Videogames are excellent, but they're not the only way to have fun!
Not everybody enjoys them nowadays, especially with the excellent, fun, and competitive videogames that exist today. Let’s say you’re grounded, not at home or you simply enjoy a chill afternoon in family playing board games, well to distract you (and develop your strategy skills) I bring you the 10 best military-themed board games. Enjoy.
10. Memoir ‘44
Memoir ‘44 Gameplay
Dive right into WWII! This game’s a great simulation for you to feel part of a great and powerful army. Usually being a duel between 2 players, Memoir ‘44 takes you back to one of the most distinguished military moments of human history. Get ready for an hour-long game that’ll defy your strategy skills and intelligence!
Even if this game’s easy to learn, once you sit down and start focusing on victory, you’ll find interesting mechanics (such as communication breakdowns between your troops and others) that could give you a hard time beating your opponent.
9. B-17 Flying Fortress Leader
B-17 Flying Fortress Leader Gameplay
Tired of dealing with dummies? Lucky for you, B-17 Flying Fortress Leader is a solo game, and trust me when I say: time flies when playing it. Your job is to complete a series of missions while managing a wing of B-17’s and trying not to get shot down by enemies. What makes this game so fun? The fact that you have to plan your approach to targets and what’s even better: you gotta deal with enemies' upgrades and level-ups.
B-17 Flying Fortress Leader’s great for you to spend a chill day at home if you can’t find someone to play and enjoy wargames like you.
8. Axis & Allies
Axis & Allies Gameplay
Axis & Allies is that delicious and hot slice of pizza you eat when starving. What I mean is that it has everything one could wish for in a wargame set during WWII. You can launch tactical strikes against the industry, battle on sea and ground. This game isn’t new, but it remains one of the greatest war-themed board games.
If 2 players aren’t enough for you, you can call 3 more and have a 5-player duel and make the best out of those 120 match minutes this game offers.
7. 1775: Rebellion
1775: Rebellion Gameplay
English empire vs American colonies, each one with its unique characteristics, advantages, disadvantages, and time of reappearance. As you can see, 1775: Rebellion is great at standing out as an elaborated and tactical board game. In addition to this, the historical accuracy of this game is simply excellent and makes the atmosphere feel intense and precise.
6. Falling Sky: Gallic Revolt Against Caesar
Falling Sky: Gallic Revolt Against Caesar Gameplay
Let’s go back a few years, let’s say…mmm…54 BC. Just like history itself, some troops are stronger and more resistant than others; Romans have, for example, the strongest soldiers, meanwhile, the Gauls are great at slaughtering other tribes and enemies.
This game isn’t the first and only one of the COIN series of games, I’ve read it is almost the best one though. I think it deserves a chance, especially if you like the atmosphere.
5. 878: Vikings – Invasions of England
878: Vikings - Invasions of England Gameplay
A team-based wargame that puts you either in the shoes of the English nobles or the wild, invading Vikings. Without advantages over the other factions, you and your teammate will be forced to plan tactics and strategies to defeat your enemies by planning your attacks and defensive methods.
To make this game even better, every faction (English Housecarls, Thegns, Norse freemen, and Vikings Berserkers) counts with customed dice that can either benefit your troops with an attack, doom you with a unit loss, or force you to retreat tactically.
4. Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar Gameplay
Based on a block troops play style, Julius Caesar incorporates a lot of mechanics seen in Stratego. What’s cool about this game (besides the time it is set on, of course) is the fact that blocks will stand on their side and only be visible to the enemy once you mobilize them. To simulate this historical event, this board game utilizes a card system to move troops and every round counts as a year, making the game “five years long”.
3. Twilight Struggle
Twilight Struggle Gameplay
Set during the Cold War, obviously focused on the conflict between the USSR and the USA, you and the other player have to fight for worldwide control and influence. It is said to be easy to learn, but planning different approaches and tactics is what complicates this game.
Twilight Struggle gets even more interesting because of its card-based play style and the fact that you’ll get some cards that inevitably help and benefit your opponent, what’s tricky here is when you decide to play them to get you closer to one of your objectives.
2. Risk: Legacy
Risk: Legacy Gameplay
A political and strategy game that puts you on a board that represents the world. Your job? You gotta capture and dominate as much territory as you can. It’s literally about power and control but from an intelligent point of view. What I mean is that you can forge alliances with other players to make your goal easier to get.
This game’s cool because it represents particularlyfine how control and political deals work to gain as much power as possible to eliminate your enemies.
1. Ogre
Ogre Gameplay
One of the OGs, actually published in 1977 and is still up there after more than 40 years. A large, great, and big tank, also known as the Ogre, is trying to destroy a base, while the other player is there to defend his base from it and completely disable the Ogre before it gets too close.
The newer versions of this game actually incorporate different Ogre designs, more troops, and different terrains and atmospheres, making it one of the essentials after so many years.
