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War board games have a deep-rooted place in board game history. In fact – most board games through time began with, or took inspiration from war.
Chess is the perfect example. The premise of the game is that two opposing armies are fighting to take the other armies king.
It is therefore hard to nail down a definition for a ‘war board game’. Many of the abstract strategy games played today like Onitama or GO and even Backgammon could be argued to have ‘War’ like elements.
For my list of the best war board games below I have focused on two crucial aspects which I believe make a great war game – the theme and mechanics.
Each game I have reviewed below will incorporate mechanics that are strategic, operation and tactical. The games focus on troop movements and strategic placement on a map.
The games also have a clear ‘war’ theme. Some board games have great ‘war’ mechanics but lack a good theme – I want games that are immersive and engaging.
The games below are all have a war theme – whether it is based on historical events, medieval war or future sci-fi. Each game in the list will have you feeling like you are actually at war and controlling an army!
Top 10 Best War Board Games
1. Axis & Allies Anniversary Edition
Players: 2 – 6
Duration: 180mins – 360mins
Axis & Allies is a WWII board game designed by Larry Harris, Jr and published by Avalon Hill Games Inc (one of the leading war and strategic board game publishers).
The first edition of the game was released in 1981, and since then has become a pillar of the war game genre with many gamers agreeing that it is one of the best all-in-one WWII war game.
Since its release there have been many versions of Axis & Allies released – there is a Europe version, Pacific version and even a few that focus on individual battles (D-Day, Battle of the Bulge etc).
For this review I am going to be looking at the Axis & Allies Anniversary Edition. This is the most expansive version of the game and introduces Italy to the Axis team (so you can play with up to 6 people).
In my opinion this game ticks all the boxes when it comes to a war game. It has an immersive feel with its theme and artwork. Each player controls one of the Axis or Allied forces in the war and there are very well implemented mechanics to simulate battles on land, air and sea.
Gameplay
As mentioned above the game is set during WWII, the Anniversary version of the game which is the one I have, allows you to choose to play either during the 1941 or 1942 time period.
The choice of which year affects the setup of the map as well as the turn order, but it does not change the core mechanics of the gameplay.
Players each take control of one of the Allied (Great Britain, Russia and USA) or Axis (Germany, Italy and Japan) at the start of the game. If only playing with 2 players – you can control multiple powers. However, these powers need to be separated and played separately.
Turns are played alternating between an Allied player and then an Axis player depending on which scenario you are playing.
Each turn consists of 7 phases.
- Research and Development (optional);
- Purchase Units;
- Combat Move;
- Conduct Combat;
- Non-Combat Move;
- Mobilize New Units; and
- Collect Income
As the game has been out for over 30 years I won’t go into too much detail about each stage, however you can find a PDF of the rules here.
The aim of the game is for the Axis and Allies to control as many of the ‘Victory Cities’ as possible.
The win conditions are decided at the start of the game and are checked at the end of the USA’s turn each round.
There are 3 possible win conditions to play to:
- Default – Controlling 15 Victory Cities
- Projection – Controlling 13 Victory Cities
- Total War – Controlling all 18 Victory Cities
Axis & Allies is easily one of the best war games. Having lasted over 3 decades on store shelves is testament to that. However, it isn’t a game for everyone. If you are new to the game, expect your first play through to last around 6 hours play time while you learn the game.
When my friends and I first started learning the game we split play over 2 play sessions – and even then, it took around 5 and a half hours to play through (and we are not new to board games!).
Once you know how to play – you can easily finish a campaign in 90mins – 120mins if everyone is focused.
Pros:
- Two versions of game in the box – 1941 and 1942
- Huge value for money
- Set up time for the game is very quick (10mins)
- Extremely well balanced
Cons:
- The game has an element of luck
- Small number of units are included in the box – worth buying more
- Best played with 4 people or less – as production rate is punishing
2. B-17 Flying Fortress Leader
Players: 1
Duration: 120mins – 360mins
B-17 Flying Fortress Leader is my favorite solo-play war game. Set in WWII, you play as the commander of the Eighth Air Force located in England, tasked with the mission of destroying the Luftwaffe and allowing a successful landing on D-Day.
