World War I

[Vishniac]

The movie WWI  (the first Wonder Woman movie ) having sparked a renewed interest in WWI (the First World War), I come to ask whether anybody here as any experience with strategic games about this time.

Usually, you find scores of games about WWII in about every domain, and Americans have also a ton about Civil War (Secession War?) but WWI is relatively less covered, probably because it was a war of attrition compared to the Blitzkieging rides of WWII.

Nevertheless, a search found me these games at Matrix:
http://www.matrixgames.com/products/?p=18&a=3
(If the link doesn't link properly, Matrix has a search link by timeline)

It seems all these games follow more or less the same pattern: division-level, 1-week-turns, some R&D, special attention to artillery mechanisms, random and diplomatic events when you can choose your own path(often in the form of 'cards to be played' like on board games).

I've read a long AAR of the Strategic Command one and it felt Ok but what is cool is the classic edition gives you possibility to start before it starts with options: a scenario with Germany having the most units deployed Eastwards contrary to History, with a focus on defeating Serbia and Russia first, it's also possible NOT to invade belgium, thus keeping the British Commonwealth out of the war (but for how long?).
They say that To End All Wars also has this possibility of choosing your own warplans before starting. Others I don't know.

Let's see if anybody played one of these. I'll probably decide to buy one sooner or later.
A few months ago, I finally read a book I had about this war and it's much more complex than we could think: a lot of diplomacy involved.

[bvanevery]

Not games.  So far I've restricted my attention to learning more about the war itself.  I know quite a bit less about it than WW II, of which I know the most.  Vietnam was my 2nd war project.  I've also visited a lot of US Civil War battlefields because I live in the South and those are available when I bug out for the winter.  There was some computer game, I think done in a 1st person shooter perspective, that had WW I stuff in it.  I think it had a "time police intervention" mechanic, where you were trying to ensure that the historical events of a battle actually happened the way they did in history, while some kind of "bad guys" tried to use their superior 26th century weaponry to influence the battle the other way.  The name of the title escapes me.  I've looked up a little bit about trench warfare and particularly tunnel warfare, the dismalness of it.  I declined to embark upon a realistic FPS simulation of the subject.  Pretty morbid.

I have wanted to understand the question "what led to Hitler?" in terms of the wars that came before it, starting with the Franco-Prussian war.  So I know a little bit about that one too.  Still feel I have more to learn about the political dynamics leading up to WW I, but it seems, England deliberately chose to have Germany as its enemy.  Because France was powerful and England chose to have the enemy that was weakest.  Pretty deliberate change considering the centuries of animosity between England and France.

Important to realize that on the even of WW I, many people in England couldn't vote.  Consider that, as to how such wars occur.

[ariete]

i suggest you strategic command ww1, commander the great war is a lighter version about basically the same kind of strategy.
if you like ww2, check my page at https://blitzkriegsh.wordpress.com/