Can anybody recommend a good wargame?

[Adept Havelock]

I'm a huge fan of wargames. In the years before PC's, I was one of those obsessives that would get together with a few others and spend endless hours pushing thousands of little cardboard counters around recreating things like D-Day at the company/batallion level or The German-Russian 41-45 war at regimental/division.

I've really enjoyed the Sid Meier Civil War games (Gettysburg and Anteitam), and have put hundreds of hours over the years into games like The Operational Art of War, Harpoon, and Jane's Fleet Command.

My most recent discovery, and one I'll recommend to anyone who wants a good thinking game that's not too overwhelming is Gary Grigsby's World at War. Think "Axis and Allies" on steroids, but still about as easy to learn and play.

http://www.matrixgames.com/games/game.asp?gid=295

Does anyone out there have any good PC wargame suggestions along these lines?

[pikesome]

Hearts of Iron II. Its a big, epic game and if you buy the Doomsday expansion, it's even bigger. I found the game loads of fun but be prepared for long, long campaigns.

[Spicy McHaggis]

I haven't played a good WWII game since I was a young'n playing Panzer General I & II. Actually, if you haven't played that and you''ve got the patience to push the cardboard rectangles around the board I'd highly recommend it.

[KC Jones]

I haven't played a good WWII game since I was a young'n playing Panzer General I & II. Actually, if you haven't played that and you''ve got the patience to push the cardboard rectangles around the board I'd highly recommend it.

Well... if you're gonna go old school I can too...

Mech Brigade (http://www.lemon64.com/games/details.php?ID=3762)


:D

[Adept Havelock]

Well... if you're gonna go old school I can too...

Mech Brigade (http://www.lemon64.com/games/details.php?ID=3762)


:D

Mech Brigade, Kampfgruppe, Reforger '88, and the SSI '85 series. Good times! Sid Meiers "Conflict in Europe, Decision in the Desert, and NATO Commander" were also great, and some of the first RTS games.

Hearts of Iron? I'll look into it. Thanks for the recommend!

PG 1 and 2 were fun and well-crafted "beer and pretzel" games, but a little too abstract for my taste. Still, overrunning the White House with a couple of divisions of Tiger II's or taking out the Reichstag with JS-3's was a nice end to the campaigns. I also enjoyed the "People's General" game that came out a few years later (US/Russia/Nato Vs. China).

[CHIEF4EVER]

Mech Brigade, Kampfgruppe, Reforger '88, and the SSI '85 series. Good times! Sid Meiers "Conflict in Europe, Decision in the Desert, and NATO Commander" were also great, and some of the first RTS games.

Hearts of Iron? I'll look into it. Thanks for the recommend!

PG 1 and 2 were fun and well-crafted "beer and pretzel" games, but a little too abstract for my taste. Still, overrunning the White House with a couple of divisions of Tiger II's or taking out the Reichstag with JS-3's was a nice end to the campaigns. I also enjoyed the "People's General" game that came out a few years later (US/Russia/Nato Vs. China).
If you want a truly addictive board game that is soon going to be coming out on PC - World In Flames by the Australian Design Group. Your mental faculties will truly be tested as well as your strategic and tactical skills. You will also be tested on your organizational, planning and logistical skills. A very detailed game but VERY fun. My best friend in Berlin and I used to do games that would stretch out for MONTHS.

[Adept Havelock]

If you want a truly addictive board game that is soon going to be coming out on PC - World In Flames by the Australian Design Group. Your mental faculties will truly be tested as well as your strategic and tactical skills. You will also be tested on your organizational, planning and logistical skills. A very detailed game but VERY fun. My best friend in Berlin and I used to do games that would stretch out for MONTHS.

I'll take a look at it. Ever try the "Europa" system of boardgames? It was a linked series of about 12 different games that modeled all of WW2 in Europe at the Battallion level. One of the greatest times I've had gaming was getting together with a bunch of other grognards and spending a week recreating Barbarossa. I was lucky enough to draw command of Army Group Centre, and without some yammerhead telling me to stop at Kiev for 4 weeks, took Moscow and kicked Stalin's ass all the way to Kubyshev.

Monster games are fun, but so much more effective on the PC.

Between WIF and Heats of Iron 2, looks like my gaming urge will be happy for a very long time. Thanks for the recommends, folks!

[ChiefFripp]

Here's a freebie. it's a demo for a WWII Real Time Strategy game. The graphics look decent so you may need a pretty up-to-date cpu and graphics card.

you may have to sign up at their site but it's still free.

