Games that require a good plan and a big cup of tea

[Capn Darwin]

I prefer a good single malt scotch myself.

Let us not quibble over the appropriate method to drown one's digital sorrows.

I'll drink appropriately to that!! 

[solops]

...Though instead of Tea, I recommend strong coffee.

Is it legal to put whiskey in Tea?

[MengJiao]

Dont get me wrong, im very, very happy with my library right now - loving the Wargame series, hopping back into Endless Legend, embarking on my Steel Beasts career

Its been a long time, and im frustratingly disappointed that i cant remember which one it was, since i played a game that had you looking at the screen thoughtfully rubbing your chin thinking WTF am i going to do here, do i go that way with those (tanks, archers, transpondulators), or this way? Deploy the machine guns?

Games that make you work at a plan and a strategy and then let you watch the results unfold. Recently it was a game of Airland Battle but the chance to think is very very minimal, im talking about the ones you think about before you drop off to sleep (strategic bomb the factories or send in the infantry and capture them), think about on the toilet (the best place for military plans) and think about on the drive to work - as i type this i realise its probably a TBS strategy game but who knows

any thoughts?

I've been playing the MEcampaigns game for the puzzling-over effects lately.  Also the Johntiller WWI game (what to do with the cavalry, the MGs, the artillery etc.) also Hoplite and Gringo!  And Roads to Moscow boardgames.

[jomni]

WITP is calling you again.
Oriental Empires gives me that feeling now. Pre-planning and some thinking before sleeping.

[Nefaro]

Makes you think about strategies & combinations when not playing or near your computer?  Hrmm..

Dominions 4

Gratuitous Space Battles (fleet building)

digital CCGs (MtG, Hearthstone, etc)


You probably need some kind of reference, such as the unit & spell list PDFs for Dominions 4, though.  I keep a horde of such PDFs on my tablet, for when I feel like browsing through & getting ideas on combos & such.  Reading for the shitter.  :))

[Beowulf]

I'd say that Command Ops and  already mentioned Flashpoint Campaigns might fit the bill.
For me they are literally all about planning, and then hitting the play/unpause button and  watching the events unfold.

Histwar:Napoleon would fit the same theme as well, if not for the fact that it's still in development hell with next to none updates.

Gary Grigsby's games require planning on strategical and operational layer, but you still need to move every counter by yourself,  and I feel that in that hands on approach I drift my focus too much into micromanaging.

Other than that - 4x games.

[Zonso]

Second the Decisive Campaigns:Barbarossa choice, great game. Another sleeper gem is Pike&Shot Campaigns; the AI forces you to think and plan else you will lose!  :o

[Barthheart]

All of the DC series games. Just brilliant.

Also FlashPoint Campaigns for modern stuff.

And there's Schwerpunkt's WWII Europe. Great game still being worked on... interface is a little clunky but it's worth the effort.

[Rayfer]

WITP is calling you again.
Oriental Empires gives me that feeling now. Pre-planning and some thinking before sleeping.

Yes, WitP:AE is my ultimate 'requires a good plan' game. With one day turns you don't see the fruits of you plans play out until many, many turns later.

[FarAway Sooner]

Polaris Sector has given me that vibe lately, more than any 4x I've played in a long time.  Get your planning wrong and your offensive can slow down for an entire generation.  It's truly epic.

Unity of Command also does that, although it's more about planning at the start of the game and then adapting as you go.

[sandman2575]

If the plan goes awry, I recommend bourbon. If the plan succeeds, again bourbon.

Love it. This is sig worthy.   ;D

Like Capn Darwin, I'm a single-malt man, but I agree, let's not quibble.

[sandman2575]

Is it legal to put whiskey in Tea?

Legal, yes. Advisable, no.

[bob48]

Whiskey, especially a good single malt, should only ever be added to more of the same.

[sandman2575]

Whiskey, especially a good single malt, should only ever be added to more of the same.

Never were truer words spoken.  Love that the colder fall weather is starting to descend on us in New England. Don't drink a lot of scotch in the summer but just the other night poured myself a generous dram of Laphroaig 10-year. Yummy.

...what were we discussing again ? wargames or something ?    ;)

[Father Ted]

Laphroaig 10-year. Yummy.

Indeed.  On offer in Tesco - a bottle will find its way into my trolley next shop.  To accompany a dram I would definitely second the Command Ops suggestion.  I actually find myself putting pen to paper to organise my plan prior to starting a scenario.  The Scourge of War games lend themselves to this sort of approach as well.  Basically it's a fun (and necessary) method for anything that moves slowly and changes direction even slower.  For slightly different reasons Flashpoint Campaigns is also a sip-and-chin-stroker - the games forces you to plan, then sit and watch and then limits your command options when you are able to intervene...