Best Strategic Games by Wars / Era ?

[DonCzirr]

Was hoping to share and learn if anyone has other candidates:

Ancients - not too much here atm - Legion by Slitherine was fun but now is dated. Aggressors shows a lot of promise.

Musket and Pike Era - there seems to be some AGEOD stuff available. I had tried one "Rise of Prussia" but really
could not "connect with it" Is it worth it to stay the course and learn it ? Better options in that period?

Napoleonics - Empires in Arms is firmly on my list as I loved the board game - and the guys here seem to be doing
a great job keeping it alive. Other titles seem to have flaws either with battle systems or no diplomacy etc - Any other
favorites out there?

WWI - Commander the Great War. Love this game. Mostly getting my butt kicked - but still a great gaming experience.


WW2 - I had Time of Fury etc but all of that support was dropped - so I am thinking Strategic Command WWII War in Europe is the best
bet here. I had Fury's older stuff and enjoyed it somewhat - but the squares (instead of hexes) feature turned me off.


Any other favorites / interesting titles to recommend ?

[Poopyhead]

Guten Tag!

I enjoy the Total War series for the "ancients" period. These stretch right up to the 19th century with Shogun 2's Fall of the Samurai. I'm a big fan of Ageod's Civil War 2 and their game system is a lot of fun.

[rico21]

Sanctus reach for the period 40000.
Warranty without any historical error.

[salazarus]

Ancients - Field of Glory II
Medieval - not much here, Medieval Total War, Europa Universals IV (I don't like CKII)
Renaissance, Age of Musket - Europa Universals IV, Pike and Shot, Sengoku Jidai and Ageod's Games
XIX century - Victoria II, Age of Riffles, Pride Of Nations, Civil War II, Ultimate General
WWI - I like To End All Wars but this is not popular opinion
WWII - too many games
Cold War/Modern Era - Flashpoint Campaigns, Command: Modern Air / Naval Operations

[warspite1]

ORIGINAL: DonCzirr

Was hoping to share and learn if anyone has other candidates:

Ancients - not too much here atm - Legion by Slitherine was fun but now is dated. Aggressors shows a lot of promise.

Musket and Pike Era - there seems to be some AGEOD stuff available. I had tried one "Rise of Prussia" but really
could not "connect with it" Is it worth it to stay the course and learn it ? Better options in that period?

Napoleonics - Empires in Arms is firmly on my list as I loved the board game - and the guys here seem to be doing
a great job keeping it alive. Other titles seem to have flaws either with battle systems or no diplomacy etc - Any other
favorites out there?

WWI - Commander the Great War. Love this game. Mostly getting my butt kicked - but still a great gaming experience.


WW2 - I had Time of Fury etc but all of that support was dropped - so I am thinking Strategic Command WWII War in Europe is the best
bet here. I had Fury's older stuff and enjoyed it somewhat - but the squares (instead of hexes) feature turned me off.


Any other favorites / interesting titles to recommend ?

warspite1

World War II strategy? The conversation starts and ends with World In Flames.

[DonCzirr]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: DonCzirr

Was hoping to share and learn if anyone has other candidates:

Ancients - not too much here atm - Legion by Slitherine was fun but now is dated. Aggressors shows a lot of promise.

Musket and Pike Era - there seems to be some AGEOD stuff available. I had tried one "Rise of Prussia" but really
could not "connect with it" Is it worth it to stay the course and learn it ? Better options in that period?

Napoleonics - Empires in Arms is firmly on my list as I loved the board game - and the guys here seem to be doing
a great job keeping it alive. Other titles seem to have flaws either with battle systems or no diplomacy etc - Any other
favorites out there?

WWI - Commander the Great War. Love this game. Mostly getting my butt kicked - but still a great gaming experience.


WW2 - I had Time of Fury etc but all of that support was dropped - so I am thinking Strategic Command WWII War in Europe is the best
bet here. I had Fury's older stuff and enjoyed it somewhat - but the squares (instead of hexes) feature turned me off.


Any other favorites / interesting titles to recommend ?

warspite1

World War II strategy? The conversation starts and ends with World In Flames.

I played the board game many years ago - in the same garage that I played Empires in Arms in .... was fun.


I'm waiting for full AI on that one however - even got a reminder set in Outlook to check yearly [;)]

[MrsWargamer]

The best Strategy ie Grand Strategy design I have ever played any form, digital or otherwise, is Advanced Third Reich.

On the computer, I have no issues with Strategic Command. Played the heck out of SC1, am happy to have SC3.

Also a fan of Commander Europe at War.

Not experienced enough with non-WW2 designs to comment.

I'll say it, because it has to be said. The Civilization designs have often had some great WW2 user made creations available to fiddle with. Not quite a wargame, but then, what exactly is a 'wargame'?

Wish I knew someone with Supremacy. That was an incredible board game. No knowledge of whether it has ever graced the digital realm.

Also should mention the board game Victory Blocks of War from Columbia Games. Now that is some great user friendly fun.

[Kuokkanen]

ORIGINAL: MrsWargamer

Wish I knew someone with Supremacy. That was an incredible board game. No knowledge of whether it has ever graced the digital realm.

Yes

And I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Crusader Kings II by now. Note: I don't have the game nor have I played it, but it is one of the most hyped strategy games of middle ages period.

[Vasquez]

Hegemony III for Ancients and

Making History: The Great War for WWI

[DonCzirr]

ORIGINAL: MrsWargamer

The best Strategy ie Grand Strategy design I have ever played any form, digital or otherwise, is Advanced Third Reich.

