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[fatty]

So my father has finally gotten his own laptop, and he's been playing Chessmaster: The Art of Learning a lot lately. I'd like to introduce him to a strategy game, but one that is accessible to beginners (keep in mind he's still learning how to use his computer). The best one that comes to mind is Advance Wars but I don't see anything on the computer like it.

Others that I've thought about but I think the learning curve may be a little steep:

X-com UFO Defense (great game but I think with all of the research, etc. the game is still a bit too complicated)
Heroes of Might and Magic (I've been playing the second one but I'm not so sure he'd dig the fantasy theme)

Games that I still have laying around on the shelf but haven't tried yet, so any opinions on these would be appreciated:

Great Battles series (Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar)
Imperialism
Syndicate Plus
Allied General

I'm looking for for the gaming equivalent of chess (simple to learn but deep). Story is not important. Something like Advance Wars. Thanks.

 

[dionysus]

I haven't played Advance Wars but I would recommend King's Bounty: The Legend. The narrative makes fun of fantasy cliche's so he might like it.

 

[Sage00]

Civ 4. It can be extremely simple, but the depth is there when he's ready for it.

 

[Llyranor]

Any setting preference?

 

[Mindlog]

There are a bunch of different flash version of Advance Wars.

It takes quite some time to learn, but the one you listed (X-Com) is my favorite game of all time. If you mentioned him trying it out, you might want to try Jagged Alliance. Similar perhaps more refined setup in a more contemporary mercenary setting.

Civ 4 is great.

VVV Gettysburg was a very fun game. It's a little more on the RTS side of things with a lot of visual feedback. Probably well worth at least a couple of play attempts.

 

[fatty]

Civ 4. It can be extremely simple, but the depth is there when he's ready for it.

I think Civilization is a great game, though I think all of the available options might be a bit overwhelming. On a side note, I can't remember but I think that game requires the internet to verify the disk and he doesn't have access to the internet at home.

Looking at other Sid Meier games, I was also thinking about Gettysburg (I have that as well but haven't played it) and the original Sid Meier's Colonization (which I don' have).

Any setting preference?

I guess I would say a war setting because that is what he's most familiar with but nothing fantasy or "too" sci-fi. Well let me go back, I don't think he would mind the latter two if they are light on story.

 

[vandalvideo]

Moonbase Commander is kinda like it, but it came out a few years ago.

 

[Minsc]

Silent Storm. It's got the perfect setting. And there's a demo to try in that link too. Might be too involved, but it's supposed to be a great game.

Silent Storm is a turn-based WWII game that's heavy on tactics and team-management. You're in control of an elite corps of specialists for use on missions to destroy, sabotage, and perform reconnaissance against the Axis (or Allied) forces on the European front. You can create your team from a field of 40 male and female operatives from a variety of nationalities. The action takes place on 3-D battlefields, and there's lots of stuff you can blow up and interact with. The developers went all out making sure each battlefield offers a lot to do, the enemy artificial intelligence is sharp, and each mission can be approached in any way you see fit. You can choose a well-rounded team, a stealth based group, or a bunch of Rambo-types out for carnage. There's no multiplayer, but the fun campaign can be played from either side, and, given the personality and operative choices, there's a lot of replay value to be enjoyed. WWII tactical strategy games don't get much better than this. If you're a strategy fan, better enlist now.

 

[Llyranor]

Some of the suggestions are good, but I'm not sure if they're necessarily good choices for a videogame neophyte. Have him try games with demos first.

Actually, in terms of user-friendliness, he might want to give Combat Mission (Beyond Overlord, Barbarossa to Berlin, Afrika Korps) a try; there are demos available.

There are tons of scenarios, and he can start with the smaller ones first.

It is extremely easy to get into, the interface is very user-friendly, and it can be a very deep game.

It uses a WEGO turn-based system. Both opponents (can be 1vAI) input their orders for the turn, and then a combat resolution phase unfolds (1 min at a time, IIRC), where all the orders execute in real-time and you see the outcome of your orders (including reactive actions; units breaking morale, ambushes, spotting new targets and changing priorities).

The beauty of it is that it can be very accessible. You have your units, just give them simple intuitive orders (move, run, crawl, fire at targets, and so on). The interface allows you to give general simple orders, or micromanage individual units.

The WEGO systems allows the player to spend all the time in the world he needs in order to plan his move, and the real-time combat resolution phase allows all of it to be executed in real-time. As such, it's less about just learning and exploiting the ruleset, and more about trying out tactics that could be applicable in real-life. He doesn't need game experience to try things out that way.

Have him give the demos a whirl.

 

[Stoney Mason]

Shattered Union

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/shatteredunion/review.html

Although Silent Storm is indeed a great game.

 

[arstal]

Look at a freeware game called Vantage Master 2 perhaps?

 

[fatty]

Thanks for all of the suggestions, they are all appreciated. I think I will first look into the Combat Mission games and maybe from there maybe migrate to X-com/Silent Storm if he gets more comfortable since they both appear to be similar in structure. But for now I'll start things slow.

I'm going to also do some research on all the others mentioned like Moonbase Commander and Shattered Union.

 

[CiSTM]

+ 1 for Silent Storm and Jagged Alliance. You can get Jagged Alliance and the two expansion packs cheap from gog.com.

edit: seems that the orginal Jagged Alliance is also up for the grabs in gog.com.

 

[HK-47]

Jagged Alliance is not simple.

 

[Llyranor]

That's the thing, a lot of these games could be easy to get into for experienced gamers, but dealing with inventories for individual units, RPG elements, strategic layers and all the like could potentially be fairly daunting for someone who's never really delved into such before.

Combat Mission just places you in a battles - units vs units. There are things to keep track off, but it shouldn't be too hard. Check your squads' ammo, their status (if their morale is broke, you'll see them running/cowering; if they're pinned down by mortar fire, it should also be fairly obvious); a lot of the feedback is visual and easy to decipher.