Continuing our gift guide series for 2026, we’ve arrived at the vast war gaming category – similar to board games, there’s simply so much here that offering a useful list requires setting some limits. To help keep things sane, this year, we’re going to offer two gift recommendations per war gaming era. The first will be a classic game, one you’ll often only find at places like Noble Knight (or a garage sale) that hearkens back decades, perfect for players looking to relive memories or enjoy a true ‘classic’ design. The second will be a more modern title in the same era, giving you a great option likely still in print, or conforming to more current design trends.
Either way, there’s so much good gaming packed in the list below that any grognard is bound to find something to love.
Ancients Era
Classic: Alexander the Great
You’ll notice many classics on this list come from Avalon Hill, that bastion of war gaming brilliance for much of the 60s, 70s, and 80s. To start with our Ancients, put on the sandals of Macedonia’s greatest leader, Alexander the Great. This Gary Gygax classic is a single battle, a little more than 100 counters, and almost infinite possibilities. Cavalry, Elephants, and a fantastic morale-based combat system combine with concise rules and a couple hour play time to make Alexander The Great an enduring delight.
Modern: Commands and Colors: Ancients
The Commands and Colors system is one of modern war gaming’s most appealing. Card-driven activation simplifies decision space, while large hexes and limited unit density keep games quick and clear. Ancients has a chunky block system that looks great on the table, the same friendly dice combat, and enough scenario variation (especially with expansions) to give as much play as you could ever want. If Memoir ‘44 or Battle of Hoth has a place in your collection and you’re looking to level up on its mechanics while stepping back in time, Commands and Colors: Ancients has so much great gaming to offer.
Napoleon
Classic: Waterloo
Look, there are approximately a thousand war games based around Waterloo, but the one we’re looking at here came out all the way back in 1962. This Avalon Hill production is exactly what you want from a classic – over 160, a crisp map, and clean rules. The game plays in a couple of hours, but within that time you’ll be able to execute a multitude of strategies on either side. This is more a ‘game’ than a ‘simulation’, making it a perfect target for introducing a famous battle, and hex-and-counter gaming to a new generation.
Modern: Battle Commander: Napoleon
This year, Sound of Drums continued its streak of releasing high quality war games with astounding production values. Battle Commander: Napoleon kicked off a new series and system that balances complexity with playability. Thick counters, dual-layered boards, chit pull, and an absence of dice. On the one hand, these games are premium experiences for war gamers looking for something new and clever, on the other, Battle Commander looks as nice as any top-tier euro out there, making it an enticing gateway to curious friends and family. Either way, this is a winning start to a promising series (making for easy future gifts – and who doesn’t love that?).
US Civil War:
Classic: The Civil War
In 1983, Victory Games published The Civil War, a beast (if not quite monster by modern standards) that covers almost every military facet of the conflict. Counters abound, legendary leaders have unique abilities, and players must prioritize their actions between three theaters – west, east, and trans-Mississippi – every round. It’s a time-tested design that remains great, and numerous fan-made house rules can tune almost every facet to your liking. Anyone hunting a full scope approach here, particularly at impulse buy prices, will find everything they want and more with The Civil War.
Modern: Thunder on the Mississippi
We covered the Great Campaigns of the American Civil War a short while ago and while that series somewhat spans the classic – modern bridge at this point, it remains a flagship offering for anyone invested in how these battles were fought, and whether you can do better than the generals of the day. Thunder on the Mississippi, the latest release, contains multitudes – river warfare, fort sieges, artillery bombardments. This is a series every war gamer ought to try, and to get the best experience, pair the battles with Grant’s Vicksburg nightcap: straight bourbon.
World War One:
Classic: The Guns of August
First published in 1981, The Guns of August is an Avalon Hill classic. A full scale WW1 simulation, with stacks upon stacks of counters battling across a hexed Europe, this is a game built for dexterous fingers and folks who find therapy in well-made tables. Cavalry, infantry, engineers, and more are represented, along with focused scenarios so you can work your way up to the grand campaign. This is the whole, big dance done at a medium level of complexity – best for players that love big war games that you can actually complete. For a modern facelift, consider Empires and Alliances from Compass Games too!
