
- BGG rating
- 7.8
The Great War: Tank Expansion
- 2 players
- 45–90 min
- Complexity 2.3/5
- 2015

2015
Rules assistance for The Great War
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
For 2 players

What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
The Great War is a board game released in 2015 for 2 players and 60 minutes per game. It was designed by Richard Borg and its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Hexagon Grid, and Simulation.
The Great War, the latest adaptation of Richard Borg's Command & Colours system, brings the epic battles of World War 1 to the gaming table, allowing players to portray important engagements throughout WWI history. The battles, included in the scenario booklet, focus on the historical deployment of forces and important terrain features of trench fighting in scale with the game system. The scale of the game is flexible and varies from battle to battle. For some scenarios, a few infantry units may represent an entire wing of a larger battle, while in other scenarios a unit may represent just a few brave soldiers going over the top. The Command card system drives movement, creates a "fog of war", and presents players with many interesting opportunities, while the battle dice resolve combat quickly and efficiently. The Combat cards add an element of suspense and will challenge players to coordinate their use in a timely manner. Overall, the battlefield tactics players will need to execute to gain victory conform remarkably well to the strengths and limitations of the various types of WWI units, their weapons, battlefield terrain, and written history. In this core game, the main focus is on a number of WWI trench warfare battles. However, a series of expansions, which will feature early war, Eastern Front scenarios, tanks, airplanes, other national armies, plus more special personnel figures, are already in the planning stage to enhance your WWI gaming experience.
The Great War supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.
The listed playing time for The Great War is 60 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The Great War has a complexity rating of 2.7 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-light game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
The Great War belongs to these categories: Wargame, Miniatures, and World War I. Its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Hexagon Grid, and Simulation. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of The Great War are: Richard Borg. These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists The Great War as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.