Steve Jackson's Ogre

If you're old enough to remember OTA, then you probably remember Steve Jackson's Ogre as well - a simple, fast, fun board game / wargame from the 1970s/1980s about giant robotic tanks (so the theme should appeal to this audience as well).

Steve Jackson is making a new edition, and this one is huge: fourteen pounds, an oversized box, deluxe mapboards and counters, and 3-D cardboard models for the tanks and buildings. To be released in retail stores later this year, but it's on Kickstarter now with some extra goodies for early supporters.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/847271320/ogre-designers-edition

Four days left to be an early supporter.

Compared to wargames such as Advanced Squad Leader or Star Fleet Battles or even Warhammer, this is much simpler in nearly every respect. That doesn't make it a worse game, but if you were expecting ASL or SFB you would be very disappointed.

The full rules run to 50 pages (in draft form in large type, so probably more like 20 pages when typeset) and can be read here: http://www.sjgames.com/ogre/resources/Ogre_6e_5.4.2012.pdf

The essential rules fit on two pages, which you can download for free here: http://e23.sjgames.com/item.html?id=SJG37-5001 - click "Add to cart" then "Check out" then "Check out without registering" to get to the free download link, no actual checkout or registration required.

Does it have merit? It plays fast and has relatively few details, but it provides the interesting tactical and strategic decision-making that you want to see in a wargame, in spades. So yes, I'd say it absolutely has merit. Here is a review explaining quite well the game's strengths and appeal: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/547204/ogre-ogre-oooogggggrrreeee

That said, I can't recommend spending $100 to buy the game sight unseen to anyone who doesn't already know about the game. But to those of us who have played it before, it's an iconic wargame. Supporting the kickstarter for an updated, modernized, supersized, super-deluxe edition of what was originally a three-dollar game in a plastic baggie... it's a no-brainer.