark V, 3 Howitzer, 1 Mobile Howitzer, 6 Missile
Tank, 6 Heavy Tank, 6 Light Tank, 11 GEV, 13 Infantry,

2 red on white counters

1 Mark III, 1 Mark V

2 white on red counters

1 Mark III, Mark V
Page 26
Tomas Skucas reviewed the game for the RPG.NET website:

"'OGRE/G.E.V.' is a great game for those people looking to get into a wargame without having to invest in a
ton of miniatures or needing a law degree to understand the rulebook. Granted, it isn't as pretty as a nicely
constructed Warhammer battle, but the simplicity and elegance of the system make up for it. This is a great
game to buy as a stocking stuffer for your younger brother or nephew, especially if you are hoping to entice
them into this hobby."

Another review was written by Clayton Capra, also for RPG.NET:

"One of the great things about this game is the flexibility for the number of players. My solitaire game was a
lot of fun and you can imagine the Ogre programmed to plow straight toward its objective the command post
or to always fire at the largest threat for example. It plays great as a two player game and it's very easy to
make teams for multi­player. A game can be played in as little time as 30 minutes but much longer games are
possible if you add more units and play on a bigger map.

It is arguably one of the best games to introduce someone to the war gaming hobby because of its simple rules
and small size. All of the units (mostly made up of tanks, but there are some infantry and hovercraft units
called GEV's) have a basic attack and defense strength and movement and weapon range. There is a chart
you roll a six sided dice on to see what happened during an attack."

GURPS: OGRE
Since Steve Jackson was not able to acquire the rights to The Fantasy Trip from Metagaming, he turned his
attention to writing another role playing system, this time designed as a system that could be used for any
genre, be it fantasy, space, or even the stone age. Generic Universal Role Playing System (GURPS) was
released in 1986, and expansion books were created covering the different genres for gaming, including
fantasy, horror, space, cyberpunk, etc, and then expanding into fictional worlds, like Conan, The Prisoner, and
Car Wars.

In 2000, GURPS: Ogre was released. Written by Jonathan Woodward, it

contained 128 pages of Ogre related material for playing GURPS in the
Ogre world. For those just interested in Ogre, the book is a great read and
provides more detail on the Ogre history time­line, military organization,
details on vehicles and battlesuits, and low level details on different Ogres.
It is heavily illustrated and had a futuristic feel to the design.

David Rhode wrote a long review of Gurps: Ogre for the website
RPG.NET that was published in May 2001. The more interesting
comments from the review are below:

"I’ve always been a big fan of SJG’s GURPS line, and that’s why it’s a
little painful to report that GURPS OGRE is an average product. Now,
being average is not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s a little disturbing

Page 27
when you consider that OGRE is, in my opinion at least, one of Steve Jackson Games’ signature lines. There
maybe an inflated expectation factor here. As I’ve already indicated, I was expecting something special for
GURPS OGRE. I may have had unrealistic expectations."

The information layout is standard GURPS, which is to say markedly superior to most RPG sourcebooks.

I think any GM planning a sci­fi military campaign could get a lot of mileage out of the vehicles and
battlesuits presented here, although apart from the Ogres, they are pretty generic. That is both good, in the
sense that they could fit into many campaigns without tweaking, and bad, in that an industrious GM could
have arrived at similar vehicle designs without buying a whole new book.

The next chapter is the section on combat. This section is both terrifying and intriguing. It starts off with a
discussion of futuristic combat technology in GURPS terms, describing how it is used, and the various
modifiers for distance, weather, and other conditions. This is mana for the military buffs and tech heads. To
GMs used to dragons and elves… they’ll run away screaming as if Cthulhu himself had arisen.

In summary, GURPS OGRE left me wanting more, and not in a good way. I have a hard time putting my
finger on just what the lack is. Like any GURPS book, OGRE is brimming with information. Possibly because
so much of the book reads like a military hardward catalog, the setting didn’t get enough attention to bring it
to life. Maybe because there are no NPCs described, I felt no human connection to the world. But what I think
the deepest problem is, is the lack of appeal of the setting for roleplaying. It’s undeniable that the OGRE
universe was created as a wargaming setting. It’s a world that one is meant to visit only through the
intermediate of a set of tactical battle rules that don’t encourage feeling the angst of a single soldier. What
this sourcebook says to me is that it is grafted onto this very inhuman (or is that inhumane?) world, and that
this transplant just isn’t gonna take. Now, roleplayers regularly visit some very scary places… a world of
constant warfare, ruled by giant sentient battle­machines, seems like an attractive stop on the itinerary. But
when you get there, you find that the only hotel was thrown up slap­dash… the beds haven’t been made, the
toilets aren’t working. In short, I think the decision to make the OGRE universe a roleplaying setting was
made only recently, and insufficient thought has been put into making it a good gaming universe.

Ogre Battlefields
In February, 2000, Steve Jackson made a posting to the Ogre E­Mail list announcing that he was just starting
work on some new Ogre Maps:

“I am beginning to rough out a product plan for a new Ogre boardgame supplement. It would basically be
nothing but maps and scenarios. You know how the GEV and Shockwave maps geomorph? They fit together
on any side. I just may be in the market for a couple more interesting­looking maps that fit the same
geomorph pattern, along with some good scenarios to play on them . . . individually, as a pair, or combined
with GEV or Shockwave or both. They should not add any new terrain types, and should not look so much like
the old maps that they can't be told apart. I might settle for a map that geomorphed only on two or three sides
. . . that would let us do a large area of shoreline, for instance. I have no particular budget in mind, and no
more specs than the above . . . just sharing my thoughts with those who might be interested.”

Page 28
Ogre Battlefieds was released in January 2001 and contained 4 new geomorphic maps, counter sheets with
new units, and a 12.5”x14.5” sheet of paper with new rules and scenarios. The new units are Militia and
Engineers. With the engineer units, came some counters for revetments and bridges that the engineers could
build.

Craig C. Robertson wrote a review of Ogre Battlefields for the website RPG.NET:

"After playing with only 2 maps (3 if you count the original Ogre map) the new maps are a godsend.
One from GEV and one from Shockwave. One of my few disappointments when opening the package was the
lack of any new terrain types. The counter sheet adds engineers, militia units, and position improvement
counters (revetments and improvised bridges). There are also counters for the Paneuropean Fencer Ogre,
and buildings for two different red forces. In conclusion, I would say that this is a must­buy for anyone who
enjoys the Ogre/GEV series. The components are of good quality, consistent with the rest of the series.
Definitely a worth release for the series. I can't wait to see what's coming next."

Ogre Book (2nd ed)

In The Space Gamer #69 ( May/June 1984), Steve Jackson mentioned the another version of The Ogre Book
in Where We Are Going?; "And sometime around then end of the year, we hope to publish, The Ogre Book ­
Volume II." That book never came out. In January, 2001, Steve Jackson Games released Ogre Book Second
Edition.

The second edition is much larger that the first edition and includes all of the articles from the first edition.
The second edition is 128 pages and has 36 different articles. The design of the book is the same as
GURPS:Ogre and is loaded with illustrations.

Andrew Walters published a review of the second edition Ogre book on his
website. The more interesting parts of the review are:

"Physically, the book itself is beautiful. The crisp black borders and fantastic
cover give the high­energy feel of the Last War without being garish. I've
always appreciated the "hard scifi" feel of Ogre, as opposed to the outlandish
vehicles and artwork in most sci­fi wargames. Much of the art comes from the
original Ogre Book, from GURPS Ogre, or Winchell Chung's web page, but for
those who don't have the first edition and don't roleplay, there's plenty of good
drawings. "

"But how much is new? My count may differ from the official, but I saw
seventeen articles from the first edition, five things which had been on the web previously, and thirteen new
items. Some of these were articles from The Space Gamer from the eighties, and some have never been
published before."

"Highlights: Steve Jackson expands Garth Getgen's Kill The Howitzer exercise into a full­fledged scenario,
David Pulver's discussion of present­day trends in combat doctrine that could lead to Ogres, rules for Ogre
Squash, and Ken Hite's four alternate histories, where Ogre appear in Roman, Napoleonic, American Civil
War, or Cold War times!"

Page 29
Ogre Scenario Book 1
In early March, 2001, Steve Jackson Games and Wounds Unlimited held a Ogre scenario design contest. The
contest got off to a late start, as by the end of March, there was only 1 submission. The contested ended on
April 15 and by the close of the contest, there were a total of 32 submissions.

The top seven scenarios were used to create the Ogre Scenario Book 1, which
was released in December 2001. The book is 16 pages of black and white pages,
with a full color card­stock cover and was 10" x 6.5". The look of the book was
the same as the releases in 2000 and Gurps:Ogre. All of the scenarios use just
the Ogre map, and use the Ogre/GEV rules.

Mark Watson wrote a review of the book for the RPG.NET website:

"In summary: this book has seven new scenarios for a map that has very few
scenarios written for it. For those lead pushers, one apparently requires only a
copy of Deluxe Ogre and Deluxe GEV to play it, for the rest of us the basic box
has (almost) everything you need to play. While it’s not essential like Shockwave
nor as expansive as Battlefields, it’s pretty good and it’s about as cheap as anything from Steve Jackson gets.
The best thing about this book is that it shows the ogre community is active and the SJ games wants to publish
new things for it. Pick it up and take a look. "

Deluxe OGRE/GEV
Deluxe Ogre and Deluxe GEV were an interesting combination of Board game and miniatures. It was
packaged as a board game with 5.5" x 8" rule booklet and map, but instead of having cardboard counters, the
games came with metal miniatures. Both games came in three VHS box sets, with a cardboard wrap­around
cover that contained all three boxes. The maps were sandwiched between the wraparound cover and a piece
of thicker cardboard, used for stiffening. For Deluxe Ogre, the map is a large 22”x35” classic Ogre map. For
Deluxe GEV, the GEV map has been blown up to 38”x32” inches. Both of these maps come close to
covering a table top.

Deluxe Ogre

Ogre Mark III, Command Post, 6 GEVs, 4 Heavy Tanks, 4 Missile Tanks, 1 Howitzer, 21 Infantry
Squads, 10 Infantry Bases

Deluxe GEV

1 Command Post, 1 Superheavy Tank, 4 Heavy Tanks, 4 Missile Tanks, 4 Light Tanks, 6 GEVs, 6
Light GEVs, 1 Howitzer, 1 Mobile Howitzer, 18 Infantry, 8 Infantry Stands

In June 2001, The Wargamer magazine awarded Deluxe Ogre and Deluxe GEV with the “Wargamer Award
for Excellence”.

Page 30
Both games were reviewed on The Wargamer website. Jim Zabeck reviewed Deluxe Ogre. His biggest gripe
was the amount of flashing on the miniatures and that they had to be worked on before they could be painted,
".. and clearly a great deal of time was invested in creating models that are at once both attractive and
menacing; it is a shame that they don't come more finely finished from the factory." "It appears to me that
Steve Jackson Games decided to include a greater variety of units rather than ensure Deluxe G.E.V. was
playable straight out of the box. Thus the inclusion of the Light G.E.V. and the Superheavy Tank, both units
that actually appeared later, in the OGRE/G.E.V. expansion pack Shockwave."

Al Berke reviewed Deluxe GEV. His biggest gripe was that this set was really a starter set and it did not have
all of the miniatures to play the scenarios listed in the booklet. "The Breakthrough scenario requires twelve
G.E.V. (Ground Effect Vehicles) units and twenty infantry squads, but only six G.E.V's and eighteen infantry
squads are included in the miniature inventory."

In both reviews, Al Berke and Jim Zabeck mention that there are no instructions on how to put the difference
pieces together to form the units, they both concur that there is enough pictures and illustrations on the
packaging to be able to figure out how each of the units are supposed to look.

Michael Power wrote a miniatures review of Deluxe Ogre for website, RPG.NET:

“However, the actual miniatures are merely shells­­there are large depressions in the undersurface of the
mini, which are unfortunately visible from several angles. Most of these angles are from down at tabletop
level­­but they're clearly there. (Time to break out the Squadron Green, I suppose.) The Ogres were clearly not
meant to be looked at from underneath.”

Johnny Worthen, who wrote a review of Deluxe Ogre for the website starshipmodeler.com, had this to say in
his conclusion:

"If you're looking only for models to make, OGRE won't thrill you. Though $50 is a good price for 30 pewter
figures you'd probably be happier if you pick fewer and more unique designs. Warehouse23 is making the
OGRE line and you can buy individual models through them. You can pick up a Mark V OGRE from there
and go to town."

"If however, you're looking for a fun easy to learn and teach game which plays in under an hour and offers
you a change to model a bit, I would wholly recommend OGRE. It's a great war game to cut your teeth on. If
you've been thinking of turning your modeling skills toward miniature wargaming start here."

Diceland: Ogre
Cheapass Games came up with the Diceland series of games in 2002 with Diceland: Deep White Sea. The
game is played using cardboard cutout dice, in which the die are used to fight other dice. In 2003, Cheapass
Games licensed Ogre and came up with Diceland: Ogre, where one player has a large 4" die (the Ogre) and
the other player has a number of dice (GEV's, heavy tanks, etc).

Page 31
In a review article on RPG.NET, Shannon Appelcline has this to say about the game:

"Simplistic Gameplay: The overall gameplay of Ogre is very simplistic, because so few of the dice have much
in the way of special powers, and the Ogre is so limited in what it can do. Usually the Ogre either: hits the
largest die; hits the command post; or flips everything with its AP weapon. The anti­Ogre team, meanwhile, is
limited by the simplicity of the dice and the fact that die­rolling skill isn't as important against the Ogre. Until
you knock out a weapon to create a blind­spot, every space on the table is in danger, and you can't do great
die­rolling tricks to knock the Ogre about, because it's pretty immobile. "

"Great Adaptation: The game feels like a great adaptation of Ogre/G.E.V. The same sense of futile war
against an impossibly strong opponent is front and center. I'm really in awe at how well the Diceland system
has adapted to this very different type of play. "

"Overall, I think Diceland: Ogre is a good game that will particularly appeal to Ogre/G.E.V. players.
However, I also think it's the weakest of the Diceland series, because some of the game system's advantages­­
regarding special powers, throwing techniques, and the possibility for more players­­are all absent here. I've
thus given this game a "4" out of "5", which is above average, but not as high as I've rated the other Diceland
games. "

Cardboard Dice used in Diceland : Ogre

(courtesy BoardGameGeek)

Page 32
 Part 4
Ogre Miniatures

Page 33
Ogre Miniatures
Just a few years after Ogre was released, miniatures of the Ogre and armor units became available. They have
been available off and on over the years, and made by different companies.

