Wargame Recomendations?
 

Have some Christmas money and was thinking of buying a wargame. I'd like it to be more true wargaming and more strategy than anything (not Civ or Company of Heroes) More like Matrix games or other such companies. Does anyone have any favorites?

Ummm, maybe Hearts of Iron 2?

Do you mean board games that are war games, or more like miniature war gaming? More Axis and Allies or more Warhammer, which do you prefer?

-Abe

If you're talking PC games and haven't seen them, Conquest of the Aegean and its precursor, Highway to the Reich, are very cool approaches to computer wargaming. They are both from Matrix.

Definiteyl check you Matrix, they have a lot of good stuff.

Not even so much Axis and Allies. Avalon Hill type stuff.

Any in particular you like?

I am a World War 1 buff, so Guns of August is a game I have waited years for. Gary Grigsbys world at War and American Civil War are good too.

Strategic Command 2: Warfare and weapons is a great one to try and is reasonable in price at 45 dollars for the bundle including the original SC2 and the new expansion.

The Campaign Series (West Front, East Front) was a squad level tactical game by Talonsoft in the late 90s. The whole series has been updated and re-released in one package by Matrix. I like it a lot. I have the original West Front and still play it from time to time.

Hearts of Iron 2: Doomsday.

WW2 all the way to 1953 for a possible WW3 scenario.

I actually had these games a long time ago as well. I might look at these again.

This looks good as well.

Depending on what time period you're looking for, the AGEOD series of games seem to be highly regarded. I've been playing the demo for it and it seems pretty solid. I might end up buying the download today. Great looking maps and plays well. I'm not sure how much I love it yet, because it seems like it's about 95% setting up your divisions, which isn't too thrilling to me, but then again I'm a pretty poor wargamer with no attention span.

I'll second the recommendation of Conquests of the Aegan/Highway to the Reich also as they were both great games. An interesting evolution of wargames and one they pulled off very well.

I've been playing a lot of Take Command: 2nd Manassas lately as well, which doesn't sound like what you're looking for but I highly recommend. I've been having a blast playing through the newly released Fredericksburg mod for it(which is really a new game, bigger than the stock game maybe).

I heard bad things about Strategic Command 2, but I heard great things about what the expansion did for it. I haven't played it, but I really enjoyed the first one in the series for a good beer & pretzels strategic game.

I'm also probably alone in having a good amount of fun with For Liberty!, which is like AGEOD's Birth of America, but for simpletons. It's another more casual wargame, but I had a lot of fun with it. I think they just released a new game, Napoleon in Italy which I'm thinking about picking up.

Where's Fritz when you need him.

I would also recommend HOI 2, but it's very strategic and quickly becomes ahistorical. If you're good with that, you will enjoy the game.

You can pick up Korsun Pocket from gogamer.com for $9.90. Its an award winner that I find easily accessible and fun to play. It also comes with "The Ardennes Offensive" campaign as a bonus.

It is built on the "Decisive Battles" game system which was also used on follow up games Battles in Normandy and Battles in Italy.

It your looking for something free and good that runs under Windows you could always try (unless you have already tried them)...

People's Tactics: http://www.peoplestactics.com/
The Battle for Wesnoth: http://www.wesnoth.org/

or one of the free windows Steel Panthers' versions

World at War: http://www.fprado.com/armorsite/sp_waw.htm
Main Battle Tank: http://www.shrapnelgames.com/SPCamo/wSPMBT/6.htm
World War 2: http://www.shrapnelgames.com/SPCamo/wSPWW2/6.htm

You can read more aout the last two games at
http://linetap.com/www/drg/SPCamo.htm

dola

And, all of them except the Battle for Wesnoth have "enhanced" commercial versions if you feel like spending some money. The "enhanced" version of People's Tactics, actually more like a new version, is called Advanced Tactics: World War II and is available from Matrix.

If I don't like it, you owe me $20 :) Looks good so far though.

Anybody tried Matrix's "Close Combat - Modern Tactics"? I fancy a modern setting.

I've heard solid things about Advanced Tactics, but its price tag is keeping me away. Supposedly smart AI and some freewheeling wargaming. Not aimed at historical accuracy, though.

Viniteri for Prez: How is the AI for the new Campaign series? I had the old East Front game, but it played like one of those old electronic football games where all the players would kind of bump around and wander to the middle of the field.

