Category: Strategy and War Games

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Hattan GAME DEVELOPER:Expert Software GAME PUBLISHER:Expert Software Copyright 1995, Expert Software 24 Games for Windows is a great collection of 24 games for Windows 95, comprising some action/arcade games, some card games, and many board/puzzle games. The card games are nothing special: all 4 games…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Garrett Greer & Josh Rodgers GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2002, Garrett Greer & Josh Rodgers Node Warriors is an excellent fanmade version of Wizard of the Coast’s addictive board game RoboRally. The official plot goes as follows: “it is the year X002. The internet as…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:David Landrey GAME DEVELOPER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) GAME PUBLISHER:Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) Copyright 1983, Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI) One of SSI’s earliest games, Battle for Normandy is a hex-based, turn-based wargame based on more or less the same engine as Tiger in the Snow and Knights…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Keith Zabalaoui GAME DEVELOPER:Atomic Games GAME PUBLISHER:Microsoft Copyright 1996, Atomic Games Games Domain’s strategy/war editor Tim Chown says it all in his comprehensive review of this excellent start to Atomic Games’ real-time squad combat series, set in World War II: “The game runs best at 800×600…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Capstone GAME PUBLISHER:Intracorp Copyright 1995, Intracorp Casino Tournament of Champions is yet another game in Capstone’s long line of casino products which began with Trump Castle in 1990. Like the Trump Castle games, CTC boasts all your favorite casino games and a comprehensive tournament…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Brad Fregger GAME DEVELOPER:Publishing International GAME PUBLISHER:Interplay Copyright 1995, Publishing International Solitaire Deluxe is a greatly updated version of Solitaire Royale. Designed for Windows 95 and above, this solitaire collection contains 24 different games, ranging from popular games such as Golf and Klondike, to lesser-known games…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Oxford Softworks GAME PUBLISHER:Oxford Softworks Copyright 1998, Oxford Softworks Backgammon Professional is a superb backgammon program by Oxford Softworks, a company famous for excellent computer algorithms in PC conversions of popular board games. All the features that backgammon players could hope for are here:…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:David Erickson GAME DEVELOPER:Art of War GAME PUBLISHER:Battlefront.com Copyright 1998, Art of War Dragoon: The Complete Battles of Frederick The Great is an excellent squad-level wargame from independent developer Art of War, now changed its name to Boku Strategy Games. Wargame veteran Robert Mayer says it…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Keith Zabalaoui GAME DEVELOPER:Atomic Games GAME PUBLISHER:Microsoft Copyright 1997, Atomic Games Considered by many wargamers to be the best in the series, Close Combat 2 is a classic real-time tactical-level wargame from Atomic Games, makers of the renowned V for Victory games. Adrenaline Vault’s wargame expert…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Metropolis GAME PUBLISHER:GT Interactive Copyright 1998, Metropolis A lackluster sequel to the much better Star Command Revolution, Metropolis’ earlier ambitious RTS-in-space, pre-StarCraft era. In most respects, Star Command Deluxe is just your typical harvest-resources/build-army/destroy-enemy-forces RTS game, but there are some innovative features that set…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Joe Balkowski GAME DEVELOPER:Stanley Associates GAME PUBLISHER:Interactive Magic Copyright 1998, Stanley Associates Games Domain’s Dean Gordon says it all about this atypical squad-level wargame that does not live up to Stanley Associates’ earlier 5th Fleet, primarily because it is too short and too easy: “The United…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Werner Krahe & Jen Onnen GAME DEVELOPER:Software 2000 GAME PUBLISHER:Software 2000 Copyright 1992, Software 2000 Wild West World is a fun, original, and detailed strategy game set in the USA’s famed Gold Rush period. Designed by the same designers as The Manager, one of the most…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Kimmo Vihola & Timo Vihola GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2000, Kimmo Vihola & Timo Vihola Ata: Extracts from the American Civil War is an excellent freeware remake of Infogrames’ classic North & South humorous wargame. Like North & South, Ata is a two-player turn-based strategy…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, MSM International Automotive Conservation is an interesting but far too simplistic computer board game designed to promote auto maintenance. Up to 4 players take turns rolling die and move their cars around the gameboard, paying fees to other players…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Gerry Quinn GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Gerry Quinn Joust (not to be confused with Atari’s classic arcade game of the same name) is a fun strategy game based on Chess. In the designer’s own words: “In this game each player has a Knight which…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Michael Bommer GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2002, Michael Bommer Dark Tower is an excellent Java remake of a classic 1981 board game from Milton Bradley of the same name. You should definitely hunt down the original board game if you love innovative toys, because it…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Michael Gyori GAME DEVELOPER:Relic Entertainment GAME PUBLISHER:Sierra On-Line Copyright 