After the combat has been resolved by rolling a die for each encounter, the specialized "Ground Effect Vehicle" units may be moved a second time; play then passes to the other player.

[4]: §1.02 The game components of the original 1977 edition published by Metagaming include a 14×9 in (360×230 mm) hex map printed in black-and-white; 112 square counters, each 7⁄16 in (11 mm) on a side, representing military units and machines printed on sheets of cardboard (but not fully die-cut); and a 20-page rulebook.

[7]: 11–12  The 1982 edition published by Steve Jackson Games upgraded the map to color printed on glossy paper and expanded the rulebook to 40 pages, but retained similar semi-die-cut counters.

[4]: §7.06  Likewise, the player of the OGRE can combine the attack factors of its different weapon systems if aimed at the same target.

[8] When defending, adjacent or stacked units are considered separate targets and cannot combine their defense factors.

The ratio of attack to defense factors are rounded in favor of the defender, and then is looked up in a combat results table with the die roll.

[2] However, according to the game's designer, this balanced mix of units was not quite right in the first edition; the second edition sped up heavy tanks, slowed down GEVs, and changed the defender's purchasing from "attack factors" to "armor units" (everything is considered equivalent, except howitzers, which are worth two of anything else).

[10] In 1960, science fiction author Keith Laumer wrote Combat Unit, the first of many short stories and novellas about large, semi-intelligent tanks called "Bolos".

The rulebook cover artwork was the Denis Loubet illustration that was also used for the OGRE computer game (see Spinoffs below).

was released again and designated as the 5th edition, with new cover art by Phillip Reed, sold in a VHS box, but rules still in a 4" x 7", 44-page booklet and counters in black, red and white (2-sided).

[20][21] In May 2012, the new "Designer's Edition" was funded on Kickstarter,[22] and the game was produced in 2013, with a cover illustrated by Philip Reed, containing five folding map boards, more than 500 counters, and 72 constructible 3-D OGREs and buildings.

[25] After leaving Metagaming to form SJG, Jackson also designed and published Battlesuit (1983),[26] which is set in the same fictional universe as OGRE and G.E.V., but concentrates on person-to-person battles instead[7]: 21–22  and is not cross-compatible with the earlier games.

[7]: 24, 30 [28] There have been three major expansions to OGRE, each adding new units and rules, since its initial release: Shockwave (1984), Reinforcement Pack (1985), and Battlefields (2000).

[7]: 22  In 1987, the magazine Space Gamer published a rule expansion, allowing players to design an OGRE.

11), Robert C. Kirk concluded that the 1977 edition of "OGRE is attractive, easy to learn, inexpensive, and fun to play.

"[5] In Issue 11 of Dragon, Tony Watson wrote, "The nice thing about OGRE is that after you’ve played a game there’s usually time for one more.

Thus, you can rectify perceived flaws in your defense or experiment with a new mix or set-up immediately, while the new ideas are still fresh in your mind.

One of the comments frequently heard when it first came out was an expression of surprise that the game was of such high quality despite its small size and low cost; a lot of 'bang for your buck'.

"[36] In Issue 30 of Phoenix (March–April 1981), Michael Stoner thought the counters of the original Metagaming Concepts edition were flimsy and sometimes difficult to read, but otherwise called OGRE "an excellent 'fun' game, taking less than an hour to play and easy to teach.

"[37] In the August 1982 edition of Dragon (Issue 64), Tony Watson reviewed the first reissue by Steve Jackson Games, and called OGRE "a legend in the ranks of SF gamedom, and deservedly so... as well as being a lot of fun to play, it's an interesting extrapolation on high-tech armored warfare".

Watson noted that the rules had remained essentially the same in the new edition, the most significant changes being to the physical design—with larger (still black and white) counters, and full-color maps by Denis Loubet.

Watson also welcomed the retention of the original artwork alongside new pieces — "no one draws a GEV or OGRE like Mr. Chung".

edition of 1991, and stated, "[The] two simulation board games of armored combat on a future battlefield are among the best the field has ever seen: fast, elegant, and endlessly replayable".

OGRE had restructured my mind pretty completely ... but it wasn't until 2002 ... that I realized how effective OGRE is at getting across so many important component mechanisms of play and design [...] Gameplay summons to mind a futuristic nightmare of desperation and exhilaration, where rumbling machines unleash barrage after barrage of titanic weaponry and the inexorable advance of a soulless giant can only be stopped by zinging swarms of self-sacrificing martyrs.

The stakes were perilously high for your human defenders as they valiantly surged across the blasted landscape towards an unstoppable enemy of mankind, and almost certain death.

Every game brought surprises, and the kind of high drama and excitement that kept you and your friends talking for days — or at least until the next time the board came out.

"[40] The video game Ogre was published in 1986 by Origin Systems for Apple II, Amiga, Atari 8-bit computers, Atari ST, Commodore 64, IBM PC compatibles, and Mac,[41][42] A modern version of the game was released for Windows in 2017, with "Console Edition" versions for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox One following in 2022, developed and published by Auroch Digital.

[52] In 2001, 34 years after OGRE's original publication, The Wargamer presented Steve Jackson Games with a special Award for Excellence for the "OGRE/G.E.V.