Recommendation On Operational Level Game for Dad and Son

[marklaker]

Looking for recommendations on a WWII operational level game I can play with my teenage son. One that focuses on combat, without resource building, political maneuvering and the like. I'm wargame savvy and the kid is maybe at the intermediate skill level. Not looking for great complexity, but don't want simplistic or cartoonish either. Gameplay well before graphics.

Thanks in advance!

[rwenstrup]

You might like to start with Unity of Command. If that seems to simple, try The Operational Art of War. Both are excellent games with multiple scenarios to play...

Good luck...lot of choices here...

[aaatoysandmore]

For much easier games to get into an understand Panzer Corps or (Panzer General if you know how to run the old ones) might be what you want for a father/son game. If you're trying to get him interested in wargames I wouldn't start him off on something like TOAW III though. Unity of Command even is intermediate at best. But, Panzer Corp is real easy to play an understand and play pretend generals.

If you want to move down to the tactical level I recommend Battle Academy and a game by KillerBee software called The Perfect General. Really a fun an non-historical wargame in an historical setting. Lots of booms and bangs for the buck especially the artillery phase. Both very basic and not a lot to know how to play them.

[Hertston]

Command Ops, either of the Decisive Campaigns games, or the often overlooked but really rather good Combat Command. An intelligent teenager of 'intermediate skill' should be quite at home with any of those if he has any sort of attention span.

Avoid TOAW3. It's a great game if you've been playing for years, but the UI is very dated now, a thorough reading of the manual essential before you can really get going, and it just puts up too many barriers for new players. IMHO.

[parusski]

ORIGINAL: marklaker

Looking for recommendations on a WWII operational level game I can play with my teenage son. One that focuses on combat, without resource building, political maneuvering and the like. I'm wargame savvy and the kid is maybe at the intermediate skill level. Not looking for great complexity, but don't want simplistic or cartoonish either. Gameplay well before graphics.

Thanks in advance!

How old is the "kid"?

[marklaker]

He's 16 and a pretty bright kid with a decent knowledge of military history. Outside of RTS games, his PC wargaming experience has been limited to SPWAW, Close Combat, Crusader Kings, and Hearts of Iron, but he has some gameplay with old SPI boardgames like Barbarossa.

AOW III is an interesting choice. I wore out the original back in the day. Absolutely loved it. How does Decisive Campaigns stack up against the Command Ops series?

[Twotribes]

Advance Tactics Gold can be set to ignore resources as I recall. You need production to build your armies of course. The only tricky part is the balance between how many trains you need and your supply lines.

[parusski]

ORIGINAL: marklaker

He's 16 and a pretty bright kid with a decent knowledge of military history. Outside of RTS games, his PC wargaming experience has been limited to SPWAW, Close Combat, Crusader Kings, and Hearts of Iron, but he has some gameplay with old SPI boardgames like Barbarossa.

AOW III is an interesting choice. I wore out the original back in the day. Absolutely loved it. How does Decisive Campaigns stack up against the Command Ops series?

Oh, in that case I recommend Panzer Corps. It is a game I have never tired of playing. Having a core group of units that go with you through the game is a big plus and a big incentive to use them carefully, rather than moving and attacking carelessly. I find Panzer Corps a thrill to play.

Decisive Campaigns is very easy to understand but it has a lot of depth and harder to master than Panzer Corps. The card system adds great flavor and can change how scenarios are played out each time they are played.

[marklaker]

Is Panzer Corps more advanced than the old Panzer General? I played it years ago and found it too basic for my tastes? If so, it may suit him, but would definitely leave me wanting. I'm considering Decisive Campaigns Blitzkrieg from Warsaw to Paris and Command Ops Battle of the Bulge. Which has the steepest learning curve?

[rhondabrwn]

Any John Tiller American Civil War title! Prefer HPS Campaign Gettysburg, but the Battleground collection sold by Matrix would do also. The Napoleonic titles are a bit more difficult to master. Panzer Corps and Battle Academy would be great, but if he enjoys Civil War history this might be just the thing. You could also tie the gameplaying into a vacation trip to the actual battlefield.. a great bonding experience. You can't realistically do that with a WWII title.

[Hertston]

ORIGINAL: marklaker

He's 16 and a pretty bright kid with a decent knowledge of military history. Outside of RTS games, his PC wargaming experience has been limited to SPWAW, Close Combat, Crusader Kings, and Hearts of Iron, but he has some gameplay with old SPI boardgames like Barbarossa.

AOW III is an interesting choice. I wore out the original back in the day. Absolutely loved it. How does Decisive Campaigns stack up against the Command Ops series?

Rather than a few lines from someone here, as with any of the suggestions you are better off researching yourself - I'd particularly suggest the 'let's play' and tutorial stuff on Youtube.

My general point with those games though, and even with War in the East and the upcoming War in the West, is don't get diverted by the 'beginner' angle too much. I've nothing against any of the suggestions made but I can't help thinking about what I'd like to have been playing with my late father as "16 and a pretty bright kid with a decent knowledge of military history". Panzer Corps or Unity of Command, or Command Ops? What would have engendered the most fun, and the best shared time and learning experience? No contest. And 'dad', throw in WitW for Christmas while you are at it... [:'(]

P.S. +1 for Tiller's ACW titles. Another excellent choice.