Maybe it’s just me, but as a keen strategist and wargamer, I don’t feel the community is being served well. Obviously, this is an immensely subjective topic. Everyone has different tastes and preferences; after all, variety is the spice of life, right? That being said, I guess this is as good a place as any to see if my sentiments are shared by anyone else.

So, what is my basis for feeling this way?

Let’s take Total War: Medieval 2 as an example. That’s a game I sank many hours into, and it was released in 2006—nearly twenty years ago! Its predecessor, Medieval: Total War, came out in 2002. In just four years, the game improved significantly in graphics, AI, and overall player options. Do we think the Total War franchise has progressed as much over the last twenty years? I certainly don’t! In fact, a few people I have spoken to believe the franchise is going backwards.

Now, let’s look at something more hardcore—Gary Grigsby’s War in the Pacific: Admiral Edition. What a behemoth of a game. The detail, size, scale, and scope—it’s just a monster. And you know what? It’s great. Released in 2004, it remains unmatched in its scale and scope. The closest rivals are, in fact, more Gary Grigsby games! Imagine a game of that detail being made today with a modern UI, faster processing power, and improved AI.

More recently, Men of War 2 and Company of Heroes 3 come to mind. Both games are built on formulas from the 2000s and are currently rated ‘mixed’ on Steam. Maybe the 2000s were a time when PC computational power matched creative developers’ ideas; now, the balance has shifted. PCs are significantly more powerful, yet the ideas seem stuck in the past or perhaps too afraid to innovate.

I’m not even going to get started on the Combat Mission series—absolutely amazing for its time but really bogged down in an aging engine and scripted AI. Or what about Homeworld 3 – that was a travesty.

I don’t pretend to know why we are in a stagnant period for wargames that push boundaries or take things further, but I suspect it has something to do with money. Games today require more capital to develop and are constrained by financial pressures, which likely stifles innovation as developers opt for safer options. A good analogy might be an artist being told what to paint and when.

As I mentioned at the beginning, I’m really keen to know what you think. It’s an emotive topic because so many of us are invested in wargaming. If you have comments or want to discuss, please keep it civil and to the standards our community expects.

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There have been so many times I have watched a YouTuber talk about a game I’m currently playing and they explain things that I either subconsciously knew or should have known! Often it’s down to me being too set in my old ways, or simply not applying any analytical thought.

Here is an example – I have currently been enjoying Rule the Waves 3. Starting my campaign in Italy in 1890. I played for several months and had a war with Austria, which I won but both sides took casualties in the form of ships sunk. We entered a period of peace and world tension was low. 

However, rather than continue to build ships I hesitated and delayed. My rationale was – that if I could just wait for a few more technologies to be researched then I can build far better ships and my whole fleet will be amazing. The delay turned into many months as I kept waiting – just one more technology. In the end, I researched some new guns and new armour and thought “Brilliant”! – lets lay a new ship, it will be ready in a further 10 months.

In the end that delay, waiting for technological leaps, coupled with the time it takes for the new ships to be built cost me dearly! A lot can change in two years and before I knew it, I was at war again, except now I was fighting with obsolete ships while my new shiny ‘cutting edge’ ships were still in the docks being constructed.

This taught me a valuable lesson and is part of the reason I love wargaming. It demonstrated to me that sometimes it’s better to get something off the production line and into service rather than wait for it to have all the bells and whistles.

From my understanding, and please someone correct me in the comments if I’m wrong, this is a good example of the difference between Spiral Development and Waterfall. Interestingly this also aligns with a recent change to the UK’s reforms to the delivery of kit to the armed forces. Widespread reforms to transform delivery of kit to UK’s armed forces – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Armed with my newfound knowledge and experience my ships are coming off the production line in a more regular fashion, with incremental improvement rather than technological jumps. It allows me to have a fleet without being overwhelmed by enemy mass or being technologically inferior.

Perhaps a fairly dull story for most – but the sense of satisfaction of having learnt something compelled me to share my experience. I’m sure many of us have had similar Eureka moments too.

If you did find it interesting or would like to know more, please let me know in the comments or via the medium of ‘likes’ and I will share a few other examples of Lessons From Experience.

There are so many ‘good’ strategy games relating to WW2 but those that aim for realism or authenticity tend to be IGOUGO (definitions at the bottom of the article*). This frustrates me somewhat because many of the famous battles we fight, or campaigns we lead, were intrinsically linked to operational initiative and a manoeuvrist approach, especially during WW2. 

Having one side assault the other side during an IGOUGO turn phase, whilst excellent for board games where players need to record results is, in my humble opinion, antiquated given today’s technology and computing power. It stifles ‘surprise’ and limits ‘initiative’ which are key ingredients for any would-be commander.

Almost all RTS games on the other hand, except a few such as the Combat Mission series or Command Ops 2 are often ‘arcade’ style with realism replaced by balance, perhaps most likely to appeal to a wider online community and thus increase sales. Steel Division and Company of Heroes series are examples where ‘realism’ is sacrificed for fun.

I guess this potentially ‘unpopular opinion’ also taps into the question of ‘why does a person play a strategy game’? – Is it for pure fun where you and your friends can battle it out on multiplayer, is it to test one’s mental ability where you must learn the absolute meta and rules, or is it to learn and develop. All are valid reasons but I do pray to the PC gaming Gods for more WEGO games.

If anyone has any thoughts, recommendations and/or passionate opinions please feel free to drop them in the comments below! 

On that note, if you are reading this and haven’t already, please check out Command Ops 2 on Steam. It’s one of my favourite WW2 strategy games and you can play 3 scenarios for free. For me, at the operational level, it strikes a very good balance between being fun, and plausibly realistic and gives the player enough freedom to experiment and learn. It is, of course, RTS/WEGO with orders delays and many of the challenges a commander would have issuing orders…

*Definitions: 

IGOUGO – I go, you go. This format means the player takes a turn and the AI or opponent then takes their turn afterwards and the cycle repeats itself. Chess is the classic example of this format and for that PC enthusiast Gary Grigsby’s War in the East 2 is another example.

WEGO – We go. As it says on the tin, this format allows players to take their turn at the same time. Often each player plots their moves in secret and when every player has completed their orders they get actioned at the same time. An excellent example of this format is Flashpoint Campaigns: Southern Storm; or rock, paper scissors if you don’t play video games.

RTS – Real Time Strategy. This format is where each player plays in, you guessed it, real-time. Command Operations 2 models this very well on PC and for the alternative, I’d suggest a Red Teaming exercise (more on that another time). 

Manoeuvrist approach – This is where a commander/general will seek to out-think and also outmanoeuvre the enemy. Likely by targeting critical points such as weaknesses rather than attacking head-on. As Sun Tzu said, “In war, the way is to avoid what is strong and to strike at what is weak”. For context, Russia is not applying this approach in Ukraine.

Initiative – Being able to dictate the battlefield by having the enemy respond to your actions and will, rather than their own.

Read Tom’s first article too!

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With so much being said about AI and how it will change our lives (or destroy us!) one area that we, as wargaming enthusiasts, are likely to benefit from is playing against the computer. This isn’t because the AI will be able to issue orders faster, be ultra-efficient with resources or come up with cunning ways to defeat the human adversary. It’s precisely the opposite, especially if you want to face off against a current or historical figure.

AI is already able to imitate famous people in its written responses – just look at Chat GPT ‘behaving’ like Elvis – able to respond and even write music in a similar vein. What’s this got to do with wargaming? Well, I’m no expert in AI but what I do know is that AI has the ability to consume huge amounts of information and turn that data into meaningful outputs, without prejudice. In the case of wargaming, we will be able to learn about historical figures, such as Napolean and then replicate his personality and traits (both good and bad) in a game far beyond anything we have experienced before.

Take the battle of Waterloo for example and assume you’re playing the role of Wellington. The moment you deviate from what historically happened current AI adapts in a way it’s been pre-programmed, often constrained by certain mechanics and most likely not in a way the real historical commanders would have behaved. This will all change when AI arrives in our games and Napolean and his army will react as they would have done on that day in 1815.

The ability to play against these characters is very exciting and gives wargaming enthusiasts the best possibility of facing down these historical figures. This will be particularly fun when looking back over battles or events that have been historically controversial and provide some excellent ‘what if’ moments.

