A grand strategy wargame or simply grand strategy game (GSG) is a wargame that places focus on

grand strategy Grand strategy or high strategy is a state's strategy of how means can be used to advance and achieve national interests. Issues of grand strategy typically include the choice of primary versus secondary theaters in war, distribution of resource ...

: military

strategy Strategy (from Greek στρατηγία ''stratēgia'', "art of troop leader; office of general, command, generalship") is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty. In the sense of the " ...

at the level of movement and use of a

nation state A nation state is a political unit where the state and nation are congruent. It is a more precise concept than "country", since a country does not need to have a predominant ethnic group. A nation, in the sense of a common ethnicity, may ...

empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

's resources. It is a genre that has considerable overlap with 4X games, but differs in being "asymmetrical", meaning that players are more bound to a specific setup and not among equally free factions in exploring and progressing the game and an open world.

Scope of games

Grand strategy games can be played on a

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations ( computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These prog ...

or as a

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a co ...

. They often include a map of the game world, which can range from a single continent to the entire globe. Players typically control a nation or empire and make decisions that affect its development, such as building

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

, recruiting and training

military unit Military organization or military organisation is the structuring of the armed forces of a state so as to offer such military capability as a national defense policy may require. In some countries paramilitary forces are included in a natio ...

s, and negotiating with other players.

Combat Combat (French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...

is often a major part of the game, but it is typically abstracted or simplified compared to more tactical wargames. Examples of grand strategy games include

Risk In simple terms, risk is the possibility of something bad happening. Risk involves uncertainty about the effects/implications of an activity with respect to something that humans value (such as health, well-being, wealth, property or the environm ...

Diplomacy Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. ...

, and

Axis & Allies ''Axis & Allies'' is a series of World War II strategy game, strategy board games. The first version was initially published in 1981 and a second edition known colloquially as ''Axis & Allies: Classic'' was published in 1984. Played on a board d ...

. These games focus on warfare and conquest, but do not include detailed representations of military units or tactics. More realistic grand strategy games, such as Rise and Decline of the Third Reich and

Empires in Arms ''Empires in Arms'' is an out-of-print board game by Harry Rowland, published by the Australian Design Group in 1983. It was licensed to the Avalon Hill Game Company (now a subsidiary of Hasbro Inc.) in 1985. A computer version of the game w ...

, include specific military units and combat rules. Computer-based grand strategy games, such as

Hearts of Iron ''Hearts of Iron'' is a grand strategy video game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Strategy First. Based on the Europa Engine, it was originally released in 2002 for Microsoft Windows. A Mac OS version was released by Vi ...

Europa Universalis ''Europa Universalis'' is a grand strategy video game developed by Paradox Development Studio and published in 2000 by Strategy First. Development The game was originally based on a French board game of the same name by Philippe Thibaut t ...

, and

Total War Total war is a type of warfare that includes any and all civilian-associated resources and infrastructure as legitimate military targets, mobilizes all of the resources of society to fight the war, and gives priority to warfare over non-com ...

, often have more detailed and sophisticated mechanics and can be played in real-time or with turns.

Academic use

Grand strategy games can be useful in education and the study of international affairs because they allow players to simulate real-world scenarios and make strategic decisions that affect the outcome of the game. They can also provide insight into historical events and the complex interactions between various political, economic, and military factors. Some grand strategy games are based on real historical events and can be used to explore alternative scenarios and

counterfactuals Counterfactual conditionals (also ''subjunctive'' or ''X-marked'') are conditional sentences which discuss what would have been true under different circumstances, e.g. "If Peter believed in ghosts, he would be afraid to be here." Counterfactua ...

References

* Video game genres {{wargame-stub

Scope of games

Academic use

See also

References