The game is a strategic bombing solitaire game, which simulates the skies of Europe during WWII. Flying Fortress offers a customized and open gaming experience where you can control everything from missions, targeting and even outfitting your air team and commanders.
In the game you will purchase and take control of groups of bombers which include the B-17 Flying Fortresses, B-24 Liberators and the optional B-29 Superfortress and B-25 Mitchell Bomber.
These bomber groups are protected by fighter groups which are made up of MK VII Spitfires, P-47 Thunderbolts, P-38 Lightnings and P-51 Mustangs.
The game is super fun and an overall excellent single player campaign.
Gameplay
For a single player game, B-17 Flying Fortress takes up a lot of table space.
The game comes with multiple campaigns including a recommended starting campaign ‘U-Boat Focus (August 1942) – which is one of the shorter campaigns. This helps you get a hang of the game and how it is played.
I highly recommend following this advice before jumping head first into one of the bigger more intense scenarios.
Each campaign comes with its own sheet which is placed on the table. Each sheet will tell you the specifics of the setup such as any special rules, allied technology and how many Luftwaffe squadrons to place on the map.
Squadrons of Luftwaffe are placed on the board on hexes determined by rolling a D10 dice.
The campaign will also tell you where to place the USSR and Mediterranean war theatre tokens – your bombers can’t fly here… but they will determine the probability of more Luftwaffe squadrons entering these zones – and interrupting your pathways to objectives.
Once the setup is complete – you may buy your first bombers using your opening Special Operation Points (this is the currency in the game).
Now, each campaign has a date that it takes place on during the war. This will determine the types of planes you are able to purchase. During the game, time passes on a weekly basis – so planes will unlock in the future.
During the game – you will send your bomber squads on missions. The game has a player log that allows you to keep track of which groups went on which mission, experience gained and what the planes need to level up.
These missions require tactical judgement and strategic planning to pull off successfully. You will need to plot courses that your squads will fly, perform recon and even send out decoys to lure the Luftwaffe away from your main group.
The twist in this game is that as you level up your bombers and fighters, so does the Luftwaffe. In the late stages of the game things can become really intense really quickly.
I love the fact that this game is so detailed. It is a bit of a learning curve when you play your first campaign, but on subsequent plays you will find yourself sitting down while the hours fly by (no pun intended).
To me it is the subtle elements of the game that make it. The fact that you can use any strategy you can think of to arrange not only how your squads fly, but also how they approach their target and the fact that your decisions in game will affect how both the Mediterranean and USSR war fronts progress.
Pros:
- The theme is perfect
- Insane detail – time, weather and mini-games will ensure replayability
- The game is very engaging and deep
- Great solo player war game
Cons:
- Steep learning curve
- Box comes with so many pieces its hard to pack away
- Requires large amount of time or multiple game sessions
3. 1775 - Rebellion
Players: 2 – 4
Duration: 60mins – 120mins
1775 – Rebellion is a war game that takes us back to the American Revolution where the American Continental Army and Patriots are fighting against the British Redcoats and the Loyalists.
The designers Beau Beckett and Jeph Stahl have done a wonderful job of combining the games mechanics with its theme to create a hugely enjoyable war game.
The game is available as both a tabletop game and steam.
Gameplay
In the game players control the major factions during the American Revolution as they fight for control over the original British colonies on the American continent.
Players first choose one of three scenarios to play through: ‘1775 Campaign’, ‘Introductory Scenario’ (short play time), and ‘The Siege of Quebec’.
Once done, each player then chooses their faction and takes the appropriate units, battle dice (explained below) and cards.
