10 – Decisive Campaigns: Ardennes
Decisive Campaigns: Ardennes Offensive is my favourite operational-level wargame by two reasons: The decision to stay away from the more abstract aspects of other operational-level wargames and to bravely implement novel features serve as a textbook example of how a genre, considered by many to be stale and long past its prime can be propelled to new heights with the right knowledge, passion, and inspiration. The second reason is that it’s set on my favourite theatre of the war: The Western Front. Now, I know this isn’t the most complex operational level wargame ever made (you’ll see why in just a minute), but if you’re starting to get a bit more serious into wargaming, I think that Decisive Campaigns: Ardennes Offensive is a great stepping stone before delving into the real monster that you’ll down below).
It’s a game that’s easy to get into, and its less abstracted nature means that everything feels a lot more palpable and easier to get to grasps with. I would be remiss if I didn’t let you know that Decisive Campaigns has two other great games called Decisives Campaigns: The Blitzkrieg From Warsaw to Paris and Decisive Campaigns: Barbarossa.
For going above and beyond the call of duty, Decisive Campaigns: Ardennes Offensive was granted the first Golden Strategy and Wargaming Seal of Approval in 2021.
9 – Field of Glory 2: Medieval
If you don’t mind the minifigs aesthetic and the tabletop-inspired map look, then Field of Glory 2: Medieval should be your go-to video game for medieval clash simulation. The enormous roster, and army lists, the real-life banners, the colourful dressings of knights, units accurate to the period and fulfilling their intended role in battle. The way each unit is meticulously created with so many variables, the movement and routing mechanics nearly recreate the real-life difficulties of medieval commanders.
Field of Glory 2: Medieval treats medieval warfare impeccably and, the occasional flaw here or there can go unnoticed into the sea of content there is to explore. The base game features 29 nations and factions from 1040 to 1270. 57 Army lists, over 100 historical units. 12 Historical scenarios including the battle of Hastings and Bouvines. An unlimited custom battle system and map editor. With the Reconquista, Swords and Scimitars, and Storm of Arrows DLCs, this number is greatly increased.
With the recently released Field of Glory: Kingdoms, the franchise is now, undoubtedly, the most complete game of all time in this period.
8 – Flashpoint Campaigns: Southern Storm
Considered by many (yours truly included), to be one of the best wargames ever made, the Flashpoint Campaigns games (Red Storm and Southern Storm) should be a part of every Cold War Gone Hot hypothesizer.
The game features a unique turn system based on your ability to communicate and issue orders. The better your troops are at communicating, the more agency you’ll have over their actions, and the faster you can change course if need be. It’s a very neat feature I don’t think any other game attempted to replicate. With the release of Southern Storm a bit over a year ago, it’s hard not to recommend this version, even if it’s a tad more expensive.
The game features 25 scenarios and 4 campaigns across 40 different maps and players will take the role of commanding officers of the USSR, USA, France, Canada, West Germany, East Germany and Czechoslovakia in “a data-rich simulation where each nation has information on National Characteristic, Command Parameters, and Orders of Battle. Data Tables are packed with era-specific equipment and troops. Weapon Systems of the time such as guns, missiles, precision munitions, small arms, and much more are comprehensively modelled”.
7 – The Troop
This part of the list is where we start to enter really personal territory, hence why The Troop is here. The Troop is an approachable wargame and acts almost as a direct successor of Battle Academy, or at least, it would be if Battle Academy was ported over to the 2020s by a team of people who really love the Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan drab-green aesthetic. The Troop has big shoes to fill, and mostly manages to, and stands proudly as one of the best World War II from the last decade.
When it comes down to it, few other games are attempting what The Troop offers, and it has a lot to offer. If I hadn’t already played Combat Mission: Battle For Normandy, I’d be fully immersed in The Troop, treating it as the best game available to relive the events of D-Day. It’s the kind of game that the younger me, aged 13 to 20, would have been absolutely thrilled about. I’m just hopeful that they eventually add modding and map-making tools to expand its potential.
I cannot recommend the The Troop enough.
6- Ultimate General: Civil War
The Ultimate General series of games is delightful, but Ultimate General: Civil War ranks the highest for me. Created by the former Darthmod developer for the Total War titles, it expertly combines deep tactical combat with a simple movement system, slick UI and deep combat mechanics that account for troop morale, conditioning, cover, and range.
What differentiates Ultimate General: Civil War from the also excellent Ultimate General: Gettysburg is its wider focus on the war as a whole and the massive campaign that will have you commanding your troops across dozens of battles, ranging from small skirmishes to sprawling multi-day clashes. The dynamic campaign responds to your decisions, and unit experience lets you develop a veteran army.
Just this month, the Ultimate General series of games got a new entry called Ultimate General: American Revolution. This new title takes the polished tactical battles and adds a very competent strategic layer on top, similar to a game like Empire: Total War.
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