The eagle-eyed amongst you may have noticed I mentioned Valery Gerasimov (Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and First Deputy Minister of Defence) in the opening sentence – not a particularly renowned military leader given the current debacle in Ukraine but perhaps a useful case study. With enough information, AI will likely be able to ‘red team’ an adversary. It will be able to predict, with reasonable accuracy, his actions and thoughts based on all its available knowledge. A cursory look at his Wikipedia page already gives a wealth of insight into the man and you can start to form a picture of how he thinks. This could in theory allow military planners to better anticipate the Russian military’s next moves, including the subordinate commanders. Of course, militaries already conduct this activity and do attempt to role-play adversary commanders but there are always inherent biases and fallacies that introduce doubt. Yes, it’s a very ‘Minority Report’ but that’s possibly the world we are entering!

As a teaser: in part 3 I’ll be delving into the idea of how we should look into the future, how important digital literacy is, and why History university courses should consider creating subjects on Historical Media.

What kind of audience do these games usually attract?

It’s fair to say that for the longest time, the general perception is that video games have traditionally been a male-dominated hobby. And that might be true, at least if we go back 20 or something years. But back then, video games were still these sorts of mysterious and nerdy things that didn’t fair very well in the public eye. So no wonder only a fringe of the boys and girls of way back when played them, and of these, I think it is fair to say that men were the major demographic. Even so, numbers vary wildly from country to country. But as games started to become more and more mainstream, its demographic naturally widened and increasingly became more diverse, with a wider age range and a smaller gender gap. Just go on a metro and bus ride and you can see people from all walks of life playing games on their devices to burn a couple of minutes while they wait for their stop. Now, some might say that playing video games on a smartphone isn’t being a “real gamer”, but that’s a discussion I’m not willing to have just because it doesn’t make much sense. The bottom line is: do you spend money on games? If you do, then you’re an important part of the audience for the companies creating video games. Maybe a better definition would be that there are two audiences: people who play video games casually, and people who play more avidly.

That would be enough for me and 99% of the people, I think. Again, there’s no need for strict definitions because it doesn’t make any sense and they’ll always contradict each other. Take me, for example, I only play video games 2 to 3 times a week for a couple of hours at most, and that’s due to the fact that I have very little free time. However, I buy and play a wide range of games in that small time frame, probably spending quite a lot more every year than most people (this average ranges from 20 dollars to about 70 dollars a month per person). Now, take for example someone that spends 2 hours every day playing a free title like League of Legends without ever spending a dime. Also, consider someone that spends 60 dollars every year to buy FIFA and proceeds to play said game for 1000 hours for the next 365 days. They spend way less money than someone like me, yet play substantially more. See the futility in arguing who’s the “audience” without narrowing it down to an almost perfect representation of the segment game developing companies are trying to reach? While I have absolutely no data to corroborate what I’m about to say, my experience in the wargaming genre is that most of the audience is older than the average person playing video games. And the reasoning behind that, other than guesswork based on my interactions with the community is that these were the people that grew up playing tabletop games and eventually transitioned to digital gaming.

Other “digital native” strategy genres (like real-time strategy) are probably more populated by a younger audience that grew up with those. Heck, I’m here just because I stumbled into Age of Empires II, Stronghold, and Red Alert 2 when I was a kid. That ended up with me studying History at the University and eventually becoming a communication professional.

Is there any possibility these games might arouse curiosity for the Middle Ages?

Video games can be just as engaging as books or movies when it comes to sparking an interest in history, and the Middle Ages are no exception (for me, Age of Empires II did that, and later Medal of Honor kindled my love for the Second World War). Like other forms of media, they can reshape our perceptions of the world and how we imagine the past. It’s easy to forget that the world of the past was just as vibrant and colorful as today because we’ve gotten so used to seeing the past in black-and-white, mainly because of all the footage of World War I and II we grew up with. Yet, one just needs to enter a museum to see how the humans of eras gone by also enjoyed the same things we do: they loved music, art, reading, painting, architecture, writing, dancing, and all the myriad of little things that make us who we really are. Fortunately, there are works that stand out in how they portray history, such as Peter Jackson’s incredible documentary “They shall not grow old”. This should be mandatory viewing for all students of History.

Now imagine how fascinating it would be if universities had the resources to do what Peter Jackson did to every single film reel there is since cameras first came to be. Maybe one day, AI will develop to a point that it just might be able to do that on its own, even reading lips and generating sounds, cheapening the entire process and making these snippets come very much alive. I don’t think we’re very far off, but I’m going off track again. It’s all about trying to figure out how video games can provide a unique perspective on the past and inspire us to learn more. Here’s an excerpt from an article I wrote about that: “Academic William Uricchio, in 2005 asked an important question about the idea of video games as a new medium for simulating history: “What happens if we push the notion of mediation beyond language, to the domain of game, enactment, or simulation? Does this allow us to slip out of the well-critiqued trap of representation? And if so, where does it land us?” Opposed to books, movies, and even music, where the individual only stands as a mere observer, watching history unfold. In video games agency is given to the one playing it, he is not watching history, he is making it. History can now be rewritten, battles can have their outcomes completely changed and civilizations can have a totally different path of progressing history.”

“Of course, you can read an entire book about WW2 logistics and get to know how every little detail work but there’s nothing quite like launching a naval invasion and seeing your army cut off from being re-supplied because the left wing of your troops that were tasked with capturing the enemy’s ports was pushed back into the sea and how you have 20 divisions encircled and unsupplied being slowly withered away from attrition. Really makes you think, uh? Is it a historically correct fact? No. Is it a historically accurate problem that real-life commanders had to face? Definitely yes.”

That is why I believe video games can be excellent tools for teaching history, whether it’s the Middle Ages or any other period. When created with historical authenticity in mind, they force us to reflect on contexts that are unfamiliar and help us better understand why certain decisions were made by historical characters. They allow us to explore the dilemmas and problems of long-forgotten times and reflect on them. Games can be crucial in supplementing historical understanding in a way that other media, due to their lack of interactivity, cannot.

As an example, I recreated the Battle of Aljubarrota in Stronghold and allowed the artificial intelligence of the game to run and make its own decisions. Interestingly, it made the same decisions that occurred in real life. This can be attributed to a number of factors, and not just because art is imitating life to an uncanny degree- in fact, you can almost attribute it to the game’s own limitations and design decisions -totally outside of my control. This is something I’ll explore in part 3.

Of course, once a player takes control of a game it will immediately become a-historical. However, what’s most important is that rather than ensuring the accuracy of little details like the buckles on the soldiers’ armor are the correct shape and size (if they are, even better) is making sure that the systems governing the game allow the players the freedom they need in order to make decisions comparable to those of the historical figures they’re trying to emulate. Games must strike a balance between forcing the player into a rigidly realistic experience that takes away all agency, turning the game into an interactive movie, or offering freedom in excess that any semblance of Historical similarity just ceases to exist (say, what Paradox has been doing with some of their most recent titles). By the way, this isn’t something new I’m trying to postulate here. This has been happening for over 200 years since Krigsspeil was created and swiftly put to use to teach battlefield tactics. To this very day, wargaming plays a very important role in training and challenging military personnel to think about their decision-making – just take a look at these two articles from Mitch Reed from No Dice No Glory: The Operational Wargame Series: The best game not in stores now and A Night with Georgetown University Wargaming. As long as teachers and experts interacting with their students know and work around the limitations of the game’s design, things should go swimmingly.

Again, going off track! Where were we? Oh! Games that focus on the middle ages! Of course. There are 5 quintessential games that every digital constable should try once in their lives: Crusader Kings III, Age of Empires 2, Field of Glory II: Medieval, Stronghold (and Crusader), and Total War: Medieval II. All of these are relevant for different reasons, and they all differ wildly in the topics they cover. In part 1 I described Crusader Kings 3, and why it features here also is simple: it’s the only game (apart from its predecessor) that attempts to simulate the feudal relations in medieval Europe (and surrounding regions). Of course, given that it is a Paradox Interactive title, and if things go unchecked there’s a chance some wild stuff might start to happen, as Paradox’s games tend to get a bit… meme-ish from time to time. Age of Empires 2 is impossible to ignore, as it probably was the game that started the Medieval craze in the first place and is widely considered to be a masterpiece at this point in time. Is it realistic? Of course not. But it perfectly embodies the popular perception of what Medieval times were like if you printed the public imagination into a videogame format.

