Favorite turn-based game - Online, offline, new or ancient

[Cpt. Stud Beefpile]

FPS and MMO's rule the roost in today's gaming world, but what's the favorite game of y'alls that isn't quite so fast-paced?

https://drop-shock.com/ <--- still online by the grace of the single dev with very "lego-ish" units.

Battle for Westnoth is my favorite offline game, has come a long ass way from its beginnings. The artwork alone is easily on par with paid games.

Nethack, ASCII graphics and all, still has a place in my heart because I could log in to play via terminal with my DOS potato of a laptop and a dial-up PCMICA modem card from the trash.

 

[Boris Blank's glass eye]

Any genre? Probably Jagged Alliance 2.

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole 2]

Any genre? Probably Jagged Alliance 2.

That one is absolutely GOAT for sure, it is my most bought game ever. [edit: physical copies, not digital]
I have been playing Jupiter Hell recently and it is great. It's a breakneck rogue-like so runs aren't as long as a campaign.

 

[BONE_Buddy]

This is a rough one. I would probably have to go with one of the later Combat Mission games, CM: Cold War has been taking up a lot of my gaming time as of late.

Gary Grigsby's War in the Pacific is in second place.

Special shout out to the Field of Glory franchise for when I want something a bit more lightweight.

 

[Chocolate Wombat]

That's a really hard question since turn based strategy is probably my favorite genre.

Best I can do is narrow it down to Fallen Enchantress, Master of Magic, Master of Orion 2 and classic X-Com. There are tons of titles in this genre that I love but these four are the closest I can get to picking a favorite.

 

[Sexy Senior Citizen]

Fire Emblem and Advance Wars series
X-Com and X-Com 2
Chess
Multiple Warhammer 40,000 games (Mechanicus, Battlesector, etc.)

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole 2]

That's a really hard question since turn based strategy is probably my favorite genre.

Best I can do is narrow it down to Fallen Enchantress, Master of Magic, Master of Orion 2 and classic X-Com. There are tons of titles in this genre that I love but these four are the closest I can get to picking a favorite.

I mean, MoO2 and HoMaM3... They're portable and can be unzipped on any company laptop. As much as I love OG UFO/X-com it is hard to get back into, JA2 is easier and more rewarding despite being obtuse and weird in similar ways.

 

[El Goblina]

MoO:BaA and MoM showed up already, so I guess I'll step in with Master of Orion the First. There's a really good reimplementation here: https://gitlab.com/Tapani_/1oom Requires the original files, etc. There's also OpenXcom, which I recommend, especially the X-Com Files mod, which rejiggers the game with a significantly longer campaign styled after the X-Files. https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php?board=21.0

The only game I've spent comparable amounts of time to MoO with is Civ 1. The series has become pedestrian these days, but it's still worth some turns. IMO, the best version of Civilization was Alpha Centauri.

 

[Smaug's Smokey Hole 2]

MoO:BaA and MoM showed up already, so I guess I'll step in with Master of Orion the First. There's a really good reimplementation here: https://gitlab.com/Tapani_/1oom Requires the original files, etc. There's also OpenXcom, which I recommend, especially the X-Com Files mod, which rejiggers the game with a significantly longer campaign styled after the X-Files. https://openxcom.org/forum/index.php?board=21.0

The only game I've spent comparable amounts of time to MoO with is Civ 1. The series has become pedestrian these days, but it's still worth some turns. IMO, the best version of Civilization was Alpha Centauri.

Having spent 5-10 minutes thinking about I don't really care that much if X-Com is changed, or Elder Scrolls, more people will like it and that's good. They made Masters of Orion 3 and it was bad and I didn't care that much, Fallout went from Black Isle to Bethesda and it was fine, the series lived on and more people got to appreciate it, I'm not petty or elistist like that. Whenever someone buys the license and attempts to make a JA2 sequel I want to cut their throats with a broken bottle though.

