1775: Rebellion
Battleward shelf
A brisk campaign game that makes control of the colonies the argument on the table. Its accessibility is a strength, though it will not satisfy someone looking for a detailed battle simulation.
The Battleward game shelf
Find a game.
Search every Battleward listing in one place: board games, miniature rules, RPGs, and PC games. Full Battleward reviews appear where available.
93 games found
7th Fleet
1987 · Victory Games
A hypothetical modern naval war in the Far East with surface, submarine, and air operations.
7th Fleet: Modern Naval Combat in the Far East
Battleward shelf
Surface groups, submarines, and air power meet in a tense hypothetical Pacific war. The system rewards careful coordination, though mastering its many interactions takes more than one evening.
Age of Eagles
Battleward shelf
A way to put substantial Napoleonic forces on the table without resolving every musket volley. The larger scale asks players to think about formations and command, not individual battalion heroics.
ALIEN: The Roleplaying Game
2019 · Free League Publishing
Cinematic scenarios and campaign play turn stress, scarce resources, and lethal uncertainty into table tension.
Angriff!
1968 · Z&M Publishing Enterprises
A detailed early approach to WWII armor and infantry with HO and micro armor; one of the small-publisher titles that helped define historical miniature gaming.
Axis & Allies
1981 · Nova Game Designs
An approachable global WWII contest later brought to a mass audience by Milton Bradley.
Bataille Empire
Battleward shelf
There is enough period texture for formations, skirmishers and national differences to matter, while the system still aims to finish a battle. It is a broad toolbox, so unusual historical cases need judgment.
Black Powder
2009 · Warlord Games
A broad framework for large tabletop battles across the black-powder era, with an emphasis on spectacle and pace.
Blades in the Dark
2016 · Evil Hat Productions
Heists, flashbacks, and faction pressure make consequences and momentum part of the campaign engine.
Bloody Big Battles!
Battleward shelf
An appealing answer to a practical question: how do we fight enormous battles on an ordinary table? It accepts abstraction to keep the command decisions and the shape of the battle in view.
Bolt Action
2012 · Warlord Games / Osprey
Platoon combat with random order-dice activation; a widely played accessible WWII system.
Bolt Action: Third Edition
2024 · Warlord Games / Osprey
The current major edition of the order-dice WWII platoon game; listed separately so edition history stays clear.
Call of Cthulhu
1981 · Chaosium
Investigators face fragile minds and dangerous knowledge; mysteries matter more than winning fights.
Catan
1995 · Kosmos
Negotiation, resource production, and an approachable ruleset helped broaden modern board gaming.
Chain of Command
2013 · TooFatLardies
Patrols, leaders and uncertain activation make platoon command the center of the game.
Chainmail
1971 · Guidon Games
Medieval miniature battles with a fantasy supplement; its reach extends into the origins of role-playing games.
Champions
1981 · Hero Games
Point-built powers made superhero creation a game in itself, with flexible effects rather than fixed archetypes.
Check Your 6!
2007 · SkirmishCampaigns
Aircraft maneuver and campaign scenarios with plotted moves, designed for substantial multiplayer air actions.
Classic Traveller
Battleward shelf
Characters acquire a history before the first adventure, and ships and worlds generate their own trouble. It gives the referee tools rather than a scripted path, which is freedom with a little homework attached.
Combat Commander: Europe
2006 · GMT Games
Cards make command, timing, and battlefield surprises central to squad-level combat.
Command Decision
1986 · Game Designers’ Workshop
Frank Chadwick’s battalion-level WWII system puts command and coordination above the detail of every individual tank shot.
Command Decision: Test of Battle
2006 · Test of Battle Games
The later Command Decision line continues the focus on battalion command and historically grounded combined arms.
Command: Modern Operations
2019 · Matrix Games
A detailed simulation of modern air, naval, and missile operations with a vast equipment database.
Commands & Colors: Ancients
Battleward shelf
Command cards bring friction to ancient battles without burying players in procedures. The blocks and dice are abstract; the tension comes from deciding which wing can act now.
Commands & Colors: Napoleonics
Battleward shelf
Command cards make it easy to see a promising move and still lack the means to order it. The dice are brisk and sometimes cruel; that tension is central to the design.
De Bellis Antiquitatis (DBA)
1990 · Wargames Research Group
Compact armies, standardized bases and short games helped reshape ancient and medieval competition.
Diplomacy
1959 · Allan B. Calhamer (self-published)
Seven powers make simultaneous orders; the real contest is persuasion and trust between turns.
Drang Nach Osten!
Battleward shelf
A monument to the monster-game era: sweeping operational reach and a formidable demand on space and time. Its scale is the attraction, provided both players know what they're signing up for.
Dune: Imperium
Battleward shelf
Deck-building and worker placement pull influence, resources and conflict into the same contest. It rewards planning while forcing you to adapt to the cards you actually draw.
