How about WW1?

[Squallion]

For me, WW1 is the ultimate war for a wargame as it featured static lines, massive, lengthy offensives that resulted in gains of a few kilometers at most. I have no idea why but that's a big, big draw for me.

It probably doesn't help that it's not a war that the US got involved in until near the end either . Until 1917, it's just Germany, Austria-Hungary, The Ottomans, France, Britain, Italy and Russia plus a few Balkan minors thrown in for good measure.

Auuuuustrallllliaaaaaaaaaaa.

[Paper Tiger]

I don't think that WW1 would offer much for the CMx2 engine, that's for sure. I might be wrong but I suspect that the BFC guys are really armour fans and that might apply to their customer base as well. Me, I'm more of an Infantry guy I like tanks but I don't want them to be the centrepiece of my missions.

I think WW1 Grand Strategy, done properly, would make for a very good wargame. I am looking forward to AGEOD's 'To End All Wars' too. But it might be a few months after the release before it becomes really first-class. If they can make sure that fronts remain reasonably static and hard to crack without one side making a major effort, it'll be a classic.

To be sure, the air and naval aspects of the war have been more popular with the gaming community at large.

[Paper Tiger]

Auuuuustrallllliaaaaaaaaaaa.

I should have said the Commonwealth instead of Britain, my bad! The New Zealanders threw their hat in the ring too.

[Michael Emrys]

I should have said the Commonwealth instead of Britain, my bad! The New Zealanders threw their hat in the ring too.

Why is everyone not mentioning Canada? Granted, Canadians can be so...Canadian...but they do make jolly good fighters.

Michael

[JasonC]

There are tanks in WWI - big British mothers, little French whippets. There are grand maneuver campaings in WWI - Tannenberg, First Ypres, the Marne, Galacia. There are successful breakthrough battles in WWI - Brusilov, Caparetto, the Kaisers battle. There are near run things that could have been but failed - Verdun, Cambrai. There are changing combined arms relationships and tactics - trench mortars, light machineguns, hurricane barrage offensives with infantry just to clear and hold, denuded front counters and defense in depth, rolling barrages and parapet races, infiltration tactics and low visibility tactics (night, smoke, gas enabled).

Still the war was actually decided by the industrial process of huge artillery parks murdering millions by attrition until whole nations broke and ran. There is plenty of material because there are plenty of attempts - but it wasn't any of the attempts working that actually drove the outcome, in the end. That is the main reason WWII is a better game subject for a strategy game - because command decisions were more in control of the outcome. If you set up a chessboard but the actual resolution is which king falls farthest from the board in an earthquake, it also wouldn't be a great strategy game.

[Ultradave]

Why is everyone not mentioning Canada? Granted, Canadians can be so...Canadian...but they do make jolly good fighters.

Michael

I will agree with this. When I was in the 82 Abn we spent a month with the Cdn Para Regt. Wonderful hosts and top notch soldiers too.

[Blazing 88's]

For WWI aviation the best combat flight sim, IMO, would be Rise of Flight.

Free to download and play but limited to 2 aircraft.

http://riseofflight.com/en

Currently has 36 different aircraft (scouts, two-seaters, bombers) and some variants within a few of them.

WOFF (WINGS Over Flanders Fields): http://www.overflandersfields.com/index.html

Best single player WWI combat flight simulator out there. The AI is amazing, very human like, throw in the dynamic campaign and immersion value is off the charts. No muliplayer however, RoF for that I suppose.

[altipueri]

CM is basically small unit stuff. Guerilla wars of various eras seem closer. I keep trying to like AGEOD.s world war one but you need to be forgiving.

You also need to forgive people who post from a phone

☺

[altipueri]

While driving.

[DavidFields]

I am surprised no one mentioned--unless I missed it--the Strategic Command WW1 simulation from Battlefront. I have enjoyed it immensely. And when the odd little other wars are added to it--Balkans front, Russian Civil War--I think it is a gem.

[xwormwood]

Absolutly right, Rankorian!

[Stalins Organ]

I think WW1 Grand Strategy, done properly, would make for a very good wargame.

Guns of August remains by far and away the best grand strategic WW1 game around IMO - it is unashamedly GRAND strategic - none of this namby pamby division level stuff - you get Corps, you get fleet battles (if you want), arbitrary air points for recce, simple but deep resource allocation for everything (infantry equip, tans, artillery, air, gas, naval - the whole shebang), national morale/manpower, starvation, international commerce, political revolution - all brilliantly and simply integrated in one of my all time favourite "counter" style computer games.

Unfortunately it has to be said there are some bugs and although the interface is also brilliant it isn't intuitive!

But it's also now 7 years od and cheap

Hopefully Frank Hunter will do something to improve it for this centenary anniversary.

I can't stand Strategic Command WW1 and CEAW WW1 - sorry, but they are kludges, even though I beta tested both of the original games - I don't like them for WW2 either - blech!