The best military games

In Air Force Commander (1992), you don’t just fly planes - you run the whole air force. Think of it as being a general with a spreadsheet addiction. Assign squadrons, manage budgets, and try not to start World War III. It's dry in places, but the micromanagement will scratch an itch you didn’t know you had. A game where you’ll spe...

American Conquest is the kind of game that throws hundreds of little soldiers at you and says, "Good luck, General!" Set during the early colonization of the Americas, this RTS blends history with chaos in a way that’s both educational and slightly overwhelming. Micromanaging battles with 16 cannons, 42 farmers, and 300 guys with muskets feel...

Get ready to drive a tank very slowly while also being very stressed. Abrams Battle Tank (1989, DOS) puts you in the commander’s seat of America’s steel behemoth, and somehow turns desert combat into a tactical crawl. It’s got strategy, explosions, and a lot of brown terrain. Not for the impatient, but if you’ve ever wanted ...

Civil War buffs, rejoice. Battle of Antietam (1985) lets you relive one of the bloodiest days in American history... via pixelated dots and turn-based tension. There’s no flash here—just raw, old-school strategy where every misstep feels like a historical footnote. Think of it as digital Gettysburg reenactment, minus the itchy uniforms....

Ever wanted to be responsible for ending the world in fewer than ten keypresses? B-1 Nuclear Bomber (1981) gives you that chance, wrapping global annihilation in glorious monochrome and a user interface that feels like it was designed during a lunch break. You're the pilot of a strategic bomber, flying missions that are less Top Gun and more Cold W...

Rambo III is an action video game based on the 1988 action film of the same name, featuring the iconic character John Rambo, portrayed by Sylvester Stallone. The game was developed and published by various companies for different platforms, including Sega for its consoles and Ocean Software for home computers. The game follows the plot of the ...

In Assault Trooper, you're the lone soldier with enough ammo to make Rambo blush, dropped behind enemy lines to shoot first and ask “was that a civilian?” later. This 1997 top-down shooter screams “keyboard-mashing catharsis,” offering a blend of stealth, strategy, and full-auto chaos. The missions are varied, the enemies pl...

Top Gun is an abandoned flight combat simulation game developed by Ocean Software and released by Thunder Mountain in 1987 for DOS and a number of other 8 bit platforms. As the title suggests, Top Gun is based on the movie of the same name starring Tom Cruise.

In Blitzkrieg: Battle at the Ardennes, you’re not just playing a wargame — you’re being handed a clipboard, a stack of orders, and a freezing cold battlefield in 1944. This 1990 DOS title lets you relive one of WWII’s most intense moments, complete with turn-based tactics, historical accuracy, and menus that make Excel look ...

Ah, Apache Strike (1989), the game where you're the lone helicopter pilot flying through blocky cities that look like they were made of leftover Lego bricks. Your mission? Blow up bad guys in a first-person view that resembles a screensaver from a lost civilization. The voice acting is so bad it’s good, and the cheesy radar interface is peak ...

Arnhem is the kind of wargame where you spend more time reading hex maps than shooting anything. It’s all about recreating Operation Market Garden — you know, that WWII battle where everything went spectacularly sideways. The graphics are what you’d call “functional,” the sound is silent, and your troops have the survi...