Best Turn-Based PC Wargames with Board Game Roots

0:00 Hi everybody, I'm Zilla Blitz and welcome. Today we're going to explore some of the best PC turnbased war games with distinct board game roots. Now, maybe you're a PC war gamer who would like to try out some board war games, or maybe you're a board war gamer who's looking for another way to enjoy the hobby. Either way, we've got some great games for you to try out. Let's jump right in and get started. Now, I've divided my recommendations up into three categories. We're going to start with direct ports. These are PC war games that retain the original board games flavor in design, feel, and gameplay. These are particularly worth exploring if you're a board war gamer who might not have human opponents available. Our first game in the direct port category is Rebel Fury from GMT Games. This game takes us back to the American Civil War and lets you fight as either the Union or Confederate side in six different Civil War battles. Now, the board game Rebel Fury is the first in a series of Civil War games that uses a unique iggo Yugo movement system to capture the fluidity of Civil War combat. And with a combat results table grounded in actual Civil War data, the game gives you a very historical gameplay experience. And this PC version is built to mirror the board game experience. It uses the exact same rule set. It even comes with a PDF of the board game's rules. You see the combat results table, the die rolls, and the flipping of counters. But most importantly, the PC port comes with a strong AI opponent to fight against as either the Union or the Confederate

1:31 sides. If you'd like to play online against a human, that's an option as well. Easy to learn, challenging to play, and grounded in history, Rebel Fury is a fantastic PC war game with deep board game roots. Our next game in the direct port category is a huge tactical combat system with DLC's galore. Lock and Load Tactical. Now, this game takes us to gritty tactical squad-based combat. You'll fight as squads, individual vehicles, and single soldier leaders. While most of the game's content is based in World War II, there are a fair number of DLCs available for other conflicts like the Vietnam War. Now, the board game lock and load tactical is also huge with tons of modules to cover a wide array of tactical combat, and the symmetry between the board game system and the PC gameplay is high. The PC game DLC's often use the exact same scenarios from the board game, and the rules for the two systems are identical, so playing the board game version will help you learn the PC version and vice versa.

2:32 Gameplay is meaty, challenging, and fun. The scenarios cover a vast range of tactical combat situations, and with DLC's galore, there are hundreds of hours of gameplay. The PC game comes with lots of support and tutorials to make the learning experience smooth as well. And it also adds fog of war, which is a great addition to gameplay, and AI opponents in all scenarios. So, if you've been playing the board game system solo, this is a great way to bring it to life. My only caveat with the lock and load system is that it's been a long time since it's been updated and development seems to have stopped. But for what it's worth, my game runs smoothly and have not experienced any issues whatsoever. Despite its aged, Lock and Load Tactical remains one of my favorite PC war games with deep board game symmetry. Our next game in the direct port category is a great entry point into board wargaming for people to check out the hobby. Pavlov's House.

3:26 This game recreates the epic struggle for Pavlov's house in Stalenrad during World War II. For 60 days, Soviet forces held on to the structure against constant German assaults. It's a heroic symbol of the city's defense against the German invasion. In this game, you play as the Soviet defenders and attempt to hold off against German attacks. The soliter board game and the PC game are extremely similar, and because this is a port of a soliter board game, you're playing against the same opponent in both games. You'll be fighting to survive against stucas, waves of ground assaults, and artillery. What makes this game of particular interest is that it's one of the simpler and shorter games in this video. The game is easy to learn, and the PC tutorials make picking up gameplay even quicker. With four levels of gameplay and a superbly balanced gameplay experience, Pavlov's House is a fantastic PC war game with strong board game roots. Now, many people won't consider this next game a true war game, but it's got conflicts galore, deep strategy, and it comes from the largest board war game company. I'm talking about Mr. President from GMT Games. Now, I'm relatively new to this game as I've only started really playing it in the last couple of weeks, but I'm absolutely loving the gameplay. This is such a fun blend of problem solving, story creation, and historical gaming. The depth and variety of outcomes are just remarkable. But I'm getting ahead of myself here a bit. Um, in Mr. President, you play as the president of the United States, roughly set in the 2000 to 2010 decade. And when I mean play as the

