Metagaming Concepts, later known simply as Metagaming, was a company that published

board games 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 ...

from 1974 to 1983. It was founded and owned by Howard Thompson, who designed the company's first game, ''

Stellar Conquest ''Stellar Conquest'' is a science fiction board game designed by Howard M. Thompson that was published in 1974.Preface to the third printing, Stellar Conquest rule book, Howard Thompson, June 1978. It is a prototype of the 4X strategy game genre. ...

''. The company also invented Microgames and published Steve Jackson's first designs, including ''

Ogre An ogre ( feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, man-like being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the wor ...

'', '' G.E.V.'' and '' The Fantasy Trip''.

History

The company's first product, released in 1974, was ''

'', which had been rejected by

Avalon Hill Avalon Hill Games Inc. is a game company that publishes wargames and strategic board games. It has also published miniature wargaming rules, role-playing games and sports simulations. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, and operates under the compan ...

in 1973. Many of Metagaming's notable titles were also

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imagination, imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, Paral ...

wargames, including ''

'', '' G.E.V.'', and ''

WarpWar ''WarpWar'' is a science fiction board wargame published by Metagaming Concepts in 1977 that simulates interstellar combat. It was the fourth in Metagaming's MicroGame series. Description ''WarpWar'' is a two-player game of interstellar combat ...

''. In 1975, Metagaming started ''

The Space Gamer ''The Space Gamer'' was a magazine dedicated to the subject of science fiction and fantasy board games and tabletop role-playing games. It quickly grew in importance and was an important and influential magazine in its subject matter from the la ...

'' as a quarterly house magazine. By its 17th issue, ''TSG'' was a full size bimonthly magazine, printed on slick paper and covering games from other publishers, including fantasy games. Thompson and Metagaming pioneered the idea of publishing small, low-cost games in what came to be known as the MicroGame format. For a while, Metagaming dominated this niche wargaming market. Notable MicroGames from Metagaming include ''WarpWar'' (designed by Thompson himself), ''Ogre'', ''G.E.V.'', ''

Melee A melee ( or , French: mêlée ) or pell-mell is disorganized hand-to-hand combat in battles fought at abnormally close range with little central control once it starts. In military aviation, a melee has been defined as " air battle in which ...

'', '' Wizard'' (all designed by Steve Jackson), and ''

Hitler's War ''Hitler's War'' is a biographical book by British author David Irving. It describes the Second World War from the point of view of Nazi Germany’s leader Adolf Hitler. It was first published in April 1977 by Hodder & Stoughton and Viking Pre ...

''. Following the success of ''

Dungeons & Dragons ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (RPG) originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. (T ...

'', Thompson had Steve Jackson design ''Melee'' (1977) and ''Wizard'' (1978) as the combat and magic systems for a

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

named '' The Fantasy Trip''. TFT was released in 1980 as three books: '' In the Labyrinth: Game Masters' Campaign and Adventure Guide'', ''Advanced Melee'', and ''Advanced Wizard''. Thompson was unhappy with Jackson's work on ''TFT'', which presumably contributed to Jackson's departure from Metagaming later in 1980. Jackson bought ''The Space Gamer'' when he left; after a legal dispute, Metagaming conceded that they had also sold ''Ogre'', ''G.E.V.'' and an unreleased MicroGame called ''One-Page Bulge'' to Jackson. In the early 1980s, Metagaming published a series of modules for ''TFT'' in MicroGame format, as well as other MicroGames, some with historical themes, including ''Hitler's War''. The company launched another magazine, ''Interplay'', which was a house organ intended to be published six times a year. It ran for eight issues before the company disbanded. The first issue of ''Interplay'' was dated May/June 1981, and the eighth was dated September/October 1982. In 1981, the company published ''A Fistful of Turkeys'', which is a game that simulates the struggle between turkeys and a deranged turkey hunter, Billy Jackal. Tom Gordon reviewed ''A Fistful of Turkeys'' in ''

'' No. 41. Gordon commented that "All in all I feel that this game is not even fit for a beer and pretzel game. It possesses nothing unique or worth

he price He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

It is, however, a real 'turkey' game." "Sahm Reviews" thought that the touches of parody were more interesting than the game: "a bogus author introduction, an angry letter from a customer, a fictional game list, silly versions of major game company logos, and the manner in which “Some Turkey Games” is printed at the bottom of the cover (copying the style used on the early teve Jackson Gamesgames)." On 1 January 1982, Thompson created Games Research Group, Inc., a spin-off from Metagaming. The Games Research Group, Inc. copyright appears on several Metagaming-released products, such as the counters of the MicroGame ''Dragons of the Underearth''. Thompson closed down Metagaming in April 1983 and disappeared from the gaming hobby, leaving most of Metagaming's

intellectual property Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...

in limbo. On December 26, 2017, Steve Jackson announced that he had re-acquired the rights for the remaining products he authored for Metagaming, specifically ''Melee, Wizard, Death Test, Death Test 2, Advanced Melee, Advanced Wizard, In the Labyrinth,'' and ''Tollenkar's Lair''. This was accomplished through the provisions of 17 U.S. Code § 203, which allows authors to reclaim works after 35 years.

Personnel

Notable game designers who worked for Metagaming include Jackson, Lynn Willis and Keith Gross. Ben Ostrander, who was later the publisher of Mojo Press, served as the art director for most of the company's titles.

References

External links

List of titles published by Metagaming
*{{bgg publisher, 356

of some Metagaming microgames

Game manufacturers Wargame companies