I am looking for a good war-gaming program

[damocles]

Can anyone recommend a good battle simulator that is similar to tabletop war-gaming?

I am looking for something that offers random maps, points based army selection and a variety of settings (ancient Greece, Napoleonic etc).

Looking for a high degree of realism and smart computer AI

Cheers

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Go download some of the old Myth games maybe and see if you can hunt down any of the mods that existed for them?

 

[fatpat268]

It doesn't offer the variety of settings (it's WWII), but how about the Hearts of Iron series?

 

[Arsinek]

Can anyone recommend a good battle simulator that is similar to tabletop war-gaming?

I am looking for something that offers random maps, points based army selection and a variety of settings (ancient Greece, Napoleonic etc).

Looking for a high degree of realism and smart computer AI

Cheers

Civilization 5?

 

[veri745]

Definitely not what you are looking for, but Panzer General is my favorite TBS war game.

 

[lozina]

Looking for a high degree of realism and smart computer AI

Does not exist.

But Supreme Ruler 2020 is pretty damn fun!

 

[BeauJangles]

Though not exactly what you're looking for, give the Combat Mission (esp, Afrika Corps) series a try. They're great and full of strategy.

Basically, it's a turn-based game where you give your squads move orders, attack orders, cover orders, whatever. You set up multiple waypoints (to form a battle plan). When you and your opponent have made your plans, the game simulates 60 seconds of what happens. Afterward, you can adjust your plans or redo your plans and it is simulated again.

Loads of fun.

 

[exar333]

Hearts of Iron 2
/thread

 

[paperfist]

Civilization 5?

AI not smart

 

[PlasmaBomb]

Hearts of Iron 2
/thread

Haven't played it... looked it up and it seems good, and the sequel Hearts of Iron 3 seems to be recent, it any good?

 

[lord_emperor]

Can anyone recommend a good battle simulator that is similar to tabletop war-gaming?

I am looking for something that offers random maps, points based army selection and a variety of settings (ancient Greece, Napoleonic etc).

Looking for a high degree of realism and smart computer AI

Cheers

Have also been seeking and found nothing like this.

I wish Games Workshop would loosen the deathgrip on their IPs and let someone produce a tabletop simulation game for those of us who cannot spend $2000 on an army of pewter miniatures.

 

[BladeVenom]

One old wargame that I liked was Steel Panthers. It's been awhile but last time I looked there were two free versions of it available.

The Close Combat series is another old one that I use to play. There's also Combat Missions. For Naval games, there was War in the Pacific and Harpoon.

Matrixgames.com is one company that specializes in wargames.

If you want fantasy, the newest one that I can think of is Elven Legacy.

While not technically a wargame, the latest turn based tactical game that I've been playing is Blood Bowl Legendary Edition.

 

[shortylickens]

Grognard games have not been popular for a long time. Most of what you see now is just RTS's and TBS's that were made specifically for the twitchy computer player.

 

[Danwar]

Can anyone recommend a good battle simulator that is similar to tabletop war-gaming?

I am looking for something that offers random maps, points based army selection and a variety of settings (ancient Greece, Napoleonic etc).

Looking for a high degree of realism and smart computer AI

Cheers

i don't think any of the above recommendations are what the OP had in mind.

OP. i was looking for something like that a while ago and the best i could find was the Total War series of games (you can find a bundle on steam for not too much).

Besides the campaign game you can choose to play "random battles" which include random terrain and a point based system iirc.

you would have to go for different titles in the series to have access to different time periods. the ones available are:

Shogun: Total war (medieval japan setting)
Rome: Total war (roman empire era)
Medieval: Total war 2 (much better than the first one. Medieval Europe era)
Empire: Total war or Napoleon: Total war ( Napoleonic era )

All of the above are real time battles (you did not specify if you wanted RT or Turn based battles).

Also the AI is pretty decent (i classify not horrible as decent btw, if you want a good opponent theres nothing like multiplayer).

i don't know of any other Good games with battle simulators.

 

[exar333]

Haven't played it... looked it up and it seems good, and the sequel Hearts of Iron 3 seems to be recent, it any good?

As a long-time player of HOI, HOI2, and HOI3 (somewhat) I would suggest HOI2 as the best to date. HOI3 may eventually be better, but it still has a number of bugs that really ruined the game for a lot of people the first year it was out. It alos felt more like you were watching the battle instead of participating, which I didn't like as much.

