A Beginner's Guide to Wargames: More Accessible Than You Think

Wargames have an intimidation problem. This genre conjures images of 600-counter games spread across dining room tables, 40-page rulebooks referencing terrain modifiers and combat results tables, and 8-hour sessions where setup alone consumes the first hour. That reputation isn't wrong — those games exist — but the best entry point is finding wargames that feel like strategy games you already love.

If you enjoy strategy games like Root, Twilight Struggle, or even Risk, you're already closer to wargaming than you think — the genre is far broader and more accessible than most board gamers realize.

Skip the monster games with thousand-piece counters until you've found your wargaming legs — they're impressive shelf pieces but terrible teachers.

If this mechanic clicks with your group: What's Area Control? The Mechanic That Starts Wars at the Table, Best Strategy Board Games for Beginners, and Legacy Board Games: What They're and Where to Start.

What's a Wargame?

A wargame simulates conflict — military, political, economic, or all three. Consider these defining characteristics:

• Asymmetry: Opposing sides have different forces, starting positions, and objectives
• Geography matters: Terrain, position, and movement are central mechanisms
• Historical (usually): Most wargames model a specific conflict, battle, or era
• Decision-heavy: Wargames prioritize meaningful strategic and tactical choices over luck

From light (30-minute card games) to monstrous (multi-day simulations with thousands of pieces), the spectrum runs wide, and modern wargame design has pushed the accessible end of that spectrum further than ever.

Sub-Genres Worth Exploring

Hex-and-Counter

Here's the traditional format. A hex map depicting real terrain, cardboard counters representing military units with printed attack/defense/movement values, and rules governing combat resolution. When most people hear "wargame," this is what they picture.

Gateway: Undaunted: Normandy — A two-player deck-building wargame that uses a simplified hex map and card-driven actions — think of it as a wargame for people who love Dominion. 45 minutes, scenario-based, gorgeous production.

Block Games

Wooden blocks stand upright on their edges — your opponent can see that you've got units but not their type or strength until combat reveals them. This "fog of war" mechanic creates bluffing and uncertainty that hex-and-counter games lack.

Gateway: Sekigahara: The Unification of Japan — Beautiful production, elegant card-driven combat, 3 hours — among the most praised wargames of the modern era.

Card-Driven Games (CDG)

Players play cards for either their event text (a historical occurrence) or their operations points (generic actions like moving and attacking). Between using a card for its powerful event versus its reliable operations lies the genre's signature tension.

Gateway: Twilight Struggle — The Cold War as a tug-of-war card game, and two players, 2-3 hours, no miniatures, no hex map — widely considered one of the best board games ever made, wargame or otherwise. If you play one game from this article, make it this one.

COIN Games (Counter-Insurgency)

GMT Games' COIN series simulates asymmetric conflicts with 2-4 factions pursuing different objectives. One faction is a conventional army, another an insurgency, another a criminal cartel, another a foreign government. Each plays by fundamentally different rules.

Gateway: Cuba Libre — Simplest of the COIN games, which means 4 factions in Fidel Castro's revolution — 1-4 players, 2-3 hours, excellent solo system with automated opponents.

Miniature Wargames

Three-dimensional terrain, painted miniature figures, measuring tape for movement distances. This is the hobby-within-a-hobby: assembly, painting, and terrain building are as much a part of the experience as the game itself.

Gateway: Star Wars: Legion — Accessible ruleset, pre-assembled starter minis, a recognizable IP that gets non-wargamers excited.

Why Board Gamers Should Try Wargames

Historical Immersion

No other genre connects you to history the way wargames do. Playing through the Battle of the Bulge or Cuban Missile Crisis teaches you more about why decisions were made than any textbook. Supply constraints, information fog, impossible trade-offs that real commanders faced — you'll feel them all.

Deep Strategic Decision-Making

Have you exhausted medium-weight Euros and want games where every decision has cascading consequences? Wargames deliver. Decision trees run deeper because the simulations are richer. Position, timing, supply, morale, weather — variables that Euros abstract away become the game's strategic fabric.

Two-Player Sweet Spot

Most wargames are designed for exactly two players, which means they're perfectly balanced for that count. If you've got a regular gaming partner and have worn out 7 Wonders Duel and Patchwork, the wargame genre opens an enormous library of two-player experiences.

Common Concerns

"Rules are too long"

Modern wargames have learned from Eurogame design. Undaunted teaches in 10 minutes. Twilight Struggle teaches in 20. COIN games have excellent playbooks that walk you through first-game turns. Start with my gateway recommendations above — they're explicitly designed to be learnable.

"Games take too long"

Many classic wargames do take 4-8 hours. But the modern end of the genre offers plenty of 60-120 minute games. Undaunted plays in 45 minutes. Watergate plays in 30. Wargame design hasn't stood still.

"I don't like military themes"

COIN series covers political insurgencies as much as military operations. Twilight Struggle is about political influence, not combat. Some wargames model economic competition, social movements, or political campaigns. "War" in wargame represents a spectrum.

"I don't know the history"

You don't need to. Games teach you. Twilight Struggle's cards are a crash course in Cold War history. A COIN game's faction descriptions explain the political dynamics. Wargames are history's best teaching tool precisely because they make the stakes personal.

Where to Start: My Three-Game Path

1. Twilight Struggle — No hex map, no miniatures, familiar card-game format. Teaches wargaming's strategic depth through a mechanism most board gamers already understand.
2. Undaunted: Normandy — A hex map and squad-level tactics, but driven by deck building. It's the bridge between Eurogames and traditional wargames.
3. Cuba Libre — A COIN game with 4 asymmetric factions, automated opponents for solo play, and a system that applies across a dozen other COIN titles once you learn it.

After those three, you'll know whether wargaming clicks for you — and you'll have the vocabulary and experience to explore deeper into whichever sub-genre resonated most.

The Hidden Community

Wargaming has one of the most dedicated, welcoming communities in all of board gaming — GMT Games runs a P500 pre-order system where games are published based on community demand. BoardGameGeek's wargame forums are active, helpful, and less competitive-feeling than general board game discussions, and smaller than the Eurogame crowd but proportionally more engaged, this community will meet you where you're.