Microgame

This article refers to small-scale tabletop games. For their video game equivalents, see minigame. For Wario's microgames, see WarioWare (series).

Metagaming Concepts's Ogre microgame, second edition (1977)

A microgame (sometimes written "MicroGame") is a board game or wargame packaged in a small set. Microgames enjoyed popularity during the 1980s. The term generally refers to board games or wargames which were packaged and sold with instructions and maps or playing surfaces printed in a booklet format, or as one large sheet folded until it became "pocket sized" (approximately 4×7 inches). Game pieces (also known as chits or counters) were printed on one or more sheets of thick paper which the player sometimes had to cut for themselves. Other microgames had fully die-cut cardboard sheets like those included with most board wargames.^[1] Steve Jackson Games used the Pocket Box to package many of their games in this format.

While small scale wargames and board games had existed before they began publishing, Metagaming Concepts first used the term "MicroGame" when they released Ogre, MicroGame #1 in 1977.^[2]

Some publishers of microgames include:

• Cheapass Games
• Fat Messiah Games
• Game Designers' Workshop (defunct)
• Metagaming Concepts (defunct)
• Microgame Design Group (defunct)
• Operational Studies Group
• Simulations Publications, Inc. (defunct)
• Steve Jackson Games
• Task Force Games (defunct)
• Tri Tac Games
• TSR, Inc. (defunct)

Notes

1. ^ Johnson, Mark (October 23, 1999). "Microgame HQ FAQ: What is a microgame?". Microgame HQ. http://micro.brainiac.com/faq.html#definition. 
2. ^ Scoleri III, Joseph (March 02, 2002). "The Metagaming MicroGame Games, Page 1". The Maverick's Classic Microgames Museum. http://maverick.brainiac.com/cmm/mic.html. 

External links

• "The Maverick's Classic Microgames Museum". http://maverick.brainiac.com/cmm/cmm_index.html.  by Joseph Scoleri III
• "Microgame". http://www.microoyun.com/.  a FAQ and database by Mark Johnson and Joe Scoleri