I didn't even realize they had been rereleased, though. That's very cool. I really liked the concept behind those games.

Lastly, I think Matrix games is having a 25% off sale on some of their games through early January.

Thermoglobalnuclear War

Want to play a game?

I haven't bought the new one yet. I agree the AI was lacking a bit with the original, but I still had fun with it.

Close Combat - Modern Tactics is a stripped down mod of Close Combat Marines --> which is a modded version of Road to Bahgdad --> which is a mod of Close Combat 5.

There are mods of Close Combat 5 that are 10 times better than this rehashed, rehashed, crap. You can't screw up Close Combat right? Well, you can't screw up pregnancy either, unless of course, you sleep with your sister. Well, Close Combat: Modern Tactics did just that apparently--> But according to them, they didn't sleep with their sister, they slept with their sister's father's brother's son's uncle's wife's daughter. Fancy talk for screwing up Close Combat.

So uh...don't bother. :)

Everything I've read says they actually did nothing to enhance the AI.

Actually there's almost nothing different except for some tweaks to get the games to run in XP, but for some reason I never had any problem running the old ones in XP anyway.

The The Operational Art of War III looks tempting to me. I had a lot of fun with the second version of the game. This new version is on sale now for $30.

I know the argument gets repetitive as to why they do this and apparently they are making money, but I also know Matrix would have a lot more of my money if they reduced the price on their older games.

Didn't I read somewhere where they are having a sale on games this week and then upping the prices from the pre-sale price after?

I don't get it, but I'm in the same boat. There's a lot of those games I'd like to give a try, but for $50 or so a couple years after it was released, that's just not appealing at all.

I've been playing a lot of Commander: Europe at War (I posted a thread about it a couple of weeks ago.) It has some AI issues but overall it's a fun, light wargame focused on Europe, and I've had a lot of fun with it.

he is around from time to time.

Is this post too late?

There are very few games that deal with true strategy. In fact, the CIV series are very strategic. I think the most strategic game I have played in the last several years is War in the Pacific (Matrix, 2 by 3 games) which fuzes operational naval and air combat with somewhat strategic (abstracted) ground combat. The game is a day by day, ship by ship, squadron by squadron mega game stretching from Karachi to Tasmania to Kiska to San Diego. The players need to move supplies and fuel. The Axis game is heavily influanced by strategic production decisions.

Almost everything else I play is operational. www.hpssims.com will keep you tied up for a while.

The hps games are larely written by John Tiller, the developer behind the Campaign Series

What, do you do a search for your name when you arriv eot see if anyone was talking about you?

Great Link. Did Tiller do Age of Rifles? Some of the screen shots remind me of that game, which was a very good one IMO.

Think Age of Rifles is a Norm Koger game if I remember correctly.

Bumping this old thread rather than making a new one.

I've been getting the War/Strategy game itch again recently and have been eyeballing either Strategic Command 2+Expansion or Advanced Tactics.

We talked about Advanced Tactics a bit here earlier, but I don't think anyone had played it. Anyone pick it up? I'm more or less curious how hardcore it is. All the reviews I've read praise it for simplicity and how easy it is to get into, but I check out boards and everyone is talking about how complicated it is.

The random scenario generation in it sounds really good to me, and it sounds like you get to a fair amount of building up forces and such, is this right? It's not just static units from the start?

Wondered what people's opinion on it was and where it sat on the difficulty scale.

Just read that AGEOD announced a WW1 game they have coming out VERY soon. I didn't see that one coming. I loved their Civil War game and have been meaning to try out the new version of Birth of America, but I think I may wait for this instead. Don't see many WW1 games out there.

AGEod announces a new historical wargame about the first World War - AGEod Forums

They say it's a whole new engine, and looks like it's going to model diplomacy more than the past games. Definitely a game to keep an eye on. It's due out in November.

Keep your money download "Battle for Wesnoth" - its turn based, its strategic and its free.

Best wargame game for a country mile that I've played in years ..

My vote goes to Global Thermonuclear War. But I believe it can only be played on the WOPR. I hear the Gabon Surprise is an excellent scenario.

:D

Takeda 3. It has a great AI and has historically accurate castles. Plus, the characters in the game have as much depth as even Crusader Kings. All in all this one has a ton of replay, is fun and is only $29.99.

It got a great review from the guys at Wargamer.com:
Takeda 3