10 All Time Greatest War Games |

[@ChadHensley]

Jesse you're killing me with all these new subscriptions I'm adding! Thanks for supporting other creators!

[@Quackalope]

XD they are good people

[@sethwinslow]

So what’s interesting about this to me is the difference between how military leaders and the broader populace define war, and hence war games. Remember, “war is diplomacy by other means.” But the converse is also true - “the diplomatic arena is war but another means.” Sun Tzu famously argued that the best victory is one you don’t have to fight to achieve.

[@Quackalope]

Haha, you are the expert in this Seth :)

[@sethwinslow]

@@Quackalope Maybe I’m just anal-retentive? There is history to this - Napoleon, an army marches on its stomach led to the American way of war - production, logistics, and supply chain. The German way of thinking about strategy through WWII was to focus on brilliant maneuver and flanking, like blitzkrieg. Guess what happened? I can see myself playing a tactical war game, but unless the strategic game significantly incorporates a resource component, I can’t take it seriously.

[@derrickcamardo4629]

Wings of Glory is my fav war game!

[@richarddurrer9617]

Man, this was a fun watch. I started way back and Midway was my first adult board game. So many of these were games I loved and played. I was heartbroken when I opened up my old box of Ambush and found it was unplayable, too many pieces were lost. H00t!

[@johnathankokoski]

Loving the crossover vids with Legendary Tactics. Thanks!

[@riddlesphinxx]

Legendary Tactics is a great channel, their voices are so chill and relaxing

[@LegendaryTactics]

Very kind of you to say. It was a real blast to meet and collaborate with Quack.

[@danielochoa5138]

Great video, I'm subscribed in both chanels, I believe I've been more time around in Quackalope. Last year I entered into the world of complex wargames and I loved them: Thunderbolt Apache Leader, Zero leader (from the same series but controlling japanese combat planes), Fields of Fire 2 (one of the more complex games in the genre, Warfighter, Space Empires, Talon and Pendragon (COIN). But I do love as well the more mainstream wargames such as: Blood Rage, Root, War of the Ring and Eclipse.

[@korsus7055]

WOW. This video was AMAZING! Amazing idea to bring this on the channel! WoTR is one of the best game ever! D-Day, Fire in the lake...amazing wargame as well! Fields of Fire is missing, very difficult but so great, and the very last success Atlantic Chase ... quite a revolution!

[@Quackalope]

Thanks a ton! I was so honored to have this crew come down!

[@LegendaryTactics]

Glad you enjoyed the somewhat off-the-beaten-path games. We really enjoyed our trip to Cleveland.

[@Alphan0va777]

This is awesome that you are branching out

[@Quackalope]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@waltermak2890]

LOVE this video, GREAT work Team Quackalope! Really hope you visit this genre more in the future. There are a lot of good 'boardgame-adjacent' wargames that may be of interest to the Quackalope viewership. GMT COIN Games, as mentioned in the video, and also the Heroes of.... series by Devil Pig Games (they are about to launch a Kickstarter for their Pacific iteration...maybe reach out for some content coverage?) and the recently crowdfunded SAS Rogue Regiment. The other games listed here are stellar as well. It's a great 'complementary' genre to the usual boardgame categories. Keep up the great work, guys!

[@DonBuonasera]

A couple of games that were not mentioned and are really great games for beginners and veterans alike: the Commands&Colors series and the Conflict of Heroes series. Both superb. Well, I’m gonna mention another one - Sekigahara.

[@edwardlasso3092]

Agreed wholeheartedly! The Commands and Colors series is amazing and it is so flexible, considering that they have games for WWII (Memoir 44), WWI (Great War), Civil War (Battle Cry), Revolutionary War (The American Revolution), Napoleonic times (C&C Napoleonics), and Roman times (C&C Ancients) to name a few.

[@Quackalope]

Man, I have so many I ned to try out!

[@dantheboardgameman9593]

Academy Games have another conflict series in North America, 1812, 1775 Rebellion and 1754 Conquest. Columbia Games have also some interesting titles, Rommel in the desert, Hammer of the Scots and Quebec 1759.

[@calebbarton5697]

Should have asked about Memoir 44! The bridge between war games and board games…

[@revol40]

My go to Space empires video site.

[@edwardlasso3092]

"Root" is to the COIN series as "My Little Scythe" is to "Scythe". Also, the "Ambush!" games are so great but very expensive now, and desperately need a reprint (although I heard that "Purple Haze" is supposedly the spiritual successor to it).

