Category: Strategy and War Games

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ben Webb GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2002, Ben Webb Dopewars is a great clone of John E. Dell’s DOS-based Drug Wars game that was popular on numerous BBS’s in the mid 1990s. Your goal is to amass as much money as possible by buying and…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Roger Pedersen GAME DEVELOPER:Villa Crespo GAME PUBLISHER:Villa Crespo Copyright 1990, Roger Pedersen Stanford Wong Video Poker is an excellent poker game from Villa Crespo, master of card/casino games. Similar to Amarillo Slim, the game is capable of finding best play for any hand and payoff schedule…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Kinkead GAME DEVELOPER:Starsoft Development GAME PUBLISHER:ComputerEasy Copyright 1990, Starsoft Development Space Conquest is a fun, albeit very obscure, 4X strategy game from Starsoft and ComputerEasy. The plot, according to description, is as follows: “…[it] is the year 2112. You are the captain of a colonization…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) GAME PUBLISHER:UBI Soft Copyright 1999, Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Panzer General III: Scorched Earth is an excellent entry in SSI’s Panzer General series. The game continues to use the gorgeous 3D engine that powers Panzer General 3D Assault, but features…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Eric Roosendaal GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2002, Eric Roosendaal Wari is a neat little freeware version of a popular African board game, more commonly known as Awale, Wari, and other similar-sounding names. Awale is a 2-player game played with a board that consists of two…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Istv?n Kiss GAME DEVELOPER:Digital Reality GAME PUBLISHER:GT Interactive Copyright 2000, Digital Reality On the surface, Imperium Galactica 2 seems to have done quite a lot of things right. It has a detailed empire model, an extensive range of structures in its planetary model, lots of ships,…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Cuomo GAME DEVELOPER:Villa Crespo GAME PUBLISHER:Villa Crespo Copyright 1991, Villa Crespo One of the best – if not THE best – PC poker games ever made, Amarillo Slim Dealer’s Choice is a highly underrated and rare gem from Villa Crespo, best known for their long-running…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Harrington & George Crawshay GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, George Crawshay Breaking Away is a faithful freeware QBASIC version of a highly underrated board game of the same name that is still being published by Fiendish Games. The game is a dice-free cycling game…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Doug Gonya GAME DEVELOPER:Impressions GAME PUBLISHER:Sierra On-Line Copyright 1997, Impressions Civil War Generals 2 is a superb sequel to Impressions’ 1996 Robert E. Lee: Civil War General. The game features beautiful artwork by Mort K?nstler, addictive gameplay, excellent multiplayer support, and even a versatile terrain editor.…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Steven Green GAME DEVELOPER:Greenius GAME PUBLISHER:Empire Interactive Copyright 1997, Greenius The Civil War is an ambitious US Civil War game from Greenius, published by Empire Interactive in 1996 and later in 1997 (with improvements and engine upgrade, marketed under the name of Master Player’s Edition). While…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Anonymous GAME PUBLISHER:Anonymous Copyright 1995, Anonymous Mahjong House 2 is a fun Japanese-style Mahjong game from Japan. This is not the solitaire tile-removal game known in the West, but the Chinese multiplayer game that plays similar to Rummy. The difference between this version and…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Reiner Knizia & David Adams GAME DEVELOPER:Klear Games GAME PUBLISHER:Klear Games Copyright 2003, Klear Games One of the best board game conversions I have ever seen, Reiner Knizia’s Samurai is a superb PC version of Samurai, a great abstract board game by Reiner Knizia released simultaneously…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Grzegorz Sidorowicz GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2002, Grzegorz Sidorowicz Hexodus Chess is a very nice PC implementation of hexagon chess, a difficult chess variant that is most popular in Eastern Europe. The game is basically chess played on a hexagonal board. Needless to say, this…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:InterActive Vision GAME PUBLISHER:InterActive Vision Copyright 1995, InterActive Vision Survival is an obscure post-apocalyptic strategy game from InterActive Vision that deserves to be much better known. Set in a bleak post-nuclear war world, your job is to take a band of ragtag survivors out…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Computer Specialties GAME PUBLISHER:Computer Specialties Copyright 1994, Computer Specialties Vegas Bandit is a decent slot machine simulation. The game is very simple: you start the game with 100 coins, and can bet 1 to 3 coins each time. After betting, click on the handle…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:International PC Owners Inc. (IPCO) GAME PUBLISHER:International PC Owners Inc. (IPCO) Copyright 1982, International PC Owners Inc. (IPCO) Droids is a neat little action/strategy game for one to four players that plays like a cross between Pac-Man and the old board game MaxIt. The…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:P. Leabo GAME DEVELOPER:IBM GAME PUBLISHER:IBM Copyright 1982, P. Leabo MaxIt is a nicely coded DOS version of a fun two-player board game of the same