Microgame (board games)

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Type of tabletop game

title: "Microgame (board games)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["game-terminology", "board-wargames"] description: "Type of tabletop game" topic_path: "general/game-terminology" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microgame_(board_games)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Type of tabletop game ::

A microgame is a board game or wargame packaged in a small set.

Description

Microgames enjoyed popularity during the 1980s and have seen a revival with the popularity of tabletop games in the 21st century. 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.While the exact definition of "microgame" is not fixed, many games have been so called, and Where Art Thou, Romeo? was the first self-styled "nanogame ". Steve Jackson Games used the Pocket Box to package many of their games in this format.

While small scale wargames and board games, including Tabletop Games' Micro Series Games, had existed before they began publishing, Metagaming Concepts first used the term "MicroGame" when they released Ogre, MicroGame #1 in 1977.

Publishers

Some publishers of microgames include:

Nanogames

Nanogames are smaller than microgames and often consist of nine or fewer cards, with a few other components. While there is no firm definition of a nanogame, several games have been so labeled. Coin Age, a one-card game, and Where Are Thou, Romeo, a five-card game created as an add-on to the 13-card game Council of Verona, are examples of nanogames launched using Kickstarter.{{Cite web |url=https://geekdad.com/2013/12/microgames/ | title=The Rise of the Microgame |last=Liu |first=Jonathan H. |work=GeekDad |quote=Where Art Thou, Romeo? – 5 cards ... was included as an add-on for Council of Verona, a 13-card game set in the world of Romeo and Juliet.|date=December 11, 2013 |access-date=November 21, 2021}}

The 9-card nanogame Orchard won the 2018 Board Game Geek's Print and Play Design Contest.{{Cite web |url=https://www.polygon.com/2019/4/4/18295237/best-board-games-2018-golden-geek | title=The best board games of 2018, as chosen by the Board Game |last=Hall |first=Charlie |work=Polygon |quote=PRINT & PLAY Winner — Orchard: A 9 card solitaire game |date=Apr 4, 2019 |access-date=November 21, 2021}}

Notes

References

  1. Brown, Peter. (September 6, 2014). "Series 2 games - Micro Warfare". life in miniature.
  2. Scoleri III, Joseph. (March 2, 2002). "The Metagaming MicroGame Games, Page 1". The Maverick's Classic Microgames Museum.
  3. "What's a nano-game? - Fine Mess Games".
  4. [https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/245487/orchard-9-card-solitaire-game "Orchard: A 9 card solitaire game (2018)" (BoardGameGeek)]

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game-terminologyboard-wargames