Looking for PC games similar to Panzer Blitz/Leader

[Paulverisor64]

I have been doing a search for PC games similar to Panzer Blitz/Leader without really finding anything that is that appealing.

In general what I am looking for is a World War II turn based game most likely on a hex map.  What would be entertaining to me is a game that the armored vehicles and infantry would have range beyond 1 hex.  I see many games where possibly artillery has extra range, but everything else is played out on a stagnant space by space front.

I've picked up Lock and Load Heroes of Stalingrad which fits this definition but the gameplay to me is too abstract, for example the spotting procedure seems just plain silly.

I remember playing the game Panzer Blitz, in which weapon ranges and effectiveness played a very big role.  It was challenging to get the convoy of trucks to a position to unload and set up infantry and artillery to support attacks.

I'm not sure why game companies haven't discovered this niche.  To me it would seem that PC and portable device would fit this like a glove.  This would be even better than the board game because of fog of war and aided line of sights and move calculations.

I like the no nonsense visual approach of Heroes of Stalingrad.  This has a table top with playing board, and the die rolls are shown.  This is very much the same visually as the board game equivalent.

As far as game play is considered I really like the turn based format.  I don't know whether a we go system similar to Combat Mission would be best, or something similar to Panzer Blitz where one side makes all it's moves prior to the other side.  I should think this type of game could be play by e-mail as the graphic requirements wouldn't be steep.

I do like Combat Mission games but I would like something more simplified to play.

I've considered the Close Combat games, but they are a real time strategy and I would prefer turn based games.

I've also noticed that you can do Squad Leader on a computer, but it looks like you have to do a lot of work to play a game.

I'm just curious whether there might be hidden game gem that might fit the game category I've described.

 

[Badger73]

You almost describe "Steel Panthers", a 20 year old game with a 10 year old face lift, highly regarded in it's time.  Check out https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel_Panthers and the URL at the bottom pointing you to WINSPWW2.  I hope this helps.

[JoMac]

Better yet, try 'John Tiller's Campaign Series (it's basically a Computer version of Panzer Leader/Blitz) and includes EastFront, WestFront, & PacificFront all in one game...Each Turn equals 6 minutes (IGOUGO, unfortunately...but it's what your looking for), each Hex equals 250 meters, and each Unit equals a Platoon.

Joe

Edited December 3, 2015 by JoMc67

[Paulverisor64]

Badger73:  Even though Steel Panthers is quite dated it is certainly the type of game that interests me.  I might have to give this a try.  A lot of people do seem to enjoy the game.  I see that there was a couple different releases of the game in which 2006 was the latest release.  I see that both Matrix and Shrapnel games have a product.

JoMc67:  I tried one of John Tillers games which was Panzer Campaigns.  In as much as I saw this only had ranged fighting from the artillery.  Have you tried any of his games in which the other units had range fighting?

[Bootie]

How about this?

[Badger73]

Nice demo, Bootie!  Thanks for posting.

[Bud Backer]

You might want to look at Battle Academy and Battle Academy 2. They exist for various platforms - PC, iOS, and are turn based, the scale is similar to Panzer Leader/Panzer Blitz, and while the tiles are not hexes, they do represent 8 rather than 6 possible facings for units. There is user content - maps and scenarios, as well as a fairly diverse (for BA 1, BA 2 is fairly new) amount of official content - campaigns, etc. 

 

[Paulverisor64]

Thanks guys, these are some very nice looking games.

I'm glad I asked about this; I've been looking for this type of game for a long time, but never found anything.

I almost thought something had to be out there because this is a fun scale to play, I'm glad to see there is.

I'm thinking I might try out Battle Academy 2 1st and see how that plays.

Thanks!

[Bud Backer]

A couple of things I'd add if you're interested in Battle Academy:

1. BA1 has a LOT more content than BA2 as it is older. However, the games both work the same, so BA1 is not poorer in quality from what I can tell. So it's not automatic that you'd want to skip 1 for 2 because they are extremely close, one is western and the second is eastern front.

2. If you have an iPad, these games are fantastic in that you can play anywhere you can bring it, versus carrying a laptop, or being tied to the desktop. The graphics are just as good and the UI is intuitive. 

 

[Paulverisor64]

I did end up getting Battle Academy 2.

This game plays very smoothly.  It doesn't punish you with abstract playing rules.  The tutorial seemed pretty easy to grasp, and easy to win.

The layout is very easy to understand, yet there are a lot of options for tactically tweaking your gameplay.

Besides not seeing any other movement option besides Fast Move everything is going quite well.

Thanks a lot for the recommendation!

[Bud Backer]

There is more than that, there is hunt as well, as far as I recall. But it's not always available. 

Sent you a PM.

 

You're very welcome! 

[JoMac]

JoMc67:  I tried one of John Tillers games which was Panzer Campaigns.  In as much as I saw this only had ranged fighting from the artillery.  Have you tried any of his games in which the other units had range fighting?

I have only played 'John Tiller's Campaign Series' which is Tactical in nature ( as mentioned in my first post )...Matrix might have a Demo...It replaces 'Talon Soft's' East & West Fronts from the late 90's.

Or, you can find these Talon Soft games on Fleabay for probably around $10 and worked on 2K & XP back in the day (not sure about 7 or above)...