Field of Glory II: Medieval – This is the best medieval wargame of all time. Period. No other game offers so much in such, and demands of you so little, while at the same time giving you the freedom to create your scenarios with a very simple scenario editor. Cannot find the battle you wanted to play? No problem, just go ahead and create it. Stronghold (and Crusader) is almost a medieval city-sim with a focus on castle building and management, with a pinch of militarism. Last, but not least, Medieval: Total War is still a very nice entry and it’s almost unrivaled if you’re looking for the Hollywood spectacle of big battles while maintaining an interesting (but lackluster) strategic layer on top.

What’s the history behind Medieval: Total War?

The Total War franchise is an absolutely essential franchise when History and Video Games decide to join forces. Arguably, no other game has created as many amateur historians as this one, maybe except for Age of Empires II. In fact, Total War: Medieval II was not the first medieval focus game by The Creative Assembly, but the fourth! The first game was released in 2000 and was called Shogun: Total War, which, as the name suggests, took place during the Sengoku Jidai period. The same game engine was adapted two years later for the first Medieval: Total War.

What made the game so memorable was the well-conceived combination of two distinct game elements in the same digital space. There was a strategic aspect that was played on a political map of Europe (anachronisms aside, given that the game places the player at the head of countries that, in many cases, did not exist at the time), where the player acted as a statesman, drawing the broad strategic strokes of their nation, building armies, working on diplomacy, managing their economy, and improving their infrastructure. On the other hand, there was a more tactical aspect where the player occupied the position of a commander of an army on the battlefield, directing their troops from the front line. What was most impressive at the time, in 2002, was the number of “sprites” that the game engine could put into battle, exceeding thousands of units on the screen at the same time.

Two years passed, and in 2004, the game that truly popularized the series in the world of strategy video games and brought it to new audiences was released. Although the critical and commercial reception of the two previous games was positive, Rome Total War managed to sell more copies than the previous two games combined in the first few years after its release. Rome Total War maintained the same formula (Strategy on one side, Military Tactics on the other) but built on a new engine that allowed battles to take place with 3D models instead of using “sprites” (2D models that can be rotated to give the impression of being 3D). The increase in graphic fidelity, coupled with a set of structural changes in the strategic component of the game (now you can “manage” an influential family in the empire, engage in political intrigues, the map is no longer arbitrarily divided by regions, and is instead divided by political influence), added granularity to the gameplay that allowed players with aspirations of becoming the next Caesar to have a range of options and ways to do so that were never seen before.

The History Channel also partnered with Creative Assembly, resulting in an interesting “documentary” series called Decisive Battles, where they used Rome: Total War to “simulate” battles from antiquity.

In 2006, the famous Medieval II was released, to which so much is referred. In fact, Medieval II is just Rome: Total War with a medieval mask, as the Rome systems are fully replicated in Medieval. This could lead, as you can imagine, to some dissonance between historical reality and the game. Even so, the sheer spectacle of having thousand of units on screen and the possibility of living out every armchair general dream of commanding a large army was incentive enough to popularize the title.

The Total War franchise is still alive and very active to this day and has explored a range of scenarios that go well beyond the Middle Ages (historical: Total War: Empire; Total War: Napoleon; Shogun II; Rome II; Three Kingdoms. Fantasy: Troy, Warhammer I, Warhammer II, and Warhammer III).

The modding scene (player modifications on the game) is a thriving one in the Total War franchise. Since I already know that this conversation will always end up in medieval times, one of the best available mods is Medieval Kingdoms 1212.

The Total War franchise, along with Age of Empires, has proven that it’s possible to bring history to millions of people and inspired other game developers to do the same. It’s important to note that they were not the first games to do this. As far back as the 1980s, there were digital adaptations of classic board wargames inspired by Kriegsspiel. In the late 1980s, UMS, led by D. Ezra Sidran, sold 125,000 copies, indicating a substantial level of interest in these subjects. The 1990s were particularly fertile ground for this genre of games, with Gary Grigsby creating classics like Steel Panthers and Sid Meier with the Civilization series. Both series are still active today, with Gary Grigsby releasing War in the East 2 in 2021, an absolutely monumental game about Operation Barbarossa.

And that’s that for this one. In my next and final part, I’ll be going over why Military History is usually the basis for every other game out there and why Universities should be using games more often to teach their students.

Hope you’ve been enjoying it. If you have a different opinion or want to share something with me, comment down below!

Part 1.

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Games and teaching History. Is it possible?

In today’s world, video games play a crucial role in shaping how people perceive history. Games like Battlefield, the Total War series, and the Company of Heroes sell millions of copies each year, raising a couple of questions: What is the current state of history representation in video games, and is it okay to use games for teaching?

Video games have become the largest medium in the world, evolving from a hobby to a household name in entertainment. As an interactive medium, they have the power to engage and captivate audiences, redirecting their attention to worlds, cultures, ideas, eras, and problems in ways they might not otherwise experience. You already know that it is my personal opinion that this makes video games an ideal tool for teaching history, and for that, games have to respect the History they’re setting their games in.

Video games can make history stop being an abstraction and become a real-life interaction, puzzle, or problem to solve. This requires thought, skill, and cognitive abilities. By immersing players in different historical settings and situations, video games can teach players to think critically and develop problem-solving skills. In conclusion, video games are a powerful tool for learning about history. They have the ability to engage and captivate audiences, making history a real-life interaction to solve, rather than an abstract concept. As the largest medium in the world, video games have the potential to teach millions of people about different eras, cultures, and problems in a way that is both engaging and memorable.

Games offer a unique way for audiences to enter and engage with constructed historical worlds. As players, they become agents within the universe, interacting with its rules, dilemmas, and social and political fabric. Whether they take on the roles of kings, commanders, soldiers, merchants, or farmers, games immerse players in their universes and provide fertile ground for a new way of historical thinking based on interaction, action, reaction, and reflection.

Simulated historical settings, even if not entirely accurate, present themselves as based on history and offer a domain where audiences can engage with historically-based problem-solving skills. Players are faced with the same problems of the past, even if simplified and simulated, and are more prone to develop a better understanding of the course of history.

By immersing players in different historical settings and situations, games can teach players to think critically and develop problem-solving skills based on history. This unique interactive nature of gaming allows for a new way of historical thinking, based on action, reaction, and reflection.

In conclusion, games offer a unique opportunity for audiences to engage with historical worlds and develop problem-solving skills based on history as long as that’s their intent. As players become agents within the universe, they are more prone to develop a better understanding of the course of history. By immersing players in different historical settings and situations, games can create a new way of historical thinking, based on interaction, action, reaction, and reflection.

Would you say that video games have been striving to attain a more mature state? Any titles you would say were “game changers”?

Videogames are separated by “generations”, whose criteria have been ever-changing, but these days the innovation is so rapid, everything turned into a blur. Yesteryear, things were easier to compartmentalize: from 8-bit to 16-bit, the differences were clear and immediately noticeable upon booting up the game. The gameplay might have not changed a lot, but the graphical fidelity and sounds were substantially different. In the end, generations ended up following the releases of consoles that came to market around the same time, with no more than a couple of years difference between them. We have the PlayStation 1, Sega Saturn, and Nintendo 64. Then the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Sega Dreamcast, and the Nintendo Gamecube. After that came the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and the Nintendo Wii. So on and so on. Currently, we’re living in the 9th generation, and if we can all agree that gaming evolution happened in leaps during its early years, right now things are much harder to discern.

It’s hard to answer if video games have reached a more mature state without criteria. Are we talking about sales? If so, then games have long reached their maturity when they surpassed the sales of other entertainment industries in the early 2010s. Is it popular? Half of the world’s games (mobile included). Hardware accessibility? Computers and consoles were remarkably expensive twenty years ago and updates happened less frequently, nowadays we change phones every couple of years, upgrade our PCs whenever a new component comes out and use powerful tablets as portable toilet entertainers for a couple of minutes. Is that maturity found within artistic merit? It’s ever more frequent to have videogames exploring mature and previously untouchable content: from violence to love and everything else in between, videogames have been evolving at a very rapid pace. We sometimes forget that video games have been around for quite some time now, for nearly five decades, so if we’re going to compare them to other entertainment media, then things have been evolving at a much slower pace than they did with cinema, for example- The relationship between video games and art is a complex and fascinating one. Video games have often been dismissed as purely commercial products designed for entertainment, but over the years, they have increasingly been recognized as a legitimate form of artistic expression. What’s especially fantastic, is how video games are a unique art form by being a combination of different artistic mediums. Video games incorporate elements of visual art, music, storytelling, and game design to create immersive and interactive experiences that can be just as emotionally powerful as a film or a painting. As with any art form, video games can inspire powerful emotional responses in their audience. Players can become emotionally invested in the game’s characters, world, and story, and the interactivity of video games can create a unique sense of agency and immersion that other art forms can’t match. Overall, the relationship between video games and art is a fascinating and complex one that is still being explored and defined.