2000, Relic Entertainment The original Homeworld was the first game to take the successful format of real-time-strategy seen in Command and Conquer and transfer it to the depths of interstellar space. Featuring gorgeous graphics, realistic space combat,…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Virgin Interactive GAME PUBLISHER:Virgin Interactive Copyright 1994, Virgin Interactive Scrabble for Windows is a great Windows 3.1 update of previous Scrabble games that Mastertronic (which later was acquired by Virgin and became “Virgin Mastertronic” label) had been developing since 1987 under license from Hasbro,…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:MAUS GAME PUBLISHER:MAUS Copyright 1996, MAUS Corporate Pursuit is an average business simulation that tries to simulate the IT industry, but does not quite succeed due to dubious economic/pricing engine, and balan gameplay. Your role is Marketing Manager a high-tech company, responsible for the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Ren Wu GAME DEVELOPER:Oxford Softworks GAME PUBLISHER:New World Computing Copyright 1995, Oxford Softworks Mind Games Entertainment Pack for Windows is a great collection of 10 classic board games from Oxford Softworks. This is essentially a 1995 update of the company’s earlier Intelligent Strategy Games 10 package.…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Arnab Bose GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Arnab Bose Ludo is an excellent computer version of an Indian board game of the same name, which is also known as Parcheesi or Pachisi. In this game in which luck and skill are equally important, up to…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:David Vivash GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, David Vivash Space Monopoly is a neat clone of Sid Sackson’s classic Acquire board game with some new twists, although I could find no mention of Acquire at all in the game – which could be either a…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Softech GAME PUBLISHER:Softech Copyright 1988, Softech In the Days of Knights and Kings is an interesting early strategy game that depicts the events leading up to, and including, the famous Battle of Hastings in 1066 AD that saw William of Normandy crowned king of…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Oxford Softworks GAME PUBLISHER:Interplay Copyright 1996, Oxford Softworks Bridge Deluxe II with Omar Sharif is a superb update of Oxford Softworks’ 1991 Omar Sharif on Bridge, also published by Interplay. Although the most obvious improvements are cosmetics – better graphics and lots of multimedia…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Dartcy Productions GAME PUBLISHER:Dartcy Productions Copyright 2001, Dartcy Productions NimSim is a fun PC version of Nim, one of the oldest mathematics-based 2-player games. The game of Nim is thought to originate in China, and has been the subject of interest for mathematicians and…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Henry Avetisyan GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2002, Henry Avetisyan Invader is a solid computer implementation of Amazon, an intriguing 2-player board game based on chess invented in 1988 by Walter Zamkauskas of Argentina. In Amazon, one player controls 4 red pieces while the other controls…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jim Albea GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1999, Jim Albea Virtual Plateau is a great freeware PC version of Plateau, a fun and unique board game designed by Jim Albea. The object of this interesting game is to either make a stack of pieces six tall,…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Extreme Entertainment Group GAME PUBLISHER:Extreme Entertainment Group Copyright 1996, Extreme Entertainment Group Arguably the best game ever made for SEGA CD console, Third World War is an excellent game of global politics and economics. The game suffers from the same syndrome that plagues the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Hiroshi Yamashita GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Hiroshi Yamashita Aya is an excellent freeware Go program coded by Hiroshi Yamashita. The game’s AI ranks approximately around 12 Kyu in Japanese system, which means it should prove very challenging to a casual Go player. Aside from…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jari Komppa GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 1998, Jari Komppa Cameleon 98 is a fun board game from Jari Komppa, entered in 1998’s “Disccover” game coding competition in Finland. The game deservedly became a finalist in the competition, and went on to win several “game of…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Reiner Knizia & Craig Moffitt GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2002, Craig Moffitt TigrisGame is an excellent fanmade computer adaptation of Euphrates & Tigris, Reiner Knizia’s classic board game that ranks among one of the best games of its kind ever made. If you have never…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Garrett Donner & Andrew Walters GAME DEVELOPER:Avalon Hill GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2002, Andrew Walters Wizard’s Quest is an excellent Windows version of an oldie Avalon Hill board game, first released in 1979. Unlike Avalon Hill’s classics like Advanced Civilization, Wizard’s Quest is a much simpler and…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:NEO Software GAME PUBLISHER:JoWood Productions Copyright 2001, NEO Software The Sting! (Der Clou 2 in Germany) is a little-known sequel to The Clue!, one of the most unique and compelling adventure/strategy games of all time. The game took the best things about The Clue!