Steam Sale – Almost Free Wargames.

If you are looking for a new game to satisfy your itch, here are a few that are currently on sale over at Steam (most sales will be expiring January 4th):

Age of Empires III: Complete Collection

Includes three games from the classic Age of Empires series which is a Real-Time Strategy (RTS) with a focus on building, exploring, and combat. – $7.99 (was $39.99)

X-Com: Enemy Unknown Complete Pack

Combines strategic and tactical elements in a turn-based manner. Has an enjoyable/interesting storyline running throughout the game regarding UFO’s. – $9.99 (was $49.99)

Crusader Kings II

A strategic wargame by Paradox Interactive simulating the Crusades. If you enjoy other Paradox titles you’ll probably enjoy this one. I, personally, find the map to be too detailed and require too much scrolling for my liking. – $9.99 (was $39.99)

Other titles currently on sale from Paradox include Victoria II ($4.99), Europa Universalis IV ($9.99), Hearts of Iron III ($2.49),

Star Ruler

A space 4X real-time strategy (RTS) game. – $2.24 (was $14.99)

Mount & Blade Full Collection

I keep hearing good things about these games, but only tried the original for a few minutes and wasn’t particularly impressed – then again, I’m not huge for RPG oriented games. This package includes the original game as well as Warband, which apparently fixes many of the problems with the original game. It also includes Napoleonic Wars, Warband – Viking Conquest Reforged Edition, and With Fire & Sword. – $8.99 (was $44.99)

Sid Meier’s Civilization IV The Complete Edition

Sid Meier is probably the best known name in computer wargaming. This includes the base game (Civilization IV) as well as Beyond the Sword, Warlords, and Colonization. – $7.49 (was $29.99)

See also

• Sid Meier’s Civilization V ($7.49)
• Civilization V: Brave New World ($7.49)

SEGA / Creative Assembly’s Total War Series.

This series is one of my all-time favorites. It offers a robust strategic interface as well as 3D pausable RTS battles. There are a whole bunch of different offerings available including:

• Medieval II: Total War Collection – $6.24 (was $24.99)
• Total War: Attila. – $15.29 (was $44.99)
• Total War: Rome II – Emperor Edition – $14.98 (was $59.95)
  • Also See Rome II – Wrath of Sparta Campaign, Rome II – Hannibal at the Gates Campaign Pack, and Rome II – Caesar in Gaul Campaign Pack.
• Total War: Shogun 2 – Fall of the Samurai – $7.49 (was $29.99)
• Empire: Total War – $4.99 (was $19.99)

Unity of Command Trilogy Bundle

I really enjoyed this trilogy. The original game was the Stalingrad Campaign, then two add-ons (Black Turn and Red Turn) offered additional scenarios. A beer & pretzels sort of wargame. – $4.49 (was $29.99)

Other Games

I’ve barely scratched the surface of the games available. A few others that stuck out to me include:

• Stalingrad – WWII RTS. – $1.24 ($4.99)
• DEFCON – Cold War Strategy – $1.49 ($9.99)
• Majesty 2 Collection – Fantasy RTS. – $4.99 ($19.99)
• This War of Mine – You are a citizen trying to survive during a war. – $6.79 ($19.99)
• Star Wars Empire at War – Gold Pack – Sci-Fi RTS. – $5.99 ($19.99)
• Tropico 5 – Strategy/Simulation City Builder. – $9.99 ($39.99)
• Supreme Ruler 1936 – Grand Strategy World War II – $3.99 ($19.99)
• Men of War Assault Squad 2 Complete Edition – $9.99 ($39.99)
• Doorkickers – Real-Time SWAT tactical game. – $3.99 ($19.99)
• Rise of Nations Extended Edition – Strategic Game / RTS – $4.99 ($19.99)
• Expeditions: Conquistador – Turn-Based Strategy / RPG. – $4.99 ($19.99)
• Breach & Clear – Turn-Based RPG tactical game as special ops. – $2.24 ($14.99)
• Victory at Sea – RTS of World War II combat at sea. – $6.24 ($24.99)
• Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Grand Master Collection – $19.99 ($79.99)

Others Recommendations

Thanks to folks over at Grogheads for sharing some of their recommendations:

• Graviteam Tactics: Operation Star – World War II tactical RTS game focused on tank combat. Sequel to Achtung Panzer: Kharkov 1943. – $4.49 ($29.99) – HT: Thjan.
• Horizon – An indie 4X turn-based space game. – $7.49 ($29.99) – HT: Anguille.
• Hegemony Gold: Wars of Ancient Greece – A historical strategic/tactical real-time strategy game. – $7.49 ($14.99) – HT: Anguille.
  • See also Hegemony Rome: The Rise of Caesar ($7.49) and Hegemony III: Clash of the Ancients (14.99).
• Battle Academy – World War II turn-based 3D World War II tactical wargames. – Only the older ones are available with a significant discount (50%, ~$4.99). See a list here. HT: Anguille.
• Imperium Romanum – Strategic, historic, city builder. – $2.49 ($9.99) – HT: Anguille.
• Space Empires IV and V Pack – 4X turn-base space strategy games. – $3.99 ($19.99) – HT: Anguille.
• Nobunaga’s Ambition: Sphere of Influence – Grand strategy and tactical wargame simulating a period in Japanese History, it has overwhelmingly positive reviews, and sneaks in because of its impressive lineage rather than scraping-bottom-of-the-barrel pricing. – $29.99 ($59.99) – HT: AmandaChen.
• Sengoku – Another strategic/tactical wargame of Japanese history. – $2.49 ($9.99) – HT: AmandaChen.
• Faster Than Light – Rogue-like, space strategy game. – $3.99 ($9.99) – HT: GroggyGrognard.
• Armada 2526 – 4x space strategy game. HT: Anguille.
• Grand Ages: Rome Gold – Roman Empire strategy, city buiding. – $3.74 ($14.99) – HT: Anguille.

Concluding Thoughts

This is by no means the extent of the list of games Steam is offering – there were so many more I could have added. You can browse through the entire 200+ pages of strategy games currently on sale here.

Which games on this list do you love? Any that you hate? What games should have made this list but didn’t? Any that don’t deserve to be on this list? I’d love to hear your thoughts!