The MicroGame line by

Metagaming Concepts Metagaming Concepts, later known simply as Metagaming, was a company that published board games from 1974 to 1983. It was founded and owned by Howard Thompson, who designed the company's first game, '' Stellar Conquest''. The company also inven ...

consisted of tabletop microgames published from 1977 to 1982.

History

In 1977, Metagaming Concepts designer Howard Thompson came up with a new type of small, inexpensive, and fast wargame with a limited number of counters, a small map and a short rulebook, each packaged in a plastic

zipper storage bag A zipper storage bag, slider storage bag, zipper bag, ziplock bag, zip-lock bag, ziploc bag, or zippie is an inexpensive flexible rectangular storage bag, usually transparent, made of polyethylene or similar plastic, that can be sealed and opene ...

. The games at first sold for $2.95, much cheaper than standard-sized boxed wargames of the time. As game historian Shannon Appelcline noted in the 2014 book ''Designers & Dragons'', "The games were quite cheap for the market at the time but nonetheless allowed for a good amount of enjoyment and replayability." Metagaming Concepts first used the term "MicroGame" when they released ''

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 world ...

, MicroGame #1'' in 1977.

Games

* 1: ''

'' * 2: '' Chitin: I'' * 3: ''

Melee A melee ( or ) is a confused hand-to-hand combat, hand-to-hand fight among several people. The English term ''melee'' originated circa 1648 from the French word ' (), derived from the Old French ''mesler'', from which '':wikt:medley, medley'' and ...

'' * 4: '' WarpWar'' * 5: ''

Rivets A rivet is a permanent mechanical fastener. Before being installed, a rivet consists of a smooth cylindrical shaft with a head on one end. The end opposite the head is called the ''tail''. On installation, the deformed end is called the ''sh ...

'' * 6: '' Wizard'' * 7: ''

Olympica ''Olympica'', subtitled "The U.N. Raid on Mars, 2206 A.D.", is a science fiction microgame published by Metagaming Concepts in 1978. Description ''Olympica'' is a two-player combat-oriented game set on Mars in 2206. Martian colonists are threat ...

'' * 8: '' G.E.V.'' * 9: ''

Ice War ''Ice War'' is a board wargame published by Metagaming Concepts in 1978 that hypothesizes a Eurasian attack against American oilfields in Alaska. Gameplay ''Ice War'' is a two-player game of arctic warfare involving a raid by the Eurasian Social ...

'' * 10: ''

Black Hole A black hole is a massive, compact astronomical object so dense that its gravity prevents anything from escaping, even light. Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity predicts that a sufficiently compact mass will form a black hole. Th ...

'' * 11: '' Sticks & Stones'' * 12: '' Invasion of the Air-eaters'' * 13: ''

Holy War A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war (), is a war and conflict which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion and beliefs. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent t ...

'' * 14: '' Annihilator'' & ''One World'' * 15: '' Hot Spot'' * 16: '' Artifact'' * 17: '' Dimension Demons'' * 18: '' The Lords of Underearth'' * 19: '' Helltank'' * 20: '' Trailblazer'' * 21: '' Starleader: Assault!'' * 22: '' Helltank Destroyer''

References

{{reflist Metagaming Concepts games