But I’m going on a tangent here, but the matter of the fact is that if you ask one thousand people this question, you would get one thousand different answers. So, for me, personally, maturity happened with the advent of eponymous and ubiquitous characters that permeated the public’s imaginarium: Super Mario, Pac-Man, Sonic The Hedgehog and so many others. But I’m sure others would consider some very important landmarks to be the defining moments when video games transition from being just a novelty to a mainstay in popular culture and entertainment. 3D, especially, changed everything, freed game developers from the constraints of 2D design, and opened a lot of doors to create more involved and complex experiences. Me, personally, I would also consider that transition to be fundamental. Same thing with multitrack recording for songs, or the possibility to take color photographs. This is all very fascinating stuff we could spend days and weeks talking about.

I would like to elaborate on what games I think were game-changers in the way people look at the relationship between video games and history. While they’ve been intricately linked since the early days of gaming, some games do stand taller than others. Now, things can get a bit murky here, because this was hardly a reason for academic concern when the first historical games came out. There are some obscure games that should be on this list, but probably won’t, and the matter of fact is, that more mainstream games that might not focus much on historical realism did to bring people into History than more realistic games ever did, just by sheer force of their appeal. So while it would nice of me to place games like UMS, Gary Grigsby titles, and John Tiller here, it just isn’t true. Instead, games like Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, Age of Empires II, Call of Duty, Brothers in Arms, Victoria, Europa Universalis, Battlefield, and Total War would be a better fit. I will go in-depth into some of these in due time. This is a very interesting topic because a lot of the player base is extremely sensitive to this. If a game that’s leaning on History goes a bit off track, the developing team gets called out. Things in gaming have been a bit heated for the last half a decade or so- for reasons I don’t know, nor do I care to, but game series like Battlefield and Call of Duty have been constantly on the receiving end of bitter reactions from the player base when they mistreat the historical reality in order to fit a particular narrative.

Are there games that portray history in a realistic way?

Without a doubt, the answer is a resounding “yes.” While some games have successfully broken through to the mainstream audience, there are countless others that do an even better job of portraying history as a tangible and less abstract reality. These lesser-known games also pique interest in deeper exploration, making them just as worthy of recognition. I’ll explore a list of comparable games that strike an intriguing balance between realism (or “authenticity,” as I prefer to call it) and accessible gameplay. Let’s do this in chronological order and list some of my favorites:

Field of Glory II and Pike and Shot (oh! and Sengoku Jidai) are turn-based strategy games built on the same engine and by the same developer. Based on the tabletop wargame Field of Glory, these games feature meticulously recreated armies ranging from Alexander the Great to the early Crusades. Pike and Shot, as the name suggests, focuses on the impact that Tercios formations had in 16th-century Europe, and even includes the Battle of Alcácer Quibir. With endless army lists, these games are essential for anyone interested in historical battles and wargaming.

Crusader Kings II and III – It’s very rare that someone that enjoys this kind of game hasn’t heard about this title. Far from being one of Paradox’s sole success stories, it definitely helped put the middle ages on the map and bring a lot more people into the age of medievo. Crusader Kings is a political simulator that has you taking control of a single person (as long as it’s a member of a noble family, and it doesn’t matter how high or low-born this character is, as long as they have land, you can play them. This a game that contemplates nearly all aspects of political life – court intrigues, arranged marriages, power struggles, sabotage, poisoning, assassinations, and dungeon-keeping. If you can scheme it, the game probably has it in-store waiting for it to be used. CKII is about reading the political implications of your actions and thinking a couple of generations ahead. Power moves don’t always entail raising your levies and marching into the nearby counties, instead, it is better to patiently wait- or accelerate the untimely demise of a court power player before making such a drastic move and wait for their house to weaken and losing favor in court before committing to such an act. Sending gifts and bribes can go a long way to secure loyalties and conspiracy partners. Money and influence can also assure your line finds a suitable party to marry that benefits both your families.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance is set in the 15th century Bohemia (and it’s meticulously recreated), and it is a story-driven open-world RPG that tries its best to immerse players in its medieval times. It’s excessively preoccupied with small day-to-day details and it features a sickening realistic combat system that hasn’t been replicated elsewhere. If you’re one of those that always wanted to know what it was like to live under the guise of the Holy Roman Empire, then this is the game for you. It’s very recent, it has gotten a lot better since it was first released five years ago. It’s a worthy recommendation.

Scourge of War: Waterloo – Few video games can impress with their scale, scope, attention to detail, and historical accuracy like Scourge of War: Waterloo. This 1:1 representation of the Battle of Waterloo (including Quatre Brás and Ligny with their expansions) redefines the meaning of realism. Each regiment in the battle has been meticulously researched, with uniforms recreated down to the belt buckles, officers’ names and ranks, number of troops present during the battle, and types of weapons used. The game also features a real-time messaging/ordering system, forcing players to anticipate enemy movements hours in advance. Unlike in Total War, players must delegate orders to subordinates, who then delegate to their own subordinates, adhering to established military procedures until the order is executed. Scourge of War is essential for anyone interested in understanding the dimension and complexity of managing an army of tens of thousands of people, sometimes separated by several kilometers. Unfortunately, you cannot buy this game anymore (temporarily), so if you don’t own it… yeah.

Close Combat series – a real-time strategy game set during World War II that focuses on the crucial concept of ‘combat morale.’ By striving to materialize this often-overlooked aspect, the game brings to light the complexity of soldiers as individuals with their own will and personality, rather than mere pawns following orders. To achieve this level of authenticity, the Close Combat team consulted with numerous experts to create a model that simulates soldiers’ mental states. Though this approach has its limitations, it marks an impressive step towards a more realistic gaming experience.

Combat Mission series -, a collection of real-time strategy games that delve into modern-day conflicts (as well as some set during World War II). Like the Close Combat series, Combat Mission partnered with the United States Army to develop proprietary simulations aimed at training officers. This collaboration highlights the games’ commitment to authenticity and accuracy, making them a valuable tool for military education and strategic thinking. It’s 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.

Graviteam Tactics: Mius Front – Mius Front is the ultimate World War II tactical experience with a 1:1 scale. No game does it better, not even Combat Mission. Each new DLC brings a quality and sheer amount of small details, including meticulously recreated orders of battles, dozens of square miles of new locations to fight on, and 3D models that can impress even the pickiest of wargamers. Its battles are disturbingly realistic, working as a perfect Swiss clock with all the small pieces coming together to a perfect cadence. It’s the most authentic depiction of World War II to ever grace monitor screens. While it lacks comprehensive tutorials and an easy-to-understand UI, the tactical game goodness beyond the learning curve is worth the effort. If you are a fan of the Eastern Front and specific operations, Graviteam Tactics: Mius Front is the game for you.

Age of Empires IV – This is a real-time strategy game that while its gameplay is far too arcadey to be considered something realistic, goes out of its way to try and teach real history to its audience. Every campaign mission is properly contextualized. These “Campaign Historical Lessons” go on for nearly one hour and a half (longer than some proper documentaries), from the construction of Guédelon Castle in France, the use of Norman crossbows, and the introduction of gunpowder. It’s just public service done right, and you can find it pretty easily on Youtube. And this isn’t something half-assed, no. It’s high-quality, expertly-produced content.

There are so many games that do justice to History nowadays it’s going to be hard to list them all, so I would advise you to check out these articles:

The Ultimate List Of The BEST World War II Games Of All Time

The Ultimate List Of The BEST Medieval Games Of All Time

Other titles could be Sid Meyer’s Gettysburg, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault, Gary Grigsby: War In The East 2, UBOAT, Ultimate General: Civil War, Grand Tactician: The Civil War (1861-1865), Brothers in Arms Series, Hell Let Loose, Cauldrons of War, Second Front, WarPlan, Attack At Dawn: North Africa and if you’re imaginative and knowledgeable enough, even Arma III, so many others. Maybe one day I’ll do a massive list comprising every single game.

Part 2.