Edited December 7, 2015 by JoMc67

[BLSTK]

You might want to look at Battle Academy and Battle Academy 2. They exist for various platforms - PC, iOS, and are turn based, the scale is similar to Panzer Leader/Panzer Blitz, and while the tiles are not hexes, they do represent 8 rather than 6 possible facings for units. There is user content - maps and scenarios, as well as a fairly diverse (for BA 1, BA 2 is fairly new) amount of official content - campaigns, etc. 

 

Thanks for the heads-up, Bud. Since reading your post one week ago, I have played nothing else. Bought both Battle Academy and the Mega Pack of individual scenarios for a song. I am currently immersed in Battle Academy: Blitzkrieg. Tons 'o Fun while you're waiting for BFC to get around to early WWII circa 1940.

[Aragorn2002]

Last week I've stumbled upon Command Ops 2 by Panther Games. Battles of the Bulge and very, very deep. I need to spend more time on it, but it looks like a very well made wargame. Base game with three scenarios is for free, the rest you can buy, if you like it.

Panzer Campaigns is definitely fun.

 

[Bud Backer]

Thanks for the heads-up, Bud. Since reading your post one week ago, I have played nothing else. Bought both Battle Academy and the Mega Pack of individual scenarios for a song. I am currently immersed in Battle Academy: Blitzkrieg. Tons 'o Fun while you're waiting for BFC to get around to early WWII circa 1940.

You're welcome! There is some great user-made material as well on offer for download. 

By the way, the campaign and battle intro screens help inspire my CAARs.

 

[Paulverisor64]

I am playing through the German Campaign with Battle Academy 2.  This game is exceptionally fun.  It doesn't take a lot of work to get right into it.  In fact I like this so much I'm tempted to get an I Pad so I can play this on the go.

[BLSTK]

 

By the way, the campaign and battle intro screens help inspire my CAARs.

There is definitely a graphic novel feel to it.

Now, if you don't mind, I have to give those pesky French...er, I mean,  infanterie...a piece of my mind.

Edited December 11, 2015 by BLSTK

[Bud Backer]

I am playing through the German Campaign with Battle Academy 2.  This game is exceptionally fun.  It doesn't take a lot of work to get right into it.  In fact I like this so much I'm tempted to get an I Pad so I can play this on the go.

:D

It really looks and works great on the iPad. That one can PBEM others regardless of device (PC, MAC, iOS) is great. I wish CM worked on the iPad, I'd get rid of my computer altogether! 

[Paulverisor64]

It would at least be nice if Battlefront developed a very good product for the IPad and or Android.  The Combat Mission Touch game just didn't look that great from my perspective.

Battle Academy would be a great template for some of the gameplay type mechanics. It wouldn't have to be in a 3D environment.  I like the board and tile appearance of Heroes of Stalingrad (just not the gameplay).  The simplified approach fits the tablet well.

[StieliAlpha]

Hm, Matrix Games new "Tigers on the hunt" might be exactly what you are looking for. Looks like a good, old  fashioned, micro tactical board game brought to the computer. They just now released it for Beta testing, so it should be available soon.

[Paulverisor64]

Yes; "Tigers on the hunt" appears to be an awesome game in the making.

This would be the type of game that I envisioned as being very close to PanzerBlitz or PanzerLeader.

I will most certainly want to get this when it comes out.

[StieliAlpha]

Well, then apply as a beta tester and tell us how the game is. ?

Don't know if you noted, but Matrix Games has loads of those traditional games in store.

[Alpinejager]

Hello Pulverisor:

I'm a 50+ year wargamer, surfed on in looking for 'Westfront PanzerBlitz Variant from Spartan #1 mag from 40+ years back.

There's a whole line of games that grew out of Panzerblitz. The designer Jim Dunnigan (former US Army Artillery 2nd D), ran SPI=Simulations Publications Inc. They produced the following,all based on PB with some modifications. If you haven't joined BoardGameGeek, i'd suggest you try it.

Red Star/White Star cold war porting of PB

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/8725/red-starwhite-star-tactical-combat-europe-1970s

This was updated again late 70's shortly before SPI went belly up

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/6896/mechwar-2-red-star-white-star

From WW2- Panzer '44 and its stablemate MecxhWar '77 and later sibling October War

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/8424/panzer-44

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5383/mechwar-77-tactical-armored-combat-1970s

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5965/october-war-doctrine-and-tactics-yom-kippur-confli

You can follow this link for a long list of related games & variants-

https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/3931/panzerblitz-series-and-variants

Jagdpanther Magazine had numerous PB variants and games derived.They're available in PDF from a couple places. Here's one example-

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/17667/marine

The Alpinejager

happy gaming!

 

 

 

[Erwin]

Looks very useful.  Unfortunately, Paulverisor64 was posting 5 years ago in 2015.  Be interesting to see if he's still around.  

[SimpleSimon]

Plenty of board games exist for this subject matter too, but many of them are short of good solitaire rulesets and since wargaming isn't as wide as it used to be that's really crucial nowadays. 

Most of the DVG series games are built around solitaire mechanics, and I really loved DVG's Fleet Admiral Nimitz though that's a Pacific Warships game. Sherman/Tiger Leader looks great and if you're looking for games like Panzer Blitz it and Panzer Grenadier are great contenders on the tabletop.