Try Out Different Tactics and Strategies
Of all the things I have written in this article so far, this one might be the most self-explanatory, and there isn’t a whole lot to add. Embrace the fact that this is just a game, and if the game is really good, it will allow you the freedom to try out different tactics and strategies, from real ones you read in military manuals, to ones your head just made up. The beautiful nature of video games is that you can try new things with no risk at all. So, if you really want to see how Operation Sea Lion could have unfolded (or folded from the start), do go ahead and give that one a go! What’s the worst that can happen? You have to restart a scenario? Maybe go back to a previous save? The world of wargaming is your canvas; go get yourself lost in its wonders of endless experimentation.
Keep a “Commander’s Log”
Some wargames are truly massive undertakings. JRPGs have nothing on wargames when it comes to how long a game lasts. Sure, a Persona 5 campaign might run for 100 hours; that’s a lot. However, a full playthrough of War In The East 2 will eat away several months of your gaming hours just to move the clock forward a couple of weeks of in-game time. With hundreds, if not thousands, of units at your disposal, losing track of things is a certainty, not just a possibility. Stop playing for a couple of days or a week or two, and coming back and picking up the pace once again feels like a tiresome undertaking, and that more often than not either ends up with you restarting the game, or stopping playing altogether out of frustration.
The best way to keep this at bay is to have a “Commander’s Log” by your side. Write down your main objectives, what each of your forces is doing, what the next steps are, and how they’re going to achieve them. Write important details about whatever you find pertinent at the time. Do this one or two times during a session. Draw a couple of maps with some dynamic arrows for added flavor and badassery.
Remember: You probably don’t need a “Commander’s Log” for every game you play. Each title is different, and every conflict is simulated differently, so don’t go out on a diary-buying binge. Keep it simple; this is supposed to be fun.
Embrace the end-turn/end-game “Debrief”
I don’t think I have ever come across a wargame that didn’t have some sort of debrief feature, be that a complete breakdown of what went down every turn, or the more commonly named “Victory Screen”, where all your statistics are displayed for all to see how well you have (or have not) performed. If you’re anything like me, and during your starting days of wargaming, you just frantically pressed escape to quit and go back to moving divisions around the map, you’re missing out on a huge part of the experience, which is actually seeing how the actions you took have impacted yourself and the enemy. These screens, especially the ones that come in between every turn, or pop up when the wargame is in real-time, tend to have a lot of important information like reinforcements, the current status of your units, who won and why, what units are in dire need of attention, and even just seeing how your supply levels are. Truth be told, most wargames don’t do the best job with these briefs, as they tend to be Excel sheets with lipstick on top, but it’s still worth giving a try.
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