Wargames are the pinnacle of strategic combat simulation in the digital space, offering the very best simulations that model military, political, or strategic operations. While many are descended from the tabletop genre of the same name, others have been more aligned with military training exercises, with a focus on realism and reenactment (or re-creation) of real-world scenarios.
Despite the assumptions that might come from reading the name, wargaming is more than pitting two oppositional forces against one another and seeing who wins. They examine concepts beyond simple numbers and teach players how to assess scenarios, and explore how planning and posture affect outcomes. Wargames are a hyperdeveloped slice of a few aspects of war in game form—very different from what most people think of when talking about games that are about war.
But as with all genres, the lines can be a bit blurred, as some wargames may have much more in common with 4X (Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate) titles than other contemporary war games, and can range from lighter, fantastical affairs to the hyperrealistic. As a genre with a long history spanning back decades, there is no shortage of games to choose from, but these 11 rank among the very best.
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Steel Panthers World War 2
An Encyclopedic Account of World War 2 Conflicts
Steel Panthers World War 2 covers the combat period of 1930 to 1946, looking to capture the entire scope of the battles that made up World War 2. While this time period may seem brief at first glance, the game includes 872 different scenarios, 34 campaigns, 456 custom maps, and nearly 8400 photographs. 33 total nations are represented in-game, with 14 containing long, scripted campaigns.
The number of things to do and engage with is staggering, and few games have ever come close to the sheer scope of gameplay and historical detail put into Steel Panthers World War 2. When talking about wargames with a focus on World War 2, this game should be one of the very first that comes to mind.
Advanced Tactics Gold
Infinitely Replayable and Always Evolving
Built on the success of the fantastic Advanced Tactics: World War 2, Advanced Tactics Gold pushes itself forward through its introduction of a new game editor, new features, and expanded abilities. While the base game already includes a deep and engaging core of systems and numerous scenarios to play through (including campaigns on the Eastern Front and Pacific), the real beauty lies in its active community.
Advance Tactics Gold is highly moldable, with the advanced editor capable of editing nearly every aspect of the game in detail. Thanks to this, the community has crafted countless new scenarios across history and has even allowed for the presentation of fantastical battles, rather than realistic ones. All in all, Advanced Tactics Gold is a goldmine for engaging and unique wargaming experiments.
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Hex of Steel
Dynamic Engagements Across Multiple Fronts
While Hex of Steel started as a Kickstarter dream, it has evolved into one of the deepest and most involved WW2-based wargames on the market. The campaigns it entails can go to some interesting places, with the scenarios evolving dynamically through play. Given the massive number of nations playable in the game (45 total) and the countless customizable scenarios, you’ll never run out of unique games to put yourself through—alone or with friends.
Hex of Steel also has a very active Discord community and is constantly updated with input from the community, providing an ever-evolving set of rules and engagements to participate in. Games can be played with friends online, through splitscreen, and even across platforms, and the mechanics of the game facilitate alliances as well.
Hearts of Iron 4
Alternate History Makes for Fresh Scenarios
Although Hearts of Iron 4 fits more traditionally within the definition of a “Grand Strategy” or “4X” title, its number and depth of combat mechanics lends itself well to wargaming. Despite its overt implementation of other elements beyond combat, Hearts of Iron 4 does allow for layered and cerebral play when managing forces, down to economic details and supply management.
What may set it apart most from most other entries on this list is its dedication to the presentation aspect of the game; it looks great in motion, with a wonderfully designed UI and active battle elements on screen. Where some people may be turned off by the more static elements of most wargames, Hearts of Iron 4 allows for the brutal reenactment (or deviation) of World War 2 conflicts using detailed maps, units, and equipment. It’s only right that it is considered one of the very best games for nation-building, as well.