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If you’ve never watched that clown fiesta of a trailer, you should really enjoy it while you can, because things are about to go from bad to worst. The player’s dislike soon reached EA executives. EA’s Chief Design Officer, Patrick Soderlund, and in one of the most tone-dead responses I have a memory of, decided to call players “uneducated” and go on a tirade, saying that “Battlefield 5 is a lot about the unseen, the untold, the unplayed”, and then defending its product with the typical “this is a game”. So, which is it, Patrick? A game about the untold stories of those who fought and died in the war? Or is this “just a game, bro”? You can’t have and eat both cakes. If it’s about telling less-known stories, then please, go ahead and do it, I’m sure people would appreciate and love it. But don’t put lipstick on the pig and when you don’t like the criticism just deflect it to “it’s a game, dude”. If it is just a game, then why does every mission end with a historically accurate message about the events of the war, you dummy? Oh, more on that later, believe that.

The gentleman went on to make an ultimatum to the player base of “either accept it or don’t buy the game. I’m fine with either.” The community clearly wasn’t fine with that answer, same with the rest of the EA board, with the reasons soon to become apparent. After Battlefield V failed to perform and sold fewer than half of the copies Battlefield 1 managed to in the same period, EA CEO Andrew Wilson acknowledged that BF5 bombed and failed to meet sales expectations, laying the blame on the marketing team and its subpar single-player campaign. Prior to the game’s release, Patrick decided to “voluntarily” leave the company, after defending it tooth and nail and after a 20 year-long-stay in EA and was totally not fired for the comments he made prior to the game’s release. Videogaming journalists, whose profession is almost synonymous with that of a clown these days, jumped at the opportunity to defend a multibillion-dollar company from the hordes of “uneducated gamers” by debunking Twitter posts and insulting people, instead of rubbing two brain cells together and realizing that few corporations have their moral compass set straight, and if decisions like these are made, it’s because they believe there was money to be had. This, however, was but a mere introduction. I’m not here to discuss the trailer, I don’t really think it’s all that bad or egregious. It’s just high-octane action, poorly contextualized, and if we’re to judge a game solely on that, then a lot of great games wouldn’t have had their opportunities, due to them having terrible trailers too.

Now, allow me to illuminate some Battlefield executives as to what is the role of a historian. You see, despite what Twitter blue checkmarks and poorly educated videogame journalists might tell, the job of a Historian is NOT to preach some message they – or their sycophants- consider to be the right one, for they’re neither the owners of history nor the paragon of virtue. Imagine that. Now that this earth-shattering revelation is upon us, what is this job? The job of a Historian is to act as this sort of translator, bridging the gaps between what is and what was, based on their knowledge of the past, and should strive to always base this knowledge of History on serious and solid historical sources (as to what those are might vary from time period to time period, and from different locations and cultures). However, in the same way, there can be terrible translations for books, the same thing might happen with History when people who aren’t talented, smart, and knowledgeable enough to do the job properly. The ambiguous nature of this field of work has been kidnapped by those willing to craft a narrative that might suit their ideals. The sheer hubris of even attempting to twist and contort history to fit your idea of idyllic reality is something that leaves the mind boggled and bamboozled. Worst of all, is that the team behind Battlefield V was intentionally painting a lie as a historical reality and that’s something I cannot abide by.

The campaigns are structured around short war stories, which is a way of escaping your way out of writing something interesting and coherent, and it comes off as extremely lazy. These war stories have the player filling in the boots of half a dozen or so unhistorical characters, somewhat based on other, more interesting real-life counterparts. As to why the untalented bunch of cardboard cut-outs masquerading as a writing team decided to do this, I assume it all comes down to the basic appanage of “a character is only as intelligent and smart as the people writing it”. The only less-than-awful tales are the Tirailleur and Under No Flag, but even these flop under the weight of terrible mission design and an overwhelming amount of bugs and glitches. The first of these, who’s most similar to the prologue of Battlefield 1 puts players in the boots of the Senegalese Tirailleurs, fighting against the German Fallschirmjäger in southern France. And what sounds interesting right from the get-go, is that in the paper you would take the place of the ill-equipped, poorly trained underdog against one of the mythical units of the German Army just ends up falling flat that could culminate in a story arc where courage, cunning, and sacrifice made the difference, what you end up doing is playing German wack-a-mole, as they spawn-endlessly until certain checkpoints are reached, making each shot you take, and every soldier who dies count for nothing because they just keep showing up out of the ether. The small scope of the fight and the missions you take place in also don’t lend themselves to the high-stakes emotional story the game is trying to tell. You don’t end up feeling like a Tiraailleur. If the roles were reversed, the missions could play exactly the same, in their poorly designed way. When Call of Duty first came out in 2003, it had the “No Man Fought Alone” – or something along those lines- catchphrase (a jab at the games of its time, mainly Medal of Honor), it implemented that idea in an almost flawless way: soldiers had names and ranks, they cooperated with each other (and the player), was vulnerable and if they died, things got a little tougher, but most importantly, most of the time it would feel like you were fighting in a living, breathing battle. Battlefield V instead, believes that fighting with camaraderie is just having other people hanging around, with no rhyme nor reason, other than atmospheric, cinematic action. It’s just flat. I won’t even get on the discussion about the representation of Women in World War II, because Medal of Honor: Underground already did that with Manon Baptiste, two decades prior. But instead of acting so sanctimonious about doing things no one ever did before (even though they did), at least have the courage of challenging players and have them play as the famous Russian snipers or fanatical members of the Vulksturm. Heck, what about the story of Mariya Vasilyevna Oktyabrskaya? This badass lass bought a tank to avenge her dead husband, got into several tank battles, and was famous for going outside the “Fighting Girlfriend” to perform repairs under heavy fire. And she’s but one example. Or a resistance fighter, like MoH, did? Don’t be lazy, History is always more interesting than fiction. The mission of these writers wasn’t to glorify the roles of men and women who fought bravely together against the odious apparatus of nazi rule but to reframe history to fit their modern sensibilities and what they believe to be morally correct. And this kind of historical misrepresentation can be extremely damaging to the public perception of history, and the last thing to happen is for everyone to start normalizing these things again.

Now, the meat and potatoes that single-handedly motivated me to write this article alone: The Last Panzer. In a game so sanctimoniously woke in its message, it’s amazing the number of mental gymnastics someone went through in order to justify a change of heart of a battle-hardened, seasoned tank commander when faced with their inevitable defeat. Explain to me how am I supposed to feel bad for someone who rampages through (literally) dozens of allied tanks and soldiers, and only when faced with a certain end, and the death of a crew member, does he decide to surrender, and the team pins the blame of fanaticism on a kid. Only to end the mission with a black-and-white screen, somehow making everything that happened before morally correct. When things should probably be the other way around: there are no excuses for what Germany did during the war, and if everything, fanaticism didn’t come from children forced to fight, but from the seasoned veterans that led them into battle to the bitter end. Of course, wehraboos jumped at the opportunity to see their fantasies of “not all soldiers were nazis” validated. Anyone with a glimpse of critical thinking should know better. And if your level of ignorance still has you shouting things like “but the german people didn’t know”, I can assure you they did. To the point where almost every newspaper (national and regional) in Europe, prior(!) to the war was already reporting on the terrible things the Jewish population was suffering under the nazi regime. How a game manages to try to be so woke, and for some unknown reason still goes out of its way to justify nazi actions is beyond me. The level of disconnect is astonishing. Who thinks of this shit? And of course, the usual crowd of “but this is a game, it’s supposed to be fictional”, then why does every mission end with some moral lesson about real people, that suffer real traumas, in a real conflict? At least, Battlefield 1 War Stories focused on the radical change in the nature of warfare and managed to capture that in a solid manner.

The dump of this unhistorical shitfest goes deeper than I am willing to go, and this article is pissing me off a lot just by creating it. Shu, don’t play this, instead, go play Hell Let Loose.

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Hello

Hello! How can I help you today?

Can you write me an essay about Wargaming, please?

Wargaming refers to the use of simulations or reenactments of historical or hypothetical military battles and campaigns, often using miniatures, board games, or video games. The aim of wargaming is to recreate and study different aspects of military strategy, tactics, and operations, as well as to develop and test different scenarios and what-if scenarios.

Wargaming has a long history, dating back to ancient civilizations where military leaders used to simulate battles with wooden or stone pieces. In the 19th and 20th centuries, wargaming became increasingly popular and sophisticated, with the development of new technologies and the rise of military science and strategy as an academic discipline. Today, wargaming is widely used by military organizations, think tanks, and universities around the world for research, education, and training purposes.