 

[Flatline]

HoMM 2 and 3
Master of Orion 1 and 2
Master of Magic
Civ 5
The Battle for Wesnoth
Advance Wars 1 and 2
Rome: Total War 1 and 2
Medieval: Total War 1 and 2
X-Com 1 and 2
Jagged Alliance 2
Dominions 5
Conquest of Elysium 4

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

Chrono Trigger, but aside from JRPGs I like Worms Armageddon, Rebelstar: Tactical Command, and Advance Wars: Days of Ruin.

 

[Wormy]

Any genre? Probably Jagged Alliance 2.

*fistbump* Still unequalled in it's category.

Rebelstar: Tactical Command

Wasn't that basically a port of X-Com: UFO Defense on the GBA with a different storyline? Saw it in a store, but resisted the temptation at the time. If it really is like old XCom, I missed out.

 

[SSj_Ness (Yiffed)]

Wasn't that basically a port of X-Com: UFO Defense on the GBA with a different storyline? Saw it in a store, but resisted the temptation at the time. If it really is like old XCom, I missed out.

Never played X-Com: UFO Defense, but now I'm interested (didn't like X-COM: Enemy Unknown, the only Xcom game I've played).

I'd say you definitely missed out, but it holds up well so check it out. Graphics and sound are a little rough and it's kinda slow, but very well designed. The story is better than you might expect too, plus it even has multiplayer.

 

[Boris Blank's glass eye]

I mean, MoO2 and HoMaM3... They're portable and can be unzipped on any company laptop. As much as I love OG UFO/X-com it is hard to get back into, JA2 is easier and more rewarding despite being obtuse and weird in similar ways.

There's nothing like a barely alive elite soldier standing up from his dirt nap and fucking up your demolitions expert with a lucky hit from a LAW and that's just the vanilla game. 1.13 with its wonderful additions like massive counterattacks, enemy mortar teams, giving yourself the mother of all handicaps by setting enemy equipment level to 10 at the start, or the return of the thief trait... I love me some JA2.

Chrono Trigger, but aside from JRPGs I like Worms Armageddon, Rebelstar: Tactical Command, and Advance Wars: Days of Ruin.

I haven't played many JRPGs - Chrono Trigger, Chrono Cross, Xenogears, and The Legend of whatever Trails in the Sky 1 to 3. Couldn't ever get into Final Fantasy, no matter which era.

 

[Wormy]

Never played X-Com: UFO Defense, but now I'm interested (didn't like X-COM: Enemy Unknown, the only Xcom game I've played).

I'd say you definitely missed out, but it holds up well so check it out. Graphics and sound are a little rough and it's kinda slow, but very well designed. The story is better than you might expect too, plus it even has multiplayer.

Old X-Com has very little in common with the reboot. It's a lot tougher, lot more elements to fuck you over, but it also gives you a hell of a lot more agency. You can actually customize loadouts for your troops, for one thing. You don't get satellites, you have to build whole separate bases to keep monitoring the planet and having fighters in range to intercept UFO's (which is a lot more unforgiving as well). Having troops that survive multiple engagements is also more satisfying too given how fuckin lethal it is. Getting a burst of auto-fire plasma or even a grenade right in the face as soon as you step off the transport does happen.

Not sure I can recommend Terror From the Deep though. Although stylistically it's actually my favorite XCom, it basically has all the hangups of the original to a hair pulling degree.

Couldn't ever get into Final Fantasy, no matter which era.

Only ever got into the NES first entry (and even then, I considered a step down from Ultima) and the original Tactics. Still fondly remember basically building the main character into a One Punch Man Monk

 

[Big Green]

I don’t know if anyone remembers this game, but the first shining force will always hold a special place in my heart. Playing that game as a kid is probably responsible for my current affinity for turn based tactics.

 

[KatanaSenshi]

There are so so so many turn-based masterpieces but I feel like recommending Knights of the Chalice because it's totally underrated.This game has probably one of the best enemy AI design, plus pretty good adaptation of DnD3.5 OGL ruleset. Highly recommended.

 

[Poppavalyim Andropoff]

Sega Rally

 

[Just Some Other Guy]

Sweet, nobody took my pick.

Fallout 2. Best fallout.