Great Northern War is a wargame covering the Swedish-Russian War of 1700-09. This period of the war ended with the decisive battle of Poltava. Scenarios show various periods of fighting. There are two sides in the game, the Swedish Empire (Empire for short) which is defined as Sweden and its allies, and the Russian Coalition (Coalition for short), which is defined as Russia and its allies.

Players conduct Actions which generate discrete movement, combat, and other operations. Each turn represents a season of operations. During each turn, players take various Actions, alternating one at a time with the other.