Please find the Master List here.
A few remarks regarding this list:
- Over time, I added new columns to the spreadsheet. When these additions were made, I did not consistently revisit previous entries to fill in the new data. Consequently, information such as the month of release may be absent for some of the earlier games. I intend to gradually go back and fill in these gaps.
- It is complete until 1985 only. Some games still require investigation and could be removed from the list. On the other hand, if you believe there are wargames that I have missed, feel free to suggest them in the comments section. You can also report any inaccuracies regarding dates, platforms, or other details for the games I have documented.
- Genre classification turned out to be pretty challenging. While certain genres are well-established (such as 4X and Grand Strategy), many wargames don’t belong to these categories and are just described as “strategy games” or “wargames”. Additionally, the commonly used RTS “genre” more accurately refers to the real-time aspect of gameplay, rather than the actual game mechanics or the elements managed by the player. I ended up creating my own genres, whose definitions I have added in another sheet.
I appreciate there may be no good place to post this, but a short note to say I’m following you.
Long loved CRPG addict, and interested to see the same for wargames. Admittedly you are many years away from the later 1980s and 1990s yet however, when I first started to play these games.
Good luck.
Lords of Conquest is a good game.
Incunabula is terrific—it’s AH’s Civilization on a different map.
Any reason you won’t play M.U.L.E.? (it’s not a wargame, true…)
I do have to wonder about your version of Nobunaga’s Ambition—the PC version seems much prettier and less stupid. My favorite country to play was Noto. I would wait for folks to invade and then kill their leader to get their troops. My brother liked Kai-Shinano. He’d play ring around the rosie with the mountain until the 30 day endurance was passed.
I’ve seen Paris in Danger played once. I remember my brother’s friend insisted, “I WANNA PLAY PID!” I fell asleep halfway through the game. They didn’t finish it.
Six-Gun Shootout is great, especially since you can make custom scenarios.
As an aside, just looking through the upcoming list, but I’d struggle to say either Little Computer People or Balance of Power are wargames.
The first is more like ‘The Sims’ but fifteen years earlier, and the second; whilst it can lead to ‘war’ is the losing state. If war happens, you’ve lost. It’s definitely a strategy game but not a war game.
LCP is not a wargame, but when I added it to the list I did not know it. My “method” is I add everything categorized as a wargame to the 1985+ list, and then when I get into the specific year I start to investigate. When I added it to the list, I did not know what LCP was – that was 2 years ago. I read about it a few weeks ago, but did not know I had it in my list.
BOP is influential enough and wargame-adjacent enough to be added in the list.
I came across your site earlier this year and have been incorporating your Reviews into my similar list of wargames that I have maintained since the 1990’s when I came across the CDs Twenty Wargame Classics and the Definitive Wargame Collection.
The criteria for my list is:
– Must Look and Feel like a wargame, which must include an operational art element and may include tactical and strategic (as in plans and preparations) parts but not solely be tactical nor strategic only.
– Cannot be a Risk/Axis & Allies derivative
– Being former Navy I also include games like Harpoon/Command, Age of Sail/Ultimate Admiral, and submarine simulators (or sims of any ship type)
– Cannot be a Battleship derivative
– Any special interest/nostalgic game like Chancellor Of The Exchequer/Civilization/Red Alert
– No Star Trek unless it appeals to me (like the Starfleet Command)
– Approximately from 1979/1980 onward
I include the review articles from the Computer Gaming World galleries archive, your The Wargaming Scribe site, the MobyGames site, Atarimania site, and MyAbandoneware.
I also group the games into series whenever possible (for example Battlefront, Total War, etc.)
I’ve recently started to incorporate non Windows/DOS games which is how I came across your website.
Attached is a snippet of my list.
If you would like to compare I can share!
Thanks for your Website!!
Here is a snippet of my non-DOS list that I am incorporating into my original DOS/Windows only list
It looks like you have games in your list I don’t, so yes I would love to see your list. You probably already saw mine 🙂
Send me your email address and I will share my Google Sheet Wargame list with you