''War in Russia'' is a 1984

computer wargame A computer wargame is a wargame played on a digital device. Descended from board wargaming, it simulates military conflict at the tactical, operational or strategic level. Computer wargames are both sold commercially for recreational use an ...

developed and published by

Strategic Simulations Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI) was a video game developer and video game publisher, publisher with over 100 titles to its credit from its founding in 1979 to its dissolution in 1994. The company was especially noted for its numerous wargames ...

for the

Apple II The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...

and

Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers introduced by Atari, Inc. in 1979 as the Atari 400 and Atari 800. The series was successively upgraded to Atari 1200XL , Atari 600XL, Atari 800XL, Atari 65XE, Atari 130XE, Atari 800XE, ...

. It was designed by

Gary Grigsby Gary Grigsby is a designer and programmer of computer wargames. In 1997, he was described as "one of the founding fathers of strategy war games for the PC." '' Computer Games Magazine'' later dubbed him "as much of an institution in his niche of ...

. Grigsby later built on ''War in Russia'' with his project '' Second Front: Germany Turns East'' (1990), initially planned as a

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

of the game. ''Second Front'' then supplied the foundation for '' Gary Grigsby's War in Russia'' (1993), another successor product.

Gameplay

''War in Russia'' is a

that simulates the Eastern Front during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

at the

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

scale. It covers the conflict from 1941 to 1945. Because of its scope and complexity, it is classified as a

monster wargame A monster game is a game that is either very large, very complex, or both. One criterion sometimes adopted is the number of pieces; a game which puts greater than 1000 counters into play at once may be considered to be a monster game. This classif ...

Development

''War in Russia'' was designed by

and released in 1984, the same year he launched '' Objective: Kursk'' and ''

Reforger '88 ''Reforger '88'' is a 1984 computer wargame designed by Gary Grigsby and published by Strategic Simulations. It takes place in a near-future setting and covers a hypothetical conflict between NATO and Warsaw Pact nations. Gameplay ''Reforger '8 ...

''.

Reception

In a 1985 survey of computer wargames for ''Current Notes'', M. Evan Brooks called ''War in Russia'' the definitive monster wargame and "another essential addition to the Wargamer's Library", despite noting the challenge of its large scope and the flaws with its artificial intelligence. In his 1989 survey of computer wargames, J. L. Miller of ''Computer Play'' recommended ''War in Russia'', which he found highly detailed and "much more complex" than

Strategic Studies Group Strategic Studies Group (SSG) is an Australian software development company that makes primarily strategy wargames. The company was founded by strategy game enthusiasts Ian Trout and Roger Keating. Trout was proprietor of a military books store ...

's competing product '' Russia: The Great War in the East 1941–1945''. However, he said that it contained "more flaws as well" and noted that "the AI does not handle the later stages of the war well".

Legacy

According to ''Computer Gaming World''s Alan Emrich, ''War in Russia'' "was the first

for the computer, a triumph of scale, subject matter and head-to-head play via e-email." ''War in Russia'' was among the first inductees into ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...

''s "Hall of Fame" section in 1988. In 1996, ''Computer Gaming World'' declared ''War in Russia'' the 126th-best computer game ever released. The magazine's wargame columnist Terry Coleman named it his pick for the 14th-best computer wargame released by late 1996. Gary Grigsby built on ''War in Russia'' in '' Second Front: Germany Turns East'', which was at first planned as a straight

of the game. He subsequently built on ''Second Front'' with '' Gary Grigsby's War in Russia''.

Reviews

* ''

Casus Belli A (; ) is an act or an event that either provokes or is used to justify a war. A ''casus belli'' involves direct offenses or threats against the nation declaring the war, whereas a ' involves offenses or threats against its ally—usually one b ...

'' #22 (Oct 1984) *'' Jeux & Stratégie'' #31 *'' Jeux & Stratégie'' HS #3https://archive.org/details/jeux-et-strategie-hs-3/page/94/mode/2up

References

External links

*
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''
Article
in ''

Tilt Tilt may refer to: Music * Tilt (American band), a punk rock group, formed in 1992 * Tilt (British band), an electronic music group, formed in 1993 * Tilt (Polish band), a rock band, formed in 1979 Albums * ''Tilt'' (Cozy Powell album), 1981 * ...

'' (French) {{Gary Grigsby 1984 video games Apple II games Atari 8-bit family games Computer wargames Strategic Simulations games Video games developed in the United States Video games set in the Soviet Union World War II video games