4:58 president, I really mean it. There is so much to do. You could fight international conflicts, manage US international influence and relationships with the world, bolster the economy, win elections, manage your approval rating, build political platforms, run your cabinet, and much, much more. It's wildly absorbing and compelling gameplay as you never have enough time and actions to get everything you want to get done done. It's an endless stream of fun decisions. The PC gameplay is right in line with the board gameplay, but in my mind, the PC game has one big advantage, which is game management. The game is very procedural, and every action you take has cascading effects both domestically and abroad. In the board game, managing these events takes a lot of time. But in the PC version, the game engine handles all that for you. It really streamlines gameplay. Mr. President stands as a great example of how to take a complex board game into the PC world while retaining its board game elegance. Our second category of top PC war games with board game roots is what I'm calling Beyond the Board, board game plus. These are PC war games that have taken the original board game experience and added something significant to this experience. Be they things like media with graphics and sounds or perhaps they've added some elegant gameplay extensions that expands the original board game. Our first game in the beyond the board game category is Wings of Glory from Aries Games. Now, this game

6:28 is all about World War I in the sky. You fly a variety of World War I planes in dogf fighting, bombing, strafing, and recon missions. Now, the physical game is actually more of a board game/ miniatures game blend as you're using a measuring tool to measure range and actual miniatures of the planes as you dogfight. Planes use unique decks of cards for maneuvering, and the entire system is so elegantly executed. It's a beautiful game with a strong following. The PC game takes that original experience and adds three levels of AI play and online play to the experience, all the while wrapping it in a very elegant visual presentation with sounds and visuals that just pull you into the combat. An efficient tutorial system gets you right up to speed and the interface is buttery smooth. Wings of Glory is just a clean, crisp execution that sets it a great example of how to remain true to the spirit of the original board game experience and yet add so much polish to the gameplay. Our next Beyond the Board game entry is the digital version of one of the most popular topselling board war games of all time, Twilight Struggle from GMT Games. If you're not familiar with this game, it's an iconic board war game that rarely misses out on a top board war games list. Now, in this two-player card-driven game, you play as either the United States or the Soviet Union and battle it out in the Cold War. You start in 1945 and fight for 45 years of world

7:59 history. You'll launch coups, race to be the first in space, and exert influence around the world with the ultimate goal of dominating the geopolitical landscape. Just don't start a nuclear Armageddon, though, as that is an instant loss. Now, the board gameplay is amazing, but the play deck version of the board game on Steam just adds so much to the experience. The biggest plus, the easy to use online matching system that ranks players and makes it super easy to set up games with friends or others. Now, the game also does have an AI opponent to play against, but it's the human game here that is the draw for me. The Steam version also adds a solid game management system that makes play easy. It adds a tutorial and a solid level of graphics and sounds that sharpen the PC gameplay experience. Many board war gamers consider Twilight Struggle to be their favorite war game of all time, and this enhanced digital version of the game makes it so easy for so many more people to enjoy the experience. Our next game is so adorable that you might look at it and say, "There is no way this could possibly be a war game." But Root, a game that lets you fight as one of four factions for control of the Great Woodland, is based on GMT Games Counterinsurgency series of games. While those bunnies and cats in this game might look all harmless, the heart of the game is about ruthless combat and insurrection. It's a wildly popular board game with a huge following. Now, the reason that it's in our board games plus+ category is that

9:30 the Steam implementation of the game might be the best board game adaptation. I know of. The presentation is simply topnotch with music, graphic enhancements, and animation to give the PC game experience some magical elegance, and the tutorial support of the PC game is topnotch with how to play tutorials for each faction. Another nice touch is that the board game route has seen a number of expansions to the game, and those expansions are constantly being added to the PC game, too, which gives you so much gameplay to explore if you like the original base game. and the AI for the PC game is sharp and competitive. So, if you're looking to improve your skills with a particular faction in the game, the PC game is a great way to do it. Root is a magical board game experience with a passionate fan base. And the PC version of this game and its DLC's is a shining example of how to do a PC adaptation of a board game correctly. Our last game in the beyond the board game category takes a classic 4x strategy/war game and brings it to life on the PC. In Scythe, you travel back in time to an alternate reality 1920s world filled with mechs as you lead one of five factions to dominate your rivals. The heart of Scythe is very 4X. You'll attempt to explore the areas around your land, expand into them, exploit the resources as you build your war engine and your mechs, and then exterminate your opponents in combat. It's a fantastically well-crafted board game