Martian Metals
In The Space Gamer #20 (Nov­Dec. 1978), Howard Thompson mentions Metagaming Microtures miniatures
are being released. The miniatures were produced under license by Martian Metals, a Texas miniature maker,
and sold by both Metagaming and Martian Metals. The first were for The Fantasy Trip, but soon in 1979, the
Ogre Mark V was available. In the next issue of The Space Gamer, there was an ad for the Microtures, with a
number of fantasy figures and the Ogre Mark V, at a price of $6.95. It
was not until an ad in The Space Gamer #25 (Nov­Dec. 1979) that the
Heavy Tank, Missile Tank, and the GEV were listed as available. Each
pack sold for $2.95 and each pack came with 4 miniatures.

The Ogre Mark V was sculpted by Forest Brown and the three other units
were sculpted by Randy Hoffa and the chassis was cast as a single piece.
Later, the Ogre Mark Vb came out, where the chassis was cast in two
parts. The GEV was three parts, the chassis, skirt and the jet engines.
The Missile Tank had its missile launcher cast in 4 parts, the turntable
and three individual missiles.

A review in The Space Gamer #29 (July/Aug. 1980) mentioned both the
official miniatures from Martian Metals and some similar miniatures
from Stan Johnson Miniatures. The review on the Martian Metal
miniatures was short and positive; "The Heavy Tank is an impressive
Early Martian Metal ad for
vehicle, nicely cast."
Ogre Miniatures
At Origins 1980, the Ogre miniatures won the H.G. Wells Award for Best Vehicular Model Series of 1979. In
1981, Martian Metals released 3 new miniatures for the Ogre/GEV line; New Ogre Mark V (two piece
chassis instead of one), Mobile Howitzer , and Static Howitzer.

An early ad for the miniatures line listed the following:

OGRE 1/300
All packs are $2.95 unless otherwise noted
OGR1 Ogre Mk V $6.95 *OGR8 Light Tank
*OGR2 G.E.V. *OGR9 Ogre Mk III $3.95
*OGR3 Heavy Tank *OGR10 Ogre Mk IV $4.95
*OGR4 Missile Tank *OGR11 Mobile Command Post
*OGR5 Command Post *OGR12 Infantry
*OGR6 Howitzer *OGR13 Fencer $4.95
*OGR7 Mobile Howitzer *OGR14 Missile Crawler
*Not Yet Available

Page 34
 Front and Back covers
from Martian Metals
miniatures package.
Miniatures were in
plastic bag attached to
the front.
(Courtesy Sean Lyman)

T Rex Miniatures
In 1982, Steve Jackson Games contracted with T­Rex Miniatures to improve the masters that were done by
Martian Metal and to cast the miniatures. In The Space Gamer #47 (Jan. 82), Steve talks about the re­release
of the miniatures. The first to be re­released was the Heavy Tank, GEV and Missile Tank. The Ogre Mark V
was being reworked and became available later. Ab Mobasher of T­Rex Miniatures re­sculpted the Ogre
Mark V by creating a brass master. In The Space Gamer #48 (Feb. 82), Steve mentioned that work was being
done on the Howitzer and the Mobile Howitzer. In the next issue of The Space Gamer, a full page ad was run
for the miniatures line, listing the Heavy Tank, GEV, and Missile Tank as available. Later the Howitzer and
Mobile Howitzer appeared, similar to the ones done by Martian Metals. Three entirely new units were also
released, the Light Tank, Command Post and Combine GEV, sculpted by Jim Zepeda. Changes in the
miniatures were: for the Missile Tank, the missile turret was change to be a single casting; for the GEV, the
chassis and the skirt were combined in to a single piece.

Grenadier
In 1983, Grenadier Models, of Springfield, Pennsylvania, picked up the license for Ogre and Car Wars
miniatures. Grenadier used the same masters that T­Rex Miniatures had previously used and there were no
additions to the Ogre line of miniatures. The stock numbers Grenadier used were the same as Steve Jackson
Games. The line came to an end sometime in 1985.

List of Grenadier Cast Miniatures and SJG Part Number

6101 Ogre Mk V 1 $7 6114 Mobile Howitzer 4 $4
6110 Heavy Tank 4 $4 6115 Light Tank 4 $4
6111 Missile Tank 4 $4 6118 Command Post 2 $4
6112 GEV 4 $4 6122 Combine GEV4 $4
6113 Howitzer 4 $4

Page 35
 Text and Images from the Grenadier Catalog
from 1983

Ral Partha
In 1992, Ral Partha Enterprises, of Cincinnati, Ohio, picked up the license for Ogre miniatures. On May 22,
1992, Steve Jackson sent out an announcement on the Ogre e­mail list talking about the new Ral Partha
Miniatures:

"We just saw the first samples of the Ral Partha stuff for OGRE. They started by reworking the Mk V, Heavy
Tank, Missile Tank and GEV ­ those were the best models anyway, and they're better now. For the other units
they will start over from the treads up rather than 'rebuilding' the old masters, but Randy Hoffa's work on the
small units was just too good to throw away."

The miniatures were released in August, 1992, in time for GenCon. The first to be released were the Ogre
Mark V, Paneuropean GEV, Missile Tank, Light Tank, Heavy Tank, and Howitzer. In September, 1992, the
next miniatures were released; Ogre Mark III, Mobile Howitzer, Superheavy Tank, GEV­PC, Infantry and
Missile Crawler. In 1993, six more units were released; Combine GEV, Combine Heavy Tank, Combine
Missile Tank, Combine Light Tank, Combine Howitzer and Fencer Ogre.
For the original units sold by Steve Jackson Games, Dave Summers modified the masters to clean them up
and to include a Ral Partha stamp on the underside. The Light Tank, Howitzer, Ogre Mark III, and Missile
Crawler were sculpted by Jeff Wilhelm. The GEV­PC and Infantry were sculpted by Richard Kerr.

At Origins 1993, Ogre Miniatures won for the Best Vehicular Miniatures Series for 1992. The award was
given to Jeff Wilhelm, David Summers, and Richard Kerr for their work on the series. The series was
nominated again in 1994 (for the year 1993), but it did not win the award.

Page 36
Ral Partha did sculpt a number of additional units that were not produced; Combine Infantry, Combine
Superheavy Tank, Combine Mobile Howitzer, Combine LGEV, Paneuropen GEV, and Mark IV. The Mark IV
was sculpted by Jeff Wilhelm and a few were cast. Chris Fitzpatrick, a former Ral Partha employee, kept a
copy that he was given. He sold it on E­bay in 2011 and described it as such:

Here we have a RARE Combine OGRE Mark IV miniature for sale. This miniature was made by Ral Partha
back in 1995 or so, for the OGRE Miniatures game by Steve Jackson, but the relationship between Partha and
SJGames fell apart, and the final release of OGRE Miniatures (which included this one) never happened.
SJGames eventually produced a new, slightly smaller Mark IV, based on the smaller Mark 3 chassis, but I
always liked this original model ­­ it is bigger, wider, and has a meaner, lower profile. Check out the pictures,
it's pretty cool. There is only a handful of this version of the Mk 4 in existence.

I worked for Ral Partha back when this miniature was sculpted, and I got one of the first test castings to paint
up to show off at conventions, etc. Myself and another employee were planning a miniature re­enactment of
the battle of Gettysburg, using OGRE forces (yeah, I know, it was kind of silly!) I painted this miniature in
'confederate' markings to represent the army of General Lee ­­ we planned to do another with a Union flag
for General Meade, but sadly the battle got cancelled when we found out that we would no longer be
producing the minis. This miniature went into a case, and there it waited for 15 years... until now. I'm
preparing to move house, and I really need to thin down my collection a bit before, so I am offering "The
General Lee" for sale! Feel free to ask me any questions you may have, or if you need other photos, I'm
happy to help ­­ I just want to see this model go into the hands of a serious OGRE collector who will take
good care of it!

Ral Partha Catalog

Page from 1993.

Ral Partha blister

pack of GEV's.
(Courtesy Sean
Lyman)

Page 37
Detailed Casting Products
Detailed Casting Products, of Kelso, Washington, was founded by
Darell Phillips, and operated as a one­man shop, with Darell doing all
of the modeling, mold making, and casting. In 1992 and 1993, DCP
produced resin models of buildings for Ogre; Command Post,
Hardened Command Post, Jamscreen, Satellite Dish, Laser Turret,
Laser Tower, Craters, Small Bridge, and Highway bridge. The work
was a bit overwhelming for a one­man shop, so Darell had to stop
production.

Soldier and Sword Miniatures

In 1994, Soldier & Sword Miniatures purchased the rights to produce
Ogre miniatures. They did not produce any miniatures for Ogre. In
Detailed Casting Products Catalog
February, 1997, Steve Jackson mentioned on the Ogre e­mail list that
page for Ogre Miniatures
Soldier & Sword Miniatures had quit answering the phone calls and
(Courtesy Sean Lyman)
were no longer returning any calls. There was a comment on Board
Game Geek, that the company had gone out of business before they would produce any Ogre Miniatures.

Steve Jackson Games

In 2000, Steve Jackson Games decided to bring the miniature line back in­house. They hired Richard Kerr,
the former chief sculptor for Ral Partha to lead the miniatures department. The master molds from Ral
Partha were purchased and touched up where necessary. The miniatures
started shipping in November 2000. See Appendix II for a complete
listing of the units released.

As mentioned in the Board Game section, Deluxe Ogre and Deluxe GEV
were released and they contained a number of miniatures.

One new unit in this release was the Ogre Mark IV. It had been created by
Ral Partha, but not released. Richard Kerr re­sculpted the Mark IV
completely new. Matthew Pook reviewed the Mark IV for the website
www.ogrecave.com and had this to say:

"The casting is very clean and there is very little flash, and the only mold
lines to be seen like along the gun barrels. ... Any Deluxe Ogre fan will get
something out of the possibilities that this new model allows. Perhaps a
simple slip of paper could have been included to help the purchaser in construction the miniature, but
otherwise their Mark IV should be ready to roll very quickly."

In January 2004, the decision was made to cease production of the miniatures. The order quantity was not
high enough to make the miniature line profitable.
Page 38
Grey Cat Castings
In April, 2004, Richard Kerr, of Grey Cat Castings, announced that they were taking over the production of
the Ogre miniatures. He forecast that they would be back on the shelf by June 2004. Kerr mentioned that
some of the masters were not usable so they would need to be redone.

In March 2010, Richard Kerr announced that he had ceased production of Ogre miniatures. He said that “I
was not doing the contract justice.” He was not able to produce the miniatures at the rate the SJG needed. At
some point, Grey Cat Castings started casting miniatures again for Steve Jackson Games, probably by 2012.
The miniatures were available again via Warehouse 23, the online store for Steve Jackson Games.

In December 2013, Steve Jackson Games announced that all boxed miniature sets were sold out and that they
were getting low on all miniatures. In January, 2014, the miniatures were taking off the Warehouse 23 store,
because "metal minis are just a lot less cost­effective than they used to be." Between April 7 ­ 14, customers
were allowed to do a last time pre­order for the miniatures. Richard Kerr would then produce all of the
miniatures that were ordered and Steve Jackson Games would them shipped off by June. Once that
production was done, there would be no further production and the only miniatures available would be those
left in the warehouse. Pictures posted on Fotki.com by Richard Kerr show the last run on Ogre Miniatures
that he did. They also show that he was doing resin miniatures, like command posts and laser towers. The
pictures are dated June 7, 2014.

Ogre Macrotures
In 2000, Steve Jackson Games produced a Ogre Macroture. A Macroture is a very large miniature, hence
using "macro" instead of "mini". The only unit produced was the Paneuropean Galahad GEV. It was
manufactured by Armorcast, sculpted by Philip Miller and created out of resin. It was about 4.5" long and
2.5" tall. Steve Jackson Games sold the GEV for $20. The GEV was comprised of a resin body with metal
pieces for the guns and engines, and it is unknown how many were manufactured.

Scale of Ogre Macroture GEV, Ogre

Mark V, and normal size GEV miniature
( Courtesy Steve Jackson Games )

Page 39
About 1994, Sci­Fi Supply of Orlando, Florida, created a series of Ogre Macrotures in 1/35th. They were
given a license by Steve Jackson Games to go into production of the macrotures, but the production costs
were too high to make them feasible. They were then used at gaming conventions around the United States.
Sci­Fi Supply created the following units:

­ Ogre Mark V 2
­ Heavy Tanks 9
­ Missile Tanks 6
­ GEV's 15
­ Light Tanks 8
­ Howitzers 4
­ Command Post 2

Ogre Macroture game at Dexcon 16 in 2013

( Courtesy Dexcon )

Ogre Mark VI created by Winchull Chung

using Blender
(Courtesy Winchell Chung)

Martian Metals Ogre Mark Vb

Note that the body is in two sections.
(Courtesy Sean Lyman)

Page 40
 Part 5
Ogre
The Computer Game

Page 41
Ogre : The Computer Game
When Ogre first came out, home computers were in their infancy. They were large, expensive, had limited
memory and storage, and their display was pretty much just characters. As the years went by, the ability of
home computer grew and they became a fertile ground for wargaming. Companies like Strategic Simulations
Inc. (SSI), Automated Simulations, Atari (with Eastern Front), and even Avalon Hill, created wargames for a
number of early home computers.

Steve Jackson Games was looking into implementing a couple of the games on the computer. After some
initial thoughts about doing it in­house, they decided to look for an existing company to license the game and
do the work. The SJG approached a couple of software companies, almost getting to the point of creating a
contract, but in both cases, the deals fell through. They were lucky on the
third try with Origin Systems in late 1983. The plan was to develop first
for the Apple II and then other platforms.