name. This turn-based board game plays on an 8×8 grid as follows: each cell on the board contains a number…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Eric Tucker & Mike Duppong GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2002, Eric Tucker Laser Chess is an excellent Java fanmade version of a fun chess variant of the same name that first appeared on the Atari ST in the April 1987 issue of Compute! magazine as…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:NicK Hagger GAME DEVELOPER:Blue Tongue GAME PUBLISHER:MicroProse Copyright 2000, Blue Tongue Squad-based real-time strategy games are, for the most part, a rare lot. Only this, Commandos and Ground Control really spring to mind. Well, Gunlok, too, but I only thought of that because I can see…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Richard Tom GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1990, Richard Tom Mille Bornes (which means “a thousand milestones” in French) is an excellent PC game based on a popular French card game of the same name. Brief rules from CentralConnector.com: “Mille Bornes is a card game for…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Randy Pearson GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1996, Randy Pearson Min-Ha-To is a great PC version of a fun card game of the same name, which is essentially the Korean equivalent of the Japanese game of Hanafuda (or “flower cards” as it is known in the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1995, FG Multimedia Aces High is one of those solitaire games that are easy to learn, but are insanely addictive. In this game that is similar to, but much tougher than, Klondike, your objective is to get rid of all…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Wayne Imlach GAME DEVELOPER:Mucky Foot Productions GAME PUBLISHER:EIDOS Interactive Copyright 2001, Mucky Foot Productions I’ve actually agonised over this review for a number of weeks, trying to come to terms with the fact that this game is essentially an unofficial sequel to Theme Hospital, made by…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Cyclone Studios GAME PUBLISHER:Studio 3DO Copyright 1997, Cyclone Studios Uprising is a very fun and highly underrated real-time strategy game that offers many innovations that are sadly overlooked. Chris McMullen of Games Domain explains in detail why RTS fans should take a look: “Uprising…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Serge Birj GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1999, Serge Birj Durak is an excellent PC implementation of Russia’s most popular card game of the same name. In this excellent card game for four players, there is no winner – only a loser (“Durak” in Russian means…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Greenleaf GAME PUBLISHER:Capstone Copyright 1993, Greenleaf Bridge Master is an excellent bridge game developed by Greenleaf, published by Capstone. The game is reminiscent of QQP’s later Bridge Olympiad, except with fewer options and no tournament mode. Although it is short on long-term play value,…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:ShareData GAME PUBLISHER:ShareData Copyright 1987, ShareData Backgammon, Poker, and Blackjack are very early PC versions of popular parlor/casino games, published by ShareData in the mid-80s. There is not much I can say about these games, except that they are pretty decent titles by 1987…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:ShareData GAME PUBLISHER:ShareData Copyright 1987, ShareData Backgammon, Poker, and Blackjack are very early PC versions of popular parlor/casino games, published by ShareData in the mid-80s. There is not much I can say about these games, except that they are pretty decent titles by 1987…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:ShareData GAME PUBLISHER:ShareData Copyright 1987, ShareData Backgammon, Poker, and Blackjack are very early PC versions of popular parlor/casino games, published by ShareData in the mid-80s. There is not much I can say about these games, except that they are pretty decent titles by 1987…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jeff Anderson GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1994, Jeff Anderson Grid Poker is a fun poker solitaire game, with cards presented in ASCII characters. Your objective is to place cards on the grid such that they form poker hands, which are scored vertically, horizontially, and diagonally.…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Robert Roberds GAME DEVELOPER:BSX International GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1992, BSX International Forzee and Wowzee are a pair of innovative solitaire games from BSX International, a small shareware developer who was more famous for Madame Ching series of adult games that could be found on most BBS’s…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Robert Roberds GAME DEVELOPER:BSX International GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1991, BSX International Forzee and Wowzee are a pair of innovative solitaire games from BSX International, a small shareware developer who was more famous for Madame Ching series of adult games that could be found on most BBS’s…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Twisted Pine GAME PUBLISHER:Epic Megagames Copyright 1995, Twisted Pine In 1995, Epic Megagames published a number of shareware computerized board games designed by Twisted Pine Software. Branded “Brainiacs” series after a movie of the same name, the games did not do well commercially, and…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Twisted Pine GAME PUBLISHER:Epic Megagames Copyright 1995, Twisted Pine In 1995, Epic Megagames published a number of shareware computerized