Wargaming can be conducted at different levels of complexity and realism, depending on the goals and resources of the participants. Some wargames are simple and abstract, while others are highly detailed and realistic, using complex models and simulations to represent various factors, such as terrain, weather, logistics, intelligence, and psychology. Wargaming can also be conducted in different formats, including tabletop wargames, computer wargames, live-action wargames, and virtual wargames.

One of the key benefits of wargaming is that it provides a safe and controlled environment for studying and testing military scenarios and concepts. Wargaming allows military leaders, researchers, and students to experiment with different strategies and tactics, and to learn from their mistakes and successes in a simulated environment. Wargaming also enables participants to explore different historical and hypothetical situations, and to gain a deeper understanding of the complexities and uncertainties of war and military operations.

In conclusion, wargaming is an important tool for studying and understanding military history, strategy, and tactics. Wargaming provides a safe and controlled environment for exploring different scenarios and concepts, and for testing and refining military strategies and tactics. Whether conducted as a hobby, for research, or for training, wargaming remains an important part of military culture and a valuable tool for anyone interested in the study of war and military operations.

What is the most played wargame in the world?

It is difficult to determine the most played wargame in the world as it depends on various factors such as the definition of a “wargame,” the criteria for measuring “most played,” and the availability and popularity of wargames in different regions. However, some wargames have gained worldwide recognition and have a large following, such as:

• Chess: One of the oldest and most popular strategy games in the world, chess is often considered a classic wargame due to its emphasis on strategy and tactics.
• Risk: A classic board game that simulates global conquest, Risk has been popular for decades and is widely considered one of the best wargames.
• Axis and Allies: Another classic board game that simulates World War II, Axis and Allies is known for its deep strategy and engaging gameplay.
• Hearts of Iron IV: A popular video game that simulates World War II and allows players to control and lead a country through the war.

These are just a few examples, and there are many other wargames that are widely played and enjoyed around the world.

What other wargames are you talking about?

There are many other wargames in addition to the ones mentioned in my previous answer. Some examples include:

• Civilization: A popular video game series that allows players to build and lead a civilization from ancient times to the modern era.
• Total War: A series of video games that simulate historical wars and battles, with a focus on both tactical and strategic elements.
• Advance Wars: A popular turn-based tactics video game that simulates modern warfare.
• Fields of Glory: A tabletop wargame that simulates ancient and medieval battles, using miniatures and a simple yet challenging rule set.
• Command & Conquer: A series of video games that simulate modern and futuristic wars, with a focus on fast-paced action and strategic decisions.

These are just a few examples of the many wargames available for play. There are many more, each with its own unique style, setting, and mechanics.

What about Microprose’s latest videogame, Second Front?

I’m sorry, but I’m not aware of a Microprose video game called “Second Front” that was released recently. Microprose is a well-known video game development company, but my training data only goes up until 2021 and I don’t have information about a “Second Front” game. It’s possible that this game was released after my training data cut off or that it was cancelled.

You’re right. What do you know about Microprose?

MicroProse was a video game development company that was founded in 1982. It was one of the pioneering companies in the computer gaming industry, and was known for its high-quality, realistic simulations and strategy games. Some of MicroProse’s most famous and popular games include:

• Civilization: A turn-based strategy game that allows players to build and lead a civilization from ancient times to the modern era.
• X-COM: UFO Defense: A science fiction tactical strategy game that tasks players with defending Earth from alien invasions.
• Gunship: A simulation of helicopter combat that was one of the first realistic simulations of its kind.
• Grand Prix Circuit: A racing simulation game that was widely praised for its realistic physics and gameplay.

MicroProse was one of the most influential and respected video game development companies of its time, and its games continue to be popular and widely played to this day. However, the company went through several ownership changes and was eventually acquired and merged into other companies, so it is no longer an independent entity. Nevertheless, the legacy of MicroProse and its impact on the gaming industry continues to be felt today.

What is the difference between strategical, tactical and operational levels?

Strategic, tactical, and operational levels are different levels of planning and decision-making in military and business contexts. They are used to describe the scope and focus of a particular plan or decision and help to ensure that different aspects of a situation are considered and addressed.

1. Strategic level: This level focuses on the long-term goals and objectives of an organization or military force. It deals with the overall direction and strategy of an organization, and considers factors such as resource allocation, long-term planning, and overall goals and objectives.
2. Tactical level: This level focuses on the immediate, short-term actions necessary to achieve the goals and objectives set at the strategic level. It deals with the planning and execution of specific missions, operations, and battles, and considers factors such as tactics, resource allocation, and logistics.
3. Operational level: This level bridges the gap between the strategic and tactical levels, and focuses on the coordination and implementation of plans and decisions made at both levels. It deals with the day-to-day operations of an organization, and considers factors such as resource allocation, logistics, and coordination with other units and organizations.

Each level of planning is important and plays a critical role in achieving the goals and objectives of an organization or military force. The distinction between the levels helps to ensure that different aspects of a situation are considered and addressed, and helps to ensure that plans are comprehensive, effective, and achieve their intended goals.

Why use those three distinctions and not four or five?

The distinction between strategic, tactical, and operational levels is widely used in military and business contexts because it provides a useful framework for thinking about and addressing different aspects of a situation. However, the exact number of levels and their definitions can vary depending on the context and the organization.

Three levels are often used because they provide a simple and straightforward framework that is easy to understand and apply. The strategic level deals with overall goals and objectives, the tactical level deals with immediate actions necessary to achieve those goals, and the operational level deals with the coordination and implementation of plans and decisions.

It is possible to use more levels, but the three-level framework is sufficient for most purposes and provides a good balance between detail and simplicity. Additional levels may be added in specific cases where more detail or precision is needed, but this can also make the framework more complex and difficult to understand and use. Ultimately, the choice of how many levels to use will depend on the specific needs and goals of the organization or situation.

Let’s say you’re a captain in the military, at what level do you operate?

As a captain in the military, you would typically operate at the operational level. Captains are typically responsible for leading smaller units or sub-units, and their focus is on the day-to-day operations and execution of plans and decisions made at higher levels.

At the operational level, captains are responsible for coordinating and directing the activities of their subordinates, ensuring that resources are effectively used, and communicating with higher-level officers to ensure that the goals and objectives of the unit are achieved. They also play a key role in implementing tactical plans and making decisions in the field.

While captains may also be involved in the development of tactical plans, their primary focus is on the effective execution of those plans and the coordination of activities within their unit. The distinction between operational and tactical levels is not always clear cut, and officers at different levels may be involved in both levels of planning and decision-making, but the operational level is generally considered to be the primary focus for captains.

What games better emulate the experience of being a captain?

There are several video games that aim to emulate the experience of being a captain in the military. Some of these games focus on strategy and command, while others focus on action and combat. Here are a few examples:

1. Steel Panthers: A series of turn-based strategy games that simulate armored warfare from World War II to the modern era. Players take on the role of a commander and must plan and execute battles, manage resources, and make decisions on the battlefield.
2. Commandos: A series of real-time tactics games that place players in command of a team of elite soldiers during World War II. Players must plan and execute missions, making use of the unique skills and abilities of their squad members to achieve their goals.
3. Hearts of Iron IV: A grand strategy game that allows players to take control of any country during World War II and guide it through the conflict. Players must manage their nation’s military, economy, diplomacy, and other aspects of governance in order to achieve their goals.
4. IL-2 Sturmovik: A flight simulation game that allows players to take control of aircraft from World War II and participate in dogfights, bombing raids, and other aerial missions.

These games are not necessarily realistic representations of military operations, but they do offer players the opportunity to experience the challenges and responsibilities of being a commander or captain in the military. They provide a challenging and engaging experience that can give players a sense of what it is like to be in charge of a military unit and make decisions on the battlefield.

What are the best games for the post-World War 2 era?

Here are some of the best video games set in the post-World War II era:

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops – A first-person shooter set during the Cold War that features a mix of historical events and fictional scenarios.
2. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands – A tactical shooter set in Bolivia that allows players to complete missions as a member of an elite special forces unit.
3. Mafia – A third-person action game that takes place in a fictionalized version of organized crime-riddled cities in the mid-20th century.
4. Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain – An action-adventure stealth game set in the 1980s that features players taking on the role of a special forces operative.
5. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood – An action-adventure game set in Renaissance Italy that features players taking on the role of an assassin fighting against the Templars.
6. Bioshock – A first-person shooter set in an alternate history in the 1960s that features players exploring a mysterious underwater city.