Modern: Imperial Elegy
If The Guns of August is a simulation, Imperial Elegy is a card-driven what-if. A war game featuring WW1’s major players that focuses more on the years leading up to the grand conflict. In the vein of multiplayer classics like Here I Stand and Virgin Queen, Imperial Elegy invites players to choose from a vast menu of options, by a hand of cards and chosen national goals. As alliances shift, the eventual Great War may or may not occur, but if it does, the participants might be wildly different than reality. If you can regularly get six people to the table, this is an instant classic not to be missed.
World War Two:
Classic: Hell’s Highway
Of all the many, many WW2 operations and the games exploring them, few are as fascinating as Operation Market Garden, first given the full treatment in Victory Games’ Hell’s Highway. A full simulation, with a table-devouring strip of a map, hundreds of counters and a campaign running a couple dozen hours, Hell’s Highway meets the magnitude of Market Garden. What makes this a unique gift for the right grognard group though, is the potential for team play. Split that long map up and run it 2v2 and this is a tense masterpiece. Keep an eye out for a late 2026 update in On Hell’s Highway too!
Modern: Downfall
Downfall pulls one of war gaming’s greatest twists: having each player act as both Germany and their opposition in the waning months of the war. Alternating each player’s responsibilities by front (one player, say, controls the Soviets and Germany’s west front), Downfall becomes a race. Traps, strategic retreats, counters, and more play out over a long campaign that feels short as you’re always in the action. There’s also more than combat afoot, as mobilization, sabotage, and abstracted naval and air warfare all have their moments. Not overly complicated, Downfall is best for a pair ready and willing to sink their teeth into something grand (just be sure you have a large table).
Cold War:
Classic: Fire in the Lake
The Vietnam War offers up many compelling war games, from narrative campaigns (Purple Haze) to solitaire adventures (Fields of Fire), but it’s also home to, arguably, the king of COIN: Fire in the Lake. These card-driven games pit asymmetric factions against one another, weaving alliances together in a deadly dance. You’ll spend less time chucking dice and shifting counters, and far more plotting when to twist the knife or spring your trap. Fire in the Lake is an excellent next step for COIN newbies, or a different, special way of exploring Vietnam for war gamers wanting something different.
Modern: New Cold War
Cold War classic Twilight Struggle remains excellent, and is getting a new big box this year, but if you want to see the era through a global lens, VUCA’s New Cold War ups the player count to four while keeping much of the same flavor. A big deck of cards drives the action, as each major player (China, US, Russia, and Europe), divided into two teams with only one overall victor, attempts to dominate various territories through influence, sneaky operations, and outright military force. A snarl of a game, best for groups that like to banter, role-play, and cackle as their schemes come to fruition, New Cold War can be played in a single, fun evening (and then, of course, brought right back out the next to swap factions).
Modern:
Classic: Leader Series
Starting in 1991, Dan Versson’s Leader series (originally with GMT, now with Dan’s own DVG) has operated at the heights of thrilling solitaire design. These titles, like Thunderbolt-Apache Leader, put you as a squadron commander tasked with completing missions across a campaign. Variable pilots, mission objectives, and chit pull elements keep every 1-2 hour game novel. The recent Eagle and Fulcrum Leader games are great opposing titles, with NATO and Soviet focuses respectively. Perfect for a solo war gamer or anyone interested in aerial combat games.
Modern: Modern Tactics #1 Afghanistan
The start of a new series for VUCA, Modern Tactics #1: Afghanistan does a lot with a smooth core ruleset. This isn’t Advanced Squad Leader, instead distilling decades of refinement into an action-packed, dynamic experience. Played opposed, Modern Tactics presents a compelling asymmetric challenge to both sides. Advanced gunships vs IEDs, ambushes vs a need to keep civilians out of harm’s way. Modern Tactics succeeds as a game, accurately presenting the challenges of the setting without burying itself in rules minutiae or specific weapon modeling – in short, if you’re hunting for a modern warfare experience that’s engrossing for vets and newbies alike, Modern Tactics is a great one. And keep an eye out for expansions and update packs – there’s no better stocking stuffer than a box of new counters!