Paradox makes some great games, and you can usually get HOI2 for pretty cheap on Steam. It's a great game, and you can kill a lot of time either by yourself, or hot-swapping/internet game with a friend. Clear your schedule for the weekend though!

 

[paperfist]

One old wargame that I liked was Steel Panthers. It's been awhile but last time I looked there were two free versions of it available.

The Close Combat series is another old one that I use to play. There's also Combat Missions. For Naval games, there was War in the Pacific and Harpoon.

Matrixgames.com is one company that specializes in wargames.

If you want fantasy, the newest one that I can think of is Elven Legacy.

While not technically a wargame, the latest turn based tactical game that I've been playing is Blood Bowl Legendary Edition.

Have you played any Matrixgames? It's funny you mention them because yesterday I ran into their site while trying to find out about Puresim baseball and noticed they had a few naval simulators. I was wondering if there games were any good.

 

[manimal]

turn on itunes and play wagner..


start a board game of axis and allies or colonial conquest with friends in RL!!

 

[damocles]

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

My preference is for turn based but Total War looks like it could be good (downloading Napoleon Total War demo now).

Steel Panthers/Matrix Games look interesting too. Will look at some of the other games also.

 

[crownjules]

Haven't played it... looked it up and it seems good, and the sequel Hearts of Iron 3 seems to be recent, it any good?

Not as good in they eyes of many HoI players. Lots of bugs, doesn't run very fast making games painfully slow even during non-war years, and the game often results in very non-historic scenarios. HoI2 is a better bet if you want to avoid all that.

 

[BeauJangles]

Not as good in they eyes of many HoI players. Lots of bugs, doesn't run very fast making games painfully slow even during non-war years, and the game often results in very non-historic scenarios. HoI2 is a better bet if you want to avoid all that.

Yeah HOI2 had me addicted for two years. HOI3 is decent, but I'm not as into it. I do kinda like their new army organization system, but the way you interact with it sucks. The political stuff sucks, too.

Still, it's worth checking out. HOI and Combat Mission are my favorite strategy games out there.

 

[GoodRevrnd]

Thanks for all of the suggestions.

My preference is for turn based but Total War looks like it could be good (downloading Napoleon Total War demo now).

Steel Panthers/Matrix Games look interesting too. Will look at some of the other games also.

I didn't actually play Napoleon, but I felt Empire left a bit to be desired. I think Rome: TW was the best one really.

 

[JTsyo]

Battlefront.com

Played Combat Missions but it was too detailed for me. You have to be a WW2 buff to get the most out of the game but it's very much a computerized tabletop wargame.

 

[Seero]

Can anyone recommend a good battle simulator that is similar to tabletop war-gaming?

I am looking for something that offers random maps, points based army selection and a variety of settings (ancient Greece, Napoleonic etc).

Looking for a high degree of realism and smart computer AI

Cheers

Get marry and experience a life long battle.

Or Civ5 and SC2

 

[power_hour]

Get marry and experience a life long battle.

Or Civ5 and SC2

LOL!!! (just spewed my Timmies all over my G15 reading this)

But I think the OP wants to have some fun first because 12hour gaming sessions and married life are not compatible ;p

I was going to suggest the Total War series. Good solid Military turn based strategy game with excellent graphics. AI is a bit spotty but thats not unlike many RTS games where the AI sometimes gets lost.

Iron Hearts games have always fascinated me but never pulled the trigger so if you do try it let me know if its any good.

 

[Gibsons]

Been looking for a game like this myself.

Panzer General 2 is okay, I'm not crazy about it though, not sure why it hasn't grabbed me yet.

I've been tempted by HOI, but it looks very grognard - diplomacy, politics, economics, budgeting, etc, I'm more interested in moving forces and killing.

I'll try Combat Mission at some point, just haven't pulled the trigger yet.

One game that I thought really captured the spirit of a table game, was Strategic Conquest, a very old game for Macs. The AI in it was pretty good, it was hard to beat on the highest difficulty setting. Although it did sort of cheat, iirc. I remember actually learning a tactic or two from it. Still remember a game I had that lasted a really long time, til I finally found a tiny gap in the AI defense. I'd buy it in a second if there was a workable PC version right now.