Origin Systems was founded by brothers Richard Garriott and Robert

Garriott, their father Owen, and Chuck Bueche, in Austin, Texas, in 1983.
Richard, aka Lord British, was known for developing the “Ultima” series
of computer games. Richard and Steve both had a common experience of
developing games for another company, feeling dissatisfied, and then
striking out on their own.

In The Space Gamer #67 (Jan/Feb 1984), Steve mentioned that Andy
Greenburg of Origin Systems was working on the computer version of
Ogre. A couple of months later and Steve reported that Ogre for
Macintosh might be available for Origins '84. At the end of 1984, Steve
reported that Ogre was stalled. The artificial intelligence code for playing
the Ogre was slow in coming. Work on the game continued in 1985 and
in The Space Gamer #76 (Sept/Oct 1985), Steve reported that work continued, but the Apple II version was
delayed by work on other Origin Systems games.

The game was released first for the Apple II in March 1986, and later for the other computer systems,
including the Commodore 64, Atari 400/800, Atari ST, Macintosh, IBM (MS­DOS) and Amiga. Each version
used the same pull­down menu structure.

The original Apple II version was written by Steve Meuse and the Ogre intelligence was programmed by
Dallas Snell. Origin Systems used other software houses to port the game to the different platforms. Micro
Magic did the port to MS­DOS and to the Atari ST.

When the game was released in the UK, it was distributed by MicroProse, so the game was listed as coming
from both companies, Microprose and Origin Systems. The UK release also had slightly different graphics on
the back of the box, including the Microprose name being added.

The game came in a box, with a sticker on the outside saying what particular version it was for. Inside the
box were two booklets, the game manual and "Strategy and Notes" booklet with information about playing the
game. There was a Player's Reference Card, one for each computer system type. There was the program disk.

Page 42
For Apple II, Atari 400/800, and MS­DOS it was a 5 1/4" disk. For the other systems, the it was a 3.5" disk.
The surprise item in the box was a Ogre ID badge, in one of 4 different designs. The badges also came with
radiation sticks that were supposed to change color based on the amount of radiation that they were exposed
to.

The systems needed the following memory:

Apple II ­ 64K C64 ­ 64K
Amiga ­ 256K IBM (MS­DOS) ­ 128K
Atari ST – 512K Macintosh ­ 512K
Atari 400/800 ­ 48K

Cost of the game was $39.95. In 2014, that would be $85.00. For the UK version, the cost for the C64
version was 19.95 pounds and for the Atari ST, Amiga and MS­DOS, it was 24.95 pounds.

The first review for Computer Ogre was in Computer Gaming World, April 1987, written by M. Evan Brooks.

“What is the real critical factor in Ogre? The answer is luck. While assaults against weapon systems may
mass for best odds, the assault against the Ogre's mobility
(treads) must be done individually at a 33% odd. This,
when all is said and done, Ogre boils down to a die­rolling
(or with the computer, a random number generator)
contest. If the defense gets sufficient 1­3 successful die
rolls, then the Ogre is doomed. If not, ….”

Another complaint was the lack of game options, meaning

that only the Mark III and Mark V Ogres were allowed,
despite the fact that other Ogres were published for the
board game. Nor could you go Ogre against Ogre.

“Therefore, even though Ogre is a faithful adaption of its

parent board game, has adequate graphics, and can be Full contents of Origin Systems Ogre game
fun, it isn't the bargain at $39.95 that the boardgame was
at $2.95.”

In the August 1987 issue of Antic magazine for Atari 8­bit systems, Dr. John Stanoch wrote a review on Ogre.

"When Steve Jackson first released Ogre as a board wargame in 1977, it was hailed as a design triumph and
swiftly attained the status of 'classic.' However, in the early '80s when home computers started to burgeon,
many wargamers put away their cardboard counters and picked up joysticks. The cardboard version of Ogre
became affectionately remembered, but seldom played."

"Ogre has top­notch graphics which show the various unit types clearly and distinctly. The map is almost an
exact replica of the original version, showing a 14 x 22 hexagonal (hex) grid. About 75% of the map length is
shown onscreen at once, and you can scroll smoothly through its entire length."

Page 43
In describing the GEM­like interface that Ogre uses, he says "these methods make Ogre incredibly easy to
play." He writes more on the playability of the game;

"One excellent feature is the inclusion of a range 'button'. After targeting a given unit and pressing this
button, that unit's silhouette is surrounded by concentric rings of hexes. All of the hexes into which the
owning player's unit can move or fire are highlighted."

The review ends with this:

"I can't recommend this game highly enough. I thoroughly enjoyed

playing it and will probably boot it up again when I finish this review."

Ogre was reviewed in The Space Gamer #81 (Dec. 1987) by Tim
Robinson.

"As a veteran player of the original boardgame version and its sequels,
GEV and Shockwave, and a playtester for the Reinforcement Pack, this
game is exactly like the original boardgame. In fact, when playing
against the computer one finds that the computer plays better than most
human players. I never know what to expect from the Ogre."

"This is a great game, well worth buying and playing extensively. The
computer Ogre is great competition and there are options to play
Advertisement for computer Ogre against a human opponent. I can highly recommend this game."

In the December, 1987, issue of ACE, an Amiga magazine, the Amiga version of Ogre is reviewed. The
review is fairly short, mostly discussing the mechanics of the game. The ending paragraph is a little
interesting:

"Facilities to enable the player to design the battlefields and choose the effective strength of the Ogre add
depth to what is essentially a wargame for beginners. The game is limited though because in the single player
option, the chance to play the part of the Ogre is denied. The fact that there is only ever one enemy piece
(formidable as it may be) on the board will leave the competent strategist with the feeling that his tactical
abilities are not being stretched and he will soon get bored with it."

A rating box gave the game 3 out of 7 points for Visual Effects, 3 out of 7 for Audio, 6 out of 7 for IQ Factor
(and says "It's a tough game to win"), and 5 out of 7 for Fun Factor. A comment on the Predicted Interest
Curve said "Grips from the start and keeps you at it."

In the December, 1987, issue of ZZap!64, a C64 magazine from the UK, there is a fairly lengthy review of the
C64 version of the game.

"The multiple choice of targets ­ the different ways in which you can attempt to cripple the Ogre before it
reaches its target ­ makes for a satisfying variety of strategies. The instruction booklet is substantial and
deals with the mechanical aspects of the game thoroughly, including tables which makes it clear how the
computer calculates combat results. A second book in the package goes into the tactical theory of the game,

Page 44
 Ogre Game Screenshots

Opening Screen for DOS

Playing Screen for DOS Playing Screen for Apple II

Playing Screen for Atari 400/800 Playing Screen for C64

Playing Screen for Atari ST Playing Screen for Amiga

Page 45
under the pretense of being a manual for command post commanders, and it makes interesting reading after
you've played a few times and got a grasp on what this involved in practice."

The ratings for the game were: Presentation ­ 70%; Graphics ­ 51%; Rules ­ 87%; Playability ­ 85%; and
Overall was 86%.

In 1996, the Origin Systems version of Ogre was ranked at 130 in Computer Gaming World's List of 150 Best
Games of All Time.

Ogre Computer Game (SystemSoft)

SystemSoft created a version of Ogre for the Japanese market. They released a version for MSX computers
which had a very different look than the Origin Systems version. They also released version for the PC­88
and PC­98 ( a localized system that ran MS­DOS).

There are screenshots available for Systemsoft Ogre for MSX and PC­98, each having a its own distinctive
look. The MSX version uses offset squares instead of hexes. The offset, gives each square a total of 6 other
squares to move into, thereby functioning as hexes. The PC­98 version looks more like the Origin Systems
version of Ogre, with similar type menus on the right hand side of the screen with similar fonts.

Cover for SystemSoft Ogre Game

Screenshots from PC­88

Screenshots from MSX

Page 46
Ogre War Room
Steve Jackson Games released a mobile application called Ogre War Room for iPhone and Android in 2013.
It is a helper application that automates the record keeping for the game. The application has a Combat
Calculator where you enter the attack and defense strengths of units and the application will determine the
combat ratio, roll the die, and show the result. It has a section that tracks the damage done to an Ogre and has
a database of 13 different Ogre models. It even comes with PDF versions of record sheets that can be printed
directly from the smart phone (as long as the smart phone has that capability). The application was designed
by Steve Jackson. The cover by Phil Reed. IOS programming was done by J. Kira Hamilton and Android
programming by Keith Blackard. Music used in the application was written by Tom Smith.

Unlicensed Software
In 1982, Michael Caplinger, a student at Rice University, Houston, Texas, wrote an implementation of Ogre
for Unix systems. The game was purely character based, using periods for the center of hexes, asterisks to
mark craters, and upper case letters to identify the different units. The game was distributed via USENET, a
world­wide bulletin board system, with no limitations on who could use it. Both the Santa Cruz Operation
(SCO) and Microsoft included it in their Xenix games disks.

In 1988, Tim Parker, a columnist for Computer Language

magazine, found the game, compiled it for his Xenix
system and wrote up a fairly long review. The
description of the game points out that Michael Caplinger
used the first edition rules of Ogre, as the GEV's had 4
movement points on both movement phases. Parker
reports that "the ogre is programmed with such clever
logic for attack determination that it appears to play as a
savvy human would."

At some point, the Unix version of Ogre was ported to Screenshot of Unix Ogre
the Amiga system by Hobie Orris and it was distributed
in a large Amiga disk collection, called the Fish Disk, named after the creator of the disks, Fred Fish. In 1987,
Steve Jackson contacted Fred Fish and explained the Ogre game was not licensed and was in violation of
copyright and trade mark laws. Fred pulled the game from the disk collection and replaced it with another
piece of Amiga software on the disk.

About the same time as the Amiga Port, Joe Applegate, of the Colorado School of Mines Computing Center,
ported the Unix version to MS­DOS, compiling it with Microsoft C 5.0. This game was distributed via the
normal shareware and freeware channels. The game was also ported to the Atari ST by Micheal Jenkin.

In January,1992, Steffan O'Sullivan made a posting on rec.games.misc on behalf of Steve Jackson, looking for
information on the Unix version of Ogre, including "any documentation, history, number of copies distributed,
etc." It is unclear if anything came about due to this posting.

Page 47
 Part 6
Announced Items that
Never Came Out

Page 48
Announced Items that Never Came Out
Over the years a number of products were announced but were not produced.

Battlesuit Miniatures
Miniatures for Battlesuit were licensed to Masterpiece Miniatures of Salt Lake City in 1983. The miniatures
were announced in TSG #64 (July/August 1983). Steve Jackson reported that he did see one figure prototype
and liked it. He was hoping to be released at Origins 1983. Masterpiece Miniatures ran an advertisement in
Space Gamer #68 (Mar/Apr 84) announcing the miniatures and provided an address where one could order a
catalog and price information, P.O. Box 8986­S, Salt Lake City, UT 84108. Prototypes were produced for
five infantry figures, but they never went into production, and the company broke up.

Ogre Decals
In December 2001, Paul Chapman, Ogre Line Editor, announced that SJG was working on Ogre decals for
the miniatures. A quarter page of decals was planned to retail for $5 and it would contain 100 symbols.

There was some discussion on The Miniatures Page boards about Decals Express making decals for Ogre
miniatures and that Bad Idea Games might have also done some.

Ogrethulhu
In the trade news booklet, "Where We are Going" #68 (Winter 2002), the new rule set "Ogrethulu" was listed.
The listing was:

Ogrethulhu­ A new rules/background book by Steve Jackson. Ogres are being

possessed by Things Man Was Not Meant To Know... Coming January 2001.
#3203, $8.95

There was also a more detail write up of Ogrethulhu in the booklet:

Ogrethulhu is something new in the Ogre universe. When an Ogre Mk. V is

possessed by an unspeakable Eldritch Horror, the result is a doubly unstoppable
creature of inhuman cyberintellengence and unholy hungers, with tentacles,
claws, and never­blinking eye.... The "Ogrethulu" Mk. V is far harder to kill than
an ordinary Ogre, and it eats. It eats infantry. It eats tanks. It eats whole town
hexes, and it's victims re­emerge transformed into the grotesque "Spawn of
Ogrethulu."

The first release in the Ogrethulhu line is Richard Kerr's wonderful mechano­organic Ogrethulhu Mk. V,
available now. It will be followed by Steve Jackson's Ogrethulu rulebook, which will support both the
boardgame and miniature rules, as well as GURPS: Ogre. Then will come the Spawn of Ogrethulhu infantry
set. What will be next? We aren't saying yet, but ask yourself what kind of command post is a monstrosity
like this will report to..."
Page 49
The game did not come out, but two miniatures were created, OgrethulhuSet 1 ­ Ogrethulhu Mk V and
Ogrethulhu set 2 ­ Spawn of Oghrethulu.

Munchkin Ogre
On April 1, 2010, The Daily Illuminator announced:

"Munchkin Ogre Coming on August"

"As part of the 30th anniversary celebration here at SJ Games, we're combining Steve's very first game
design, Ogre, with the hottest new kid on the block, Munchkin. The result is creatively named Munchkin
Ogre. Play a Paneuropean or Combine soldier. Equip yourself with a Battlesuit, a GEV, even an Ogre ­ and
then take it down into the dungeon to kill monsters and take their stuff."

Of course, it was all an April Fools Joke.

Paneuropean Force & Killing Zone

There are two Ogre related books that were in­line for production by Steve Jackson Games, but for one
reason or another, they were not produced. Both books were written by Michael Naylor and David Graham.
Both books at least made it to the stage of production where ISBN numbers were generated. Based on these
numbers, online book sellers are still listing the books.

The book "Paneuropean Force" is listed with a publication data of June, 1993, or February, 1994. "Killing
Zone: Scenarios for Ogre Miniatures" is shown with a publication data of August, 1996. The Ogre FAQ list
on the Steve Jackson Games website mentions Killing Zone, but only as a product that was not released and
nothing else. Michael Naylor is listed in the Gurps: Ogre book as providing additional material and
contributed a drawing of a Fencer Ogre to The Ogre Books 2nd Ed.

