After some fantastic announcements at Home of Wargamers 2022, a massive sale went live all over the web, with the publisher’s promotions being available on their website, Steam and other third-party stores. These are my recommendations, in order of preference.

5 – Attack At Dawn: North Africa

Tomislav’s attempt at creating a perfect real-time-hex-and-counter wargame, Attack At Dawn: North Africa did well enough that an Attack At Dawn: Stalingrad was recently announced. Fantastic graphics, solid knowledge, and respect for the subject matter (North Africa, WW2) paired up with the motivation to create such a special concept, Attack at Dawn is sure to have cybernated Rommels and Montgomerys scrambling for new ways to end an old campaign. I and Tomislav had quite the talk a couple of months back when the game was announced, so make sure to read it out!

4 – WarPlan Pacific

“At first, my suspicion fell on writer’s block but I soon came to realize that’s just because WarPlan Pacific is that simple, and there’s not a lot to say about it. Turns are spent moving units around the hex-based map, engaging in combat, setting up production of future units, embarking and disembarking units, choosing reinforcement priorities, bombing cities, surface fleets, airfields, and armies; and making sure your supplies reach the frontlines. […] When push comes to shove, WarPlan Pacific is a worthy addition to every wargame collection and a game worth having if you enjoy the operational layer of strategy with a simple, easily accessible design that will keep you island-hopping across the Pacific for weeks”. The reason I’m recommending WarPlan Pacific instead of the original WarPlan is simply because I still haven’t gotten around to playing it a whole lot, but it’s very similar to Pacific. So, if the War in Europe tickles your fancy more than the island-hopping Pacific Campaign, you won’t be Read my whole review here and my interview with Alvaro Souza, the game’s developer here. 

3 – Gary Grigsby’s War In The East 2

The all-encompassing operational simulator of the second world war is a game that amazes and scares in the same measure. An absolute masterpiece of a game, War in the East 2 takes the concept of operational-level wargaming to a sickening degree of complexity and detail. It’s mesmerizing the work done in this title, but War in the East is a harsh mistress if you lack the patience needed to get up to speed with its mechanics and the knowledge necessary to understand the nuances of the war and how to conduct military operations in the Eastern Front. Turns can last for days and full theatre tussles are real-life months-wide affairs. It’s a grog’s game for the groggiest of grogs. If Gary Grigsby and his team submitted their latest addition to their long-standing franchise I wouldn’t be surprised if a collective Ph.D. in Historical Studies was granted.

2 – Decisive Campaigns: Ardennes Offensive

My wargaming darling of 2021, Decisive Campaigns: Ardennes Offensive is the best operational-level wargame I’ve ever played, period. The decision to stay away from the more abstract aspects of other operational-level wargames and to bravely implement novel features should serve as a textbook example of how a genre, considered by many to be stale and long past its prime can be propelled to new heights with the right knowledge, passion, and inspiration. For going above and beyond the call of duty, Decisive Campaigns was granted the first, Golden Strategy and Wargaming Seal of Approval. You should read my whole, five-star review of it. Go read it!

1 – Combat Mission Franchise

The only franchise that can hold a dimly lit candle to Mius Front is -arguably- Combat Mission. A game that strives to faithfully recreate the experience of tactical warfare in true 1:1 scale and 3D environments. True to life ballistics and the realistic fog of war are paired up with “soft factors” (morale, experience, etc.) and attention to detail to every single aspect of the battlefield, to deliver a wargame that, akin to Mius Front, cautiously threads the thin between simulation and game. As pointless as discussing the weather, which Combat Mission is best comes down to what theatre you enjoy the most. The sunny Mediterranean? Go with Fortress Italy! The cold winter? Let it be Final Blitzkrieg. The rainy days, heavy with fog? Battle for Normandy. Destroying what’s left of the German war machine during Operation Bagration? Red Thunder. Want to go modern and fight the Cold War, there’s a tile of that name also. The Middle East? Shock Force 2. Scarily, Battlefront launched the Black Sea in 2017, predicting the 2022 invasion of Ukraine by five years. In here, there’s a slice of tactical warfare for everyone and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better alternative in the realism department. There’s also more than enough DLC for every entry, to keep even the most demanding of strategy aficionados entertained for years to come. If it weren’t for the inadequate controls, there wouldn’t be any doubt the games of the first generation could still hold their own pretty well.

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