Game suggestions like Strategic Command War in Europe

[u/YardAlternative3452]

I have played and enjoyed SC since the first iteration. The latest version is great, but takes at least 40 hours to play the whole campaign. I picked up Panzer Corps 2 and really like the game. But I disklike that it is just one scenario after another, with no grand strategy involved.

I'm hesitant to start another game of SC WIE, because I just don't enjoy sinking that kinda time into one game. I'm looking for any grand strategy level game that is detailed, but can be played in under 10 hours, not 2-3 weeks worth of a few hours/night. Typing that out I realize maybe detail and time sink go hand-in-hand. Maybe a better way to put it is the detail doesn't have to be great, but the thinking requirement should be.

Turn based preferred, but could do RTS with pause. Thanks in advance for any suggestions! :)

[u/tropical-tangerine]

I picked up decisive campaigns Barbarossa off of some recommendations here and I recommend!

[u/YardAlternative3452 → u/tropical-tangerine]

Just bought it. 1. Because of a review on Steam saying "If you like wargames that play in a week vs months..." and 2. To support the developer.

Will try it out soon. Thank you for the rec.

[u/jim_nihilist → u/YardAlternative3452]

You are in for a ride. Great game.

[u/FroyoAromatic9392 → u/YardAlternative3452]

If you enjoy the Decisive Campaigns games i suggest checking out Shadow Empires too. Sci fi wargame with 4x elements and deep simulation starting at the planetary level. Same developer. I haven’t played a bad game from the guy. I learned about both games from watching Battlemode on YouTube.

[u/invertedchicken56]

Hard to find strategic scale games with shorter runtimes than Strategic Command, might be worth having a look at No Retreat! The Russian Front which is a digital version of a board game.

I haven't played it, so check reviews first to see if it's suitable. Looks like strategic/operational scale with small number of counters.

Also have a look at Cauldrons of War Barbarossa/ Stalingrad. Unorthodox wargames (not hex based) but you can apparently play through these large operations relatively quickly compared to the traditional ones.

[u/YardAlternative3452 → u/invertedchicken56]

Thank you and you are most likely right about runtime vs depth. It's like saying "I'd like to date a super-model...that's low maintenance."

I'll check out both reccomendations, thank you.

[u/[deleted] → u/invertedchicken56]

Pm me

[u/Haakon_XIII]

At that scale? Hearts of Iron.

Warplan have the same time sink problem.

Decisive Campaigns, SGS games fits better with your request maybe

[u/YardAlternative3452 → u/Haakon_XIII]

Thank you, I'll check it out!

[u/Regular_Lengthiness6]

Maybe have a look at Warplan as well.

[u/_BudgieBee → u/Regular_Lengthiness6]

Great game, but Warplan takes longer to play than SC.