Page 50
 Part 7
Fan Support

Page 51
Fan Support
After dealing with the unlicensed Unix version of Ogre, Steve Jackson Games came up with an Online Policy
for handling “Fan Pages, Fan Fiction, and Free Game Aids.” To keep the trademark on Ogre and GEV, Steve
Jackson Games has to seek out those that are using the trademark improperly, else the trademark can be lost.
The Online Policy provides a way for fans to create fiction, scenarios, game aides, etc, and acknowledge the
trademarks of Steve Jackson Games, making both sides happy.

Discussion Boards
In the 1980's, about the only way for gamers to talk to each other electronically was via USENET, the
worldwide distributed internet discussion forum. USENET has a number discussion groups and one was
rec.games.board, where all manner of board gaming was discussed. At the time, it was mostly universities
and colleges that were connected to the Internet, so the audience was young and just the right age for the
average gamer.

In 2000, Yahoo introduced Yahoo Groups, their own web­based version of USENET discussion groups.
Yahoo users can create their owns Groups and the manage who joined the groups. Those that joined a group
could get the group discussions via e­mail or they could access it via the web. Past discussions were archived
and viewable in the Group. There were three Yahoo Groups that formed for supporting Ogre; Ogre/GEV,
Ogre_Miniatures, and SFBay_Ogre. The groups were fairly active for the first 5 years that they were around,
then the popularity of Yahoo Groups started to fade. By 2007, posting to the Groups had dropped off to
almost nothing, with a number of months with no postings.

Both rec.games.board and Yahoo Groups allowed players to reach out to other Ogre/GEV players and discuss
the game, suggest new scenarios, rules, and units. The SFBay_Ogre group was even used to arrange
meetings of players in the Bay Area to host games.

Mailing List
Henry J. Cobb started a discussion on rec.games.board on creating an e­mail list for Ogre & GEV. He created
the "GEV List Thingy" in the form of an e­mail list. Those interested could subscribe by sending Henry their
e­mail list. All e­mails would go to the discussion group and Henry would collect them and send them to the
group. The e­mail list started in 1992. Steve Jackson Games has a large archive of the e­mail list on their
website. The oldest is dated Nov. 5, 1992, but it does not appear to be the first e­mail from the list. In
August, 1994, the GEV List Thingy was shutdown when Steve Jackson Games started hosting the Ogre
Mailing List, using their servers. The address for the list was ogre­l@io.com (io for Illuminati Online).

The mailing list was a great source of Ogre/GEV material. Ogre fans posted their own scenarios, new units,
new rules and even short fiction. The board was used for discussing all sorts of Ogre related issues. Even
Steve Jackson would post to the mailing list every now and again.

The mailing list continued for the next 10 years. By the late 2000's, the amount of traffic was slowing. Most
of the discussions had moved over to the Ogre forums hosted on the Steve Jackson Games website.

Page 52
Fan Writing
The first Ogre fiction was "Duel" by Stephen V. Cole, published in The Space Gamer #10, (Feb­March
1977), the first issue released since Ogre was released. The first fan derived varient of Ogre was Continental
Siege Aircraft by Greg Costikyan, published in The Space Gamer #11 (April­May 1977).
Over the years, a number of fan written rules, scenarios, and fiction have been published in The Space Gamer
and other gaming magazines. With the advent of the Internet authors were able to use the mailing lists,
discussion groups, and web sites for publishing their writing.

Henry Cobb, who ran the e­mail list, has written quite a number of short articles on Ogre, including a number
of alternative Ogre units, like the French Light Missile Tank, The Laser Ogre and Laser Cruiser. He has
written articles on GEV defense tactics, Militia in GEV and most recently, comments on tactics for the most
recent edition of Ogre. He has written a number of scenarios, including "The Monster in the Moat", "Turkey
Shoot", "Fox Hunt", and "Gumbo in the Gulf."

For sheer volume, Christopher T. Shields have probably written the most as a fan. He has written a number
of stories, including "Ain't No Free Lunch", "Rain on a Parade", "Dawn of the Bear", and others. He has
written on new rules and units in "Datapulse ­ Unofficial Changes to the Official Rules." He has written
commentary with articles like "Background Radiation ­ A Discussion of Mobile Infantry During 'The Last
War'" and "Thoughts on 'The Last War'". His writing can literally fill a book.

Other authors of Ogre fiction are Paul O'Grady with the stories "Action in the Brighton Pocket", "Blood on
the Sand (Pt 1 & 2)", and "Combat Debut", and Francisco Cestero with the stories "Winds of War",
"Exodus", "Bowman's Glacier", and "War Under The Ice." Mike Fisher has written some scenarios and
discussion articles with "Ogre Challenge", "Peacekeeping Force", "Alien Ambush", "GEV Chess", "Ogre
meets Epic", and "The Overlooked Ogre." Another author of scenarios and commentary, Tristian Koehler has
written "Ravaged Coast", "Counter Attack!", "Einkreisung", "Two Nations One War", "GEV Strategy", and
"Great Patriotic War Strategy."

Kwanchai Ogre
Kwanchai Moriya is a artist and gamer. He has been working on "redesigns" of different board games. By
redesign, he recreates the graphic elements of the game in a different style and provides the redesign for
download. The redesigns allow for his expression of artistic talent merged with his high interest in board
games. The first game that he did a redesign on was "Survive: Escape from Atlantis".
In April 2009, Kwanchai made a posting to BoardGameGeek stating that he was working on the redesign of
Ogre. In that posting, he had this to say about the redesign:

"So I set out redesigning Steve Jackson’s original Ogre; the redesign does not include G.E.V. The most
obvious change is the theme and the artwork. The theme has been changed from "cybernetic supertanks in a
bleak futuristic wasteland," to "clunky giant robots on the Western Front of World War II." Tanks are cool, but
I just wanted to try something different. Also, I felt that the whole futuristic sci­fi genre was a little tired. One
of my tangential ideas was to change the theme to "U.S. army fighting Godzilla," but I couldn’t figure out a
way to reconcile Godzilla with an array of different weapons (and I figured MechaGodzilla was a bit too
obscure). So the next best thing was a giant robot. "

Page 53
"I took most of the look for the U.S. Ogre from Iron Giant and the robot from Zathura. And for the German
Ogre, I took cues from Michael Salter’s robot installation pieces and the Stone Golem from Maplestory."

The redesign was subtitled "A game of giant killer robot warfare on the Western Front, 1941­1945". Ogres
became large robots. The playing field went from a radiated wasteland with craters, to farmland with
occasional farm houses. The units became more conventional with howitzers, tanks, mobile missile
launchers, and jeeps with large machine guns. The project was designed for gamers to download, print out,
and build.

The PDF file with the whole redesign (rules,

maps, counters, unit sheets) was posted to
BoardGameGeek, in May 2009, where the
reaction was swift and very positive. Since
Ogre had been out print for a number of years,
there were gamers that downloaded
Kwanchai's version so they could play the
game again. There was even a sneak preview
of the counters for an Eastern Front version of
the game with Russian units.

In October 2009, the folks at Steve Jackson

Games had heard about the redesign and
contacted BoardGameGeek to have the PDF file removed. Posting the complete game of Ogre, was very
much against their Online Policy and could have impacted their trademark on the Ogre name. There was
quite a number people that had trouble understanding why Steve Jackson Games did what they did and felt
that they were being very draconian about the while affair.

Paul Chapman, the Marketing Director for Steve Jackson Games posted this comment to the
BoardGameGeek boards:

"Allowing unauthorized use of our trademarks does indeed weaken future defenses of that trademark. As I've
stated before, we acted according to the legal advice we have been given. If that doesn't sit well with you ­­
and I'm fully aware of a great number of people, both in and out of the games industry, who disagree strongly
with the current IP laws ­­ there are a number of political organizations which are working to change the
laws."

Kwanchai posted his reaction to the whole affair and where he was coming from when he did the redesign of
the game:

"I understand that a company needs to protect its copyright. And, as an illustrator, I definitely understand
wanting to protect your intellectual property. Yes, I violated copyrights across the board by posting the rules
along with my redesign. Yes, I was wrong. But the only reason I made the redesign is because I wanted to
revive a game which I understood to be out­of­print (or perpetually "soon­to­be­printed"). I meant to revive
it; not pirate, or steal, or weaken, etc. "

"Of course I don't understand the vast legalities in play, but it does feel a bit like being stomped on. And I
think for those handful of people who played Ogre for the first time with my redesign, that feeling is echoed. "

Page 54
"I was thinking, BGG, in the big scheme of things, is a relatively niche internet community. The Ogre fan
community is another smaller niche within that. And then PNP'ers are an even smaller niche within that.
Then add the fact that most PNP'ers have more PNP games existing as PDF's on their desktop than as actual
physical games (i.e. myself). And you have a very small, very specific community which has actually played
the Ogre redesign. And when a community is that specific, it usually means that it is 100% fans. Only a real
fan is going to spend a bucketful of cash, a few bloody cuts, and a really sore hand for a PNP game. It feels
frustrating because we are all fans here."

" '...our actions were guided primarily by trademark law,' says Steve Jackson Games. Okay, I understand. But
then questions still linger. Why don't other, bigger board games publishers (who often post their rules to
BGG) request removal of redesigns of their games? Has SJG really lost sales because of the redesign? Has
SJG's Ogre trademark really been "weakened"? Could things have been resolved differently? "

"I won't be reposting a stripped down version of the redesign to BGG, since a new edition seems to be on its
way. And, by the way, I'm definitely buying a copy when it does come out, since I believe the game to be
absolutely brilliant and SJG deserves money for their game. If you were able to download a copy of the
redesign before it got removed, and you cooked one up and like it, please upload pictures of them! It's really
rewarding to see proof that my little project has been recreated elsewhere in the world."

Ogre for PalmOS

In late 1999, Winchell Chung was tinkering with the Handspring Visor, a PDA that ran PalmOS. For fun, he
decided to write a version of Ogre for PalmOS. He thought it would "be really convenient to have the game
on it." Development started in October, 1999, using the C language and Code Warrior for PalmOS. Since he
was new to PalmOS programming, there was a bit of a learning curve to get over.

The screen on the Visor was black and white with 160 pixels square. The counters were only 13 pixels square
when viewing the whole board. When zoomed in, each counter was 32 pixels square. The graphics when
viewing the whole board was similar to the Ogre computer game by Origin Systems. Each unit was a
drawing in the hex. When zoomed in, the unit was a full counter looking exactly like the game.

About a year after starting work on the game, Visor came out with the Prism, which supported color.
Winchell picked up the Prism and quickly ported the program to the new system with a full color map. A
year later, the Sony Clie was available and Winchell moved the that PDA, again porting the program over.

The game was developed to the point that two players could play a full game on the PDA. Winchell started
work on the AI for a solo game, but never completed to work. He did have plans to create an API so that
others could write their own AI modules, but this not was implemented.

During development, Winchell was in contact with Steve Jackson, who found the software interesting, but
Steve was not interested in selling the game. Steve Jackson Games was not in a position to provide support to
for the game, since they had no PDA experience themselves. Winchell was in no rush to development game,
so by the time the game was even close to being mature enough for usability, it was obvious that PDA's were
on the way out and that smart phones were taking over the market. It would be tough to market a game for an
dead­end platform.

Page 55
 Screenshots from the PalmOS Ogre in B&W and Color

Ogre/GEV Game Aids

Ogre Map
Ogre Map is a Windows application that lets the user create their own customer Ogre/GEV map. It was
written by Thomas Cornwall in 2006, and is freely available. From the initial screen, the size of the map is
determined and what specific terrain type is to be used. Once the map is created, the user can then add any of
the typical Ogre or GEV terrain types into any hex. The user can
create a GEV like map with swamps, forest, water, and include some
craters typical of the Ogre map. The graphics are taken from the 3rd
edition maps by Denis Loubet.

Output is the limiting factor with Ogre Map. A map can be saved, in
.brd format, for later use. A map can also be printed. There is no
option to save the map on a format that can be used by other
programs. The user can only print the map for use. If one has a large
screen, then a screenshot can be taken of a map then converted to
.jpg. This would allow the map to be used electronically.

OgreOps
OgreOps is a version of Ogre/GEV written by Alex Ng. It runs under
DOS, so most modern systems will need to use something like
DosBox to run it. The game is not a direct translation of Ogre/GEV,
but it is mostly a translation with a few rule changes. The biggest
difference is the graphics, as they do not look like the normal
Ogre/GEV graphics in either the map or the counters.

Page 56
Other Game Aids
Play by Email Systems
Play by e­mail (PBEM) became a popular way for gamers to play with others over a long distance. Play by
mail had been around for a while, but the move to e­mail made it easier and sped things up. The standard
Play by e­mail (PBEM) stores the game board and current placement of pieces in a file. That file is then sent
to the other play, where they make their moves, and send the file back. Both players must have the same
PBEM tool for this to work.

VMAP
V_Map is a play­by­e­mail system written by Todd Zircher in 1997 for Windows
95/NT. The last released version is 1.8. It was one of the first freeware PBEM systems
to be available. One of the first games that was adapted for V_MAP was Ogre/GEV.
The game has not been in development for many years and any web page created for it
are long gone. The game distribution package might still be available somewhere on
the Internet.

JVMAP
JV_MAP is a V_MAP­like tool written in Java by Robert Knop, Jr. in 1999. The latest version, 0.10.8 was
released in early 2001. Robert wanted to run V_MAP, but he had a Linux system and not a Windows system.
He wrote JV_MAP to be similar to V_MAP and use the same data files (.vmp). Development has also ended
for this program, but it is still available on the Internet.

CyberBoard
Cyberboard was written by Dale Larson. It was first started in 1994 as a Windows 3.1 application. The latest
version is 3.0 written for Windows XP and higher, and was released in 2010. Cyberboard allows playback of
a turn, so that when player 1 sends their turn to player 2, all of the moves and combat that player 1 did will
playback for player 2 to see.

