I got arma2--- very nice, its not that graphically demanding- but its hard as hell-

and empire total war is brilliant, Im in the process of ,,altering the world map,, just the moguls and russians left

I love artillery!

 

I might have to check it out. I tried playing America's Army but it was too difficult. Some12 year old must have had it in for me and I would be the shot even when spawining in.

 

Apart from computer games I like RISK.

I am more into traditional hex-grid games.  I think Norm Koger's the Operational Art of War series is pretty cool for those who want computerized version of traditional hex-based games portraying large forces.  I would say its editor is its strongest suit:  You can draw maps, customize units (assign equipments and so on), set map scales and turns, plus event editor to simulate unusual/surprise events.  However, creating your own scenario can be pretty time consuming and you need to run many tests to sort out bugs and find out AI glitches.

 

'Beer & pretzels' games are quite good, too, such as Risk and Axis & Allies.  I used to play A&A a lot, and the feature that I liked the most was having to take some time to ponder about how to spend my resources.  I got beaten up a plenty of times while playing Soviet Union; three Allied players (US + UK + Russia) vs. two Axis players (Germany + Japan), in which the Axis players have oftentimes outplayed the Allies because it was not exactly easy to coordinate three Allied players into one cohesive strategy.  Risk .... used to play that like crazy while I was living in a dorm.  It was spring break and my buddies and I had nothing else to do and we ended up playing Risk over one of their's Mac.  Few other folks from my dorm came over and started watching something.  Oh my ... they brought a bunch of porno!  It was a funny experience as half of us were trying to conquer each other in Risk, while the other half of us were watching porno.  http://www.strategypage.com/CuteSoft_Client/CuteEditor/Images/emsmilep.gif" alt="" />

War in the Pacific - Admiral's Edition is what I've been concentrating on (struggling with?) lately.  The entire Pacific war, one day at a time.

I finally convinced my brother to try Uncommon Valor, its grandfather dealing with the South Pacific Theater.  We've got a brutal email campaign going on now.

We've been with the ArmA series ever since Operation Flashpoint.  When ArmA1 came along, I spent countless hours converting our old favorite OFP missions to that game.  I learned a lot about mission design in the process, seeing some good examples of various scripts, etc.  If you can get the hang of some of the scripting done in this series, a whole new world opens up as far as the missions you can create.

The series has always had its quirks, but it's by no means a shoot 'em up arcade game.  You have an entire world to play in.  Someone's already made a 51km x 51 km map to lose yourself in.

 ZF-

As far as board games go:

Advanced Squad Leader

Starfleet Battles

 

PC Games

I've always liked Steel Panthers but it doesn't work on my Windows Vista machine

 

I am with you on the beer and pretzels.

 

One of my everlasting grudges against Jimmy Dunnigan is CA (the worst wargame ever made).  It was pinched off by SSI and was unplayable.  It was horrible.

 

The Playstation 1 has a couple of great games in Panzer General and Allied General.  They do give up some realism and accuracy for playability. 

 

But what use is a game if you can't play it?