Critical reception was general favorable, using phrases like "very good", "An incredible bang for the buck", "single most satisfying game of its type" and "well thought out."

[1] The game is divided into three scenarios, each of which becomes more complex than the previous due to the addition of new rules: Both the Metagaming Concepts and Avalon Hill boxed sets have the following components:[2] Each side is given 12 army group counters that can hold up to 10 strength points.

[2] Hitler's War was designed by Keith Gross, with graphics by Norman Royal, Trace Hallowell, and Jeff Boobar, and was published by Metagaming Concepts in 1981 as the first in their "Metahistory" series of games.

[3] In the May 1982 edition of Dragon (Issue #61), Tony Watson thought Metagaming Concepts' new large boxed set format "marks an important improvement quality for this company's products."

Comparing this game to Avalon Hill's Third Reich, Watson thought that "Hitler's War treats strategic warfare against enemy production in a more interesting manner.

I found the production rules in Hitler's War, including the technology section and the geographically based IUs (as compared to the more abstract Basic Resource Points used in Third Reich), to be more challenging."

"[2] In Issue 36 of Phoenix (March–April 1982), Nick Palmer had some problems with aspects of the Metagaming edition, but also called it "a very good game indeed, possibly the best one to appear on the market for several years."

An incredible bang for the buck when released at $7, this great value was no more when Avalon Hill put it out as a book case boxed game at more than twice the original price."