Vassal
Vassal is a free, open­source system for PBEM. It was started in 2003
by Rodney Kinney as a system for playing Advanced Squad Leader. It
is written in Java so that it is very portable to many different systems.
The current version is 3.2.9 released in January 2014. The game has
modules for many different games, including Ogre and GEV.

Page 57
 Part 8
Ogre 6th (Designer's) Edition

Page 58
Ogre 6th (Designer's) Edition
After being off the market for a number of years, Steve wanted to do a new release of Ogre, taking the idea of
Deluxe Ogre and taking it much further and expanding to GEV. In March 8, 2008, Steve talked about this
new release:

"Now the good news, news that personally delights me. We now have to fill a hole in our schedule. When
looked at everything that might fit in that hold, a spiffy big­box version of Ogre ­ big board, heavy counters,
an so on ­ had the best combination of 'needs no further rules development' and 'is in demand.' So we get to
have Ogre back. I have been really unhappy that it was out of print, but other things had to come first. Now
that the other priorities have temporarily fallen down... Ogre get its chance!"

Later in the year, on November 14, Steve provided an update on Ogre 6th edition, "We are closing in on our
final schedule for 2009 and Ogre 6th edition is not on it." There were three issues that prevented Ogre from
going forward; the printing costs were going up, very high goals for quality, and not enough staff available to
work on the project.

After a couple of years of being quiet on the project, Steve Jackson wrote an open letter to distributors on
Ogre. The letter released March 12, 2011, said that Steve Jackson Games had plans to release the 6th edition
at the end of 2011, the planned costs is $100, it will be in a
very large box, and they were looking to see if distributors
would be interested in the game. Steve did address the
major question of the product; "Why? Because I want to.
Ogre was my first design, and the boardgame version hasn't
been available for years. And people keep asking me for
it." The cover design of the box made it's first appearance
with this announcement.

In spring 2011, the Daily Illuminator had a few updates on

the 6th edition. The plan was to print 3,000 copies. From
Text of card distributed at Origins 2011
the Open Letter, there was enough support from distributors
advertising Ogre 6th edition
to keep pushing forward with the project.
(Courtesy J. Fleisher)
At Origins that year (June 22­26), Steve Jackson Games handed out cards announcing the 6th edition. The
stock number was listed as #1977 (the year Ogre was released). The card mentioned that the 6th edition will
ship late 2011. Two months later, on August 16, it was announced that the 6th edition was not on track for
2011. Steve did mention that "I continue to get more mail about this than any other upcoming project.."
showing the high level of interest in the game.

The next update on the 6th edition was on March 29, 2012, where it was announced that "we are roughly two
months away from saying 'Done!' and that all assumes that everything continues to go well, but I'd say we're
within weeks of having more Ogre material to show you." On Aprill 1, 2012, a mock up of the Ogre box was
shown and it was estimated that the total weight would be 14 pounds.

On April 11, Steve Jackson Games decided to take a different tack and put Ogre 6th edition on Kickstarter, a
website for getting community funding of projects. The funding goal was set for $20,000. That goal was

Page 59
reached in just a few hours. Within 24 hours, the funding as reached $72,769. As the funding goals were
met, new funding goals were established, Later on the second day of funding, the $100,000 goal was met. A
retail support category was created was "for brick­and­motor retailers only! For $300, you will receive four
copies of the kickstarter edition of Ogre, one T­shirt, and one extra kickstarter counter sheet so you can show
off the constructable Ogres and buildings. Your store name will be on the list of supporters." To support
other retailers, Steve Jackson Games created a pre­order form that you would give to a local retail store
letting them know that you want the game and that the store should order it.

On May, 12, the kickstarter funding was completed. The final amount that was pledged for the 6th edition of
Ogre was $923,680, or 4,600% of the original goal. Needless to say, Steve
Jackson and the whole company was a bit surprised. The scope of the project
increased with all of the additional items that were included in the different
funding goals, such as:

­ Ogre Supporter 2012 T­Shirt

­ Combine & Paneuropen Lapel pins
­ Kickstarter Exclusive Counter Sheet
­ Canvas bag for Box
­ Patches
­ Ogre Blue Print Poster
­ Pocket Ogre Kickstarter Supporter T­Shirt
­ Classic Counters

With all the Kickstarter funding, Steve Jackson Games could really start the serious work on the 6th edition.
On June 7, the Daily Illuminator had the title "Ogre Death March Continues". The update said, "Most
horizontal surfaces and some vertical ones, are covered with pasteups, proofs, and prototypes. The regular
projected schedule board has been replaced with an 'Ogre Central' magnetic schedule. Long hours are being
worked. We knew this would be a big job, We had NO idea how
big."

Soon, the realization of how much effort was going to be needed

to get the game ready for the printers hit and the company
realized that they would miss their initial print deadline. The
next goal was to have the game to the printers and have them
available for Christmas of 2012, for the Kickstarter edition and
the regular edition was to be available in early 2013.

In August, the Pocket Edition was sent to the printers. Given it's
small size, getting it ready to print was much less work.
6th edition laid out on table
(Courtesy Steve Jackson Games) As the earlier Daily Illuminator said, the Ogre death march
continued into 2013. In May, 2013, the first sample game came
back from the printers. This was the first proof of the game, where the different components were checked
against the proofs and everything was test fitted for the box. There were minor changes to be made, that led
to other minor changes, and so on.

Page 60
In discussing the economics of the game, Steve mentioned that the cost per unit was about $38. He said that a
distributor normally buys a 35% of retail, for $35 for a $100 product.

In late July, 2013, Daniel Jew, the Ogre Line Editor, and Phil Reed, the Chief Operating Officer, traveled to
China to visit the factories and check up on the game. The photographs shown in the Kickstarter updates
showed huge amounts of the different components of the game. In August, the first containers with the
finished games were shipped from the factories. The first container arrived in Austin on September 11, 2013.
Steve Jackson Games had to rent a facility to handle the storage and processing of the games. The first
shipments of games were leaving Steve Jackson Games in early October.

To celebrate the arrival and shipment of the game, Steve Jackson Games hosted a Launch party in Austin on
October 19th and 20th. People that signed up were able to pick up their games in person. The cost of the
party was $35, which included a swag bag and a special event T­Shirt.

On Saturday, November 9th, West Coast fans held a Launch Party at Game Kastle in Fremont, California.
The organizer of the event, C. Andrew Walters posted this about the event:

"We had over forty people; people stayed all day, there were people there after 7pm when I left so they had
been playing nearly eight hours. We had a bunch of people who started in 1977 and a bunch of people who
learned to play today. We had at least five second­generation Ogre players, including one about six years old.
The six year old had helped his dad punch and assemble Ogre DE so he was fairly knowledgeable about
Ogres and their configurations. Many of us discovered Ogre fans that lived near us that we knew nothing
about. We had enough prizes and they were well­appreciated. People drove up to two hours to attend and left
really happy. I met new people and saw people who haven't come out to an Ogre event in years. Many
Command Posts were smashed. Plans for future events were discussed."

East Coast gamers also had to have a Launch Party. It was held on November 16th at The Only Game In
Town in Somerville, New Jersey. The organizer Sean Ferris later posted this:

"The Ogre Launch Party East went very well. We had 40 people throughout the day that came for the party,
plus the regular customers who were asking tons of questions. Joe Bloch was a tremendous help! Frank and
his staff (especially Jersey Joe) were great! We also had a MIB in training who was up to the task! We had
tons (or close to it, there were a dozen Kickstarter copies there) of Ogre fun! Several people traveled long

T­Shirt and Canvas bag handed out West Coast Launch Party in
at Austin Launch Party Fremont, CA.
(Courtesy Steve Jackson Games) (Courtesy Steve Jackson Games)

Page 61
distances and said it was worth it!!! (7 from PA, 2 from NY and one was Cooperstown area, 1 from MD, and 1
got a hotel because he came from VA, with the remainder from all parts NJ). There is even talk of a monthly
Ogre meet up here at TOGIT!"

After the Austin Launch Party, the work continued on getting all of the Ogre's shipped. By Nov. 12, over
50% of the games were shipped and by November 20, all of the games had been shipped. In total, 12,000
games were printed. Steve Jackson had mentioned that the check he sent to the printers was for $548,000.

Over all, Ogre was the 5th most successful Kickstarter Board game. At one point it was the most successful.

There were a number of sponsor levels where sponsors could have the exclusive rights to selling a sheet of
Ogre counters, for $4,500 or more. Steve Jackson Games would work with the sponsor to create a counter
sheet. Steve Jackson Games did the design work and handled the printing. A year after the game was
released, Steve Jackson Games was allowed to sell their copies of the counters. A total of 8 sponsors were
sold at this level. Steve Jackson Games found that this worked with some sponsors, but not others. One
sponsor was very late shipping their counters and was very unresponsive to e­mail queries. Another sponsor
seemed to disappear prior to the counter sheets coming back from the printers. Below is the complete list of
the sponsored counter sheets and who sponsored them:

­ Ogre Designer's Edition Sheet R1 ­ ACD Distribution

­ Nihon Empire: North American Divisions ­ Roy Kubicek
­ Barbarians at the Gate ­ Drew Metzger
­ Ogre: Nightfall ­ Fire Mountain Games
­ BGG 3­D Units ­ BoardGameGeek.com
­ BGG Exclusive Overlays ­ BoardGameGeek.com
­ Strategic and Tactical Objectives ­ Tiffin Games
­ Uncommon Ogres ­ Walt Freitag

Grand Prix International is the company that arranges the printing. After years of working on Ogre 6th
Edition, they presented a signed blueprint Ogre poster framed with a small plaque that says:

"The game that required 21 rounds of quote revisions over five years, 83 total die cut, vacuum form and
injection molds, 104 tons of chipboard stock, 56 tons of paper stock, and resulted in 14 containers of product
shipped over the course of two months."

Reviews of 6th edition

With the advent of blogs and decline in print magazines, reviews of games are moving online and becoming
more personal. Instead of writing reviews that address the game for many, the reviews are more of a personal
experience with the game. For the 6th edition of Ogre, there were a number of longer reviews posted online.

Michael Barnes had an interesting take on the full size of the new game:

Page 62
I’d be happier with my old VHS box edition with all of the expansions, but I’ve somehow lost it. I had
promised it to one of my online buddies who was shrugging off the unnecessary bulk of this new edition. I
think he was right about it.

The larger size of everything makes it easier to play with a group than the classic editions and really kind of
puts it more into line with the Ogre Miniatures game. I appreciate that, and already my group is eager to get
a multiplayer game going over the holidays. That’s something we could never do reasonably with my tiny set
from the late 1990s But I can barely fit this damn thing through the door to where I store my games and I had
to clear a shelf for it. It’s just massive, and it’s one of those things that seems like it’s always in the way.

But here I am complaining about not having extra counters and

units in a game that already really has too many. It’s strange to feel
this way about a game, but there’s just too much Ogre. Yet there
are scenarios and content from the Ogre Book, Scenario Book, and
other expansions that aren’t in the box. There is no historical
content­ I’d have loved to have had a booklet showing the different
versions of the game, some history, and maybe some of the classic
articles or fiction written about it. Nope. All of that is available
elsewhere, but this was a chance for this to be all of Ogre in one
box and I feel like that was kind of missed.

I don’t doubt that Steve Jackson’s heart was totally into this and it
is very clearly both a labor of love and a reciprocal appreciation of 3­D Ogre unit compared with original
Ogre shared by both the people that backed it and the designer. Ogre counter
One thing’s for sure, you can’t complain about the game itslef. It is
still, in my opinion, one of the starkest and most simply effective wargames ever made. The original Ogre
scenario is grim and ruthless, with infantry being ground into dust under the treads of a monolithic
cybertank. The GEV part of the game brings in more diverse terrain and slightly more detailed rules that
make it one of the most fun ground war games ever made.

Jeffro who hosts the "Jeffro's Space Gaming Blog" on Wordpress had this to say about the new version:

I was wary of the overall look of the game– it struck me as being a tacky sort of approach to production
values reminiscent of the gaudy look of 5th edition Car Wars. In reality… I have not been tempted get my
deluxe classic counter set out of the swag box I ordered. When I look at the game, I am consumed by the
tactical realities of the positions… and I’m just not bothered by the things that I thought would grate on me.

The box… is huge and is not bearing up to aggressive use. This is a shame– everything inside is so well
engineered to prevent fits of OCD mania but the box itself isn’t quite up to the task of holding everything in.
(GMT Games’ ultra sturdy game boxes have spoiled me, though. Now those are some serious boxes!)

This game is so ostentatious, so epic… people will demand to play it. I will always deem the black plastic box
edition to be the definitive incarnation of the game… but really, no one would play it with me unless they were
my gaming soul mate or something. My Ogre Miniatures set was a bear to lug around, and people still would
hardly play that. But this edition will get people to sit down and try these classic microgames and actually
invest some effort in them. For this, I am grateful… and proud to have my name on the side of the box.

Page 63
Actually having a counter for every conceivable unit in the game is a very big deal. I miss the design element
of a very specific counter set to limit chintzy tactics… but having the full palette of units on hand… it’s
amazing.

Seth Owen, another blogger, chimed in with this:

Up until now most of the reviews posted online have concentrated on the massive physical size of the
Designer Edition OGRE package. There's no doubt it is enormous. Words really can't do it justice. Even the
videos don't. Until you actually have it in hand, you really quite tell how huge it is.

First, I think it's fair to note that, while billed as the 6th Edition of OGRE, the Designer Edition is a lot more
than OGRE. In fact, not even counting all the special counter sheets that were created for the Kickstarter, the
basic Designer's Edition includes every single other OGRE product that's been published except for GURPS
Ogre. There are PDF Downloads of The OGRE Book, OGRE Scenario Book 1 and OGRE Miniatures. It
includes all the units, scenarios and maps from G.E.V. and Shockwave. Many of these items have been out of
print for years and hard to get.

Ogre: Pocket Edition

As part of the Kickstarter project, Steve Jackson wanted to a repeat of the first edition of Ogre. He knew that
the 6th edition would only appeal to the more die­hard fans that can afford the huge price. As a thanks to all
the fans, he wanted to produce a version that was almost the same as the first edition, and still selling at the
same price. When the $400,000 Kickstarter goal was reached, Steve announced that the pocket edition would
be produced and it would be part of the Kickstarter pack for those who pledged $150 or more.