11:00 that has a large and devoted following. The PC version of this game adds AI opponents, tutorials, a rich layer of multimedia enhancements, and a lot of very cool touches like the ability to have painted figures in the game and customizing the visual appearance as well. Although the game is now 8 years old, Scythe remains a classic game in both board and PC format. And the PC format is a great example of how to take a board game and bring it to life on the PC. Our third and final group of PC war games is what I'm calling board game DNA. Now, these are games that don't actually originate from board games, but they're in this video because they either are greatly inspired by board games or they have distinct board game feel to them as you're playing the games. Our first game in the board game roots category is a game that openly pays homage to one of the most iconic tactical combat games in board war gaming today. talking about Advanced Squad Leader. This game on the PC side, however, is Second Front, and it's one of the most intriguing PC combat games I've had a chance to play over the past few years. The short description of Second Front is that it's squad-based tactical combat in World War II, just like Advanced Squad Leader. But behind the simple graphics is a deep and evolving combat engine that gives you all the grittiness of turn-based tactical combat. To win, you'll need to master key elements of tactical combat like morale, suppression, flanking fire, and cover. And like Advanced Squad

12:30 Leader, which has a bazillion modules out there, Second Front comes with 48 scenarios and a huge library of infantry types, vehicles, and ordinance. The full scenario editor allows you to build your own scenarios, and even campaigns with the game. Future development plans include adding more gameplay features, as well as expanding the series to the Pacific Theater. It's an extensive game system with a big future. Now, clearly Second Front is a PC war game, and it takes great advantage of all the strengths of PC gameplay like Fog of War, opponent AI, and graphic and sound enhancements. But behind all this, you can definitely feel the digital respect at pace to the classic board war game Advanced Squad Leader. It's hard for me to make a list of PC war games without including this game as one of my favorite or top picks on the list. If you've been following the channel for a while, you can probably anticipate what game what this game will be. Our game is none other than Panzer Core 2 from Slythering. Now, what is this game? To start, this is more of a game system now than a game, as there is an army of DLC's that you can add to the core gameplay experience. There are hundreds, if not thousands of hours of gameplay in this system. The essence of the game is operational tactical level combat where you're given objectives like capturing certain cities or eliminating enemy units, etc. But what makes the game so fascinating are its branching campaigns where you lead a core force of units through a variety of World War II theaters. Your troops gain experience and level up as you move through the war. It's a solid combination of World

14:02 War II combat and an RPG experience. But why is this game on our board game root section? Well, although Panzer Core 2 doesn't directly come from a board game, the gameplay has a decidedly board game feel and simplicity to it. First, everything is Hex Encounters. Second, the actual combat system is quite simple, and the attack strengths and defense strengths are all there for you to see. Lastly, its turn-based sequence of play gives the game a very tabletop feel to it. Admittedly, Panzer Core 2 adds a lot of non-board game elements with its leader system, its tracking of unit experience and kills, and the polished graphics and sound, but at its heart, one of the big reasons why I like Panzer Core 2 so much is that when I'm playing it, I definitely feel so many strong board game elements at play. Our last and final game in the board game roots category is another game that's more of a series than it is an individual game. I'm talking about Strategic Command from Matrix Games.

15:00 Now, there is a lot to explore here. This is a family of games that covers a remarkable range of military history. We've got strategic command games for World War II and World War I and the US Civil War, and there are DLCs that focus on things like 19th century conflict in Europe or specific campaigns in World War I. The range of gameplay here is impressive. But at the heart of all these games is a core engine that is quite good at capturing operational and strategic level wargaming. No matter what conflict it's modeling, the larger conflicts have technology upgrades in production, diplomacy and research, and strategic level decisions which make the gameplay incredibly rewarding. But the reason that I put this game on this list about board games is that whenever I play it, the hex and counter combat, the turn-based nature of things, the way the combat works, and the overall feel of the game with its NATO counters and movement factors leaves me feeling like I'm playing a great monster board game of the past without all the fiddliness of a thousand cardboard counters on a paper map. For whatever reason, Strategic Command always makes me feel like I'm playing a great board game with all the digital enhancements that a PC environment can provide. So, there you have it. My list of the top PC war games with board game roots or make me feel like I'm playing a board game when I'm playing the game in front of a computer.

16:18 Let me know what you think of the list down below. What games did I miss? What's your favorite PC war game with board game roots? And if you like this video and are looking for some turnbased PC wargaming bargains, check out this video that I made of exactly that category.