[@pm71241]

I don't think the scythe analogy gives people a useful impression of what the Relationship between Root and COIN is. And I also don't think COIN is a deeper or more advanced game than Root or that Root is a dumbed down COIN game. The only thing they have in common is that Cole got inspired by COIN to do Root, but IMHO Root is the better game - for various reasons.

[@edwardlasso3092]

The Leader series by DVG is great... Thunderbolt Apache Leader is my favorite, but they have games for a variety of weapons... from fighters during ww2 (Zero and Corsair Leader), to tanks (Sherman and Tiger Leader), to bombers (B17 Leader), to submarines (U-boat and Gato Leader).

[@ericstockwell1540]

For the space war games also looking at Star Wars rebellion! Such a fun time every play and definitely has that insurgancy feel with the rebels

[@HeavenlyTouch1]

Lack of Company of Heroes on this list makes me sad. People are sleeping on this gem

[@maxf.7262]

Ty for this Video! Quack!

[@dreamweapons]

Very cool and different video from your channel. Thanks! if I might add: any tactical titles from the combat commander series or old school tactical series. Completely different types of games, both are modern, super fun and thematic…new legends. The rules are so so MANAGEABLE and you get a huge amount of depth. And old school tactical is just gorgeous I mean who doest love that candy?

[@aditmaryadi6678]

Lowkey thought Legendary Tactics featuring only of their voices 😂

[@Quackalope]

XD would be funny

[@drewkennewell4267]

This is a solid list. Incidentally, D-Day at Omaha Beach and Ambush! are both designed by John Butterfield, who is a legend in war boardgaming. His games (and in particular solo systems) are incredibly highly regarded.

[@christianreyes5912]

Squad Leader!

[@Quackalope]

Much Quack!

[@christianreyes5912]

@@Quackalope Be careful, like Warhammer it is a lifestyle game :)

[@nicgrecas3799]

@@christianreyes5912 To be fair, if you stick to Squad Leader, it doesn't take over your life (much). Once you start adding the Gamettes and then realist that it becomes unplayable without lengthy discussions about which rules you will use, things start to get a lot worse. Lurking in the shadows is the lure of Advance Squad Leader, which draws you down a very deep rabbit hole indeed!

[@boardgametotears]

I've been following both your channels for quite some time and it's exciting to see this collaboration.

[@DonBuonasera]

War of the Ring is really awesome! Play it!

[@Quackalope]

Man, I need to!

[@MichaelAW17]

I think based on the criteria set out as what is a war game, TI4 should not be on there. It is much more a negotiation game than anything. War is a very, very small part of the game.

[@Quackalope]

That is a fair argument :)

[@dawafflesupreme]

Amazing vid.

[@pauls3585]

Nice list. I would add Axis & Allies.

[@lennoxkohorst-gy8mx]

I agree

[@pogdog69]

This was exactly what I was after. Great to find another war channel to follow as well!

[@robertmoffitt1336]

Wings of War is now Wings of Glory! One of my all time favorites! However, it was out waaaay before X-Wing, so X-Wing is actually Wings of Glory reskinned!

[@Skullyweb]

The designers of Wings were originally hired to do x wing and a lot of their system was used.

[@don6538]

Wings of War/Glory is sometimes my favorite game (when I'm not playing "Railways ot the World"). There is also a WWII edition for these, but most important is the model planes. Love 'em. They only showed the cards in this clip. I am also a big fan of the Columbia company who pioneered block wargames (hidden unit stats). "Crusader Rex 2d ed.", "Shiloh: April 1862", and "Wizard Kings" are really great games. WWII titles include "Eastfront", "Pacific Victory", and "Rommel in the Desert".

[@gravecac9522]

Great lists. When I saw the thumbnail, the first two games that came into my head were PanzerBlitz and Squad Leader. I played them and their successors into the ground.

[@2ManyHobbies16]

The whole undaunted series is a must have games. Another going fast and at times hard to get hands on. Not there are price through the roof. I highly recommend any of the Undaunted games.

[@BillyTheRealDeal]

One of my favorites is Supremacy... But its more recourse management than war. Panzer Blitz, Squad Leader are two of my introductory war games after playing Risk and Axis & Allies.

[@afcor]

Always love to hear you talk about Root. I believe I may have played with you on your first playthrough of it at a Boozy Boardgame Night at Mr. Henry's!

[@horuslupercal9936]

"Space Hulk"....Super simple game but I've been going back to it since 1990.