A survey was run to determine what name the new small

version should have. The two vote­getters were "Pocket
Ogre" and "Ogre Classic". "Pocket Ogre" was chosen,
but it was later changed slightly to "Ogre: Pocket
Edition".

On July 12, 2012, it was announced that the Pocket

Edition was at the printers. It is unclear when the Pocket
Edition was finished printing, but it is clear that it was
ready way before the 6th edition was ready. For those
that did not get the Pocket Edition in the Kickstarter
packs, they had to wait until June of 2014 for it to be
available to the general public. Given the low price,
there were Ogre fans that made comments on different
forums that they had bought multiple copies, including one fan that bought 20.

The Pocket Edition says this on the back; "The original edition of Ogre came out in 1977. It fit in your
pocket and cost only $2.95. 35 years later, this edition fits in your pocket and costs $2.95. Enough said."

Page 64
The Pocket Edition uses the 6th edition rules, but modified them to the 1977 map and the smaller set of units.
The rules are the original 4" x 7" and have a card stock cover with Winchell Chung's original Ogre cover art.
The map is the same as the original edition, with crater hexes just being black hexes. The counters are an
upgrade from the original edition. They are thick, die cut, and double sided. The game comes with two
identical sets of counters. The design was as close to the original as Steve Jackson Games could get.

The counter set is (per sheet):

Black on White
3 CP, 3 Mobile CP, 4 Howitzers, 5 GEVs, 5 Heavy Tanks, 4 Missile Tanks, 11 Infantry
White on Black
2 Howitzers, 7 GEVs, 4 Heavy Tanks, 5 Missile Tanks, 7 Infantry
Black on White/White on Grey
2 Mark III's, 1 Mark V
White on Black/Black on Grey
2 Mark III's, 1 Mark V

Steve Jackson showing off the box to the 6th

edition of Ogre.
(Courtesy Steve Jackson Games)

Page 65
 Part 9
Not the End of the Story

Page 66
Not the End of the Story
Although Ogre does not generate the sales that Munchkin does for Steve Jackson Games, Ogre does have a
loyal and faithful group of fans. Who else would plunk down $100 (or more) for a board game, with 5,512 of
them doing it a year and a half before the game was released. On October 21, 2014, Steve Jackson Games
released some of the Kickstarter­only products to the general public, including T­shirts and a sponsored
counter sheet. The products were launched at noon Central time. For the next two hours, the Warehouse 23
website was very sluggish due to the traffic load of so many people ordering the new items.

In an interview a year after the game was released, Steve Jackson talked about the worries the company had
about this edition and using Kickstarter:

"Well, what we were worried about maybe there wasn't enough game fans on Kickstarter ­ remember how
long ago this was ­ that there weren't enough game fans on Kickstarter to make it worthwhile"

I would say that most fans of Ogre encountered it in their youth, so this new edition brings back memories.
Christopher Shields best explains the impact of Ogre and Steve Jackson this way:

Fast forward to sometime in 1999 ... I was also on a CON drought, having not been in the mood or desire to
visit any local sci­fi conventions. Somehow, I got talked into going to the New Orleans Science Fiction and
Fantasy Festival (NOSF3), an utterly forgettable experience, to be sure, due primarily because it seemed to
be put on by rank amateurs who didn't have the first clue about how to host a sci­fi convention.

But there was ONE highlight to that whole sordid morass ... I met Steve Jackson, face to face and one to one.

There was a big SJGames booth set up in the dealer's room, and there was this guy who, if I remembered
correctly, kind of looked like what I knew Steve Jackson looked like. I thought he was just another dealer.
Jeans, T­shirt, dealer pass clipped on, etc. It was just him, no one else and he was frantically setting up a
booth of all SJGames material. I kept looking at the material, and then I realized it was all SJGames
material. Nothing else. I looked up as this man came around the outside of the booth with a cardboard box
full of GURPS supplements and started to assemble a hand made display. It kind of looked like Steve
Jackson... So I took a chance...

"Excuse me. Are you Steve Jackson?" I asked nonchalantly.

"That's me." the man said, looking up from his work at the question.

And just like that ... No haughtiness. No condescension, no arrogance.

Steve Jackson fit my image of him to a 'T'. A gamer who had done well but despite all the success he was still
a gamer at heart. He wasn't an empty suit, he wasn't a figurehead with no teeth. He was just the kind of
person I had always imagined. Polite, willing to talk while he set up his booth ... and always full of energy,
like another product was going to spontaneously explode out of his mind. When I extended my hand and
offered a "Thank You" he offered his hand in return and asked simply "For what?"

"OGRE." I said.

Page 67
His smile was worth that one word and we talked for a few minutes while he set up his wares. I explained
how much fun time and fond memories OGRE had given to me in my youth. Steve said that he ran into
people who stilled played OGRE or GEV. He had a few ideas and products, but he didn't mention anything
new supporting the original game. After ten minutes, far more than I ever thought I would spend talking to
the creator of OGRE, (but that's the kind of person Steve is) I shook his hand again, thanking him once more,
and leaving with a feeling that I had just met one of the neatest people in the world.

And you know what? I had.

Thank you, Steve Jackson, for the many years of fond memories, for sparking my imagination, for the
countless hours of tactical war gaming and for the ideas and technology that you have shared with the rest of
us. With this site, I hope to spread some of the same fun and memories that you and your games / work have
given to me over the years. I hope that those who journey to this site will leave wanting to play OGRE and
GEV and that those who once played will again look for their copies of these games, dust them off and try one
more time to take out that CP or that OGRE for old time's sake.

As for the future of Ogre, there are still a few items from the Kickstarter stretch goals that need to be
completed, including a new computer version of Ogre, and a promise that the miniatures will be back (and
possibly in plastic).

Size Comparison of different Ogre models and a single human.

(Courtesy Winchell Chung)

Page 68
 Appendix 1
Board Game List

Page 69
Ogre (1st Edition)
Company: Metagaming Concepts Year: 1977
Designer: Steve Jackson Cover: Winchell Chung
Format: Plastic Bag Rules: 4x7
Map: 8 x 14 (B&W) Counters: Black/White/Gray
Print Run: 8,000 Price: $2.95

Ogre (2nd Edition)

Company: Metagaming Concepts Year: 1977
Designer: Steve Jackson Cover: Clark Bradley
Format: Plastic Bag Rules: 4x7
Map: 8 x 14 (B&W) Counters: Black/White/Gray
Print Run: 20,000 Price: $2.95

G.E.V. (1st Edition)

Company: Metagaming Concepts Year: 1978
Designer: Steve Jackson Cover: Winchell Chung
Format: Plastic Bag Rules: 4x7
Map: 12" x 14" green/blue ink Counters: blue/white
Print Run: 30,000 Price: $3.95

Ogre (2nd Edition, 2nd Printing)

Company: Metagaming Concepts Year: 1978
Designer: Steve Jackson Cover: Brian Wilson
Format: Plastic Bag Rules: 4x7
Map: 8 x 14 (B&W) Counters: Black/White/Gray
Print Run: 20,000 Price: $2.95

Ogre (2nd Edition, 3rd Printing)

Company: Metagaming Year: 1979
Designer: Steve Jackson Cover: Brian Wilson
Format: Plastic Bag Rules: 4x7
Map: 8 x 14 (B&W) Counters: Black/White/Gray
Print Run: 15,000 Price: $2.95

G.E.V. (2nd Edition)

Company: Metagaming Year: 1979
Designer: Steve Jackson Cover: Brian Wilson
Format: Boxed Rules: 4x7
Map: 12 x 14 green/blue inkCounters: Blue/White
Print Run: Unknown Price: $4.95

Page 70
Ogre (3rd Edition)
Company: Steve Jackson Games Year: 1982
Designer: Steve Jackson Cover: Clark Bradley
Format: Pocket Box Rules: 4x7
Map: 8 x 14 full color Counters: Black/White 2­sided
Print Run: 20,000 Price: $5.00

G.E.V. (3rd Edition, though not so labeled)

Company: Steve Jackson Games Year: 1982
Designer: Steve Jackson Cover: David R. Dietrick and Dave Martin
Format: Pocket Box Rules: 4x7
Map: 12 x 14 full color Counters: Black/White 2­sided
Print Run: 20,000 Price: $5.00

Battlesuit
Company: Steve Jackson Games Year: 1983
Designer: Steve Jackson Cover: Dave Martin
Format: Pocket Box Rules: 4x7
Map: 21 x 32 green/brown Counters: Black/White/Red 2­sided
Print Run: 20,000 Price: $5.00

Ogre (3rd Edition, 2nd Printing)

Company: Steve Jackson Games Year: 1984
Designer: Steve Jackson Cover: Clark Bradley
Format: Pocket Box Rules: 4x7
Map: 8 x 14 full color Counters: Black/White 2­sided
Print Run: 15,000 Price: $5.00

G.E.V. (3rd Edition, though not so labeled; 2nd printing)

Company: Steve Jackson Games Year: 1984
Designer: Steve Jackson Cover: David R. Dietrick and Dave Martin
Format: Pocket Box Rules: 4x7
Map: 12 x 14 full color Counters: Black/White 2­sided
Print Run: 10,000 Price: $5.00

Shockwave
Company: Steve Jackson Games Year: 1984
Designer: Steve Jackson Cover: Denis Loubet
Format: Plastic Bag Rules: Large single sheet
Map: 12 x 14 full color Counters: Black/White/Red 2­sided
Print Run: 20,000 Price: $4.95

Page 71
Ogre Reinforcement Pack
Company: Steve Jackson Games Year: 1985,1987,2000
Designer: Warren Spector Cover: Ed Haddock
Format: Plastic Bag Rules: Large single sheet
Map: full color Counters: Black/White/Red 2­sided
Print Run: 7,500 Price: $4.95

Ogre Deluxe Edition

Company: Steve Jackson Games Year: 1987
Designer: Steve Jackson Cover: Denis Loubet
Format: Boxed Rules: 8.5 x 11
Map: 22.5" x 18" Counters: Full color, 2­sided
Print Run: 10,000 Price: $16.95
Listed in the Games 100 in 1987.

Ogre (Japanese edition)

Company: Hobby Japan Year: 1988
Designer: Steve Jackson Cover: Unknown
Format: Boxed Rules: 4x7
Map: Unknown Counters: Green/White, 2­sided
Print Run: Unknown Price: Unknown

Ogre/G.E.V.
Company: Steve Jackson Games Year: 1990
Designer: Steve Jackson Cover:
Format: 5 x 8 Box Rules: 4x7
Map: 8x12, 12x14 full colorCounters: Red/Black/White, 2­sided
Print Run: 9,000 Price: $9.95

Ogre/G.E.V.
Company: Steve Jackson Games Year: 2000
Designer: Steve Jackson Cover: Phillip Reed
Format: VHS Box Rules: 4x7
Map: 8x12, 12x14 full colorCounters: Red/Black/White, 2­sided
Print Run: Unknown Price: $14.95

Shockwave
Company: Steve Jackson Games Year: 2000
Designer: Steve Jackson Cover: Philip Reed
Format: Plastic Bag Rules: Large single sheet
Map: 12 x 14 full color Counters: Black/White/Red 2­sided
Print Run: Unknown Price: $9.95
Page 72
Ogre Reinforcement Pack
Company: Steve Jackson Games Year: 2000
Designer: Warren Spector Cover: Philip Reed
Format: Plastic Bag Rules: Large single sheet
Map: full color Counters: Black/White/Red 2­sided
Print Run: Unknown Price: $9.95

Ogre Battlefields
Company: Steve Jackson Games Year: 2001
Edited: Steve Jackson Cover: Phillip Reed
Format: Plastic Bag Rules: Large single sheet
Map: 12 x 14 full color Counters: Black/Red/Grey 2­sided
Print Run: Unknown Price: $14.95

Deluxe Ogre
Company: Steve Jackson Games Year: 2000
Designer: Steve Jackson Cover: Philip Reed
Format: 3 VHS Boxes Rules: 5.5 x 8
Map: 22 x 35 Counters: Miniatures
Print Run: Unknown Price: $49.95

Deluxe GEV
Company: Steve Jackson Games Year: 2000
Designer: Steve Jackson Cover: Philip Reed
Format: 3 VHS Boxes Rules: 5.5 x 8
Map: 12 x 14 full color Counters: Miniatures
Print Run: Unknown Price: $59.95

Ogre: Designer's (6th) Edition

Company: Steve Jackson Games Year: 2013
Designer: Steve Jackson Cover: Philip Reed
Format: Huge Box Rules: 8.5 x 11
Map: Huge Maps Counters: Many
Print Run: 12,000 Price: $100

Ogre: Pocket Edition

Company: Steve Jackson Games Year: 2013
Designer: Steve Jackson Cover: Winchell Chung
Format: Ziplock bag Rules: 4" x 7"
Map: 8" x 13.5" Counters: Black/White/Grey 2­sided
Print Run: Unknown Price: $2.95
Page 73
Ogre Computer Game (Origin Systems)
Origin Systems, 1986. Program design by Steve Meuse. Ogre Intelligence by Dallas Snell. Versions were
published for Apple II, Commodore 64, Atari 400/800/XL/XE, Atari ST, Macintosh, IBM and Amiga. Several
different styles of promotional radiation warning badge were created, and each box in cluded one. Retail
prices were $40 to $50, depending on system. The Apple II version was first released. Came witih Manual,
book on Strategy & Notes, and Player Reference Card. Also came with a "id" card and radiation sticker.

Game Covers

Ogre ­ 1st Ed. Ogre ­ 2nd Ed. GEV ­ 1st Ed. Ogre ­ 2nd Ed., 2nd
Printing

GEV ­ 2nd Ed. Ogre ­ 3rd Ed. GEV ­ 3rd Ed. Battlesuit

Page 74
Shockwave ­ 1st Ed. Ogre Reinforcement Ogre Deluxe Ogre/GEV ­ 1st Ed.
Pack ­ 1st Ed. Edition

Ogre/GEV ­ 2nd Ed. Shockwave ­ 2nd Ogre Battlefields

Ogre Reinforcement
Ed. Pack ­ 2nd Ed.