Battle Dice
Rebellion is unique in the fact that it uses battle dice for each faction. These are 6-sided dice with symbols on each side:
- Target represents a hit;
- Flee; and
- A Blank.
These determine the combat in the game. Each faction gets a different amount of dice.
Each faction has passives that benefit them in different ways. For example, the British Elites can never miss, however they are incredibly rare and hard to replace. Whereas the American sides can easily recruit more troops and use the ‘hit and run’ strategy.
On the map, the 13 original British Colonies are mapped out.
Players place their starting units on the map as determined by the campaign they are playing. Players then have alternating turns placing more units down on the map (4 at a time) and place down the control tokens (showing which areas of the map are controlled by which army).
Gameplay takes place over a variable number of rounds. At the start of each round, four ‘turn markers’ (blank colored cubes that represent each faction) are placed into a bag and blindly drawn determining play order.
Turns are played out in 4 phases:
- Reinforcement Phase – place reinforcement units into a city that they control.
- Movement Phase – player must play a movement card or event card.
- Battle Phase – opposing armies that occupy the same area on the map fight using event cards and battle dice.
- Draw Cards – at the end of the turn the active player redraws cards until he has 3 in his hand.
The end of the game is signaled when truce cards belonging to all factions of one or both sides have been played. Whichever side controls the most colonies on the map wins.
Pros:
- High quality pieces and card stock
- Great historical theme
- Game requires strategy to win
- Simple to learn and play
Cons:
- Element of luck with battle dice
- Light war game – not for hobbyists
4. Hannibal and Hamilcar: Rome vs. Carthage
Players: 2
Duration: 40mins – 200mins
Hannibal and Hamilcar is a revamp of the classic abstract duo game Hannibal: Rome vs Carthage (1996) released on the games 20th anniversary.
The game is set during one of the largest battles in ancient history – the Punic Wars. It is a 2-player card-driven game where players use cards for the purposes of moving armies, levying new troops, reinforcing existing troops and taking political control of the map.
The ultimate goal is to force the enemy to subjugate to your rule. I love the fact that this can be done strategically in multiple different ways like through political means or brute force via warfare.
Being a huge history buff this game really appealed to me – the game is a really enjoyable 2 player wargame and has a decent amount of replay value in the form of multiple scenarios and optional decks of cards.
Gameplay
Straight out of the box, the game comes with multiple scenarios that each have different set ups of the game, play time and focus on different conflicts during the Punic Wars all the way to the denouement.
These scenarios start from the simple introductory campaigns that can be played through in 40mins to an hour all the way to the full second Punic war which took me a solid 4 and half hours to get through!
Once the scenario is chosen the board is placed and the game is setup based on the scenario card.
The game is played on a turn by turn basis. Each player has a hand of ‘strategy cards’ with which to choose their actions.
The game is divided into years depending on the scenario (each year being a round).
At the start of each year both players received reinforcement troops and a new hand of cards from the deck (7 at the start growing to 9 towards the end game).
Each turn a player must choose their generals for the round and play a strategy card to perform a military or political action. Turns continue until all cards have been played.
After all cards have been played – each player needs to work out which armies are defeated (based on which political marker on the map they are located) and which army controls sections of the board.
Cards are can be used to perform the following actions:
- Placing political control markers on the board to gain control of important provinces.
- Event cards can be played that perform actions like raising armies, or a provincial revolt, or a Macedonian intervention etc.
- Used to move a general and any armies with that general to retreat or initiate battle.
At the end of all rounds, if Hannibal has not been killed, or Rome or Cathage have not been sacked, the winner is determined based on who controls the most provinces on the board.
Pros:
- Brilliant artwork and component quality
- Huge depth and detail in the theme of the Punic War
- Lots of scenarios
Cons:
- Playbook is a bit hard to understand at times
5. The Battle of Five Armies
Players: 2
Duration: 90mins – 240mins
If you like fantasy themed war games then this is definitely the game for you. Based on J.R.R Tolkien’s book ‘The Hobbit’, the game focuses on the final battle of five armies (hence the name!).
