1st post. Need some advice.

[Robmypro]

Hey guys, first post. I have been digging into the forums, but still unsure what sim to buy. I am thinking about buying CB but I am also considering WITE. One concern I have is...will the genre be for me? I am currently playing Panzer Corps and like it, but I am looking for something more historical. The Eastern Front is definitely an interest to me, but I am afraid there will be too much micromanagent and not enough strategy. I guess I am looking to take the next step up, just not sure CB is right for me.

I really don't care for tactics games, BTW.

Thanks for the help.

Rob

[marcpennington]

Both are excellent games, though they also have a fair share of micromanagement, but in the end IMHO far more strategy then a more gamey Panzer General clone. WiTE is probably easier to start playing immediately (simple interface), but there is a steep curve from there to real mastery. CB's interface on the other hand takes much more getting used to, but afterwards many of its rules are more intuitive. But, again, both are tremendously good games.

That said, both are also pretty big jumps up in complexity from Panzer Corps. A good mid-way step might be Unity of Command--- there's both a demo on the Matrix site, and it is also heavily on sale on Steam at the moment. Hopefully that will lead you from there to more hard core stuff like WiTE and DC:CB.

[Robmypro]

Thanks for the help, map. I will definitely check out UOC. Any other options?

[PKH]

WITE has more units in it's full campaigns but also a much more efficient UI than CB. I do like CB more though, because it has features like divisional bonuses and cards which helps to keep it interesting, while WITE is fairly dry. The amount of units in the big CB campaigns is not that bad, but I generally don't play more than one or two turns in one session.

I've played UOC as well, and I'd consider it more a military themed puzzle game because of it's very restrictive victory conditions. A consequence of this is that if you're unlucky with weather or an important dice roll, you might as well restart the scenario if you're going for a decisive victory.

[Templer_12]

@ Robmypro,

as you now know, both games, Decisive Campaigns: Case Blue and Gary Grigsby's War in the East are a good choice.
With your specifications, strategy with not too much micro-management, you should also take a serious look at Kharkov: Disaster on the Donets.

And welcome in the forum. [:)]

[Bonners]

I'm another huge fan of Panzer Corps and it was my introduction back into wargaming. It took me some time to decide which strategy game to try first and I also looked at WiTE. To me it seems a bit more complex for a first timer and there also seems to be a difficulty in that most active players are veterans, so it would be difficult to find an evenly matched game. With Case Blue being a bit newer there seems to be quite a few novice players like us around so you neednt necessarily play a veteran gamer and can get some experience with some other newer players.

If you did go for Case Blue I'd recommend playing the scenarios and especially have a couple of run throughs of the linked campaign before attempting one of the full campaigns. Also it is worth trying the full campaigns against the AI to learn the mechanics of the game before playing against a human opponent.

[Robmypro]

Hey guys, thanks for the help and welcome. I have been looking over the titles mentioned, and conclude I have a lot of excellent choices! It is also forcing me to more clearly define what I am looking for in a wargame.

1. Eastern Front

2. Historically accurate

3. Not managing who gets toilet paper

4. Decision making that is realistic

5. Realistic outcomes

I guess I am looking to replay the major Eastern Front battles as accurately as possible, being confronted with similar decisions as in real life. I don't want to manage details that in real life would have been delegated to subordinates. I am also looking for realistic outcomes, given the decisions I make. I am interested in the entire period, but will settle for less if I can find the right mix.

How close can I get to what I am looking for?

Thanks again for the help, guys!