Advanced Third Reich was an awesome board game.

There was some old computerized version but now really out of date - and I think it did not have an AI ?

I think I saw one of the guys in the Strategic Command crowd has made a 3rd Reich mod?

I'm very interested in giving that a try once I pick up the main game.

[MrsWargamer]

ORIGINAL: Kuokkanen

ORIGINAL: MrsWargamer

Wish I knew someone with Supremacy. That was an incredible board game. No knowledge of whether it has ever graced the digital realm.

Yes

And I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Crusader Kings II by now. Note: I don't have the game nor have I played it, but it is one of the most hyped strategy games of middle ages period.

Same name, not even close to same game though

[MrsWargamer]

ORIGINAL: DonCzirr

ORIGINAL: MrsWargamer

The best Strategy ie Grand Strategy design I have ever played any form, digital or otherwise, is Advanced Third Reich.

Advanced Third Reich was an awesome board game.

There was some old computerized version but now really out of date - and I think it did not have an AI ?

I think I saw one of the guys in the Strategic Command crowd has made a 3rd Reich mod?

I'm very interested in giving that a try once I pick up the main game.

There is of course this option.
https://archive.codeplex.com/?p=warplanner
But I'm reluctant to indulge this method of wargaming to a point.

[DonCzirr]

Right - I've seen such things before. not my cup of tea either.

It would be cool if Slitherine and one of its Devs would swoop in, get the rights and modernize / enhance 3rd Reich with AI etc


Such a classic deserves to live on "in style".

[wodin]

WW1 Gold

[John B.]

If we're including board games I'd say:

Ancients: Sword of Rome (I forget who makes this); It's not really a strategic game but AH's Siege of Jerusalem is very good just remember that the Jewish forces can run down the siege ramps ;

Medieval: Empires of the Middle Ages (SPI) (SSI did a computerized version that was very similar to this in the 1990s but I don't remember the name);

Civil War: Civil War (VG);

WWI: The SPI folio game that was in S&T in the 1970s called -- wait for it -- WWI; the old Conflict Games Verdun is also good if you like lots of dead counters;

WWII: World in Flames (ADG) up until version 4. I think they jumped the shark with version 5 or War in Europe by SPI. Battle for Germany from the S&T magazine is a rare three player classic.

Korea: VG's Korea.

Modern: Conflict Game's Bar Lev is a very good game on the Yom Kippur War and it also very good for three players.

[balto]

Ancients - are not my cup of tea. Aggressors seems to be a must buy for me.

Medieval - agree on EU 4. That is a masterpiece though I have not played it since the Art of War DLC came out (which was great).

WW1 - agree on Commander at War. It has been a while, I forgot how great that was. Also HOI 4 with the World War 1 Mod.

WW2 - All of Vic's Decisive Campaigns, they are all strokes of genius. But HOI 4 is my constant go to, the DLCs keep it fresh.

Future/Space - in this order Distant Worlds (hands down the best), Stellaris (super duper great), and Endless Space 2 (super great), and XCOM 2 (great). If DW2 ever comes out, I am taking a week off of work and playing that until I drop for 7 days straight. I also might take a week off when Vic's Shadow Empire comes out.

Good thread, thanks.

[HunterICX]

My Personal favorites.

Ancient Era: the original Shogun Total War and Rome Total War (with the excellent Europa Barbarorum mod).

Medieval Era: Crusader Kings 2 because when I think of Medieval I think of Dynasties.

Musket and Pike Era: Pike & Shot, Rise of Prussia

Napoleonics: Scourge of War: Waterloo

WW2: Close Combat Series, Panzer General & Panzer Corps, War in the West.

[Saint Ruth]

ORIGINAL: DonCzirr
Advanced Third Reich was an awesome board game.

There was some old computerized version but now really out of date - and I think it did not have an AI ?

It did have an AI, but it wasn't much good (e.g. playing as the AXIS in the 1944 scenario, I managed to capture Moscow,
though the Western allies recaptured France).
There was a patch that gave the AI extra lots of PPs (?) and units so that on Hard it was actually quite challenging.
I still have its box somewhere, though I'd say it's very dated now.

[DonCzirr]

ORIGINAL: Saint Ruth

ORIGINAL: DonCzirr
Advanced Third Reich was an awesome board game.

There was some old computerized version but now really out of date - and I think it did not have an AI ?

It did have an AI, but it wasn't much good (e.g. playing as the AXIS in the 1944 scenario, I managed to capture Moscow,
though the Western allies recaptured France).
There was a patch that gave the AI extra lots of PPs (?) and units so that on Hard it was actually quite challenging.
I still have its box somewhere, though I'd say it's very dated now.

Thanks for the clarification on the AI.

There was a thread on this a while back - but now the associated links look dead / inactive : A3r


At this point however, I would not have the time to spend with getting old Windows or even DOS games working on modern OS.


Anyways ... back to the main thread ... just a small clarification on the subject - which was originally intended as a best "Grand Strategy"

(multiple countries - high level strategy - as opposed to specific battles within an era / war). Specific battle wargames are also worth

discussing - but should be opened in another thread.

[Neilster]

For WW2, once the AI is implemented, it will be hard to beat Matrix World in Flames, although it is a fairly daunting game for beginners. The system, derived from the award-winning paper and dice game, is fantastic. It has lots of chrome but much of that can be turned off if you want a simpler game.

Cheers, Neilster