The game is a brilliant 2 player war game that takes its inspiration and mechanics from War of the Ring (another Lord of the Rings universe board game).
Gameplay
In the game, one player controls the armies of the free people (Humans, Dwarves and Elves), while the other player controls the evil shadow armies (Orcs, Wargs and Goblins).
The board has a static setup and is the same each campaign.
The game is played in rounds, with each round having 6 phases:
Phase 1: Recovery – players draw cards from their story and event deck.
Phase 2: General Activation – The free player is able to select which generals to activate during a round (each general has a special ability) – however activating generals also has consequences.
Phase 3: Fate – this is the ‘push your luck’ aspect of the game. At the bottom of the board is a ‘Fate Track’ with 15 slots. Once all 15 slots are filled, the free player automatically wins.
There are also really powerful heroes that are activated at stages on the fate track that hugely benefit the free player (Thorin, Bilbo, Eagles etc).
During this phase the shadow player draws a fate tile. This tile will indicate whether 1, 2 or 3 spaces on the fate track need to be filled.
Now, for each general that the free player activated during Phase 2, the shadow player gets the choice whether he would like to discard and redraw the fate tile.
Phase 4: Shadow Leadership – The shadow player places Great bats and leadership tokens on the board equal to the number of battle dice they hold.
Leadership tokens allow special actions in games like increasing the movement of troops or re-rolling battle dice in combat.
Phase 5: Action Round – This is where the actual gameplay takes place.
Each player rolls their battle dice and plays based on the results. The battle dice are custom dice with 6 sides. Each sides has an action that can be performed:
- Move or attack with an army
- Move a character (such as a general or special character)
- Play or draw a card
- Heal armies or place troops on the battlefield
- Will of the West (FREE PLAYER ONLY) – free choice of above choices
- Lidless Eye (SHADOW PLAYER ONLY) – Recruit / use armies with Goblins.
- Combos – allow the choice between multiple of the above.
Combat is played through the use of cards. Each player at the start of a battle will play a card. This gives each character a special ability for that round of combat.
Players then need to determine the strength of their armies battling (to a max of 5) and roll the equivalent dice – this will determine the damage to each army and the number of units that need to be removed from play.
Phase 6: End of turn
The game continues with this play until one of the win conditions are met. These are:
Free Player: Fate marker gets to 15, you manage to kill Bolg or Beorn enters play and the Shadow player has 6 victory points or less.
Shadow Player: Control 10 Victory Points worth of settlements.
Pros:
- Very engaging gameplay
- Great theme if you enjoy Middle Earth fantasy
- High quality components, miniatures (125 of them) and board
- Fast action gameplay
Cons:
- Theme may not be enjoyed by all
- Damage tokens are a bit big and fiddly
6. Risk: Legacy
Players: 3 – 5
Duration: 60mins
I couldn’t have a list of the best war games without including Risk. Risk is probably one of the most popular board games period. Like Monopoly, the game is super accessible and is usually a staple in most family’s collections.
For my list however, I am going to be talking about a special version of Risk – Risk: Legacy. This is a game of Risk that plays similar to the ‘old school’ risk game with a few big changes.
Gameplay
I am not going to bore you to death by explaining how to play the game of Risk. There are plenty of article likes this one that will do the job a million times better than I could.
I also do not want to spoil the Legacy game for anyone who is interested in playing it. But I will give you a high-level explanation of what to expect and believe me when I say it is an amazing take on the traditional game.
The main difference between the original risk and the new legacy version is that, when playing through the legacy version, all changes and decisions in the game have permanent and persistent changes that follow you through subsequent play throughs.
This includes permanently changing the game in one way or another via permanent ink and some other ‘goodies’ that remain hidden in sealed packages until certain conditions are met.
Each box comes emblazoned with a warning sticker that reads: What’s done can never be undone and a serial number that depicts your individual box.
