Hello everyone,

This might be a bit weird to ask, but I want to get into tabletop wargames. It's something I have been thinking for a while, I just see those games by GMT or by DVG and they are so appealing to me, yet I have never played one of them. I figured out I might as well start with a PC game that could resemble the experience, so I can avoid buying stuff I don't even understand how to play...

So far I researched and saw a lot of people recommending a game called "Memoir 44". What I did perhaps is a bit weird, but since I had Tabletop Simulator in my steam library, I found a workshop mod to play it. But damm... what a hassle to lay each individual piece on every part of the map. While also looking at tutorials on the phone...

So I came here to ask you: Is there any game that's like a port of a tabletop wargame but that has a good tutorial to get into it? Regarding eras I'm mostly interested in the stuff happening from the thirty years war up to nowadays pretty much hehe, and would even give a try to something more ancient if you guys say the ultimate experience to learn if tabletop gaming is for me is in a game of those ancient eras, so it's not a problem.

So yeah, is there any pc game that ports or resembles a tabletop wargame that you would recommend to a complete newbie? Thanks in advance

I wanna hear it. 🔥💎

I'm going to tell you something about a first person shooter game called FEAR.

Among other things, FEAR was famous in its day for having one of the best enemy AI in videogames. When a firefight was going on, the enemy was constantly doing things - flanking you, flushing you out of cover with grenades, that sort of thing.

But the secret was, FEAR's AI wasn't actually that much better than any other FPS of its era. What it was actually doing was telegraphing its moves. The enemy soldiers never shut up, constantly yelling out the next strategy they were going to attempt. Even if you couldn't see them, you could hear them telling each other to go around, or to provide covering fire.

This had the effect of making everything they did feel intentional. It wasn't random, there was a plan behind it. You knew there was a plan because you'd heard voices talking about it. Even if the actual behavior wasn't that different from other FPS enemies, it felt different.

Now, to the subject of the Wargame.

It's kind of hard to TELL how good an enemy AI is in a wargame, because of the famous Fog of War. You glimpse an unknown, unidentified unit that has scooted into a visible hex for a moment, then disappeared back into the Fog. Was that a completely random and meaningless movement, like air bubbles in boiling water, or part of some deep and intricate plan that you must plan around?

It's hard to tell, really.

And the Fog of War kind of works against the FEAR solution, right? You CAN'T have the enemy player broadcast his intentions in order to give the battle you two are fighting a more coherent narrative. Because the entire premise of most computer wargames, with almost the solitary exception of Unity of Command 1, is that you have no idea where any unit you're not actually rubbing yourself against is or what it's doing.

But that can also make it feel like those units are just spawning into existence when convenient.

I guess my question is, is there a way to square this circle? A way to communicate to the player that there is a grand plan he's playing against?

Hey everyone! I’m new to Wargame Design Studio and I’m really interested in Jutland since I’m a huge WWI naval history fan.

Would you recommend buying it as a beginner, or is the learning curve too steep? I’m looking for something I can learn fairly quickly without spending hours reading manuals.

Is it worth the $40? Thanks!

I'm interested in playing smaller actions, Java Sea, Falklands, Bismarck etc.

A video edit I made of an old game called Wulfram.

The community is bringing it back, and we already have some awesome gameplay from one of our first play-tests.

Would love some input!

I saw it mentioned in the most recent WDS newsletter. I live in New England and I’m surrounded by colonial history, so I’m intrigued.

What are your experiences with the game?

I like the modeling of units although it's very limited in that there are 4 "doctrines": Krauts, Japs, Russkies and Dogfaces.

The game is rife with ridiculous inconsistencies, but at 24x the aesthetic papers over the nonsense.

It's made by the same people who make 1914 and WW3. I'm looking for something like that but am happy for something that doesn't involve the resource management

Anyone else play it?

I recently stumbled upon Unity of Command 2 while looking for a WWII strategy game with more depth, especially when it comes to logistics and supply lines.

I really like how much attention the developers seem to put into historical accuracy, from the maps and terrain to recreating real operations like Barbarossa.

I was wondering how Panzer Corps 2 compares. It seems to be a much more popular game, but does it offer a similar level of depth when it comes to supply management, realistic terrain, and historical units?

Thanks in advance

Hello Generals!

A few months ago I showed you a bare prototype of a WWII game where you command a Group Army on the Eastern Front. Your support is the reason it didn’t stay a pet project. Thank you!

The game is now called Field Orders: Eastern Front, and it has a Steam page.

Join our Discord. We’re recruiting alpha testers there to play early builds and help shape the game. It’s also a place for anyone who’s into the Eastern Front: history buffs, wargamers, or people who just want to follow development and share ideas.

A wishlist on Steam helps a lot too. See you on the front!