Demo Here (http://www.gamespot.com/promos/2006/rushforberlin-demo/index.html)

[CHIEF4EVER]

I'll take a look at it. Ever try the "Europa" system of boardgames? It was a linked series of about 12 different games that modeled all of WW2 in Europe at the Battallion level. One of the greatest times I've had gaming was getting together with a bunch of other grognards and spending a week recreating Barbarossa. I was lucky enough to draw command of Army Group Centre, and without some yammerhead telling me to stop at Kiev for 4 weeks, took Moscow and kicked Stalin's ass all the way to Kubyshev.

Monster games are fun, but so much more effective on the PC.

Between WIF and Heats of Iron 2, looks like my gaming urge will be happy for a very long time. Thanks for the recommends, folks!

Yea, Elmar (my friend in Berlin) had that. Incredibly HUGE game with billions of counters.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Medieval Total War. You can pick it up at Wal Mart or Target for like ten bucks now. Great game, more in-depth than Shogun and less buggy than Rome. It gives you a mix of turn-based action, and RTS battles.

[Loki]

Medieval Total War. You can pick it up at Wal Mart or Target for like ten bucks now. Great game, more in-depth than Shogun and less buggy than Rome. It gives you a mix of turn-based action, and RTS battles.any of the total war series are pretty dang fun.

between rome (http://www.totalrome.com/) and medieval (http://games.activision.com/games/medieval_totalwar/index.html), i would say i liked medieval the best. when the time comes that gunpowder is invented gameplay gets a whole lot more fun.

rome (http://pc.ign.com/objects/498/498739.html) is great also. i have played through the game as just about every faction. many hours of (wasted time ;) ) fun to be had.

* * *

if you're into the strategy of wargames, i have found no other game with as intelligent AI as the AI in panzer general (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002TA3QK/qid=1147573832/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-6481178-4016933?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=468642) for playstation 1. the graphics suck and the game is slow and twitchy in comparison to today's standards, but i swear i have never found a more challenging AI than this. make one mistake in stacking up your troops, and expect to have the gaps exploited. many a frustrated evening getting the sh*t beat out of me trying to attack france (of all things!) lots and lots of good missions to play, or just play in campaign mode.

***

other more "recent" wargames i found fun (with good replayability):
close combat (http://www.closecombat.com/about_cc/about.html)
mechcommander2 (http://www.microsoft.com/games/pc/mechcommander2.aspx)

[Loki]

oh man... i totally forgot about this game:

fallout tactics: brotherhood of steel (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/fallouttacticsbos/index.html)

the tactical aspects of this game are amazing. much fun to be had.

[Adept Havelock]

oh man... i totally forgot about this game:

fallout tactics: brotherhood of steel (http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/fallouttacticsbos/index.html)

the tactical aspects of this game are amazing. much fun to be had.

Thanks for the tips, Loki. I'll take a look at them. Right now, I'm trying to digest the HOI 2 manual.

I need some Mylanta.

[CHIEF4EVER]

Thanks for the tips, Loki. I'll take a look at them. Right now, I'm trying to digest the HOI 2 manual.

I need some Mylanta.

HOI 2? I need some acronym help. :(

[Adept Havelock]

HOI 2? I need some acronym help. :(

http://www.heartsofiron2.com

So far, it's making my first experience with Avalon Hill's Rise and Decline of the Third Reich look like Checkers.

Looks quite promising though. I've got to get the "Doomsday" expansion. The notion of a 46-53 Wester Allies Vs. USSR sounds great.

[CHIEF4EVER]

http://www.heartsofiron2.com

So far, it's making my first experience with Avalon Hill's Rise and Decline of the Third Reich look like Checkers.

Looks quite promising though. I've got to get the "Doomsday" expansion. The notion of a 46-53 Wester Allies Vs. USSR sounds great.

I'll have to check that game out. Sounds a lot like WIF.

[CHIEF4EVER]

BTW, did you ever play ASL? Now THAT is a set of rules. I used to LOVE that game being an ex-grunt and all. Played it a lot with buddies whenI was in the Army.

[Adept Havelock]

BTW, did you ever play ASL? Now THAT is a set of rules. I used to LOVE that game being an ex-grunt and all. Played it a lot with buddies whenI was in the Army.

It's a very solid game. I've played it a few times, but I generally prefer the operational/strategic/grand strategic level games to tactical ones.

Plays into my delusions of grandeur, I guess. :shrug:

[Rausch]

It gets no better than Civ III or Civ IV...

[Adept Havelock]

It gets no better than Civ III or Civ IV...

Civ is a fun series, but the military model is nowhere near detailed nor realistic enough for my taste.

[Coach]

I am proud to say that I am one of the owners of Hearts of Iron I and II. I love those games, although I tend to play I more than II, since it's a little less complicated to do.

I enjoyed playing the computer games of Panzer General, Pacific General, and Allied General. Still do to today.