The game is played over 15 rounds (whole play throughs), with players having to place stickers on the board, physically tear apart cards, and my favorite – a dedicated area on the board to track who has won the previous games!
Unlike classic Risk, the game is not played until someone dominates the whole world. Instead the easiest way to win is to acquire 4 starts. This happens by either controlling an opponent’s HQ or turning territory cards.
The coolest part of Legacy is at the end of a round the player who wins is allowed to permanently change the board (there are a slew of options for customization).
The player uses a permanent pen to do things like rename a continent, found a major city etc. This provides benefits on the next play through to only that player.
There’s not too much more I can say without ruining too much, so I will leave it at that.
The idea is to play all 15 rounds with the same people.
My friends and I were hooked from the first play through. We managed to smash through all 15 games in a matter of two weeks. Not sure if that’s sad or awesome, but it does give you an idea about how good the game is!
Pros:
- Permanent, persistent changes makes the game super fun and customized
- Destroying cards, defacing a game board and tearing open sealed packets – yes please
- A single play through lasts between 30mins and 60mins
Cons:
- After 15 play throughs the game is pretty much done for.
7. Twilight Imperium 4th Edition
Players: 3 – 6
Duration: 240mins – 480mins
Twilight Imperium is a sci fi war game where players choose one of seventeen factions to conquer the galaxy.
No game of Twilight Imperium is ever the same. Each of the seventeen factions boasts a unique play style, and the board made up of 51 galaxy tiles is uniquely constructed every game.
If you enjoy the sci-fi space battle theme and huge day long campaigns. This game is perfect for you.
I must admit I have only played through one campaign of this epic game – and it is definitely not for the novice board gamer.
The game, though is genius and requires a ton of skill and tactical game play to overcome.
Gameplay
I will preface this section by admitting this game is very complex. I will discuss the basic idea of the gameplay below, if you want to learn more check out the official rules here.
As mentioned above, in Twilight Imperium, players choose one of seventeen factions of galactic space fighter, vying to become the next ruler of the galaxy.
In order to do this, players need to conquer star systems, vote on laws, research technology, build fleets of spaceships and trade goods to acquire resources.
The game is played on a hexagonal tile board and has miniature space crafts of all shapes and sizes, cardboard tokens, cards and anything else you could possibly stuff into a board game box!
The overarching goal is to acquire victory points. These are attained by completing a mixture of public and secret objectives and by holding the central planet in the galaxy called Mecatol Rex.
There is a myriad of different ways of earning victory points, such as holding a certain number of planets of a certain type, spending huge amounts of resources or doing things to annoy your opponents.
The game is good, in fact if you play with a group of people who know what they’re doing—Twilight Imperium is one of the best games there is.
However, it can also be a terrible game— I’ve heard of campaigns where after over 6 hours, there are only two players who could possibly win, with the others just politely being dragged along for the ride out of politeness – torture!
Pros:
- Great quality art and components
- Huge replay value
- 4th Edition is very balanced
Cons:
- Hugely complex game (only for hobbyist gamers)
- Trade in the game is a bit meh
8. Inis
Players: 2 – 4
Duration: 60mins – 90mins
Inis is a strategy-based war game with a heavy Celtic theme. It’s a very deep game that can be played in around an hour to an hour and a half.
The primary aim of the game is to defeat all other players and take your crown as the Irelands High King.
There are three ways to do this however, and aimlessly clobbering you opponents is not always the best strategy as it means less unity in the Kingdom.
The three ways to dominate the game are:
- Have the biggest clan;
- Control at least six different territories; or
- Religion – have your clans in six territories that each have sanctuaries.
The game is hugely simple for a strategy war game (the rule book is only 11 pages), however don’t let this put you off as the game is very deep and requires a lot of in-depth strategy and decision making – which is a lot of fun!
Gameplay
The game play for Inis is very simple, each round starts with a drafting of cards.
