Howdy, my fellow wargamers! It’s been a long while since my digital pen touched the white canvas of this blog, and I’m back after a short (longish) hiatus. Mostly busy preparing for and getting married—starting a family and all that. Anyway, no excuse to leave my fellow generals in the dark! What a shame! Indeed!
Anyhow, here is my Top 10 Wargames you need to get before the last autumn leaf hits the ground at 5 miles per hour—or at least before the Steam Autumn Sale ends, whichever comes first. The sale will end on 4th December at 10 AM Pacific time.
Since dollar signs are so boring, I’ve decided to use the number of Starbucks cups as a metric system to dictate how affordable each game is while on sale. One Starbucks cup has an average price of USD 4. Yes, yes—you’re right, that depends on the city you live in, but I want it to be this way, OK?
Number 1 – Close Combat Classic Collection
Price: 3 Starbucks cups or $13.45 (33% discount)
In the middle of this year, our great serpentine lord, Slitherine, blessed us with a 5-game bundle: the Close Combat Classic Collection. It contained the first 5 Close Combat games of the series—no remake or remaster, but enough optimization to be able to play them on your modern PC.
Visually and audibly, it works, even though the first game is limited to a smaller window. Still, you are able to bask in the magnificence of shouting at your little digital troopers to seize the next hedgerow while their comrades die bloodily on the square-like grass field.
The five games included are:
- Close Combat 1
- Close Combat 2: A Bridge Too Far
- Close Combat 3: The Russian Front
- Close Combat 4: The Battle of the Bulge
- Close Combat 5: Invasion: Normandy – Utah Beach to Cherbourg
Why you’ll like it:
- Excellent value for five games at an affordable price
- Great introduction to the Close Combat series
- Perfect for players who enjoy micromanaging troops in intense scenarios
Number 2 – Napoleon’s Eagles: Game of the Napoleonic Wars
Price: 4.5 Starbucks cups or $17.49 (50% discount)
Got the urge to wear a fancy hat and declare yourself Emperor of Europe? Napoleon’s Eagles has you covered. This digital adaptation of the legendary board game War & Peace—no, not the movie—lets you conquer the continent with tactical genius—or lose Spain entirely because you thought cavalry could take on cannons.
It’s strategy, it’s history, and it’s cheaper than that Napoleon-inspired costume you were considering for Halloween.
Why you’ll like it:
- Classic board game mechanics adapted to digital play
- A worthy Napoleonic wargame at a strategic level.
- Much cheaper than buying War & Peace.
Number 3 – Fort Sumter: The Secession Crisis
Price: 0.85 Starbucks cup or $3.19 (60% discount)
Sometimes, wargames are more about political maneuvering than battlefield blunders. Fort Sumter puts you in the shoes of leaders trying to either prevent or spark the American Civil War. Place influence on key areas like the Arsenal or the Senate and watch your opponent sweat—or accidentally hand them an advantage.
Think of it as a lighter, faster Twilight Struggle for days when you want strategy without brain burnout.
Why you’ll like it:
- Quick, easy-to-learn card-based strategy
- Engaging political and strategic decision-making
- Perfect for fans of the American civil war who want a more cerebral experience
Number 4 – Cold Waters
Price: 2 Starbucks cups or $9.99 (75% discount)
Calling all sub commanders! In Cold Waters, you’ll hunt enemy warships, evade torpedoes, and maybe accidentally fire on a fishing boat (oops). This game captures the tension of Cold War naval battles without drowning you in unnecessary complexity.
Pro tip: silence is golden unless you want to hear your crew panic as a destroyer zeroes in.
Why you’ll like it:
- Intense, nerve-wracking naval combat
- Strategic gameplay with manageable complexity
- Great for players who enjoy stealth, strategy, and high stakes
Number 5 – The Great War: Western Front
Price: 2.5 Starbucks cups or $10.49 (70% discount)
WWI isn’t exactly overflowing with wargames, but The Great War: Western Front fills the niche brilliantly. This blend of real-time strategy and turn-based planning captures the grind of trench warfare, complete with terrain that stays scarred from your battles.
