7 – Use the Game As a Gateway To History, Not As A Victory Screen
Another incredible tip I can give you is: forget about winning (unless the game forces you to, to progress), and try to immerse yourself in the historical setting. Avoid cheesing systems and AIs, don’t chase achievements and high scores. Instead, focus on enjoying the small bits of a game, trying out new tactics, experimenting with new unit compositions, new economic strategies, or trying to follow real-life events. What I’m saying is that you should avoid gaming the existing systems artificially so you can look at a victory screen.
6 – Know Your Weapons, Armor and Tactics
It’s an inescapable fact that most historical games focus on combat and warfare. After all, History is filled with conflicts, and the genre of wargaming is all about simulated war. To make the most of whatever time period the game you’re playing is set in, my advice would be to try to get a basic grasp on the weapons used, the equipment, and the tactics employed. Are you playing a game set in antiquity? Knowing how the Greek phalanx was used and why it was so successful is an important bit of knowledge if you want to win in Strategos and Field of Glory 2. How longbowmen were used by the English in the Hundred-Year War and how they beat the French heavy cavalry is not only an interesting bit of trivia, but might also give you an edge in multiplayer games against other players. To know about the tactics used by Napoleon and Wellington at Waterloo will make Scourge of War a lot more enjoyable.
This can be extended to all periods in History, and it’s a very fun way of seeing military tactics that are often written in manuals and treaties come to life in the form of a video game. There’s a massive difference between reading about infantry assault tactics in World War 2 from a manual and seeing it take place in a virtual battlefield like Burden of Command, Gates of Hell, and WDS Squad Battles.
5 – Discuss and Share Your Experience
Playing videogames is always a better experience when it’s shared with other people, be that in a couch co-op session of Halo, hotseat in Civilization with a friend against the AI, or multiplayer against one another in Call of Duty: World at War. There are millions of players who, just like you, want to know more about your experiences and share their own. Create videos, post on forums, share your after-action reports, or just join some discords with equally-minded people. You might even have your very own Strategy and Wargaming or YouTube channel later down the line.
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