Each player will begin the draft with 4 action cards. Select one of these cards to play and pass the rest to the next player.
Once, you receive the 3 cards from your opponent, add the card you previously set aside to your hand and from those select 2 more and again pass the rest to your neighbor.
This style of drafting continues until all players have a hand of 4 action cards that they will use in the next phase of the game.
The next phase of the game is called the ‘season phase’. This is where the real meat of the game is.
During the season phase players play alternating turns with three actions available to each player on their turn:
- Play an action card – A player plays a card from their hand that allows them to explore territories, provides bonuses to the player or allows the player to battle another clan.
- Pass – This essentially forfeits your turn. This can be voluntary, or forced if you run out of cards. Inis is a game all about timing. Strategically passing is something you should keep up your sleeve as a tactic.
- Taking a Pretender to the Throne Token – This can only be done if you meet one of the victory conditions mentioned earlier. If you hold the token you are eligible to win on the next round BUT only if you are still eligible to hold the token when that round begins – so if you take the token be prepared for a fight!
During a fight in Inis, the players have a few options available to them. For one, the player that is attacked may move their units behind walls (that surround any citadels in the game) and therefore be safe from battle, if this is not an option, then all exposed units enter battle.
During battle, the attacked player has two options:
- Remove a single clan figure from the board; or
- Discard an action card (a huge disadvantage in the game).
Now this player attacks back – and the next player needs to do the same thing. This continues until there is only one side left or a truce is called.
Overall, I like the game of Inis. It’s all about being super tactical in your play and using a strategy to appear weak to your opponents and then quickly swooping in and taking the win.
Pros:
- Artwork is amazing
- Need to be super strategic to pull off a win
- Great draft mechanic and gameplay
Cons:
- There is a strategy to gang up on a player – which isn’t much fun if you are that player
- Best played with 4 players
9. Memoir 44
Players: 2 – 8
Duration: 30mins – 60mins
This game takes the theme back to WWII. Memoir 44 is a historical war game that has players facing off as opposing forces in scenarios based on the most famous historic battles of WWII.
The game includes over 15 different scenarios including Omaha Beach, Operation Cobra, Pegasus Bridge and the Ardennes.
The game is very simple to play and can be easily played within an hour.
Gameplay
Memoir 44 is the by far the easiest war game I have ever had to learn. Players use ‘command cards’ to control troops, roll dice to handle combat and collect medals to win the game.
Players choose one of the 15 scenarios in the game and choose to play either the Allies or Axis teams (players play against each other).
The scenario will tell you how to arrange the different components on the table in the designated hexes that make up the battlefield. The battlefield consists of a right flank, center and left flank.
Play is completed on a turn by turn bases, with turns comprising of playing a command card to order units to move or attack, battle and then draw another command card.
Battles are completed based on 3 steps:
- Check range – Units have a limited range with which they can attack. The range will determine how many dice are rolled.
- Check terrain – Terrain affects how effective your attacks are. If you are attacking on rough terrain – you roll less dice.
- Determine outcome – Based on the above conditions – roll the appropriate amount of dice. The dice are specially printed 6-sided dice with 5 unique sides:
- Infantry (2 faces);
- Armor;
- Flag;
- Star; and
- Grenade.
Each symbol you roll that matches the unit you are attacking (or a grenade) kills one unit. If you kill all units in that army, it is removed from the board and you are awarded a medal.
And that’s it. Play continues like this until the win condition is met (determined by each scenario).
It is by far one of the simplest war board games and can be played with a complete beginner to board games with ease.
Pros:
- Very easy to learn and teach
- Quick game time
- Huge amount of expansions available
Cons:
- Lots of luck involved for a war game
- Some scenarios are terrible
10. Julius Caesar
Players: 2
Duration: 120mins
Julius Caesar is a card driven block based 2 player war game that is themed around the later Roman Civil Wars (49-45BC).
Players take the side of Caesar or Pompey and battle each other for control of the Roman Empire.
