Matrix Games Forums

It's hard to go wrong JTCS. It's like 3 games in one, and covers East front, West Front, and the war in the pacific. After the tutorial, you have the basics on how to play. You can put me down as a vote against TOAW III, because I do not think that is has a nice steady learning curve for a beginner.

If you like chess you might like the boardgame A House Divided by Phalanx Games, about the US Civil War. It does have replacement capability for both sides however. What makes it similar to chess is that you can move only a small fraction of your total units per turn, so choosing the right ones to move is often decisive. It also has a simple basic game for beginners and add-on optional rules for the more advanced player.

You have asked for opinions somewhat like asking what book should I read. There are so many choices. Narrowing it down to an historical period will help keep you interested while in learning mode.

I have:

SPWAW, free, good set of tutorials, lots of subject matter.

JTCS, not free but very good.

I don't have TOAW but think it might be more than you want.

PT, has supply management, may not fit your list.

PCK, beta team, good game but 3D and WEGO may not be for you.

If you wait a week or two, Operation Barbarosa will be released and is a good entry level WWII game. Somewhat chess like.

Edge just wait for Operation Barbarossa, I think this might be your cup of tea, a nostalgic initiation ala Panzer General.

What could be better?

ORIGINAL: SeaMonkey
What could be better?

John Tiller's Campaign Series.

Seriously, the votes speak for themselves, JTCS is the way to go.

Well I'm going to step outside of just Matrixgames and recommend
 
Panzer General II
 
and
 
The Perfect General
 
and
 
Empires Deluxe
 
You can find demos of The Perfect General and Empires Deluxe here: http://killerbeesoftware.com/
 
and you can probably find Panzer General II here: http://www.ksourcerer.org/store/Discount-491286-B0007M1SMU-Panzer_General_II.html
 
You can probably find PG II cheaper if you just shop around that's just one source i've used in the past. Try Amazon.com and ebay.

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Probably correct with this, just make sure the game you choose has a low unit density, like chess.

ORIGINAL: V22 Osprey

ORIGINAL: SeaMonkey
What could be better?

John Tiller's Campaign Series.

Seriously, the votes speak for themselves, JTCS is the way to go.

ORIGINAL: Edge

In response to Joe D.'s questions. yes, I am after a wargame Would probably prefer land-based as I assume it would give more variety of types of unit than land or air, although I'm happy to be persuaded otherwise. As for micro-managing, I'm not sure what you mean. I want to be responsible for every single unit move ...

Being responsible for every single unit IS micro-managing, and you can do that w/the turn-based Tiller Civil War campaign series.
Of course, some of the larger battles, i.e., Gettysburg, require larger maps, but they can more easily be viewed at a smaller scale -- besides, the graphics on the larger scales leave much to be desired -- and there are many smaller scenarios w/each title.

My favorite type of turn-based game is WEGO, where both players make their respective moves, which are then simultaneously resolved. BoA and it's latest incarnation, WiA, comes to mind.

BTW, naval warfare can have many more units (ship types) than land warfare; PACWAR is a WEGO turn-based naval warfare game that is a free download on these forums, however, the learning curve is somewhat steep, but not nearly as steep as War in the Pacific or it's kid sister, Uncommon Valor.

Try the new game Conquest medieval realms. It looks closer to chess then any others mentioned here.