Around two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to present my top wargame recommendations for Christmas 2025, focusing exclusively on titles released this year. In this second part of the recommendations, I turn to the beautiful and timeless classics.

These are games you can never go wrong with, and by offering several options within each category, you can choose the title that best matches your preferences. They are also usually easy to obtain, whether directly from publishers or through retail stores (at least one position in the series 🙂 . When discussing individual titles, I will primarily concentrate on series and genres that I personally enjoy, value, and play most often.

If you prefer a video format, a link to a video version of the list is provided below.

Let us have a look at those wonderful wargames!

Previous years materials:
2024 new releases
2024 all time classics
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 rapidly becoming one of the fastest-growing series in the GMT Games catalog. This success is no coincidence and is due in large part to Volko Ruhnke, who not only created a strong and innovative system but also fostered a dedicated community of designers, developers, and enthusiasts who continue to expand and refine the genre.

The series presents medieval warfare at the operational level across a variety of compelling historical settings. Let us talk about already published titles. Nevsky, the first volume, is set on the 13th-century Baltic frontier with Novgorodian Russia. Almoravid explores 11th-century Spain during the Reconquista, focusing on conflict between Christian and Muslim states. Inferno moves to 13th-century Tuscany in Italy, while Plantagenet depicts the Wars of the Roses in 15th-century England. Last but not least, just released Seljuk moves us to 11th-century Asia Minor and clash between Byzantium and Turks.

All volumes share a common core system that simulates the medieval levy of armies by powerful lords and their vassals, the equipping of forces with transport such as carts, and the use of specialized capabilities like crossbowmen or siege engines. Players pre-plan campaigns by stacking command cards that determine the order in which lords will march, forage, besiege, or conduct other actions. Logistics play a central role, as provender must be gathered and transported to sustain armies in the field, or risk shortened service and disbandment.

At the same time, each volume introduces distinct rules and mechanisms to reflect its unique geographic, cultural, and political context. Nevsky serves as an excellent introduction to the system, Almoravid emphasizes Taifa politics, Inferno reduces the focus on logistics while introducing treachery, Plantagenet removes sieges altogether in favor of a strong emphasis on political influence and Seljuk presents huge asymmetry of mobile Turkish forces vs slower but powerful Byzantine ones.

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 Commands & Colors Games

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

It should come as no surprise that one top of my recommendations conclude with the Commands & Colors series – a collection of games I have played extensively, continue to enjoy, and fully intend to keep exploring in all its variations (including latest Star Wars: Battle of Hoth). The system is deliberately accessible, yet remarkably deep and engaging, making it well suited to a wide range of player preferences.

At its core is the Command Card deck, which governs movement while introducing a convincing element of fog of war, complemented by Battle Dice that resolve combat quickly and smoothly. The stylized scenario maps clearly highlight key terrain features and represent historical deployments at a scale perfectly matched to the system.

Players can enjoy standalone scenarios, linked campaigns, standard games, Overlord and Breakthrough formats, and even larger engagements. The historical scope is equally impressive, ranging from ancient Greece in Commands & Colors: Ancients to World War II in Memoir ’44. In a single evening, it is entirely feasible to play two or three scenarios, which is ideal for switching sides and comparing results.

Moreover, thanks to recent reprints, acquiring these outstanding titles should be more possible than in the past. So which ones do I particularly value and recommend? Let us take a closer look.

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.
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!
This year addition to the Commands & Colors family. Light, quick, beautiful – but not shallow or repeatable. Perfect for bringing new adepts to the hobby!

More about game:

An asymmetric / COIN (COunter INsurgency) game

This is probably one of my most frequently played game series – second only to Commands & Colors, though recently challenged by Levy & Campaign. It works equally well in multiplayer and solo formats and already spans more than ten titles, including several multi-packs. At its core, the series is built on COIN Series, a system designed by Volko Ruhnke that explores guerrilla warfare, asymmetric conflicts, and counterinsurgency operations across the globe, covering both historical and contemporary settings.

What I particularly appreciate is the way victory conditions are structured: sheer military power alone is rarely enough to secure a win. The foundation of each COIN game is broadly similar, with two event cards visible – one for the current round and one for the next – while eligible factions choose from actions, special activities, or events. The real elegance of the system lies in the subtle variations between individual volumes, which adapt the core mechanics to different periods, conflicts, and political realities.

So which COIN titles do I especially recommend this year? Let us take a look.

Cuba Libre – one of the initial games in the series. By many – rightfully – treated as one of the best entry positions to COIN. Relatively small map, clear asymmetry of factions, very thematic topic (Castro revolution!). You are getting everything you need to start the journey with that type of games!
Fire in the Lake – a true masterpiece of Volko Ruhnke and Mark Herman. This is definitely high on complexity spectrum but to be honest – I never seen such a great depiction of the War in Vietnam on strategic level. Highly recommended – however, I would say once you are familiar with the system. If you like it, make sure to get the expansions!
The British Way – first of the COIN multi-packs; that means you are getting 4 mini games in one box! On top of this they can be combined into campaign. This is also first position in the series for 2 players -and as you can see in my materials, I really like how it was designed (very solo friendly!)
People Power – this is already volume XI in the series; a three-player COIN, described as one for the new adepts of the system but I treat it also as a great, quick game for experienced ones. There are some innovative mechanics regarding support plus a very interesting historical theme to this position.
COIN in space? Yes! That is Red Dust Rebellion – astonishingly beautiful title, with some innovative, clever mechanics which are adding fresh ideas to the genre.
Hard to believe that there was no COIN game about this conflict before. Perfect for four players, with interesting balance of power and immersive historical theme.

More about the series:

Summary

The Christmas season is meant to be a time of joy and happiness, spent with those closest to us. Hopefully, it is also a period of the year when we can pause for a moment and devote a bit more time to our hobbies and passions – such as enjoying great boardgames. Merry Christmas!