…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Stephen Beckett & Steven Krenek GAME DEVELOPER:Cornerstone GAME PUBLISHER:General Quarters Software Copyright 1989, Cornerstone An early computer wargame that depicts one of Napoleon’s most famous battles, The Battle of Austerlitz is an innovative game that boasts real-time play and an easy-to-use interface. But like the authors’…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Jason Vollmer & Craig Chellstorp GAME DEVELOPER:Spinnaker GAME PUBLISHER:Spinnaker Copyright 1987, Spinnaker Championship Backgammon from Spinnaker is an excellent early backgammon computer game – probably the first to offer a competent AI (a computer player named “Max”) which is strong enough to challenge frequent players. There…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Brian Sheppard GAME DEVELOPER:Sheppard Company GAME PUBLISHER:Sheppard Company Copyright 1994, Sheppard Company Maven is an excellent PC Scrabble program by Brian Sheppard. Maven is not only one of the first Scrabble game that provides a good enough challenge for expert players, but is one of the…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:SEGA GAME PUBLISHER:SEGA Copyright 1994, SEGA Dark Wizard is an excellent and highly underrated fantasy wargame from SEGA. Kyote’s review at RPG Critic says it all about why fans of the genre should take a look at this SEGA CD underdog: “The golden lands…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Edward Dellow GAME DEVELOPER:The Game Commission GAME PUBLISHER:The Game Commission Copyright 1992, The Game Commission Siege! is an interesting and unique board game that plays like a more ‘real-world’ version of Checkers. Your objective in the game is to control the most territory on the board…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Terraform Software GAME PUBLISHER:Terraform Software Copyright 1997, Terraform Software Klondike Moon (later released as Luna Ticks in Australia only) is a lackluster real-time strategy game that features some innovative units, but poorer-than-average gameplay hampered by a cumbersome interface. Set in the future, you play…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Emmanuel Icart GAME DEVELOPER:Momor Productions GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Momor Productions Volcano is a very fun and unique real-time “god game.” You play a god who could be benevolent (Gaia) or malicious (Thanatos); who either prevent villagers from deadly lava that is flowing from an erupting…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Fredrik Dahl GAME DEVELOPER:JellyFish AS GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, JellyFish AS A breakthrough in backgammon games, JellyFish is a very strong backgammon program based on neural net algorithm that will challenge even the best backgammon experts. The official claims are lofty: “at the highest playing level…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Mathew Nelson GAME DEVELOPER:IBM GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2002, IBM RoboCode is an excellent freeware game from IBM that teaches the basics of Java in a competitive game setting: program robots (in Java, of course) to fight against other robots. This excellent article on IBM’s website traces…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Davidson & Associates GAME PUBLISHER:Simon & Schuster Copyright 1996, Davidson & Associates Powered by Fritz, the world-famous chess engine that beat both world champion Gary Kasparov and IBM’s Deep Blue, Extreme Chess is one of the strongest but sadly most underrated commercial chess programs…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Kari Luojus & Niko Nevatie GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, Kari Luojus & Niko Nevatie PaybackTime 2 is a great clone of the tactical combat portion of X-COM. The game is ideal for X-COM fans who want get right into the action without boring with…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Terry Hastings GAME DEVELOPER:Villa Crespo GAME PUBLISHER:Villa Crespo Copyright 1992, Terry Hastings Casino Craps is another solid entry in Villa Crespo’s long line of casino games. As the name implies, the game lets you play a game of craps. Similar to Ruckus Roulette and Ruckus Poker,…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:Anonymous GAME PUBLISHER:Anonymous Copyright 1990, Anonymous Casino Master is a pretty decent casino game from an unknown developer (if you know who made this game, please let us know). In this “no frills” game, you can play the five mainstay gambling games: craps, blackjack,…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Wayne Russell GAME DEVELOPER:ComputerEasy GAME PUBLISHER:ComputerEasy Copyright 1990, Wayne Russell Ante-Up at the Friday Night Poker Club is an above-average poker game by ComputerEasy. The game lets you play 4 variants of poker against 4 computer-controlled players. The variants you can play are 5 Card Stud,…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:Markus Backman GAME DEVELOPER:RC Software GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, RC Software Nuclear War 3: Ground Zero is an excellent fanmade remake of New World Computing’s Nuclear War. The game is the third installment in RC Software’s line of Nuclear War remakes that dates from 1997. Game…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER: GAME DEVELOPER:GeoMind Entertainment GAME PUBLISHER:GeoMind Entertainment Copyright 1999, GeoMind Entertainment Battle Commander is an above-average real-time strategy game from Korea that looks and plays very similar to Command & Conquer, down to graphical style of buildings and even the menus. Like Westwood’s classic, Battle Commander…

From the Database of Home of the Underdogs GAME DESIGNER:John Nyman GAME DEVELOPER:Freeware GAME PUBLISHER:Freeware Copyright 2001, John Nyman Operation Cleaner is a unique and compelling business simulation game that puts you in control of a demolition firm. Your job: make money by successfully demolishing the target building without destroying anything else in the vicinity.…