These games offer a variety of experiences and gameplay styles, from tactical shooters to action-adventure games, and are set in a rich and fascinating historical period. They provide a mix of real-world events and fiction, allowing players to experience the challenges and excitement of the post-World War II era in unique and engaging ways.

At this moment Chat GPT started to drool and stopped working right after this answer, which is just absolute gold. We can probably attribute that to the fact that it decided it was a good idea to list Call of Duty: Black Ops as one of the best games for the post-World War 2 era. So I decided it was best to let it rest.

I turned it back to let it write me an SEO article describing itself because if I’m going to try something this stupid, might as well take some advantage of it. This is what it came up with:

“Unlocking the Power of AI: Understanding OpenAI’s ChatGPT Technology”

Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the way we live, work, and interact with technology. One of the latest breakthroughs in AI is OpenAI’s language model ChatGPT, a cutting-edge technology that has the ability to understand and generate human-like text.

ChatGPT is a transformer-based language model that was trained on a diverse range of internet text, making it capable of generating coherent and meaningful responses to a wide variety of prompts. This technology can be used for a range of applications, including chatbots, customer service, language translation, and content generation.

One of the key benefits of ChatGPT is its ability to handle tasks that were previously the exclusive domain of human experts. For example, it can be trained to answer questions, summarize articles, and even create original content, making it an incredibly valuable tool for businesses and individuals alike.

Another benefit of ChatGPT is its ease of use. The technology is built on the popular and widely used programming language Python, making it accessible to developers and researchers from a variety of backgrounds. Furthermore, OpenAI provides a number of pre-trained models that can be fine-tuned to specific use cases, reducing the time and resources needed to build a custom AI solution from scratch.

In addition to its versatility and ease of use, ChatGPT is also highly scalable, allowing users to easily train models on large datasets and leverage powerful hardware for improved performance. This makes it a powerful solution for businesses that need to process large amounts of data and generate human-like responses in real-time.

Overall, ChatGPT is a groundbreaking technology that has the potential to transform the way we interact with AI. Whether you’re a business looking to improve customer service, or an individual interested in exploring the potential of AI, ChatGPT is a technology worth paying attention to.

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Strategy and Wargaming needs you to follow its socials. Are we the best strategy gaming website around? I would say so. Heck, what other options do you have? The Wargamer? Please.

So why not give us a follow on the cesspool that is Twitter, or join the 1000 other geriatric patients on Facebook? Or subscribe down below? Or maybe do everything? I don’t care, I’m not your grandmother.

If you enjoyed the article, consider buying me a coffee!

I’ve been running Strategy and Wargaming at my own expense since 2017, with only the ad revenue to cover the hosting, with everything else being done by me. So, if you’re an avid reader, you can afford it, and want to support the website, please consider Buying Me a Coffee by clicking this link, for as low as one euro! If you do, just know that you’re helping out a lot and contributing so that Strategy and Wargaming can continue growing!

Let’s get the formalities out of the way, shall we? So, who am I? Am I an actual stormtrooper and that’s why all my reviews miss their due date? Or am I just another Tim Stone bootleg? While you could answer both questions with “yes” and I wouldn’t be mad… I am in fact neither. My name is Nuno and I’m from Portugal (no, not a province of Spain). Born by the ocean 31 years ago, I’ve lived all my life here and have little intention of going elsewhere. The cold mornings and foggy nights of Porto are a sight seldom seen anywhere else in the world and provide the perfect atmosphere for house-dwelling wargamers and book-guzzling historians. As for my day-to-day job I work as a communications manager in one of the world’s largest retail companies and that’s how I can manage to sustain Strategy and Wargaming absolutely for free for everyone to enjoy.

With the boring stuff out of the way, how did I stumble into wargaming? I kid you not when I’m saying the first PC game I’ve ever played was Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings– The 1999 Ensemble Studios classic came to my Pentium 4 supercomputer well into the early 2000s and as with many others it was love at first sight, for the game and most importantly, for History. I sincerely believe video games can have a massive influence on your upbringing, same as books, movies or music, or any other kind of entertainment- “These are milestones for people, they use them to live with”, said Mark Knopfler, my favorite songwriter, and guitarist.

Age of Empires II might have sparked my interest in history but the truly pivotal moment in my life came around 2002 or 2003, my father gifted me a copy of Medal of Honor: Allied Assault for my birthday, and I was absolutely hooked on the point of obsession. Soon, 12-year-old me was munching all World War II books he could find, buying all copies of national geographic and plundering local libraries for every bite of information on the conflict. It’s fair to say this healthy obsession continues to this day. Other important games during my “formation” years were Red Alert 2, an RTS classic that’s in dire need of remastering; Rome: Total War came at a moment in time when the History Channel was exploding in popularity and I fondly remember sitting by the computer every Friday and boot up another new game of Rome while listening to the latest episode of Modern Marvels on the Atlantic Wall. Firefly Stronghold and Stronghold Crusader showed me how RTS games can break away from the formula popularized by Age of Empires and go more in-depth in some aspects (castle building, defensive structures, economic system granularity). Other than World War II: Frontline Command, by the time Company of Heroes arrived in 2006 (I’ve only played it in 2007), the real-time-strategy genre was mostly dead: things have grown stale and innovation ground to a halt, with CoH marking the last rebel yell of a generation. The dominion of consoles had begun with the unparalleled success of the Playstation 2, so naturally, all eyes were on the new generation of consoles, the PS3 and Xbox. Reluctantly, I mostly abandoned all pc gaming by 2008 and it wouldn’t be until my first year of University that my interest was rekindled.

From 2011 or 2016, I went on to study History and Teaching at the University of Porto (eventually finishing with a master’s degree in digital communication). It was during my major that I leaned more into medieval military history and medieval institutions and law and ended up specializing in those subjects by the time I was done, so if you’re wondering where did most of my ramblings come from when I’m reviewing medieval games… Also, being surrounded by other people with the same interests as myself eventually led to me getting to know other games I had missed as a child and going back to try them out, mainly the Europa Universalis and Hearts of Iron franchises. In 2014 I started studying digital communication and had a brief stint (not even a year) as a journalist before starting my professional career in management and communication, something I continue to do to this day. Coincidentally, those 5 years at University are also the same time period that marks the resurgence of PC gaming with Steam’s increasing popularity.

The widespread usage of the internet and the advent of Youtube as an entertainment platform were instrumental in opening new horizons and it was during 2013 or 2014 that I came in contact with my first true wargame writer, Tim Stone, at the time writing The Flare Path for Rock Paper Shotgun. I can’t remember which game was my “first” wargame but I would dare say Hearts of Iron III and I’m not going to lie, I struggled to play that, eventually giving up on it because it was too complex (now it’s easy to see I just lacked understanding on the basic principles that guided the game in the first place and after dabbing in way more complex wargames, its a funny thing to look back at). So yeah, after reading Tim’s column I got to know a couple of games that served as an entryway: Battle Academy and Battle Academy 2 and Combat Mission Battle for Normandy. The rest, as they say, is History.

How did Strategy and Wargaming come to be, you ask? Oh. You don’t? But I’ll tell you anyway. Inspired by many of those that studied alongside me to use my knowledge of video games to explore history through a different pair of lenses. My first attempts came in 2015 and I created OneHexAway in 2017 during a small medical leave after severely injuring my knee. Curiously, my first review on the website was of Hearts of Iron IV and a review of Steel Division: Normandy 44. I had about 300 views in the first year, quite disheartening. In 2021 I decided to change the name of the website from OneHexAway.com to Strategy and Wargaming in order to reflect what it’s all about and because, in all honesty, it’s way easier for people to get here. I loved the name of OneHex but a sacrifice was needed for the SEO Gods and they heard me calling them. In 2021 Strategy and Wargaming exploded in views and popularity, now reaching the thousands of views per month after a couple of years of barely surviving. As of 2022, Strategy and Wargaming is well on the way to double the number of views from 2021, and my goal for 2023 is to reach 100.000 monthly views.

Is Strategy and Wargaming a fruitful venture? Of course not! I’m fortunate enough to have a job that allows me enough financial stability to host the website and work on it during my weekends. The ads displayed are barely enough to cover the costs of the domain, much less to support a profitable and sustainable business. To thank for the success of Strategy and Wargaming are also the countless number of companies that provide me with review keys free of charge, I have to rank Slitherine atop all the others as they were the first to support me. Now I’m at the point where I’m getting a lot of games to review it’s almost impossible to get to them all. It’s obvious I’m not aligned with any company and my opinions are mine alone.

