Wargaming is a dad-core genre, lol.
But for real, these games always looked intimidating. I only get into
Order of Battle through its free tutorial game and that's it (it was long time ago, when I still had patience).
But these are interesting to read about from afar.
Yeah, I've got OoB on the backburner for sure in regards to learning material.
I got another fab suggestion from a wargame vet that he swears by for genre newcomers, an older 2010 title
Battle Academy . Looks kinda gamey on the surface but it's supposed to be great for developing tactical thinking.
Yeah, I don't think I would have the IQ or patience to play a real wargame, but the whole imagery of the hobby is strangely sexy to me. I have seen several pics of people playing real grognard wargames and yeah, sexy. There is something about the dryness of it, the hexagon filled board. Maybe it's just a matter of it evoking the maps of old school tabletop RPG.
Though personally I'm really not interested in WWII. To my knowledge physical wargames are diverse enough to not be, I don't know, automatically WWII or American Civil War.
I hear you. I think map games, hex games and the like are sexy as hell too.
It's exactly what you're saying in regards to the dry presentation. It speaks to a depth under the hood that doesn't need AAA(A) production values to draw people in.
It actually feels like a giant middle finger to the "
AAA(A)" /Sterling industry complex.
It has a secret-society kinda vibe to it as well. Like that underground band you always loved but never heard on the radio. You'll see commercials for the latest CoD every 20 min. on target television stations like Comedy Central. But you'll never see an ad for a grognard wargame. Coupled with the 90° angle learning curve it gives the whole genre a really edgy feel.
If you're cold on WWII/Civil War themes you might want to consider Shadow Empire. It took the strat community by storm in 2020.
It's produced by a solo dev and is a strange hybrid of wargame, 4X, rpg.
Setting is pretty fresh too set hundreds of years after a galaxy-wide civil war. But instead of some big, epic Save The World (tm.) adventure, you're just a lowly community set on a forgotten planet somewhere tasked with picking up the pieces and establishing yourself alongside all the other groups on your world.
Got a bit of a Mad Max vibe and planet diversity is off the charts, giving starting scenarios a limitless possibilities type of feel.
Again, with wargame roots it's not the easiest nut to crack (see:
350 pg. manual), but if you're curious but averse to traditional settings, you could do far worse.
