Around two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to present my top recommendations for wargames to consider for Christmas 2024, focusing solely on the titles released this year. In the second part of my recommendations, I will discuss the gorgeous, timeless classics.

These are games that you can never go wrong with, and by having several options in each category, you can choose the one that best suits your preferences. Moreover, they are typically easy to purchase either through publisher websites or retail stores. While presenting individual titles, I will primarily focus on series and genres that I enjoy, value, and frequently play.

Additionally, if you prefer to watch a video version of the list below, see the link provided.

Let us have a look at those wonderful wargames!

Previous years materials:
2023 new releases
2023 all time classics
2022 new releases
2022 all time classics
2021 new releases
2021 all time classics
2020 new releases
2020 all time classics

A Levy & Campaign Game

Levy & Campaign is definitely quite quickly becoming one of the fastest developing GMT game series. Of course, this is not coincidental and to large extent thanks to Volko Ruhnke. He not only designed a great system, but also built a group of devoted designers, developers and simply enthusiast further expanding the genre.

That particular series presents medieval warfare at the operational level in various interesting settings. Volume I, Nevsky, is set on the 13th-Century Baltic frontier with Novgorodan Russia. Volume II, Almoravid, took us to 11th-Century Spain and the Reconquista conflict among Christians and Muslims. The Volume III, Inferno, travels to 13th-Century Tuscany in Italy while Volume IV, Plantagenet present the War of the Roses in 15th Century England.

What are the specifics? Levy & Campaign volumes share similar core systems simulating medieval Levy of armies by individual great Lords and lesser Vassals, equipping of those armies with transport such as Carts and special Capabilities such as crossbowmen, trebuchets, or stonecutters, to name a few. For each Campaign, players then form stacks of Command cards to preset the order that Lords will March, Forage, Siege, and so on. Logistics are key, as Provender must be gathered and moved to Feed Troops in the field or suffer curtailed Lords’ Service and Disband.

But each volume in the series features widely different geographic, cultural, and political settings, each with twists on the core rules to help bring out these differences. Let us now see couple of my personal recommendations about some great titles I had pleasure to play in this genre:

Nevsky gives intro to the system; Almoravid presents Taifa Politics; Inferno is less focused on logistic while bring the treachery mechanism; and Plantagenet removes sieges and storms, while focusing highly on influence by each side.

Almoravid, is a board wargame about a pair of tumultuous campaigns in the Spanish Reconquista –Leonese King Alfonso VI’s advances against the 11th Century’s fractious Muslim Taifa states, and the resulting intervention by a fundamentalist African Muslim army seeking to roll the Christians back.
Inferno concerns fighting between the Guelph and Ghibelline political factions in the well-to-do and densely populated Tuscany of the mid-1200s. This installment is a bit less focused on logistic while bring the treachery mechanism.
In Plantagenet: Cousins’ War for England, 1459 – 1485, already 4th title in the system, we are moved to XV century England in order to witness three episodes for famous Wars of the Roses between York and Lancaster forces. The game removes sieges and storms, while focusing highly on influence by each side plus deadly nature of the battles.

More about the series:

A Great Battles of History (GBoH) game

Great Battles of History (abbreviated to GBoH) is the name of a series of wargames designed by Mark Herman and Richard Berg, and published by GMT Games. It offers an unparalleled journey through some of history’s most significant military engagements, which players will be able to reenact on tactical level. Designed to provide both educational value and strategic entertainment, these games cover various periods and regions, each with its unique set of challenges and historical contexts.

The main game mechanics stay more or less unchanged through the series. Troops activation & sequence is based on Generals ratings and initiative system (with possibility for trump and momentum!); Battle resolution focuses on units types, direction of attack, size of units, weapons system, etc.; the Cohesion and Troops Quality are the decisive metrics of soldiers experience and value in battle; the Rout, Rally and Depletion aspects allow the broken units for return to fight and many more mechanics making this system pretty detailed simulation.

All of this is usual, very high quality production from GMT games (look at those maps and counters!), with multiple various-size scenarios in each part of the series plus great rulebooks from Mark Herman, giving a lot of insights in Designer & Historical Notes.

What are my GBoH series recommendations for this year? Let us see:

The Great Battles of Julius Caesar Deluxe Edition features extensive scenario book with 20 battles in chronological order, showcasing the evolution of the Roman military system. It begins with early confrontations against various foreign adversaries during the times of Marius and Sulla, progresses through Caesar’s campaigns in Gaul, and concludes with the civil wars against his Roman rivals, culminating in the Roman invasion of Britain a century later.
Lutetia 52 BC (Paris) is probably the best entry-level scenario to learn the Julius Caesar game. But also a great introduction to the whole system, especially installments featuring the legions.
Cataphract delves into the military strategies and developments during the early Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire. The game focuses on the reign of Emperor Justinian and the contributions of his illustrious generals, Belisarius and Narses, to the art of war.
SPQR (second volume) captures the development of warfare from the conclusion of the Macedonian era to the peak of the Roman Republic, just before the military reforms of Marius and the eventual collapse of the republic.

More about the series:

A Commands & Colors Games

To get more details, please read my article about Commands & Colors games.

I believe it won’t come as a surprise 🙂 My top recommendations finish with the Commands & Colors series – a collection of games I’ve played, continue to play, and plan to play extensively in all its variations. The system is designed to be straightforward yet vast and engaging, catering to diverse preferences.

We have the deck of Command Cards that dictate movement while introducing an element of “fog of war,” and the Battle Dice that resolve combat swiftly and efficiently. The stylized battlefield scenario maps emphasize critical terrain features and depict the historical deployment of forces in a scale that fits the game’s system.

You can enjoy individual scenarios, campaigns, regular, overlord, breakthrough, or even larger formats. The time periods span from ancient Greece (C&C Ancients) to World War II (Memoir’44). In one evening, it’s quite feasible to play 2-3 scenarios – which is convenient if you wish to switch sides and compare scores with your opponent.

What is more, with the recent reprints of below titles, you should not have any problem in obtaining those great positions. Which titles I especially like and appreciate? Let us see:

C&C Ancients – my favorite one, mainly due to multitude of expansions spanning thousands (literally) years of ancient history. A very elegant design, where each small rule has its meaning. What is more, playing those ancients battles with blocks just feels right and so thematic.
GMT’s Commands Colors Samurai Battles is one of the latest installments in genre (although to large extent reedition of Zvezda first version). It is astonishingly beautiful, features whooping 40 scenarios, two decks of cards and beautiful map / terrain tiles. With generals leading from the front, this is completely different tactical feel than other games in the series.
C&C Napoleonics – another great multi-expansion installment in the series. Mr. Borg created here probably one of the most versatile titles in this genre. Terrain is of utmost importance – as well as usage of combined arms and special abilities of each army. What is more, we are getting at least couple of formats to play – regular, La Grande Battle, EPIC, etc.
For me C&C Medieval is a fantastic, spiritual successor and natural continuation to Ancients – with greatly emphasized cavalry role. What is more, it adds completely new mechanics to the series – Inspired & Battlefield Actions. With Crusaded expansions (should be at my doorsteps any day) it will be even more fun!

More about game:

Summary

Christmas season is always supposed to be time of joy and happiness, spent with your closest ones. Hopefully, also period of the year when we all can stop for a moment and devote also some more time to our hobbies and passions – like great boardgames! Merry Christmas!