What does the future hold?

I think I can safely let everyone know right now that I’m currently working on a digital magazine that’s going to be completely free that’s supposed to feature exclusive and in-depth content (longer interviews, more focused reviews, and a pinch of academia sprinkled in for good measure) and have a clean and modern design, a total of 60 pages dedicated to the genres of Strategy and Wargaming. If you’re wondering how do I plan to sustain this? Well, instead of begging everyone for a “couple of coffees” I would rather sell full-page advertisements to publishing companies. If this ever comes to be, the money will be reinvested into paying other writers, instead of having me write everything all the time. We’ll see about this one in the following months.

During my interviews with other people from the industry, I always bring them up against a firing squad of questions and usually end up the whole affair by asking what games they would take into a desert island, so it’s only fair I face the same fate.

• ARMA 3 – The sheer amount of content and mods the third iteration of ARMA has on display would be enough to keep me entertained to the end of my days, this paired up with a very robust real-time editor would be distraction enough to keep hunger and despair at bay.
• Gary Grigsby War In The East 2 – The magnum opus of the eponymous game designer is not only a vast and ocean-deep war(video)game but also a learning tool as every time I’m brave enough to boot it up I end up learning something new about the Eastern Front.
• Cities Skylines – The best city management sim of all time is also chock full to the brim with content and mods that would be enough to ensure entertainment during the harsh nights of the Pacific.
• XCOM (2011) – The best turn-based-tactics game of all time and one of my favorite games ever.
• Mini Motorways is my current go-to comfort game.
• Field of Glory II: Medieval – It’s my favorite medieval game of all time and the amount of content it has could keep me busy for decades trying out new tactics, armies, and tactical situations.

Of course, normal people don’t play a single genre of game to exhaustion so there are a couple of genres I dab with, but primarily I don’t stray too far from the crowd when it comes to these. If not planning another invasion of the Soviet Union you can find me in Hell Let Loose and Rainbow Six-Siege lobbies with my friends. I also dab in a lot of simulation and management.

Offline, you’ll find me collecting Star Wars Black Series and, most recently, Lego.

Before I get emails asking what kind of keyboards I’m using here we go:

On the top is a GMMK Pro with holy panda switches and GMMK grey keycaps set for that pure thocky sound.

On the bottom is a Miya Pro 69 with a mix of keycaps from the Miya and a Traitor Ukiyo-E with red linear switches for that fantastic marbly sound.

Thanks a lot and if you have any questions, let me know!

Follow Strategy and Wargaming Socials

Strategy and Wargaming needs you to follow its socials. Are we the best strategy gaming website around? I would say so. Heck, what other options do you have? The Wargamer? Please.

So why not give us a follow on the cesspool that is Twitter, or join the 1000 other geriatric patients on Facebook? Or subscribe down below? Or maybe do everything? I don’t care, I’m not your grandmother.

If you enjoyed the article, consider buying me a coffee!

I’ve been running Strategy and Wargaming at my own expense since 2017, with only the ad revenue to cover the hosting, with everything else being done by me. So, if you’re an avid reader, you can afford it, and want to support the website, please consider Buying Me a Coffee by clicking this link, for as low as one euro! If you do, just know that you’re helping out a lot and contributing so that Strategy and Wargaming can continue growing!

Last year, I outlined my strategy for-the website- then, OneHexAway- on 4 main pillars – More regular posting; Weekly News Column; History related content; Positivity; Partnerships. It’s fair to say that all but for “History related content” were achieved. If you’re wondering why there wasn’t a lot more historical content on the website, there are two reasons for that.

• The first one being that nearly all the posts and reviews already contain some sort of light, historical context, because I’m one of those people that when they start playing a game on a setting they’re not used to, will go on long reading sprees about the subjects, an eventually, some of that new knowledge will drip into what I write. This is most obviously observed in Strategy and Wargaming’s’ reviews.
• The second is that these kind of articles have extremely limited appeal and will, very quickly, go unoticed. Also, there’s a lot of other great places that do a way better job at covering this type of topics.

Now, let’s get on with what you can expect from Strategy and Wargaming for the next 12 months:

A Strategy and Wargaming magazine- This one has been in the works for a very long time so it’s time to be unveiled. I’m currently working on a Strategy and Wargaming magazine that’s going to be distributed via PDF, for free on the website. The magazine will have a premium look and feel and feature exclusive content. I’m currently working on the first issue, which will be released during the first half of 2022. The magazine will have two editions every year, a summer and a winter one. More about this later on.

More content, more quality- Last year, the output of content increased dramatically- from just 13 posts in 2020 to 85 in 2021, averaging more than a post a week. Starting January 2022, the goal is to average three posts a week, with plans to ramp up content production towards the end of the year. In terms of variety, there’s still a lot to do with the current formats. The weekly, Strategy and Wargaming news will continue with the same periodicity. I’ll be working on “Top lists” and

More developer interviews- It was a pleasant surprise to see how much people loved these. Developer interviews are sure to come in greater numbers and, hopefully, as I accrue more experience, these can also be more in-depth and will pack a much higher quality.

More reviews and previews! – creating and writing reviews is a delicate process with a lot of well-hidden pitfalls. A misplaced word, a badly worded thought or a mechanic ill-understood can cause readers to splurge their hard-earned cash or, on the other side of the spectrum, developers to miss on a sale. Reviews will keep coming steady, but due to the way I enjoy writing them (by going really, really in-depth with the game mechanics), some of the larger and more work-intensive titles might arrive later than expected. Nevertheless, it’s established that, due to the fluctuating nature of games sales, the race for a “launch day” review is a futile effort that does nothing but a disservice to readers and those looking for an information-rich review where that can be used as a way to make an informed purchase.

More positive content- Strategy and Wargaming is my darling project that dates back all the way to 2017 and it’s a place to read about good things. Good video games, good news and good people. In a world so convoluted, it’s easier to point out what’s going wrong but harder to provide a place where people can, even for a moment, slow down, sip a drink and enjoy some laid back reading without being preached to. I’ve always enjoyed my quiet nights reading away and hopefully, you’ll do too.

New writers- This one is a big maybe yes, maybe not- I’m not sure, and I don’t know if I’ll ever be. I’m always very concerned about the tone and quality of the writing on the website and most people writing in these gaming spaces nowadays share views very different from my own in the way games and History should be covered. So let’s see, but it’s not off the table, at least not yet. If you would like to give your shot at writing, please email me and we can talk about it.

Partnerships – This one is very self-explanatory, right? Partnerships with developers and publishers were one of the main reasons Strategy and Wargaming grew so much during 2021, so an expansion is only natural.

This is all I have for you. Stay safe. Merry Christmas, everyone.

Follow Strategy and Wargaming Socials

Strategy and Wargaming needs you to follow its socials. Are we the best strategy gaming website around? I would say so. Heck, what other options do you have? The Wargamer? Please.

So why not give us a follow on the cesspool that is Twitter, or join the 1000 other geriatric patients on Facebook? Or subscribe down below? Or maybe do everything? I don’t care, I’m not your grandmother.

If you enjoyed the article, consider buying me a coffee!

I’ve been running Strategy and Wargaming at my own expense since 2017, with only the ad revenue to cover the hosting, with everything else being done by me. So, if you’re an avid reader, you can afford it, and want to support the website, please consider Buying Me a Coffee by clicking this link, for as low as one euro! If you do, just know that you’re helping out a lot and contributing so that Strategy and Wargaming can continue growing!

Follow Strategy and Wargaming Socials

Strategy and Wargaming need you to follow its socials. Are we the best strategy gaming website around? I would say so. Heck, what other options do you have? The Wargamer? Please.

So why not give us a follow on the cesspool that is Twitter, or join the 1000 other geriatric patients on Facebook? Or subscribe down below? Or maybe do everything? I don’t care, I’m not your grandmother.

If you enjoyed the article, consider buying me a coffee!

I’ve been running Strategy and Wargaming at my own expense since 2017, with only the ad revenue to cover the hosting, with everything else being done by me. So, if you’re an avid reader, you can afford it, and want to support the website, please consider Buying Me a Coffee by clicking this link, for as low as one euro! If you do, just know that you’re helping out a lot and contributing so that Strategy and Wargaming can continue growing!