Victory takes time, manpower, and more resources than your Great Aunt Betty’s garden renovation. But oh, the satisfaction when you finally break through the enemy’s defenses.
Why you’ll like it:
- Realistic depiction of WWI trench warfare
- Strategic planning mixed with real-time action
- Satisfaction of conquering hard-fought, resource-draining territories
Number 6 – Panzer Corps 2
Price: 3.5 Starbucks cups or $15.99 (60% discount)
Ah, Panzer Corps 2, the game where you are the supreme tactician (or so you’ll tell yourself until the AI humiliates you). Lead your pixelated WWII army across hex-based maps, capturing objectives, outmaneuvering enemies, and occasionally facepalming when your tanks run out of fuel.
With gorgeous visuals, satisfying mechanics, and more tanks than you can shake a baguette at, this game is a must-have for armchair generals. Bonus points if you shout “Blitzkrieg!” during every turn.
I’ve written a review for the base game, Panzer Corps 2 and its expansion Spanish Civil War.
DLC Alert: Check out the Panzer Corps 2: Axis Operations series DLC for more bad guys campaigns.
Why you’ll like it:
- A return to form for a classic beer and pretzel wargames
- Detailed maps with hexagonal tiles
- Good for newcomers.
Number 7 – Second Front
Price: 6 Starbucks cups or $24.49 (30% discount)
Don’t be fooled by the cartoony graphics. You’ll be in for a rude awakening when you realize how bad you are at this game—when the AI whoops your ass, sending you crying to your momma because you don’t understand the concept of elevation and probability hits.
You’ll plan your attacks, watch your plans get obliterated, and then figure out how to salvage the wreckage. It’s pure war chaos. If you don’t believe you can read my review of it here.
Why you’ll like it:
- Deep tactical gameplay – forcing you to apply combined arms tactics.
- One of the best hand to hand close combat simulator in a tactical wargame
- AI is pretty smart.
Number 8 – Warplan Pacific
Price: 7 Starbucks cups or $31.99 (20% discount)
Warplan Pacific is a spin-off of Warplan, which is a spin-off of the developer’s own nostalgic imagination of their childhood board game experiences.
Set in the Pacific Theater, you can reenact Pearl Harbor all over again, followed by island-hopping through the Solomon Islands all the way to Okinawa. Or, if you’re the Chinese, you’ll reenact defending your homeland. The game lets you command U.S. or Japanese forces across vast, island-hopping campaigns. Whether you’re island-hopping or being island-hopped, it’s going to be a rough ride.
This is yet another game that I’ve review on this blog whcih can beread here.
Why you’ll like it:
- Not as complex as Gary Grigsby War in the Pacific but still enjoyable
- Easy to learn btu hard to master
- Great if you enjoy both land and naval battles.
Number 9 – Syrian Warfare
Price: 1 Starbucks cup or $3.91 (72% discount)
You’ve played your WWII, you’ve played your medieval wars, and now it’s time for modern conflict. Syrian Warfare brings you into the chaotic world of modern warfare with an emphasis on the Syrian Civil War. You’ll finally get to fight the dread ISIS in intense, close-quarters combat with a focus on strategy and realism.
It’s heavy, it’s gritty, and it’s definitely not the kind of thing you can casually throw on while sipping coffee.
Why you’ll like it:
- Modern warfare, with realistic tactics and units
- Gritty, immersive gameplay that feels like real combat
- Great if you want to get you teeth kicked in.
Number 10 – Shadow Empire
Price: 6 Starbucks cups or $29.99 (40% discount)
Welcome to Shadow Empire, where you play a military leader running a junta and trying to plan your next attack on your neighbors in a post-apocalyptic society while fending off wars, managing politics, and just trying to make sure you have enough supplies to go around for your army. It’s like running a country, but the country’s civilians are all soldiers who drive armored vehicles to do their groceries while navigating through a dry desert.
Feel free to read my review if you want to know why Shadow Empire is one of the best wargames in recent years.
Why you’ll like it:
- A mix of grand strategy and tactical warfare
- Deep political and military management
- Perfect for players who enjoy post-apocalyptic scenarios
If this list is not enough, you can read my other Steam sale guide whcih includes another list of 10 different wargames.