Ogre 6th (Designers) Ed.

Deluxe Ogre & Deluxe GEV Ogre : Pocket Ed.

Page 75
 Appendix 2
Miniatures List

Page 76
Martian Metals
First wave (1979):
Ogre Mark V (OGR1). Design by Winchell Chung; Martian Metals sculpture by Forrest Brown.
$6.95.
G.E.V. (Paneuropean) (OGR2). Design by Winchell Chung; Martian Metals sculpture by Randy
Hoffa. $2.95
Heavy Tank (Paneuropean) (OGR3). Design by Winchell Chung; Martian Metals sculpture by Randy
Hoffa. $2.95
Missile Tank (Paneuropean) (OGR4). Design by Winchell Chung; Martian Metals sculpture by Randy
Hoffa. $2.95

Second wave (1981):

Ogre Mark Vb (8101). Replaces OGR1 above.
G.E.V. (Paneuropean) (8102). See OGR2 above.
Heavy Tank (Paneuropean) (8103). See OGR3 above.
Missile Tank (Paneuropean) (8104). See OGR4 above.
Mobile Howitzer (8105).
Static Howitzer (8106).

Steve Jackson Games / Grenadier

Ogre Mark V (6101). Design by Winchell Chung; SJ Games sculpture by Ab Mobasher. $7.00
Heavy Tank (Paneuropean) (6110). Design by Winchell Chung; used the Martian Metals master by
Randy Hoffa. $4.00 for a set of 4.
Missile Tank (Paneuropean) (6111). Design by Winchell Chung; SJ Games reworked the Martian
Metals sculpture by Randy Hoffa. $4.00 for a set of 4.
GEV (Paneuropean) (6112). Design by Winchell Chung; used the Martian Metals sculpture by Randy
Hoffa. $4.00 for a set of 4.
Howitzer (Paneuropean) (6113). Design by Jim Zepeda; SJ Games sculpture by Jim Zepeda. $4.00
for a set of 4.
Mobile Howitzer (Paneuropean) (6114). Design by Winchell Chung; SJ Games sculpture by Jim
Zepeda. $4.00 for a set of 4.
Light Tank (Paneuropean) (6115). Design by Winchell Chung; SJ Games sculpture by Jim Zepeda.
$4.00 for a set of 5.
Command Post (6118). Design and sculpture by Jim Zepeda. $4.00 for a set of 2.
GEV (Combine) (6122). Design by Dave Martin (package says designed by David Deitrick); SJ
Games sculpture by Jim Zepeda. $4.00 for a set of 4.

Ral Partha
Ogre Mark V (93­001). Design by Winchell Chung; Ral Partha's Dave Summers modified the SJ
Games sculpture created by Ab Mobasher. Released August 1992. $10.95
Ogre Mark III (93­003). Design by Winchell Chung; Ral Partha sculpture by Jeff Wilhelm. Released
Sept. 1992. $7.95
Page 77
 Paneuropean Fencer (93­020). Design by Mike Naylor; Ral Partha sculpture by Jeff Wilhelm.
Released mid­1993.
GEV (Combine) (93­003). Design by Dave Martin; Ral Partha sculpture by Richard Kerr.
GEV (Paneuropean) (93­025). Design Winchell Chung; Ral Partha's Dave Summers modified the
original sculpture created by Randy Hoffa. Released August 1992.
GEV­PC (Paneuropean) (93­032). Design by Graham Chaffee; Ral Partha sculpture by Richard Kerr.
Released Sept. 1992. $4.00
Heavy Tank (Combine) (93­004). Design by Mike Naylor; Ral Partha sculpture by Jeff Wilhelm.
Released mid­1993.
Heavy Tank (Paneuropean) (93­028). Design by Winchell Chung; Ral Partha's Dave Summers
modified the original sculpture created by Randy Hoffa. Released August 1992. $4.00
Howitzer (Combine) (93­007). Design by Jeff Wilhelm; Ral Partha sculpture by Jeff Wilhelm.
Released mid­1993.
Howitzer (Paneuropean) (93­029). Design by Jim Zepeda; Ral Partha sculpture by Jeff Wilhelm.
Heavier and easier to paint than the SJ Games version – and much sturdier. Released August 1992. $4.00
Infantry (Paneuropean) (93­033). Design by Dave Martin; Ral Partha sculpture by Richard Kerr.
Released Sept. 1992. $4.00 for a set of 2.
Light Tank (Combine) (93­006). Design by Mike Naylor; Ral Partha sculpture by Jeff Wilhelm.
Released mid­1993.
Light Tank (Paneuropean) (93­027). Design by Winchell Chung; Ral Partha sculpture by Jeff
Wilhelm. Released August 1992.
Missile Crawler (Paneuropean) (93­034). Design by Graham Chaffee; Ral Partha sculpture by Jeff
Wilhelm. Released Sept. 1992. $4.00
Missile Tank (Combine) (93­005). Design by Mike Naylor; Ral Partha sculpture by Richard Kerr.
Released mid­1993.
Missile Tank (Paneuropean) (93­026). Design by Winchell Chung; Ral Partha's Dave Summers further
updated the sculpture created by Randy Hoffa and modified at SJ Games. Released August 1992.
Mobile Howitzer (Paneuropean) (93­030). Design by Graham Chaffee; Ral Partha sculpture by Jeff
Wilhelm. Released Sept. 1992. $4.00
Superheavy Tank (Paneuropean) (93­031). Design by Graham Chaffee; Ral Partha sculpture by Jeff
Wilhelm. Released Sept. 1992. $4.00

Detailed Casting Products

Command Post (Paneuropean) (DCP­151). Design by Winchell Chung as interpreted by Darell
Phillips; sculpting by Darell Phillips. $5.00
Hardened Command Post (Paneuropean) (DCP­152). Design by Winchell Chung as interpreted by
Darell Phillips; sculpting by Darell Phillips. $5.00
Jamscreen Station (Paneuropean) (DCP­153). Design and sculpting by Darell Phillips. $5.00
Radar Station (Paneuropean) (DCP­154). Design and sculpting by Darell Phillips. $5.00
Laser Turret (Paneuropean) (DCP­155). Design by Steve Jackson, sculpting by Darell Phillips. $5.00
Laser Tower (Paneuropean) (DCP­156). Design by Steve Jackson, sculpting by Darell Phillips. $5.50
Crater Pack (DCP­157). Design and sculpting by Darell Phillips. Two large and eight small craters.
$5.00
Small Bridge (DCP­158). Design and sculpting by Darell Phillips. $5.00

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 Highway Bridge (DCP­159). The same length as the small bridge, but double the width – wide
enough for an Ogre. Design and sculpting by Darell Phillips. $6.50

Steve Jackson Games

The following units were released as part of the Deluxe Ogre set:

Ogre Mark III (10­0103). Design by Winchell Chung; sculpture by Jeff Wilhelm. Released Nov. 2000.
CP (Combine) (10­0301). Design by Steve Jackson; sculpture by Darell Phillips and Richard Kerr.
Released Nov. 2000.
Heavy Tank (Combine) (10­0201). Design by Mike Naylor; based on the Partha sculpture by Jeff
Wilhelm, but with surface detail added by Richard Kerr. Released Nov. 2000.
Missile Tank (Combine) (10­0202). Design by Mike Naylor; based on the Partha sculpture by Richard
Kerr, but moderately reworked by Richard in this edition. Released Nov. 2000.
GEV (Combine) (10­0203). Design by Dave Martin; sculpture by Richard Kerr. Released Nov. 2000.
Howitzer (Combine) (10­0206). Design and sculpture by Jeff Wilhelm. Released Nov. 2000.
Infantry (Combine) (10­0210). Design by Dave Martin; sculpture by Richard Kerr. Released Nov.
2000.
Infantry Bases (10­2005). Design by Steve Jackson; sculpture by Richard Kerr. Released Nov. 2000.
Superheavy Tank (Combine) (10­0209). Design by Mike Naylor; sculpture by Jeff Wilhelm and
Richard Kerr. Released Jan. 2001.

Miniatures Sets
The miniatures were also released in sets, with each set stored in a VHS box and a cardboard wrap­around
cover.

Ogre Mark V (10­0106). Design by Winchell Chung; sculpture by Ab Mobasher, modified by Partha's
Dave Summers. Released Jan. 2001.
Ogre Mark V Swimming Tower (10­0114). Released Jan. 2001.
Ogrethulhu Set 1 – Ogrethulhu Mk. V (10­1401). Set contains one Ogre Ogrethulhu Mark V Ogre.
$19.95. Released Late 2001.
Ogrethulhu Set 2 – Spawn of Ogrethulhu (10­2702). 72 infantry figures of 12 different types. $19.95.
Released Jan. 2002.
Combine Set 1 – Ogre Mk V (10­2101). Set contains Ogre Mark V, full repair kit, a swimming tower
and a record card. ISBN 1­55634­465­1. $19.95. Released Jan. 2001.
Combine Set 2 – Ogre Mk. III (10­2102). Set contains Ogre Mark III, full repair kit, a swimming
tower and a record card. ISBN 1­55634­466­X. $16.95. Released May 2001.
Combine Set 3 – Heavy Armor Company (10­2103). Set contains two superheavy tanks and six heavy
tanks. ISBN 1­55634­467­8. $19.95. Released Jan. 2001.
Combine Set 4 – GEV Company (10­2104). Set contains eight “Raptor” GEV's and eight “Gremlin”
GEV's. ISBN – 1­55634­441­4. $14.95. Released Feb. 2001.
Combine Set 5 – Missile Tank Platoons and Mobile Battery (10­2105). Set includes 8 vehicles: two
“Banseee” missile­tank platoons of three tanks each, and a battery of two “Bigfoot” mobile howitzers. ISBN
1­55634­469­4. $19.95. Released Feb. 2001.

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 Combine Set 6 – Mechanized Infantry Company with Escort Squandron (10­2106). Set contains four
“Roadrunner” GEV­PC, 4 squads of infantry, and four “Gremlin” light GEV's. ISBN 1­55634­470­8.
$19.95. Released June 2001.
Combine Set 7 – Howizter Battery and Reinforced Infantry Battalion (10­2107). Set contains two
“Minotaur” howitzers, two “Yankee” light tanks, forty eight infantry figures, and twelve heavy­weapon
infantry figures. ISBN 1­55634­471­6. $19.95. Released May 2001.
Combine Set 8 – Divisional Assets (10­2108). Set contains command post, hardened command post,
radar and jam­screen. $19.95. Released Feb. 2002.
Combine Set 9 – Laser Towers and Turrets (10­2109). Set contains three laser turrets and two tall
laser towers. $19.95. Released Late 2001.
Combine Set 10 – Fast Convoy (10­2110). Set contains six hovertrucks and two LADS (transportable
howitzers). $19.95. Released March 2002.
Combine Set 12 – Ogre Mk. III­B (10­2112). Set contains one Ogre Mark III­B. $19.95. Released
Late 2001.
Paneuropean Set 1 – Fencer Cybertank
Paneuropean Set 2 – Panzer Company (10­2202). Set contains six “Jaegar” heavy tanks, six
“Hammer” light tanks and four squads of infantry. ISBN 1­55634­487­2. $19.95. Released June 2001.
Paneuropean Set 3 – Superheavy Troop and Missile Tank Lance
Paneuropena Set 4 – Luftpanzer Company (10­2204). Set contains nine “Galahad” GEV's and six
“Cossack” Light GEV's. ISBN 1­55634­489­9. $19.95. Released May 2001.
Paneuropean Set 5 – Mechanized Infantry Companies
Paneuropean Set 6 – Howitzer Battery and Mobile Artillery Troop
Paneuropean Set 7 – Battlesuit Battalions
Last War Set 1 – Convoy (10­2501). Set contains twelve trucks with removable cargo. $19.95.
Released Jan. 2002.

Grey Cat Castings

Grey Cat Casting used the same molds from Steve Jackson Games. These are the Ogre's that were added by
Grey Cat Castings:

Ninja Ogre ­ Sculpting by Richard Kerr

Doppelsoldner Ogre ­ Sculpting by Richard Kerr
Vulcan Ogre ­ Sculpting by Richard Kerr

Ogre Macrotures
GEV. stock #10­6001 ­ $20.

Page 80
Appendix 3
Bibliography

Page 81
This is a list of articles from a variety of magazines that discuss Ogre, GEV, or any of the related products.