[@sdcwarzone]

Woah what an awesome combo! And all in Cleveland! Keep up the great content everyone!

[@beornthebear9023]

This was a cool video and fun to see some discussion on games I had heard about but not really fully grasped what they were about

[@Markus.81]

I remember playing Ambush with my dad when I was a kid. In pretty much every mission I played a particular squad member would die. No matter where I sent him something happened and he got killed.

[@paulcheeseable]

Where is 878 Vikings? or a War of Whispers?

[@Quackalope]

Maybe they need to play them :) - lots of games out there!

[@zachras9643]

I really enjoy Axis and Allies👍 curious to know where it would stack up.

[@darylpruett5193]

Skip Axis & Allies and try War Room

[@don6538]

2 player "Fortress America" is the best of those old Milton Bradley wargames. For multi-player, the best was "Shogun", later re-published as "Samurai Swords" and then again as "Ikusa".

[@marckoechl]

Great list and now I've got a lot more games I'm gonna have to pick up!! Thx Quack!!

[@Pryde551]

Fun video! I have to also recommend War of the Ring as one of the best war games, and just one of the best games in general!

[@lorenzovive5801]

I played Ambush some 30 years ago and regret to this day that I sold it at an auction. It was awesome!

[@stevenphillips1443]

great to see the LT guys on video. A+++ content

[@mcacgroff]

Very informative video. Thank you for putting this together. I was wondering your thoughts on Axis and Allies. Was it not included because it is a dice game?

[@pintarfacil8064]

Great video, thanks. Just got hooked on COIN games. They are great!

[@PACEUK22]

I’d love to see more war games on your channel

[@pm71241]

Great cross-over. More of that. I don't think I agree that these 10 games are the "greatest" wargames... But it's definitely a good list of suggestions for people to try if they are curious about wargames.

[@LegendaryTactics]

We all have our favourites - what is your list?

[@pm71241]

@@LegendaryTactics Depends on the criteria. I usually play larger/longer games. ... Which require that you know what you're getting into and is motivated. But I have a large overlap in taste with people like "Ardwulf" and "History on the table".

[@jonathanw3199]

Squad leader is an amazing game miss that one

[@ciccorilla]

Great list. I wonder how many of these are actually available to purchase.

[@pm71241]

Oh... Nice twist at 37:00. That's a great question for a video like this

[@RiHa_Games]

The one day you are on schedule 😜 Still first 🐦 though

[@Quackalope]

Almost!

[@kirilivanov92]

First Quaaack D:

[@Quackalope]

Best Quack!

[@marticabre286]

A solid list, well done!

[@sidneyleejohnson]

You should let Quack know how many copies Squad Leader sold, as well as how many expansions were published. It would blow these young influencer minds...

[@darylpruett5193]

LOL ASL and the 5 inch binder of rules. Those were the days

[@kurtthecat3995]

Incredible. Never heard of Squad Leader.

[@robertthurman9866]

Corsair Leader is amazing. I'm a WWII Pacific kind of guy.

[@nicgrecas3799]

I enjoy the Undaunted series, one of my gaming group who is not (yet) a wargamer really likes it, but I keep wishing that I am playing another game that would be worthy of this list. I am speaking of Up Front! which in my view is unparalleled at creating a strong narrative with an accessible system

[@LegendaryTactics]

Up Front! is amazing - I think a revised, more streamlined version of it would be absolutely incredible!

[@lukerettie]

With the Undaunted series, Normandy is ok but a little samey until you add in stuff from the Reinforcements expansion. North Africa is very fun, one of my favourites, also lots of extra fun stuff for it with the Reinforcements expansion. Havent tried Stalingrad yet, saving my limited funds for Undaunted: Battle of Britain later this year

[@ViscountCharles]

Wings of War/Wings of Glory is NOT "X-Wing reskinned". X-Wing was a reskin of Wings of War.

[@jonlatino9964]

great job guys !

[@robertclopton8942]

Bitter woods, or russia besieged are the two top war games. Ceasar of alesia with the large counters and map provided by noble knights is something to look at.

[@IosifStalin2]

Excellent!

[@charlesl21]

Carrier? Raid on St Nazaire? Command and Colors is War Checkers!

[@captainnolan5062]

Panzerblitz and Panzer Leader are still great games to play. Arab-Israeli Wars is based on the1956 war through the 1973 war.

[@marticabre286]

Very elegant answers in the last part. 😂

[@martinlewis1504]

The group is actual "historical" war gaming, which includes historical non combat games like Diplomacy, Twilight, even Civ . Fantasy and science fiction are just that fantasy and scifi games regardless of mechanism or action.

