Anyone know a Classroom-Friendly WWI Strategy Game?

[jawillroy]

My wife is teaching a history class at the high school level and is wondering if there is a simple, engaging strategy game (not a computer game; it must be a board, or paper and pencil game) simulating the opening of World War One: one that deals with the web of treaties, industrialism and nationalism that precipitated the war, and perhaps deals with the early progress of the war.

Anybody have any suggestions?

 

[far-trader]

I have a vague recollection of a Risk variant built on the lead up to WWI but can't recall any details. Which probably doesn't help unless it yields some hits on a web search.

 

[dean]

Avalon Hill's "Diplomacy" would get you 2/3rds of the way there.

Would demonstrate how the balance of power in Europe in 1910 was really quite delicate.

Put in some House Rules and Requirements RE: nationalism and industrialism.

 

[Trent]

Axis and allies? I think it was done by milton bradley.

 

[BlackBat242]

A&A is WW2, not WW1.

 

[aramis]

Pax Britanica (Victory Games, OOP) covers from 1800-1918. Simple rules, but very long play. (4-18 hours.)

Excellent simulation.

It is the best one I can think of; Diplomacy really doesn't do the period justice. PB cured me of any vestigal interest in Diplomacy (I truly hate the game, after more than 15 plays...), as PB covers the political and colonial aims, the economics, and the military elements.

 

[The Hinterworlds Rambler]

HG Wells "Little Wars" might fit the bill... Axis nd Allies is good too.

 

[pendragonman]

If she is truly wanting to simulate the beginning of the war, she really should look at Diplomacy. After all, it really will hammer home the whole entangling alliances thing.

 

[Peter Schutze]

>simulating the opening of World War One: one that deals with the web of treaties, industrialism and nationalism that precipitated the war, and perhaps deals with the early progress of the war.

thats likely to be 3 different games:
perhaps google Days of Decision (I've never played it) or Fatal Alliances by the same company. Unfortunately I think diplomacy will teach just the opposite lesson to what you want .... it was very unlikely that the alliances would be broken historically but properly timed backstabbing is a key to winning in a diplomacy game

A large number of games deal in all or part of the war itself and may even be available as free downloads like Kerry Anderson's Clash of Empires

I dont think there are any serious models of the economic situation itself because its boring "to play" at all unless abstracted away into the rest of the game

if you want a game that covers the whole war including technology change and the Minor nations diplomacy (major power alignments ie france+UK+Russia vs Germany+Turkey+AstroHungarian are assumed) there is Death in the Trenches. economics are mostly abstracted away into how many divisions the nations can support though and events. For a history class thats covering the whole war, the massive list of events that occur in the game are a lesson in themself !

 

[sn0wball]

A decent game simulating the military strategic situation is
The First World War (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/11202). It is rather abstract for a military boardgame (no hexes), but organized into fronts, which seems appropriate for the way WWI was fought, though. There is an overview about WW1 boardgames at Boardgamegeek, too : http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/9284/

 

[tim_manley]

Guns of August is another one...

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edit: added the link

 

[tim_manley]

Pax Britanica (Victory Games, OOP) covers from 1800-1918. Simple rules, but very long play. (4-18 hours.)

Excellent simulation.

It is the best one I can think of; Diplomacy really doesn't do the period justice. PB cured me of any vestigal interest in Diplomacy (I truly hate the game, after more than 15 plays...), as PB covers the political and colonial aims, the economics, and the military elements.

Yup, that's a good game: LINK

 

[Maladominus]

Avalon Hill's "Diplomacy" would get you 2/3rds of the way there.

Avalon Hill's Diplomacy. A true classic. The Nixon White House played it. Secretary Kissinger probably won most of those games.