Dungeons & Dragons
1974 · Tactical Studies Rules
The original fantasy role-playing game turned a referee, characters, and an open-ended world into a new hobby.
Empire
Battleward shelf
Command and formations sit at the heart of this influential rules family. Its depth attracts people who enjoy working through an army's decisions; the procedures demand commitment.
FATE
2003 · Evil Hat Productions
Aspects let players invoke character traits and circumstances directly in the fiction.
Fire and Fury
1990 · Quantum Printing
Brigade-level Civil War battles with a celebrated maneuver table and an emphasis on the ebb and flow of formations.
Fire in the Lake
Battleward shelf
Four factions pull the conflict in different directions, so cooperation is temporary and victory means different things to different players. The political and military machinery is rich, but it takes work to learn.
Flames of War
2002 · Battlefront Miniatures
Company-level WWII battles supported by an extensive miniature range and national force books.
Full Thrust
1991 · Ground Zero Games
A flexible starship miniature system with a fast basic game and optional detail for larger fleets.
Gary Grigsby’s War in the East 2
2021 · Matrix Games
A demanding Eastern Front operational simulation for players who want logistics and campaign depth.
GURPS
1986 · Steve Jackson Games
A single core system supports historical, fantasy, science-fiction, and modern campaigns.
Hearts of Iron II
2005 · Paradox Interactive
A globe-spanning wartime command game, joining production, diplomacy, and military operations.
Johnny Reb
1983 · Adventure Games
John Hill’s regimental Civil War rules, known for battlefield detail and a long life across later editions.
L’Art de la Guerre
Battleward shelf
A structured contest that rewards deployment, maneuver and knowing when to commit. Its tournament clarity is useful even at a friendly table, though the precision may feel formal to narrative-minded players.
Lion Rampant: Second Edition
Battleward shelf
A compact medieval fight with activation risk and a healthy appetite for dramatic reversals. It gets painted figures into action quickly, though failed activations can sting when a plan depends on one unit.
Napoleon’s Battles
1989 · Avalon Hill
Grand-tactical Napoleonic rules that let players command substantial formations rather than resolve every company’s fire.
Pacific War: The Struggle Against Japan, 1941–1945
Battleward shelf
Mark Herman’s campaign system returns in a modern GMT edition. The range from smaller engagements to the full war is impressive, but its operational machinery rewards a committed opponent and a permanent table.
Panzer Corps 2
2020 · Slitherine
A modern heir to accessible hex-based operational campaigns, with a broad scenario library.
Panzer General
1994 · SSI
A campaign of linked hex-based battles made operational choices accessible without losing the appeal of combined arms.
Panzer Leader
1974 · Avalon Hill
The Western Front companion to PanzerBlitz expands the tactical system to Allied forces and new terrain.
PanzerBlitz
1970 · Avalon Hill
Armored battles on the Eastern Front that helped make tactical board wargaming a major category.
Pathfinder
2009 · Paizo
A richly supported fantasy system built from the D&D 3.5 tradition; later editions have their own mechanics.
Pathfinder Second Edition
Battleward shelf
The character options and tactical structure reward a group that enjoys learning a system together. If the table prefers loose rulings and little preparation, the machinery may feel like another player at the table.
Quartermaster General: 1914
Battleward shelf
This Great War design makes alliances and limited resources matter without asking players to administer every corps. It suits a group that wants strategic pressure in a more approachable package.
RuneQuest
1978 · Chaosium
Skill-based play and a richly imagined mythic world distinguish it from class-and-level fantasy.
SAGA
2011 · Gripping Beast / Studio Tomahawk
Warband battles shaped by faction-specific battle boards, keeping small forces tactically distinct.
SEEKRIEG
1975 · Richard R. Sartore / SEEKRIEG
A specialist naval system that grew through several editions; the 1981 fourth edition covers the age of the battleship in depth.
Sharp Practice
Battleward shelf
A characterful way to fight smaller black-powder engagements where leaders and command friction do real work. It suits players who want the incidents around a battle as much as the final tally.
Sid Meier’s Civilization
1991 · MicroProse
Build a civilization across eras, balancing expansion, research, diplomacy, and war.
Squad Leader
1977 · Avalon Hill
Infantry, leaders, terrain, and morale combine in a hugely influential tactical system.
Star Wars: Legion
Battleward shelf
A miniature battle game that puts recognizable Star Wars forces on the table. Its draw is the combination of tactical play and the pleasure of building an army from that universe.
Starfinder
2017 · Paizo
A standalone spacefaring RPG that brought Pathfinder-style adventure to starships and alien worlds.
Steel Panthers
1995 · SSI
Turn-based tactical armor and infantry combat with a deep scenario editor and a long-lived series.