The game is very easy to learn, but hard to master. The block nature of the game is unique in a war-based game and makes it a lot of fun.
Gameplay
Each game of Julius Caesar starts with the same setup. The troops (blocks) are organized on the board in an asymmetrical design with all unused blocks placed beside the board next to the player controlling that legion.
One block is kept face down on both sides at the start of the game. This is a leader block that is only playable after either side loses their first leader.
The command/event cards are then shuffled and 6 are dealt to each player.
The game is broken up into 5 years (rounds). Each round players’ have 5 turns and there are 3 phases per turn.
The game uses a ‘fog of war’ mechanic whereby blocks are played on the map face down and are only revealed in battle.
The aim of the game is to collect 10 victory points (VP) by capturing cities. As mentioned earlier the game is asymmetrical, each side has different strengths and weaknesses and it is really fun coming up with a strategy to utilize these.
Sticking with the asymmetrical theme, the player who chooses Caesar starts with 1 VP and the player who plays Pompey starts with 7 VP. This means the Pompey player only needs 3 VP to win the game.
During the game cards are played by each player simultaneously. These are made up of event and Command cards.
Command Cards define how many moves and levies the player has for their turn. Players can decide to use less moves and levies on their cards but not more. This is essentially how players move troops on the board.
Event Cards bend the rules of the game. They are depicted as Roman deities and give the player who uses them a one-time ability to gain an upper hand in the game.
The three phases on each turn are as follows:
1. Play – Each player plays one of their command or event cards simultaneously.
If both players play command cards, the card with the highest move value goes first. If both cards have the same movement value, the player playing Caesar moves first.
If an event card is played, the player who plays the event card goes first. If both cards are event cards, the turn immediately ends!
2. Command – Players are able to move their troops between cities and/or ports (if the block is a navy block) and levy their troops to increase strength of certain army blocks or bring other army units into play.
There are also limits to the number of armies that can travel along a road, so movement has to be done strategically.
Armies are not able to attack an opposing force after moving and cannot enter a city location or fortify an area if they have moved twice in one turn.
3.Battle – Battles in Julius Caesar are only fought between two armies that are located in the same location or city.
The army moving into an opposing forces territory is considered the attacker. When two armies meet in battle their blocks are turned over to reveal their strength.
The defender always attacks before the attacker.
When armies fight, players take an equal number of dice to the battling armies’ current strength and rolls them. Hits are scored for all dice that are rolled BENEATH the defending armies current firepower value.
The attacker then repeats the same process and then the cycle repeats up to a maximum of 4 times. If an army’s strength is reduced to 0, that block is removed from the board and placed in the players ‘Levy Pool.
The army can be played again but not in the current year.
At the end of the round there is a ‘winter’ whereby the win conditions are checked. If there is no victor the game continues into the next year.
Overall the game is incredibly simple to pick up. The hard part, is using strategy to overcome your opponent.
While there is a luck aspect of the game, time and time again the player with the best strategy will come out on top.
Pros:
- Easy to learn
- Replay ability
- High quality components (wooden blocks)
- Easy to learn – hard to master
- Unique block / fog of war mechanic
Cons:
- Luck element
- Asymmetrical – might not appeal to some
Final Thoughts
I had to think long and hard to put together the top 10 list in this article. Choosing 10 war games out of hundreds is no easy task – especially when there are so many awesome games that just missed the cut.
War board games have, in my opinion, some of the best board game titles to play. Unfortunately, they get a hard time in the gaming community for being overly complex and full of rules. While this is true for many of the games – it is in my opinion an over exaggeration.
Many of the games listed above are super simple, yet still have you thinking strategically and tactically to beat your opponent, they immerse you in their theme and gameplay – and the ones that are complex do so for a good reason, to make the game as realistic as possible.
No matter which type of game you are looking for, complex or easy, or whether you are new or a hobbyist – I am sure you will find something in my list that will suit your war game cravings!
