Military themed games

So you think you're ready to storm Normandy? Think again. 101: The Airborne Invasion of Normandy drops you into the chaos of World War II with all the grace of a paratrooper landing in a barn. This is a tactical strategy game that rewards patience, planning, and a high tolerance for being outflanked. It’s gritty, detailed, and makes you feel ...

This one’s a flight sim for people who think Top Gun didn’t have enough fuel gauges. 1942: The Pacific Air War puts you in the cockpit of World War II fighter planes, complete with dials, switches, and enough acronyms to confuse a NASA engineer. The dogfights are intense, the strategy is deep, and landing your plane without crashing fee...

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 you’re the kind of person who organizes their spice rack alphabetically. You command modern naval forces in the In...

Dive, dive! This 1989 DOS simulator puts you in control of a nuclear submarine, though most of the action involves pushing buttons and waiting very patiently. Think of it as the “Microsoft Excel of naval warfare,” only with more torpedoes. The tension builds as you track enemy ships, sneak through sonar nets, and try not to surface into...

Explosions? Check. Missiles? Check. Graphics that look like someone spilled gray soup on your monitor? Double check. A-10 Tank Killer lets you pilot a flying war machine and rain chaos upon tiny pixel tanks that may or may not be enemy vehicles. Missions include dramatic objectives like "blow stuff up" and "don't crash," which is harder than it sou...

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 ...

Ever wanted to experience the grim, claustrophobic life of a WWII submarine captain without leaving your desk? Aces of the Deep (1994, DOS) delivers that dream in spades — torpedoes, sonar, periscopes, and lots of tense waiting. It’s haunting, quiet, and deeply strategic, like chess played underwater with depth charges. If you’re ...

Aces of the Pacific (1992, DOS) takes to the skies over WWII’s Pacific Theater, where you can dogfight in legendary aircraft and prove your piloting prowess — or spin into the sea with style. The graphics are dated, but the ambition was sky-high. You’ll battle Zeros, manage fuel, and wonder how pilots did any of this without save ...

Strap into your Spitfire, because Aces Over Europe (1993, DOS) is here to show you that flying over 1940s Europe was as dangerous as it was polygonal. As a follow-up to Aces of the Pacific, this one tightens the mechanics, adds grit, and lets you dive-bomb with dignity. It’s smart, serious, and filled with the kind of moments that make you ye...

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...

Strap in and crawl through the mud - Airborne Ranger (1988) is here to chew bubblegum and infiltrate enemy lines. And it's all out of bubblegum. This tactical action game lets you drop behind enemy territory, blow things up, and look extremely cool doing it (in blocky, 8-bit fashion). It's part stealth, part shootout, and somehow still manages to b...

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...

In Annals of Rome, you don’t just play history — you command it, badly. This 1988 strategy title lets you take control of the Roman Empire and try to keep it from falling apart, which it will, probably because you let Gaul get too uppity. It’s part turn-based strategy, part “HR simulator,” as you shuffle around senator...

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 ...

In Armor Alley, you command a helicopter in a warzone that looks like a side-scrolling office meeting gone wrong. It’s strategy meets action: you must manage resources, deploy units, and not crash into the ground every five seconds. It’s chaotic, a little clunky, and far too fun. The game shines in its mix of arcade shooting and light t...

Armored Fist is all about tanks. Big, heavy, no-nonsense tanks. It's essentially a driving sim for people who think speed is overrated and armor is fashion. Missions involve slow, deliberate destruction, long-distance sniping, and surviving Soviet counterattacks in glorious VGA. The physics are more optimistic than realistic, and the enemy AI often...

Army Men lets you live out your childhood fantasy of plastic soldier warfare without the hassle of crawling under the couch. You control Sarge, a green-tinted war machine with a stiff upper lip and an affinity for melting tan enemies into goo. It's part RTS, part shooter, and 100% nostalgia. The terrain’s made of sandboxes and kitchen floors,...

Army Men 2 doubles down on everything from the first game - more weapons, more plastic carnage, more trips to “The Real World” where you fight in bathtubs and backyards. It’s like Toy Story if Buzz Lightyear carried an M-16. The controls are clunky, the pathfinding a war crime, and the camera makes sure you never quite know what&r...

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...

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...

ATAC (1992) is what you get when someone says, “What if we made SimCity, but for waging the War on Drugs?” You play as the head of an anti-narcotics task force, deploying units, tracking smugglers, and launching airstrikes like it's your daily to-do list. The tone is serious, the mechanics are complex, and the politics… let&rsquo...

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 maneuvering little units across the world map, making huge plans and then watching them fail because you rolled a one. It&rsq...

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 play as Italy and change the course of history? Go for it. Just don’t expect your allies to be, you know, allied. ...

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...

B-17 Flying Fortress (1992) is the kind of game where you don't just fly the plane—you are the plane. One moment you're the pilot, the next you're the nose gunner swatting Luftwaffe pests like you're at the world’s angriest carnival. There are ten crew positions to manage, and every one of them can go wrong in some exciting, explosive w...

What if ants could use bazookas and beetles had battle plans? Battle Bugs answers this crucial question by turning your screen into a war zone where tiny insects wage strategic warfare over leftovers. The stakes are high and the terrain is mostly sandwiches. Each bug type has its own strengths and weaknesses so you must command your bug army with s...

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....

Welcome to the skies of World War II, where dogfights are fast, fuel is low, and you probably forgot to raise your landing gear. Battlehawks 1942 (1988) is a flight sim with just enough realism to make you sweat and just enough arcade to keep it fun. Missions are intense, planes explode spectacularly, and there's something very satisfying about yel...

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 ...