Strategy wargames

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.

Most popular wargame games

Axis and Allies

North and South

Axis and Allies: Iron Blitz

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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 ...

A Line in the Sand

DOS1992protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.

A Line in the Sand (1992) is what happens when a board game about modern Middle Eastern warfare gets turned into a DOS strategy title with all the subtlety of a cold war memo. You command military forces in a region that is perpet...

Arnhem: The Market Garden Operation

DOS1988 Cases Computer Simulations

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 sidewa...

Austerlitz

DOS1989protected Tactical Design Group

Austerlitz 1805

DOS1989 Cornerstone Software

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...

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 ...

Battle for Normandy

DOS1983protected Tactical Design Group

Released in 1983, Battle for Normandy plays less like a game and more like a history book that came alive, donned a helmet, and asked for a coffee. This is wargaming at its purest: grid maps, unit stats, and more abbreviations tha...

Battle of Antietam

DOS1985protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.

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 ...

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...

Carrier Strike: South Pacific 1942-44

DOS1992protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.

If you ever wanted to command the Pacific fleet without getting wet, Carrier Strike is your game. Set during WWII, it’s a turn-based wargame where numbers, radar, and weather reports matter more than reflexes. You’ll p...

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...

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...

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...

Conflict: Korea

DOS1992protected SSI Strategic Simulations Inc.

Step into the Korean War with Conflict: Korea, where you command UN forces and discover that even in strategy games, North Korea is a problem. It follows the same system as the rest of the Conflict series: cold interfaces, hot war...

Conquest of Japan

DOS1992 Impressions Games

Feudal Japan gets the wargame treatment in Conquest of Japan, a strategy title that mixes historical context with tactical ambition. You manage provinces, wage war, and occasionally wonder why your samurai keep rebelling. The grap...

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...

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’...

Decision at Gettysburg

DOS1990 TigLon Software

If adrenaline-fueled car chases aren’t your thing, maybe meticulous Civil War simulations are. Decision at Gettysburg (1990) is a detailed, turn-based strategy game that lets you relive one of America’s most famous bat...

Decision in the Desert

DOS1985 MicroProse Software

Before Gettysburg, there was Decision in the Desert (1985), which simulates WWII’s North African campaign. Expect hex maps, endless sand, and the occasional tank battle that feels like a chess match with explosions. SSI&rsqu...

Decisive Battles of the American Civil War: Vol. 1

DOS1988 SSG Strategic Studies Group

Released in 1988, Decisive Battles of the American Civil War: Vol. 1 is as straightforward as its title. You get historical accuracy, a serious strategy engine, and about as many graphical flourishes as a tax form. Yet the depth i...

Decisive Battles of the American Civil War: Vol. 2

DOS1989 SSG Strategic Studies Group

By 1989, SSI doubled down with Vol. 2, offering more battles, more maps, and the same demanding mechanics. If you enjoyed the first, you’ll feel right at home; if you didn’t, this won’t change your mind. The seri...

Decisive Battles of the American Civil War: Vol. 3

DOS1992 SSG Strategic Studies Group

By 1992, Vol. 3 wrapped up the trilogy with even more complex scenarios. At this point, the series had become less of a game and more of an interactive textbook—though that’s not a criticism if you’re the type wh...

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 ...

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...

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...