Straight from the keyboard of Steve Jackson himself, there will be a new deluxe edition of one of the classic wargames from the heyday of the hobby. Ogre 6th edition is coming. From the announcement:
Later this year, we’ll release Ogre 6th Edition. It will be a very, very deluxe boardgame, with all the rules and units from Ogre, G.E.V., and Shockwave, as well as things that have only appeared in magazines and miniature releases.
Why? Because I want to. Ogre was my first design, and the boardgame version hasn’t been available for years. And people keep asking me for it. So some of our Munchkin money is going back to support the people who bought my very first game, by bringing them an edition with the best possible components.
It won’t be “Euro” style. No meeples, no plastic. This will be the kind of hex wargame that we dreamed about 30 years ago, back when our heroes were SPI and Avalon Hill. HUGE double-sided map boards. HUGE full-color counters with HUGE type. A HUGE box to hold them in. And giant constructible Ogres!
“…back when our heroes were SPI and Avalon Hill.” I just got the same sort of thrill running up my leg that Chris Matthews gets when he hears President Obama speak. 😉
This is great news for fans of the game such as myself. I am a little disappointed that the new maps and counters won’t be compatible with all the others that I’ve accumulated over the years from Ogre, GEV, Ogre Battlefields, the Ogre Reinforcement Pack, etc. etc. etc., but the game itself seems like it’s going to be very impressive. Hopefully it will rekindle the love of the game in a new generation of gamers who didn’t grow up on hex-and-counter wargames as I did. The price looks a little steep ($100 or so), but it seems like you’re going to get a LOT for your money. Thick, oddly shaped cardboard counters and fully 3-D cardboard buildings and Ogres. Mmmmm…
Be sure to check out the two page, full-color sell sheet (the thing sent to distributors and retailers to hype the game) for all the salient details.
Oh, and hopefully I’ll have another in my Ogre Project series tonight, with plenty of pictures. Just waiting for some paint to dry, and then base coating is done.
Hey, thanks for the link Joe. I've never played Ogre, but have heard much over the years. For a novice Ogrite such as I, a set like that sounds perfect.
Just yesterday I was thinking "Man, I'd love to get a brand new copy of this game."
The first hex wargame I introduced to my son was Ogre. I'll definitely be getting this.
This is one of my favorite games of all time! Money'll be flying out of my wallet with glee for this one!
This is great news! I used to have the micro version plus GEV!
The maps for this edition will have 1.5-inch hexes, which I think is the same size as the maps for the Deluxe OGRE boxed set that came with rules, minis and a map.
hah, I just finished a post about this in my own blog. As someone who has never played the game, this is very interesting, but $100 is a pretty large first step…
Having had two Metagaming copies (blue and red cover and orange cover) plus all the SJG stuff with expansions (including Battlesuit), and the old C64/Apple/Atari game this rocks.
I like the Orges taking up two hexes and the various shapes…wonder what the infantry look like.
Great post, Joe. I arrived at the conclusion that "I'm enthusiastic, but I probably won't buy it" at my blog (http://misternizz.wordpress.com/2011/03/21/the-new-ogre-from-sjg/), but really, SJG will sell this version out in point-blimfark so who cares what I think? 🙂 The components are simply astounding and really sell this edition. Bravo to SJG for bringing back a blast from the past.