Great European War is a two-player game of an alternative World War II in Europe, based on the premise that Adolf Hitler did not order the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. Instead, the Axis goes over to a naval-air offensive against the British with additional operations in North Africa and the Middle East, while waiting for America to enter the war and keeping a watchful eye on Stalin who may intervene.

The game assumes that the Western Allies decide on a Europe First Strategy, diverting forces and logistics from the Pacific. The Axis is under pressure to win the war before economic collapse sets in, the Allies to win before the Japanese seize too much of the Pacific. Given the shift in Axis logistics and planning against the British Empire and the US. only the westernmost Soviet Union is shown on the map, but there is emphasis on North Africa and the Middle East.

There are two players: Axis and Allied (to include the Western Allies and the Soviet Union). Both players can develop orders of battle by expending Mobilization Points. The game shows the war in Europe during the early and mid-war years before the full Allied buildup. Both sides will be fighting a war which is markedly different from that fought in the historical event. The game ends in 1943, the time when the Western Allies originally planned to return to Europe.

Components: 22x34 inch map, 280 1/2-inch die-cut counters.