Space Gamer

"Notes on the Ogre", Steve Jackson, Space Gamer #9, 1976

"Tank: Present, Future, Ogre . . .", Charles R. Bowles, Space Gamer #10, 1977
"Duel", Stephen V. Cole, Space Gamer #10, 1977
"Continental Siege Aircraft", Greg Costikyan, Space Gamer #11, 1977
"Ogre: A Review", Robert C. Kirk, Space Gamer #11, 1977
"G.E.V.", Jerry D. Bell, Space Gamer #11, 1977
"Iron Mountain", J. Richard Jarvinen, Space Gamer #12, 1977
"Ogres and the Fuzzy Wuzzy Fallacy", Lawrence Duffield, Space Gamer #12, 1977
"Another ^@**&?!! Ogre Article", Steve Jackson, Space Gamer #12, 1977
"Ogre: A Review", William A. Peterson, Space Gamer #12, 1977.
"BPC Subs", Martin Halbert, Space Gamer #13, 1977
"Ogre meets Starship Troopers", Mike Lazich, Space Gamer #13, 1977
"The Uncertainty Principle: Modifications in Ogre", Brian McCue, Space Gamer #14, 1977
"Ogre Update", Steve Jackson, Space Gamer #15, 1978
"G.E.V. – A Designer's Introduction", Steve Jackson, Space Gamer #17, 1978
"Encounters of an Unlikely Kind", Mike Crane, Space Gamer #17, 1978
"Your Mission, Should You Choose to Accept It", John Howard Oxley, Space Gamer #17, 1978
"Adding Fear and Loathing to G.E.V.", Timothy C. Wiedel, Space Gamer #19, 1978
"Playing the Odds in Ogre and G.E.V.", Roland Parenteau, Space Gamer #21, 1979
"Ice Ogre", Timothy C. and Lynn Wiedel, Space Gamer #23, 1979
"The Four Howitzer Defense in Ogre", Chester Hendrix, Space Gamer #24, 1979
"Defensive Tactics and Strategy in G.E.V.", Tim Solis, Space Gamer #26, 1980
"Ogre Q&A", Space Gamer #26, 1980
"End Game", J. D. Bell, Space Gamer #33, 1980
"Solitaire Ogre", George Collins, Space Gamer #35, 1980
"G.E.V. Contest", Phil Rennert. Space Gamer #39 (puzzle) and #42 (solution), 1981
"Basic Ogre Defense", Michael Nahas, Space Gamer #52, 1982
"Tournament Ogre/G.E.V.", Phil Rennert, Space Gamer #52, 1982
"Ogre Squash", Rusty Lamont, Space Gamer #52, 1982
"The Lone GEV", Michael Stackpole, Space Gamer #52, 1982
"Battlesuit", Steve Jackson, Space Gamer #59, 1983
"Basic Ogre Strategy", Steve Jackson, Space Gamer #62, 1983
"The Suicide Ogre: Goliath", Tim Solis, Space Gamer #64, 1983
"The Golden BB: Critical Hits in Ogre", Steve Jackson, Space Gamer #64, 1983
"Icepick", Craig York and Steve Jackson, Space Gamer #68, 1984
"A Beginner's Guide to Map­Bashing", Steve Jackson, Space Gamer #68, 1984
"A Formula for Determining Unit Costs in Ogre/G.E.V.", Henry Cobb and Steve Jackson, Space Gamer #69,
1984
"Riding the Shockwave: Analysis and Strategy", Philip Rennert, Space Gamer #71, 1984
"Operation Newspaper", Steve Jackson, Space Gamer #74, 1985
"Badlands", Steve Jackson, Creede Lambard and Allen Varney, Space Gamer #74, 1985
"Warren, Jim Gould Left This In My Mailbox", Jim Gould, Space Gamer #74, 1985
"New Units and Rules for Ogre/G.E.V.", Jeff Bolton, Space Gamer #74, 1985

Page 82
"So You Want to Build An Ogre", Scott Robert Ladd, Space/Fantasy Gamer, #81, 1986
"Ogre Computer Game: Capsule Review", Space/Fantasy Gamer, #81, 1986

Pyramid

"Godzilla 2076: Atomic Monsters in the World of Ogre!", by John Hurtt, Pyramid #1, May/June 1993
"Ogre: The Factory States", Mike Naylor and David Graham, Pyramid #2, July/August 1993
"Ask the Ogre", Steve Jackson, Pyramid #2, July/August 1993
"Ask the Ogre", Steve Jackson, Pyramid #3, September/October 1993
"Ask the Ogre", Steve Jackson, Pyramid #4, November/December 1993
"Destroy All Ogres!", John Hurtt, Pyramid #5, January/February 1994
"Ask the Ogre", Steve Jackson, Pyramid #5, January/February 1994
"Ask the Ogre", Steve Jackson, Pyramid #7, May/June 1994
"Ask the Ogre", Steve Jackson, Pyramid #10, November/December 1994

Ares

Review of Ogre & Gev, David Ritchie, Ares #1, March 1980

CounterMoves

“The Awful Green Things from the Ogreverse”, Beal & Cestero, CounterMoves, Vol. 1, No. 1, Fall/Winter
2001
“Vertical Take­off Landing Units for Ogre/GEV”, Stephen Beal, CounterMoves, Vol. 1, No. 2, Spring 2002

Dragon Magazine

"Ogre roars back onto the scene", Tony Watson, Dragon #64 (Aug. 1982)
"Role­playing Reviews", Allen Varney, Dragon #172 (August 1991)
"Unsettling settings for fantasy campaigns", Rick Swan, Dragon #198 (Oct. 1993)

Different Worlds

"My Life and Role­Playing", Steve Jackson, Different Worlds Issue #2, June/July 1979
"Ogre Variant: Boardgames to RPG's", Glenn L. Williams, Different Worlds Issue #9, Aug/Sept. 1980
"Ogre Role­Playing Rules", Glenn L. Williams, Different Worlds Issue #9, Aug/Sept. 1980

Drow

“The Mecklenburg Gamble”, Drow, Vol. 1, No. 1, December 1992

Fire & Movement

Review of Ogre, J. Reese, Fire & Movement #9, Nov­Dec 1977

Page 83
G. M. Magazine

"Ogre: Deluxe Edition ­ A Review", Johnny Razar, G. M. Magazine #8, April 1989

The Last Province

"Exercise K ­ A 12 Player Scenario for Ogre Miniatures", Steve Jackson, The Last Province #2, December
1992.
"Ogre Miniature Rules, a Review", The Last Province #2, December 1992.

Mecha Press

"Ogre Mecha", Marc A. Vezina, Mecha Press #12, April/May 1994

"Ogre Cyberwalkers", Marc A. Vezina, Mecha Press #13, June/July 1994

MOVES

"Science Fiction Games in Print",Phil Kosnett, MOVES #33, June/July 1977

RPG.NET (website)

"OGRE/G.E.V. Capsule Review", Tomas J Skucas, RPG.NET, May 16, 2000

"OGRE/GEV SHOCKWAVE game expansion Capsule Review", Walt O'Hara, RPG.NET, June 16, 2001
"Deluxe OGRE (Miniatures reviewed only) Capsule Review", Michael Powers, RPG.NET, undated
"OGRE/G.E.V Capsule Review", Clayton Capra, RPG.NET, July 5, 2000
"Ogre Battlefields Capsule Review", Craig C. Robertson, RPG.NET, undated
"OGRE Miniatures Combine Set #10 ­ Fast Convoy Capsule Review", Brett Cashman, RPG.NET, June 27,
2002
"OGRE Reinforcement Pack Playtest Review", Daron "Dan" Patton, RPG.NET, June 10, 2001
"Ogre Scenario Book 1 Capsule Review", Mark Watson, RPG.NET, January 19, 2002
"Ogre/GEV Capsule Review", Otto Cargill, RPG.NET, undated
"Deluxe Ogre Capsule Review", Benjamin Ball, RPG.NET, undated
"GURPS Ogre (Review)", Royce Day, RPG.NET, August 2000
"GURPS Ogre (Review)", David Rhode, RPG.NET, May 2001
"Review of Diceland: Ogre", Shannon Appelcline, RPG.NET, April 7, 2004

Simulacrum

"The Metagaming Editions: Overview & Detailed Component Guide", Joe Scoleri, Simalacrum, "Octember"
2005, Issue #25.

Vindicator

“The Drawing Board”, Duke Ritenhouse, Vindicator Volume 2 No. 1, April 1998
Nine New units for the world of GEV
“Expanded OGRE/GEV CRT”, Duke Ritenhouse, Vindicator Volume 2 No. 2, June­July 1998

Page 84
“Adding GEV to Battlesuit”, Ron Shirtz, Vindicator Volume 3 No. 3, Aug­Sept. 1998
“The Ultimate GEV Scenario Generator”, Duke Ritenhouse, Vindicator Volume 2 No. 5, Final Issue

VIP of Gaming

"Winning (and repairing) Super CP, Lawrence Person, VIP of Gaming

The Wargamer (website)

"Deluxe Ogre ­ A Review", Jim Zabeck, The Wargamer, 2001

"Deluxe GEV ­ A Review", Al Berke, The Wargamer, 2001

White Dwarf

Ogre Review, Martin Easterbrook, White Dwarf Issue #2 (Aug/Sept 1977)

White Wolf

Ogre Deluxe Edition ­ A Review, , White Wolf #9

Ogre Miniatures

Starship Modeler

"PanEuropean Galahad GEV: miniature review", Jack Wendt, StarshipModeler.com, 2003

"Ogre Mk VI: miniature review", Terry Miesle, StarshipModeler.com, 2003
"Ogre Mk IV: miniature review", Terry Miesle, StarshipModeler.com, 2003

Ogre Computer Game

Computer Gaming World

Review of Ogre (Apple II), M. Evans Brooks, Computer Gaming World, April, 1987
"A Paiktography of Past of Future Sci­Fi Games", M. Evans Brooks, Computer Gaming World, November,
1992
"150 Best Games of All Time", Computer Gaming World, November 1996.

ANTIC

Review of Ogre (Atari 400/800), Dr. John Stanoch, ANTIC, August, 1987

Advanced Computer Equipment

Review of Ogre (Amiga), Andy Smith, Advanced Computer Equipment, December, 1987

Page 85
ZZAP!64

Review of Ogre(C64), ZZAP!64, December, 1987

The Space Gamer

Review of Ogre, Tim Robinson, The Space Gamer #81, Dec. 87­Jan. 88

STart Magazine

Short Review of Ogre, Atart ST's Buyer's Guide, STart Magazine, Late 1987

Computer Language

"Attack of the Xenix Ogre", Tim Parker, Computer Language, March, 1988

Books

"Designers & Dragons", Shannon Appelcline, Evil Hat Productions, 2014

"Hobby Games: The 100 Best", James Lowder, Green Ronin Publishing, 2007
"Erick Wujcik on Ogre"
"Playing at the World", Jon Peterson, Unreason Press, 2012
"The Maverick's Space & Fantasy Gamer's Guide", Joe Scoleri, self­published, 1999

Page 86
Appendix 4
Ogre Swag

Page 87
Ogre Swag is Ogre related material that does not apply directly to the game. In the early years, only a little bit
of swag was produced for Ogre. With Kickstarter, a whole slew of swag was made available.

Posters

Ogre Blue Print Poster

Designed by Kyle Miller. Released in 1987. Re­Released in 2001. Released again with Ogre 6th
edition.

Ogre Miniatures Poster

Released in 1992 as a promotional giveaway and used for advertising. Print run of 12,000.

"Ogre. It's Back!" Poster

Released in 2000 or 2001. Advertising poster for the re­release of Ogre products.

Patches

Ogre Patch
Half circle patch. Released in 1987.
Ogre Combine Patch
Released in 2013
Ogre Green Patch
Released in 2013
Paneuropean Patch
Released in 2013
Ogre White Patch
Released in 2013

Pins

Ogre Lapel Pin Set

Two 1" pins, one w/ Paneuropean helmet and one w/ Combine hour glass design. Released in 2013.

Shot Glasses

These shot glasses were released in 2013.

Combine Shot Glass Paneuropean Shot Glass
Mercenaries Shot Glass Ogre Shot Glass

Ogre T­Shirts

Green/Orange
Designed by Richard Meaden. Released in the early 1990's. Re­released in 2001. Released again for
Ogre 6th edition.

2012 Supporter

Page 88
Ogre Launch Party
Available to those that attended the Ogre Launch Party in Austin. Blue T­shirt with yellow launch
party logo.

Ogre Blue Print

Released in 2013 with Kickstarter pack. Light blue shirt with Ogre Mark V blueprint design.

Ogre Battlesuit
Released in 2013 with Kickstater pack. Black shirt with Battlesuit soldier in white.

Ogre Endgame
Released in 2013 with Kickstater pack.

Kovalic Cartoon
Released in 2013 with Kickstater pack. (Tan, Blue, Black)

Ogre Polo
(Navy, Green, Maroon, Grey, Black)

Other Items

Ogre Military Cap

Released in 2013.

Ogre Launch Party Bag

This canvas bag was part of the package for the Ogre Launch Party. It is blue and had the Ogre
Launch Party logo

Ogre Dice
Each set with 4 19mm die. Blue/Red & Black/Green sets. The one side has the Combine hourglass or
the Paneuropean Trojan symbol.

Ogre Sherpa Case

A Sherpa case is a shell for holding other pens (like Sharpie, Pilot, etc). Maroon with Ogre Mark V
image and the words "Ogre: Designers Edition". Released in 2013.

Ogre Wooden Christmas Ornament

Ogre Mark V laser etched (both sides) and laser cut Christmas ornament. Made of maple wood and
4"x2.75" in size.

GEV Wooden Christmas Ornament

Galahad GEV laser etched (both sides) and laser cut Christmas ornament. Made of cherry wood and
4"x 1.5" in size.

Ogre Blueprint Banner

5' x 4' vinyl banner with the graphics from the Ogre Mark V blue print. Ten were printed for the Ogre
Launch party. After those were sold, additional ones were printed and sold.

Page 89
Acknowledgments
This paper entirely from published sources, either from publications, the different products, the Ogre e­mail
list, different Ogre forums, Steve Jackson Games website and different web pages on the Internet.

Thanks to Steve Jackson Games for archiving the Daily Illuminiator, the Ogre E­mail List and Where We are
Going issues. Thanks to the Internet Archive for making so many older documents available, including
Computer and Gaming magazines, company catalogs, etc.

Thanks to those Ogre fans that have hosted Ogre related information on their individual web pages, including
J. Fleisher, and Sean Lyman, and allowing the use of images from their web pages.

Thanks to Ab Mobasher for answering questions on his involvement in Ogre miniatures.

Thanks to the following for reviewing the draft of this book; Stephan Beal, Winchell Chung, Sean Lyman, Ab
Mobasher, and Christoper Shields.

About the Author

Timothy Swenson has been interested in wargames since high school. In 1989, he released "Stellar Wars", the
first freeware wargame posted to the Internet via USENET. A hard copy version was published in 1990. In
1996, he released "Minimal Space Combat", a very small tactical space combat game. It was released in 2002
in booklet form, with additional material, including a tutorial.

In the real world, Tim has a B.S in Computer Science from Cal State Hayward. He spent 8.5 years as active
duty Air Force officer. Since leaving the Air Force, he has been working in Silicon Valley for SGI, Legato,
EMC, Onstor, LSI and Avago Technologies.

Tim has always been interested in history, including computer history, local history, and, of course,
wargaming history. He is the author of the Arcadia Images of America series book "Union City" and
"Assassination in Decoto", published by Mines Road Books.

Tim can be reached at swenson_t@sbcglobal.net.

Page 90