Strategy games are a broader category than most people realize. They vary from strict war simulations like Memoir 44 to fantasy games like Lord of the Rings to economic and social simulations like Settlers of Cattan. Getting the right game for the right person is tricky, but there’s actually probably a game out there for everyone, at least if the person likes games in the first place.

The first thing to consider is the person’s age and sensibilities. For the pre-teen, for the person who won’t watch a violent film, then your best option is a more social strategy game.

For young children, about 10 or so, which really is a kind of minimum for strategy games which involve a lot of reading and critical thinking skills, I would recommend a fun game called Bone Wars, which is about collecting Dinosaur Bones. Okay, it may not be the perfect game for a creationist, but I don’t even think a religiously conservative person would find anything to object to, considering it simulates the great paleontology rush of the 19th century.

For kids over 12 and adults, I really recommend Settlers of Cattan. It involves developing your villages and road system. There is a lot of bargaining and planning. If you like your games social, and you don’t have the patience to wait your turn for something to do, this is a good game for you.

As to war games and tactical strategy games, after the little ones get tired of the basics of Stratego and Risk, they should try Axis and Allies. It is a good introduction to turn-based military simulations.

For someone older and more interested in an accurate simulation of historical battles, the Memoir 44 series of games recreates in great detail and with great passion, the important campaigns of WWII.

For something more quirky, there’s a fun little game out there called Antarctica that posits the war after global warming has made a mess of everything. It is very ironic and kind of grimly humorous, but it is a fine war game, if you don’t care about history.

the final type of strategy game is the Fantasy Adventure game. Fantasy adventure games are based on the idea of blending a little role-playing with a lot of strategic movement of fantasy units on a map of some sort. They can range from exceedingly complicated and detail-rich, to frivolous exercises in battling elves and orcs. The granddaddy of them all is Lord of the Rings. It is a fairly amusing attempt to capture the flavor of the Tolkien books in a way that keeps the gaming aspect in the front of the mix. That’s the problem with fantasy adventure games. They may get the flavor right, but they forget to make the game playable. I remember a dozen games of this type that I bought and then tried desperately to sell on Ebay. The Game of Thrones, Arkham Horror and Conquest of the Fallen Lands are all games in this category that are sure to be interesting, once you’ve determined that this kind of game is for you.

All in all, strategy games come in all sizes and ages. The ones that have stood the test of time and the tides of metaphorical wars are in their vaunted position for a reason; these hoary games are fun and somehow they enrich the lives of those that play. You can’t ak for better than that.