board games designed by Twisted Pine Software. Branded “Brainiacs” series after a movie of the same name, the games did not do well commercially, and…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Twisted Pine GAME PUBLISHER:Epic Megagames Copyright 1995, Twisted Pine In 1995, Epic Megagames published a number of shareware computerized board games designed by Twisted Pine Software. Branded “Brainiacs” series after a movie of the same name, the games did not do well commercially, and…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Qhimm GAME DEVELOPER:Squaresoft GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Qhimm Triple Triad Gold is an excellent fanmade clone of Triple Triad, a popular card game included as an optional mini-game in Squaresoft’s Final Fantasy VIII. The game is ideal for FFVIII fans who want to quickly play a…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Piotr Ostiak GAME DEVELOPER:Daisy-Chain GAME PUBLISHER:Daisy-Chain Copyright 2002, Daisy-Chain “So you want to be a rock and roll star?” sang the Byrds, “Then listen now to what I say: Just get an electric guitar and take some time and learn how to play…” (writing credits and…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Frank Chadwick & Bertrand Vauthier GAME DEVELOPER:Kamikaze Games Designers GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Kamikaze Games Designers Battle for Moscow is a great unofficial PC version of a tabletop wargame of the same name, which was created by Frank Chadwick for Games Designer Workshop, and published on…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Roger Pedersen GAME DEVELOPER:Villa Crespo GAME PUBLISHER:Villa Crespo Copyright 1992, Roger Pedersen Dr. Wong’s Jacks+ Video Poker is a fun simulation of video poker: not the parlor poker game, but the popular high-stakes game played in most casinos. Like other casino games from Villa Crespo, DWJVP…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Daniel Sejzer & Roger Pedersen GAME DEVELOPER:Villa Crespo GAME PUBLISHER:Villa Crespo Copyright 1992, Villa Crespo Dr. Thorp’s Mini Blackjack is another solid entry in Villa Crespo’s long line of casino games. One of the most accurate blackjack games ever released, DTMBM lets play blackjack with authentic…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Arcadia GAME PUBLISHER:PSS Copyright 1991, PSS Battlemaster is a fun fantasy real-time strategy game – one of the first games of its kind for PC, although not one that many people recognize. The game was made by PSS, a company known for a number…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Eden Studios GAME PUBLISHER:Eden Studios Copyright 2000, Eden Studios Iron Dragon is a superb computer version of Mayfair Games’ classic fantasy railroad boardgame of the same name, which is one of many entries in its Empire Builder series of railroad boardgames. In addition to…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Adrenaline Entertainment GAME PUBLISHER:Playmates Interactive Copyright 1997, Adrenaline Entertainment Into the Void is a decent 4X space strategy game that in my opinion is not nearly as bad as most game magazines say, although it is by no means a classic. It is an…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Scott Lamb GAME DEVELOPER:Merit Studios GAME PUBLISHER:Merit Studios Copyright 1993, Merit Studios The one and only sequel to Merit’s earlier Operation Combat, Operation Combat II is even lesser known than the original despite sporting improvements in all areas. As in the original, you choose one of…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Timegate Studios GAME PUBLISHER:Strategy First Copyright 2002, Timegate Studios I really liked the original Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns. It had an original and well-balanced resource system which involved not only paying for your troops with gold, but also building enough resource-structures in your towns and…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Timothy Train GAME DEVELOPER:Firaxis GAME PUBLISHER:Electronic Arts Copyright 1999, Firaxis Sid Meier’s Alien Crossfire is an outstanding (and unfortunately the only) expansion pack for Firaxis’ superb Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri. Strategy Plus summarizes all the goodies you get in their review: “Alien Crossfire introduces seven new…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Qul GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Qul Inucla No Classical is a fun turn-based board game from Japan based on original concepts. The game is designed by one of the lead programmers of Siter Skain, one of Japan’s best shareware developers. Starting with 3-6 pieces…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Michael Lalet & Olivier Thill GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Olivier Thill Abalone is an excellent unofficial Windows version of an original abstract board game of the same name, which remains largely unknown outside France where it was invented. In this unique board game for…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Daniel Sejzer GAME DEVELOPER:Villa Crespo GAME PUBLISHER:Villa Crespo Copyright 1990, Villa Crespo Real Black Jack is an excellent early blackjack game from Villa Crespo, coded entirely in Microsoft’s BASIC language. Although it plays just like any other blackjack game, Real Black Jack is much more comprehensive…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Walter Zamkauskas & Michael Keller GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1995, Michael Keller The Game of the Amazons is an excellent PC version of “El Juego de las Amazonas,” an original, chess-based board game invented in 1988 by Walter Zamkauskas of Argentina. In this two-player game,…