Steel Panthers: World at War
2000 · Matrix Games
A substantial Matrix Games continuation of the SSI lineage, with tactical scenarios and mega-campaigns.
Strategic Command WWII: War in the Pacific
2024 · Matrix Games
A turn-based Pacific campaign offering a more approachable path into theater-wide command.
Striker
1981 · Game Designers’ Workshop
Ground combat for 15mm Traveller forces, including vehicle design and a serious treatment of future combined arms.
Team Yankee
2015 · Battlefront Miniatures
A hypothetical late-Cold-War land fight in the Flames of War family, built for tanks, helicopters and infantry.
Terrible Swift Sword
1976 · SPI
Gettysburg in regimental detail; a landmark monster game with a matching demand on space and time.
The Bard’s Tale
1985 · Electronic Arts
A party-based dungeon crawl whose mapping and combat made it a fixture of early home-computer RPGs.
The Grizzled
Battleward shelf
A small cooperative card game about enduring the war together, with friendship doing more work than battlefield tactics. It approaches its subject through human strain rather than operational history.
The Korean War: June 1950–May 1951
Battleward shelf
An operational treatment of the first year, with the momentum of invasion, intervention and counterattack driving the campaign. It demands time and attention; it is not a light introduction to the conflict.
The Napoleonic Wars
2002 · GMT Games
Europe-wide card-driven strategy in which Napoleon’s campaigns, coalition politics, neutral powers, and the timing of peace all matter.
The One Ring: Second Edition
Battleward shelf
A Middle-earth game built around journeys, fellowship and the shadow hanging over them. It is most attractive when the group wants that particular tone, rather than generic fantasy with familiar names pasted on.
The Russian Campaign
Battleward shelf
A sweeping Eastern Front contest that makes reserves, weather, and timing matter without the bookkeeping of a monster game. It is broad-stroke history, but the strategic pressure is real.
Ticket to Ride
2004 · Days of Wonder
Easy to teach and tense to finish, with route cards turning a simple map into a contested network.
To the Strongest!
2014 · To the Strongest!
Grid-based large battles dispense with measuring while retaining command risk and decisive maneuver.
Tractics
1971 · Guidon Games
Chart-rich armor combat from the early micro-armor era, with attention to individual vehicles and weapons.
Traveller
1977 · Game Designers’ Workshop
Character careers, starships, trade, and countless worlds make the setting as much a toolkit as a game.
Tunnels & Trolls
1975 · Flying Buffalo
A small-publisher fantasy alternative with a lighter approach and a strong tradition of solo adventures.
Twilight Struggle
2005 · GMT Games
Card-driven global influence in which playing an event can advance your opponent’s plans.
Unity of Command
2011 · 2x2 Games / Matrix Games
A clean operational system where supply lines determine whether an offensive can survive.
Universe
1981 · SPI
SPI’s ambitious science-fiction RPG offers a dense framework for characters and imagined worlds.
Vampire: The Masquerade
1991 · White Wolf
A modern gothic game that put character relationships and identity at the center of play.
Victory in the Pacific
1977 · Avalon Hill
Pacific naval war through sea-area control, basing, and the timing of fleet commitments.
Volley & Bayonet
1994 · Game Designers’ Workshop
Large battles from the musket era on practical tables, with stands representing substantial units.
War in the Pacific
1978 · SPI
A theater-spanning monster game with the Pacific war laid across multiple maps.
War in the Pacific: Admiral’s Edition
2009 · Matrix Games
A dense Pacific theater simulation with an exceptional level of operational and logistical detail.
War in the Pacific: The Campaign Against Imperial Japan, 1941–45
Battleward shelf
An enormous operational and strategic undertaking covering the full Pacific war. The detail and reach are the appeal; the maps, counters, and time commitment are serious obstacles to casual play.
Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader
1987 · Games Workshop
The first edition of the tabletop system that developed into the dominant science-fiction miniature game.
Warhammer Age of Sigmar
Battleward shelf
A spectacular setting for large painted armies and decisive clashes. The collecting and painting commitment is part of the attraction for some players and the barrier for others.
Warhammer Fantasy Battle
1983 · Games Workshop
Mass fantasy battles built around armies, heroes and a setting that became a giant in the miniature hobby.
Warhammer: The Old World
2024 · Games Workshop
A return to ranked fantasy armies and the Warhammer world, with a contemporary edition and model line.
Wings of Glory
2012 · Ares Games
Accessible aerial combat with maneuver decks and model aircraft, continuing the Wings of War family.
Wingspan
2019 · Stonemaier Games
Bird habitats and card combinations create a gentle-looking but thoughtful engine-building game.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
2012 · 2K Games
Squad tactics and base management give every soldier’s survival strategic weight.
This is a growing catalog. Every title currently listed on Battleward appears here; new entries will join this search as they are added.