Wargames: Battle Forces

I've been playing an online computer wargame called Battle Forces off and on for a few days, and its a lot of fun. Its pretty close to Axis & Allies for those familiar with that game. I don't care for computer wargames for the most part, but this one really has the feel of a boardgame ported over to a computer screen. You can play a single player mini-campaign set in Africa to get your feet wet, then move on to a world-wide war scenario with multiple computer foes. Once you get the hang of the game, you can go multiplayer against other human players. You can pause the game in between turns and come back to it later as well, which is a nice feature. I take a turn against the computer foes, then go do some stuff around the house or whatever, and come back to it when I have time or feel like it. The action each turn takes place simultaneously with the other players, whether human or computer; thus, while you are moving your troops and building new units, your enemies are doing the same. Movement of enemy troops are hidden from you until you complete all of your actions and submit them to begin the turn. Then you see the results unfold, and start planning a new turn.


Similar to Axis & Allies, you can build infantry, tanks, SAMs (surface-to-air units useful against aircraft) rather than AA guns, fighter jets rather than planes, bombers, subs, transports, aircraft carriers, destroyers, and factories. I think the game would benefit by having a battleship as the king of the sea, and maybe a missile cruiser as intermediary between subs and destroyers to offer a little more variation for sea battles, but the naval options available work pretty well. Aircraft carriers allow fighter jet to land on them (but not bombers), so that they can serve as islands from which to launch fighters against multiple targets. Don't lose your carrier though, as the fighters will crash in the sea unless they are close enough to a friendly country to land!


There is nothing to download, as the game can be played completely in your browser (although I think there is an option to download if you want to play while off-line). Click the link below to check out the site, but beware; its addicting!

Battle Forces