I have always heard that the best presents come in small boxes! Well, that isn’t necessarily always the case but with wargames a small box can sometimes be really deceiving when in reality there can be a whole lot of game in the confines of that tiny space. In this entry in the Best 3 Games with… Series, I will take a look at some big wargames that just happen to come in very small boxes! I own a lot of small box wargames and they are all very good. Fast playing, a small footprint and almost always very interesting. And they take up considerably less amount of shelf space than do my larger big box games.

3. Blitzkrieg!: World War Two in 20 Minutes from PSC Games

The first game on this list is an abstract design. Blitzkrieg!: World War Two in 20 Minutes is a 2-player game that pits players against each other in the various fronts across the globe from the Pacific to the European Theater, North Africa to the East Front.

Players will blindly draw army tokens from their bag to determine their starting forces and to replenish their losses. The game sees no dice being rolled but battles will be decided by players allocating their military resources to each theatre’s campaigns. The campaigns are pretty interesting and varied and will provide lots of different type of benefits such as victory points, further resources, special weapons that will give the player an edge in the war and strategic advantages. The game plays fast and can be over if players cannot refill their losses at the end of a turn. I found this one to be very interesting, thinky and different than other games I have played.

It also is very versatile as my copy had the Nippon Expansion included which uses the back side of the board to offer another game with a certain famous lightning breathing lizard named Godzilla! There also is provided a full solitaire mode that seems to be pretty good and gives more options for the game allowing it to be played in different settings and with different player counts.

Here is a link to our video review on the game:

2. Watergate from Capstone Games

We love tug of war style back and forth struggles that deal with history. Some of our favorite games are in this category, such as Twilight Struggle and Fort Sumter from GMT Games, 13 Days from Ultra Pro International, etc. Watergate is also a tug of war card game that deals with the Watergate Scandal of 1972 when President Richard Nixon tried to avoid the investigations of The Washington Post who was looking for the truth that Nixon knew about the break-in at the Democratic National Convention HQ. This game is a really well done fast playing (but with depth) back and forth affair that brings light to an interesting time in the history of the United States Presidency.

In true Card Driven Game fashion, the events are powerful and players will have to make up their minds how they should best play their cards to their advantage. Each round, players should plan out their actions and what they are going to prioritize this round like getting or retaining initiative, winning the momentum as it gets you closer to winning the game or winning the evidence. With your cards in hand you have many different options to evaluate, especially whether to use a card for the event or for its printed value. Great fun and plays in about 30 minutes so you can play it a couple of times in an evening.

Here is a link to our video review on the game:

1. 300: Earth & Water from Nuts! Publishing

300: Earth & Water is a simple 2-player card driven wargame where 1 player controls the Greeks, gathered around the Athenians, and the other controls the Persians, fighting for the hegemony of the eastern Mediterranean. Through all five expeditions or turns, each player aims to control more cities than their opponent. The Persians are a bit more powerful than the Greeks at the outset and it is important for the Greeks to plan well and also to take advantage of their enemy’s aggressiveness.

The game engine is a card driven and players will raise armies and buy cards during production. This buying of the cards is one of the real highlights of the design as you have to make this choice at the outset of the buying and not after you have already bought a card and seen what it gives you. Cards can be used to play an event or move an army or fleet. Events can provide advantages in battles or interfere with the enemy, but military action, especially for the Persians, is required to win. Each game will change dramatically according to the order the events occur and because of this the game is highly replayable.

Just a fantastic little wargame in a small package and is really my favorite of these type of games. The good news is that there are more battles coming to this Combat Rations Series and I cannot wait to see what they tackle in the future.

Here is a link to our video review on the game:

That was a look at my 3 Favorite Small Box games. I really enjoyed putting this one together as it got me looking through several games on my shelves and having to think back to our experience with the games. This actually made me want to break a few of these out again very soon! What are your favorite games in small boxes?

-Grant