F.A.Q

What is a microgame? Remember our working definition of a microgame from this website's front page? Any inexpensive--no more than $15 today, or half that a decade ago--wargame that's typically small in size and quick-playing. The main reason for settling on such a definition at all was this, a database of all published microgames. It's not complete, perhaps it never will be, so suggestions or corrections are welcome -- please send them to the Webmaster or the Microgame Mailing List. So...how did we arrive at that definition, you may wonder. Well, notice that I said "we." This was something discussed extensively in the earliest days of the mailing list. And, frankly, it gets revisited from time to time as new folks join the mailing list and express their opinion. Nothing wrong with that, and it's certainly conceivable that we could agree to change the working definition and make the necessary modifications to this database. But to be honest, I think the issue has settled down, and I hope it stays that way. It's more fun to discuss and play the games themselves than debate about terminology. Let's go over the qualifying terms in the working definition. Note that they just about all relate to a low overhead/greater efficiency for the gamer: wargames that are inexpensive, small, and quick-playing. Inexpensive This the game quality that is the most objective, and where we're not compromising. Most of these games were introduced to the hobby around 1980 priced between $3 and $6 (we're letting the ones at $7-8 squeak in, too). Adjusting for a decade and a half of inflation, plus the even faster rising costs of paper products, a modern microgame ought to be no more than $15. And if you find a great, expensive boxed game marked down in the bargain bin to $15, congratulations, but that doesn't make it a micro. :-) Yeah, it's problemmatic when a game that in all other ways is a micro happens to be priced at $16, but we've got to draw the line somewhere. Some day we may add a simple listing for these almost-micros. Wargame/Conflict Simulation Should Pocket Parcheesi be included in this database? What about a pack of cards for playing Hearts? Dominoes? No, everyone can agree that those games don't have any real association with the little hexmap simulation games that started this hobby. The easiest way to make that distinction is to say that the games listed in this database must be wargames. Or rather, conflict simulations (consims), which also encompasses games of economic and political struggle, for example. Roleplaying games are not included (with the partial exception of micro-sized components of The Fantasy Trip). Card games are okay, so long as they're consims. Making that judgement is often difficult (e.g., Illuminati is in the database, but Groo: The Game is not), and open to discussion. Small The first microgames trumpeted their smallness. You could certainly stick one in an already-loaded backpack. Some even fit in a shirt pocket. That might be a natural consequence of making a wargame quick and inexpensive, but the feature is appreciated in its own right. Having a complete collection of Metagaming Microgames doesn't take up even a single shelf of a bookcase. Try that with bookcase games! :-) And when it comes to laying the game out for playing, most micros can be played over a normal table with plenty of room left over for snacks. But a micro listed in the database doesn't have to be small--so long as it fits all the other criteria (most big games don't, but a few do). Quick-Playing Another selling point for most micros is that they take a fraction of the time to play compared to their "macro" counterparts. Some can even be played over a lunch hour. Never mind the monster wargames that take 40+ hours to complete--most other wargames take several hours to play, not counting the effort to learn and even just set them up. However, a few micros, despite costing just a few bucks and fitting in a shirt pocket, can take the better part of a Saturday to finish, too. As above, we're still