Origins of World War I
BGG rank
BGG #20,964
BGG rating
6.9

Origins of World War I

1969

Rules assistance for Origins of World War I

Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

  • 3–5 players
  • 60 min
  • 12+
  • Complexity 2.1/5

For 3 players

Rules assistant for Origins of World War I

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.

Origins of World War I is a board game released in 1969 for 3–5 players, 60 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Jim Dunnigan and its main mechanics are Variable Player Powers, Auction / Bidding, and Dice Rolling.

Similar games

About the game

Origins of World War I appears in Sid Sackson's well-known game book A Gamut of Games. Gameplay is very similar to Origins of World War II, which was published by The Avalon Hill Game Co in 1971, although players have to provide their own game components. The following description was taken from A Gamut of Games introduction of this game: A political/strategy game in which five players represent the five major nations in pre-World War I Europe. They must compete against each other to achieve each nation's 'national objectives'. While actual war is not allowed in the game, the play should show quite clearly how tensions developed to such a high pitch in 1914. Note: A full set of rules and print-and-play components are available for download in the files section, below. Re-implemented by: Origins of World War II

Designers

Publishers

  • Random House, Inc.
  • Hugendubel Verlag
  • Hutchinson
  • Dover Publications
  • dtv (Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag)
  • RBA Libros S.A.

Questions and answers

Origins of World War I supports 3–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.