- BGG rank
- BGG #17,839
- BGG rating
- 7.9
Empires & Alliances
- 1–4 players
- Complexity 3.0/5
- 2018
- BGG rank
- BGG #12,117
- BGG rating
- 6.0
The Guns of August
1981
Rules assistance for The Guns of August
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.
- 2–6 players
- 360–1080 min
- 12+
- Complexity 3.4/5
Rules assistant for The Guns of August
What would you like to know?
Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
The Guns of August is a board game released in 1981 for 2–6 players, 360–1080 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by Frank Davis and Rob Beyma and its main mechanics are Hexagon Grid.
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About the game
(from the back of the box :) The thunder of the guns that August would deafen all Europe. For the next four years there would be no quiet: on the western front in France, on the eastern front in Russia, in the Italian Alps and the Balkan foothills, the only peace would be among the dead. Recreating the Great War of 1914-1918, GUNS OF AUGUST is a unique, exciting game. As the Central Powers player YOU control the armies of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey, and make the difficult strategic decisions the two-front war requires. As the Allied player YOU command the forces of the rest of Europe Including Britain, France, Russia. Italy, Belgium, Rumania, Serbia, and the United States, and carry the burden of forcing back the strongly entrenched enemy corps on both the west and eastern fronts. No other game presents so great a challenge to test each player's grasp of military strategy. Ten Historical Scenarios From the summer of 1914 through the final surrender on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day and month of 1918, GUNS OF AUGUST spans the entire First World War in monthly Game-Turns; each player maneuvers hundreds of infantry and cavalry corps and their supporting artillery and engineer regiments. And in addition to this mammoth campaign game, separate scenarios for each front during each year of the war, which can be combined into two-front scenarios for 1914, 1915, 1916, and 1917, have been specially designed to allow players to vary the size, difficulty, and playing time of their games. For those who think that World War I Is an unexciting subject for a game, GUNS OF AUGUST will prove a shock comparable to the appearance of British tanks at Cambrai, and German stosstrupen at Caporetto. COMPLEXITY: Rated "5" on a scale of 1 (easy) to 10 (hard) 1040 Counters (BGG description :) Avalon Hill's definitive World War I game. Comes with 4 mapboard panels showing all of the major theaters of the war to end all wars. Cardboard cut out counters are colored the same as the uniforms of the respective countries. Several charts included for weather (rain creates mud), entry of new combatant countries, and combat results tables.
Categories
Mechanics
Designers
Publishers
- The Avalon Hill Game Co
Questions and answers
The Guns of August supports 2–6 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.
The listed playing time for The Guns of August is 360–1080 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 catalogue lists The Guns of August for ages 12 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
The Guns of August has a complexity rating of 3.4 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight 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 Guns of August belongs to these categories: Wargame and World War I. Its main mechanics are Hexagon Grid. 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 Guns of August are: Frank Davis and Rob Beyma. 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 Guns of August 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.