The most popular wargame games

Wargames, much like their tabletop counterparts, are tactical, strategy games in which the players must win battles between two warring factions by moving and attacking with single units, usually played on top-down hex maps. Wargames are often historically accurate, but they can also be based on fantasy or sci-fi settings. Some of the most popular wargames are Panzer General and the Close Combat series.

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Axis and Allies

Windows XP/98/951998 Wargaming West

Board game night went digital in 1998 with Axis and Allies, a strategy title that lets you rewrite WWII—assuming you don’t forget where you left your infantry. Fans of the tabletop classic will feel right at home maneu...

North and South

DOS1990 Infogrames

Warlords 3: Reign of Heroes

Windows XP/98/951997 SSG Strategic Studies Group

Warlords 3: Reign of Heroes is an abandoned turn-based fantasy strategy game designed by Steve Fawkner, developed by SSG Strategic Studies Group and released by Red Orb Entertainment in 1997 for Windows. Warlords 3: Reign of Heroe...

Empire Deluxe

DOSWindows 3.x1993 White Wolf Productions

Empire Deluxe is a classic turn-based strategy game that was originally released in the early 1990s. Developed by Mark Baldwin and Bob Rakowsky of White Wolf Productions and published by New World Computing, it is a successor...

Axis and Allies: Iron Blitz

Windows XP/98/951999 Wargaming West

Now with 27% more diplomacy and 300% more frustration! Axis and Allies: Iron Blitz (1999) takes everything from the original game and throws in extra scenarios, improved AI, and more ways to accidentally cause a Cold War. Want to ...

Panzer General

DOS1994protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.

Panger General is a turn based strategy wargame developed by SSI set in World War 2. The player can choose Axis or Allies and fight against the AI or another human player in more than 30 scenarios on a classic hex based map.

UMS: The Universal Military Simulator

DOSMac OS1988 Intergalactic Development

UMS, short for Universal Military Simulator, is a computer-based wargame simulation developed by Rainbird Software in 1988. It was designed with the intention of providing players with a comprehensive and realistic military simula...

D-Day: The Beginning of the End

DOS1994 Impressions Games

D-Day: The Beginning of the End is not your average “storm the beach” simulator—it’s a grand strategy title that drops you into the nerve-wracking planning and execution of the Normandy invasion. You’...

Steel Panthers

DOS1995 SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.

Steel Panthers is the first game in the Steel Panthers series. It was released in 1995 by Strategic Simulations, Inc. (SSI). This initial release laid the foundation for the series and introduced players to the turn-based tactical...

Empire: Wargame of the Century

DOS1987 Northwest Software

Crusade in Europe

DOS1985 MicroProse Software

Crusade in Europe is a detailed World War II strategy game that lets you take command of the Allied or Axis forces during some of the war’s most famous campaigns. It’s not about flashy graphics or explosive sound&mdash...

Panzer General 2

Windows XP/98/951997protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.

Conflict in Vietnam

DOS1986 MicroProse Software

This one's not for the faint of heart. Conflict in Vietnam tries to simulate the complexity and chaos of guerrilla warfare in a game where every click can cost lives. The graphics are minimal, the tension maximal. Logistics, terra...

L'Empereur

DOS1991 KOEI

The Perfect General

DOS1991 White Wolf Productions

The Perfect General is a turn-based strategy military game developed by White Wolf Productions and released in 1991 by Quantun Quality Production. The Perfect General gameplay is quite simple compared to other wargames, but it's b...

Gary Grigsby's War in Russia

DOS1993 SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.

Blitzkrieg: Battle at the Ardennes

DOS1990 Command Simulations

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 W...

Dogs of War

Windows XP/98/951996demo Software Engineering

Dogs of War (1996) drops you into a gritty mercenary’s life where missions mean money, and money means better gear. Set on Windows XP, the game blends strategy and action with a heavy emphasis on firepower. You’ll hire...

Command HQ

DOSMac OS1990 Ozark Softscape

Before Command & Conquer, there was Command HQ (1990, DOS/Mac)—an early RTS that said “what if we made World War III playable?” It’s global domination meets real-time tactics, minus the explosions and p...

5th Fleet

DOS1994

This 1994 naval strategy game for DOS is based on the board game of the same name, which means you’ll spend more time squinting at menus than blowing up ships. It’s cerebral, methodical, and incredibly satisfying - if ...

Desert Rats

DOS1986 Cases Computer Simulations

Released in 1986, Desert Rats is a strategy game that puts you in charge of the North African campaign of World War II. Don’t let the cute title fool you—there are no actual rodents wearing goggles, just tanks, supply ...

Pacific General

Windows XP/98/951997protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.

Star General

Windows XP/98/95DOS1996protected Catware, Inc.

Star General is a turn-based strategy game developed by Catware and published by SSI (Strategic Simulations, Inc.). It was released in 1996 for MS-DOS and later for Windows. The game is set in a science fiction universe where play...

Mech War

DOS1992

Clash of Steel

DOS1993protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.

If Risk and Excel had a baby during WWII, it would be Clash of Steel. You command nations, move armies, manage production, and try to stop history from repeating itself—usually by rewriting it with tanks. It’s not flas...