[@brianuhrig3523]

Although I do like Wings of War, I'm a little surprised that an even better WW1 airwar game was not picked for the top 10. Fight in the Skies (FitS)/Dawn Patrol by TSR. Maybe you guys haven't played it? Certainly check it out.

[@don6538]

Wings of War/Glory is a far better game, especially with the model planes for both World Wars. Yaquinto's "Wings" is a better but more complex version of tactical WWI air war.

[@MicLarson]

Squad Leader its a great game!!!

[@olchum6013]

My favourite wargame is my favourite game. You unboxed it without knowing what it was, but I'm not sure that you ever played it? It's super asymmetrical - eg the mechs are strong but only have 5 units, the bugs are weak but have 38 units; it's area control but every faction has wildly different powers and so wildly different styles of play, but it's somehow balanced No-luck combat (nothing worse than building a huge army then rolling poorly and getting wiped by two peasants and a peon) - units can just absorb damage that's less than their hp, and defenders get to assign the damage, so you can hide weak units behind strong ones. After the attack defenders choose a counterattack from the attacker's combat card (that they used for the attack), so you need to consider the counterattack options you're giving a defender when you're choosing which combat card to attack with There's a neutral faction that everyone gets to control and use to mess with each other. Such a good game! kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHuwZKaZraqpjKs

[@gowensbach2998]

Panzerblitz was my first, so long ago.

[@pm71241]

Root is not based on the COIN system. It's inspired by COIN (because Cole said so), but the system is very different. ... And IMHO better than COIN.

[@acexprt]

Wings of war is now Wings of Glory.

[@Quackalope]

Thanks!

[@gokupepper]

Y'all didn't mention a single game that covered the time period prior to the 20th century. Any good games based on pre-20th century conflicts?

[@Quackalope]

Quack

[@gokupepper]

@@Quackalope I'm new to your channel. Subscribed. I don't get it. 🤔😀

[@BunnyNiyori]

Bunny's Best. Chainmail. It created role gaming. Squad Leader, all things are compared to it. Advanced Third Reich, nothing better. UpFront, the only card using wargaming I liked. Europa system, putting the monster in monster game. Conquest of North Africa, what beats Europa system. Axis n Allies, wargames don't have to be hard.

[@iansanderson2567]

X Wing is Wings of War remained. FF had the WOW licence and made the game clone

[@lennoxkohorst-gy8mx]

You should add axis and allies

[@jorisdelmarcel1480]

No mention of Warhammer? Isn't that like the grandfather of all wargames?

[@don6538]

No. For commercially produced wargames, the granddaddy was Avalon Hill's "Tactics II". By at least 30 years

[@ArnoVdVelde]

Blood rage?

[@desktopgrenadiers4321]

'Huge Rings fan but haven't played this one' but essentially the 11th best ever Wargame?? c'mon, lost all credibility there imo. Each to their own and everyones list will be subjective but I wouldn't have most of them in my top 20-30 let alone top 10.

[@diegosantos8687]

Blood Rage a wargame??? What?

[@iamdadof2178]

Alot of these wargames have super outdated mechanics. I mean I've played all 10 but some newer games have 1000 times better and newer systems in place.

[@joaquinllamazares]

I think it would have been better to see footage about the board games and not yourselves.

[@Flyingjos]

Hahaha....a list from guys that haven't played WotR . Real funny.

[@Quackalope]

There are many games to play. Go make your own list instead of trashing others.

[@wartable]

DVG leader rules books are the worst ever….they need to do better

[@dAmADcHoPpA]

Sorry guys just not a fan of seeing these games through an iPad….

[@Quackalope]

Then buy them all for us. I’ll get you my PO Box.

[@RedBird77]

Reprint Ambush! Amazing game.

[@victorfinberg8595]

Panzerblitz definitely belongs on the list. You say very little about it here. Well, neither will i. One key feature is that it is really a game SYSTEM. You do touch on that. But it goes beyond that, because fans have made many expansions to the system, mostly in terms of extra situations, not by changing the rules. Of course, squad leader must be mentioned. Again, it is a gigantic game SYSTEM. Star Fleet Battles MUST be on the list (was not even mentioned). Again, it is an epic space combat system. I suppose Warhammer needs to be on the list. Here's one reason: there are entire STORES devoted exclusively to the one game SYSTEM. But probably hundreds of games should be on your top ten list.