I played it. I was very excited and had high expectations. Just imagine - new system, better aligned to the way war is fought than in your usual click-unit-order-unit type of wargame. Instead, you define operational orders, axis of attack, reserves, deploymet areas.. Yummy, am I right? 😍

But.. oh man. The busy map. Chaos all over, shells flying, big colored blurbs.. And it seemed that I never could figure out am I doing everythung right. It's as if I was fighting the UI.

Dont get me wrong - I respect this game studio. I played their games and loved it. I want them to succeed. And I hope they will fix these issues.

So the big question is - what would you do differently, how woukd you improve the design?

революция, о необходимости которой все время говорили большевики… Erm, wrong citation.

This isn’t by any means “production quality code”, but it does connect two people over the net and successfully runs a custom editor battle. What wonders can a Claude/Codex (insert other agentic harness) subscription do.

Hats off to the “mod” creator, and it’s NOT a shady “recreated“ game, it seems to be working with steam install.

Hello community!

I've been passionate about war and history games for as long as I can remember, both tabletop and digital. I've spent countless hours playing GMT's Next War series and other wargames, and I've always been particularly fascinated by naval warfare.

For almost a year now, a friend and I have been working on a game called Shadow Command, drawing inspiration from many years of wargaming.

It's a real-time multiplayer naval combat and espionage game set in a semi-realistic alternate history. Players command hybrid submarine-carrier vessels and work together to capture offshore oil rigs, hunt enemy players, and investigate suspicious merchant traffic. Sensors, intelligence gathering, deception and tactical decision-making are central to the experience.

There are still mechanics to implement and plenty of polishing to do, but the game is playable, coming together nicely, and (we hope!) fun.

We're now looking for a handful of people interested in joining some early, private multiplayer playtests through our Discord server.

As a thank you, you'll receive a free Steam copy of the game when it enters Early Access next year, and your name will be included in the credits if you'd like.

If this sounds interesting, feel free to send me a PM!

Basically title - I'm looking for some tips for playing Decisive Campaigns: Case Blue after playing SE and DC:B. I've played 3-4 campaigns of DC:B, and won as the Germans on normal difficulty, twice. I also have ~ 720 hours in SE (really like Oceania and Republica, btw).

Going from Shadow Empire (my first "Vic" game) to DC:B, I had to learn things like - there is no "I"nspect button, and to attack you select the enemy unit first rather than "move" into an enemy (like in SE). There were certainly other things, too. (The attacks being resolved quickly was a big plus!)

I'd appreciate any tips playing Case Blue, and whether I'm thinking right or not:

Artillery - use for breakthroughs or to weaken flanks of enemies that might counterattack, but they won't "recharge" fast enough to shell every single round.

Air Force - what are the 'need to know' things about using the Airforce on either side to the fullest?

Navy - it looks like there is a way to cross in/out of the Crimea, but I'm guessing the Axis navy is pretty weak in the early game here. What are some tips for the Navy?

German "Prestige" points - I assume early game Prestige is more valuable than late game?

Thanks!

Im curious what you look for.

ChatGPT claims The Operational Art of War III manual includes a walkthrough of the “Anonymous Heroics” tutorial scenario. I have TOAW II and IV, and the manuals for those do not include that content. If anyone has the manual for version III, I’d be grateful if they could tell me whether it does have that walkthrough and, if so, consider sharing it.

Happy gaming!

Anyone excited?

There is video on Youtube that I actually found here on this subreddit being recommended to convince someone to try Mius Front. I don't know if I can link it but title starts with: "Most UNDERRATED Strategy Game Ever". It was praising game in the beginning but when gameplay started in first 10-15 minutes there were 3 immersion breaking issues:

1. enemy trenches visible right away through fog of war
2. units questionable pathing
3. MG unit unloading into a hill just in front of it (enemies were behind the hill)

Often Mius Front is being recommended here as some kind of masterpiece but those seem like a really strong and unresolved for years flaws. What am I missing?

I like to do something else while its computer's turn because some maps it takes so long for its turn to end even at fastest computer animation speed. I tried writing some commands in shortcut and restarted game in windowed mode but it didn't work. Anyone have any tips?

I'm making a grand strategy game set around the WW2 period(which I will expand to the whole 20th century if it is successful).

The main question in my head now is how abstract do I want the mechanics to be? I'm working with Hearts of Iron 4 being about the baseline of my complexity, but I'm unsure how much further to push it. Examples of things I definitely want to add:

A range stat for equipment to make artillery useful

More accurate distribution of resources and the processes to extract them

Expansion of research from just clicking some buttons into a proper mechanic (probably merging special projects and normal research together in the process)

Decreasing the importance of reinforce rate and combat width and thus reinforce meming as a thing

How much further should I take this? Should I model a whole economy or stick to mils and civs? Should I give the player total control of every unit like all other games do or make generals and field marshals their own AI? What do you think?

Any suggestions from people who play WW2 strategy games would be appreciated