Jeffro’s Car Wars Blog

If it’s possible, I recommend getting “OGRE: Ogre/G.E.V.” It combines both Ogre and G.E.V. into one economical set– but unfortunately it seems to be out of print. I don’t see this on ebay very often. I don’t think the rules or components have changed at all from when Steve printed his “black pocket box” version– but be aware that a few significant rules imbalances were fixed after the original 70’s microgame edition.

“Deluxe Ogre” and “Deluxe G.E.V.” are more expensive, but they come with large hex maps and tons of beautiful miniatures. They have turned up on ebay fairly often. Deluxe G.E.V. is still in stock at Warehouse 23, but you will only get enough mini’s for one side in that set. If you have the time and the money to get into this, these sets have a lot of value. You may be able to attract more players with the miniatures version, but if you already have some gaming buddies that enjoy thinking and tactical play, then you may not need the glamour and glitz of the miniatures.

All that said… what would be the _BEST_ first purchase? “OGRE: Ogre/G.E.V.” is definitely the best value and will give you everything you need to let you determine if you want to invest in the miniatures. If you can’t find that, you can do what I did: purchase the old black pocket box editions of these games on ebay. Get G.E.V. if you want a more of a straight ‘wargame’ feel, whereas Ogre has a few elements that are reminiscent of Car Wars and Battletech.

Why is this ‘Car Wars Player’ playing Ogre? The lack of new Car Wars material has cooled my zeal at the moment (particularly the lack of a 5th edition design system.) But I’m also older and I have less free time than I did back when I was a teenager. Ogre is compact and portable. It’s easy to teach others how to play it and it can be played on half of a kitchen table. Game sessions can be run in under an hour and several games can fit into those rare longer sessions. Also… there is just about zero bookkeeping involved with the game, so a series of Ogre sessions will be about _play_ rather than fiddling with stats. Finally… it just feels too cool to go over to a gaming buddy’s place and pull out that classic Ogre “pocket box.” It’s not as impressive as a huge miniatures spread, but no other game packs as much punch in such a small container.

*** UPDATE (Thanks to Henry Cobb!)

Ogre/GEV may be available at these sites:

http://garysgamesandhobbies.com/ogre.asp
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1556344260/104-5166492-3789530?v=glance

Also… you can check out Ogre Lite to get a feel for the rules before you shell out your hard earned dough:

http://www.sjgames.com/ogre/resources/ogrelite.pdf