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Command: Modern Operations
A Refreshed Take on Cross-Domain Operations
Command: Modern Operations moves beyond the confines of World War 2 and into modern conflicts, allowing players to simulate every military engagement after World War 2 up to the present day and beyond. When compared to the prior Command titles, Modern Operations comes with some significant improvements to the gameplay experience, such as improved maps, including more detailed map layers, and includes additions like a mini-map. It also holds remastered and re-tooled engagements from the original Command, with the ability to import existing saves and scenarios for continued play in the new system.
Combat Mission Shock Force 2
Hypothetical Conflicts Between NATO and Syria
As perhaps the very best entry in the storied Combat Mission franchise, Combat Mission Shock Force 2 brings players into a hypothetical conflict between Syria and NATO, rather than focusing on real past conflicts. The scenarios within can be played in either real time or the WeGo hybrid turn-based mode introduced with the first Combat Mission game 20 years ago. WeGo allows each player to plan out 60 seconds of combat and then watch as both sides’ commands are carried out simultaneously, and its inclusion helps keep gameplay varied, with players able to choose their preferred style.
One of the most unique elements of Shock Force 2 is its implementation of “soft” warfare factors, such as Experience, Morale, Leadership, and other elements. This allows for a more detailed look at force management than that of games that do not account for these factors, as they must be managed as effectively as your supply lines and equipment.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s)Medium (5.0s)Hard (2.5s)Permadeath (2.5s)
Ultimate General: Civil War
From Aquia Creek to Washington, Experience The Defining Conflict of the 1800s
Ultimate General: Civil War is perhaps the most thorough and engaging representation of the Civil War in the computer wargaming space. It takes a more real-time strategy approach to wargaming and allows players to take part in more than 50 battles from the Civil War. The game gives players control over army composition and direction, with the ability to fully control units or to give them generalized command.
The maps are exceptional, as well, with the detail playing into how the engagements proceed. Topography plays a big part in how the battles play out, and the AI is thoughtful enough to make use of it just as much as the player.
The Operational Art of War 4
Utilize Forces of Land, Sea, and Air to Dominate Your Foes
The Operational Art of War covers the most iconic battles from the dawn of the 20th century up to the modern day, including more than 200 combat scenarios on air, land, and sea. The supply system has been revamped, and now includes an intermediate phase between supplied and unsupplied, opening up more strategy in these complex scenarios.
Another improvement from previous entries is the game’s new naval features. Modeling of naval units is vastly improved, with units treated as complex systems that can incur damage in combat, and ships have unique parameters. The customizability and depth of all the systems are staggering and make for a complete wargaming experience.
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Flashpoint Campaigns: Southern Storm
A Cold War Turned Hot
Flashpoint Campaigns: Southern Storm is one of the few games in the genre that excels in both mechanical complexity and scenario design while also being set within a fictional conflict. While all equipment and units are based on historically accurate information from the era, the game envisions a world where the Cold War turned hot, with the USSR and USA fully in military conflict.
Modeled features like Electronic Warfare, Air Superiority, Realistic Weather, Line of Sight and Fire, Terrain and Elevation, Smoke and Mines, and Human Factors like training, morale, and readiness must all be considered during play. It is an intensely data-rich scenario simulator, and it works as an interesting thought experiment in how a real war may have played out.
Total War: THREE KINGDOMS
Romance or Records, The Three Kingdoms Are Yours to Conquer
Total War: THREE KINGDOMS more neatly falls under the 4X umbrella of games, but its diverse set of combat scenarios and mechanics lends itself well to wargaming tendencies. It’s a fantastic balance of 4X strategy and character-focused, emergent storytelling makes it one of the most divergent and unique games within the space, as well as one of the best Total War games, period.
Players must not only manage their units, supplies, and territories, but form and understand relationships between the various factions and generals, adding an element of strategy to the game that often goes unaccounted for in the genre—personal ideals and preferences. The game also comes with two distinct modes of play: “Romance” is based upon the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and generals in this mode are given superhuman abilities similar to those in the Dynasty Warriors games, while “Records” presents a more historically accurate take on the conflicts.
