In the five years following the publication of
War in Europe, over two dozen articles containing in-depth analyses, variants and game replays appeared in
Battle Plan,
Moves,
Fire & Movement,
JagdPanther,
Adventure Gaming,
Battleplan,
Boardgame Journal,
American Wargamer, and
Wargame News. In the October 1976 edition of
Airfix Magazine, Bruce Quarrie reviewed
War in the West, and commented on the game's physical size, saying, "the big problem is the game's sheer unwieldiness. The playing area is composed of no fewer than nine maps [that] occupies practically the whole of any normal room's floor! Similarly, there a no fewer than 2,400 game counters [...] while to replay the entire war in the West requires some 300 game turns. For the average board wargamer, this is far too much to cope with." Quarrie concluded "if the basic space and time
is available,
War in the West could undoubtedly be one of the most absorbing and challenging board games yet produced." British critic Nicky Palmer described the game as huge but not especially complex: a “”Big and Dumb” monster like
Invasion America and
Objective Moscow and "the king of the playable monsters" which he had actually played through over the course of a year, with the map and counters fixed to a wall with
Blu Tack, a sight which had tempted visitors to his home to try a simpler game. The game is realistic
enough “to simulate a good many of the war’s major turning-points” and capture some of the important causal factors. "The beautiful map and varied units ... make one itch to play it" but the basic land combat system is “pretty elementary” and “sometimes monotonous” as the fronts move “ponderously” ... “armoured breakthroughs are a little harder than historically and 1943 in particular seems to have a long hiatus in which neither side has the strength to do anything in particular”. The air system is “effective but abstract” and “Elegant, abstract” whereas naval rules are “almost non-existent” and rules for amphibious landings “insufficiently detailed”. “The heart of the game, and the only part which is sufficiently varied and complex to sustain interest throughout the game, is the production system” ... “the production rules, especially for Germany, give the most durably enjoyable aspect of the game: there are so many things which the Axis would love to build, and even the massive production apparatus which they build up is unable to satisfy every demand”. Germany will win many victories in 1939-42 only to see "a very clear picture " of units disappearing into “fragile lines” while “half the map remains unconquered as Soviet production starts to move into top gear”. “Soviet production is less interesting as it is largely determined by events" – first infantry then armour and artillery as the tide turns. “The game seems nicely balanced, with about the historical level of advantage to the Allies”. The outcome on the Eastern Front is largely determined by geography with massive battles as the Germans try to take Leningrad and Moscow. although “the Russians seem a little safer than in real life”.
War in the West offers the best choice of scenarios, notably the 1940 and 1944 French campaigns whereas the Eastern Front sees “little alternative from hard grinding on the ground, after the initial shock attack [in 1941] has been absorbed”. In
The Guide to Simulations/Games for Education and Training, Martin Campion commented on the difficulties of using this game in a college setting, saying, "the only way to play the game properly in a classroom situation would be to devote almost all the classroom time for a semester to it. It would also require its own room, which could not be used by any other classes." However, he pointed out that "the possibilities for role assignments are almost endless. [...] individual rules could be taught only to those people whose roles require the knowledge. The German production chief, for example, would learn about production but would not have to be concerned with the rules for combat." Campion concluded with a further warning: "this game would require a great deal of activity on the party of the instructor/referee." In Issue 50 of
Moves, in a survey of wargames covering the Russian Front, Steve List called this "the biggest game of all [...] which could become a way of life." He concluded by giving the game a rating of B−, saying it was "a game no collection of multi-map monsters should be without."
Fire & Movement named
War in Europe one of the Top Ten wargames of all time. ==Awards==