War games are terribly cerebral and require a great deal of careful strategic thinking in order to do well. They obviously teach about history, but they also emphasize careful resource management, risk assessment and critical thinking skills. All in all, for a linear logical thinker, nothing is ever as fun as a War Game. But for someone interested in buying a war game as a gift, it is important to find out the player’s basic level of experience and introduce the concept slowly.

Beginner. Beginner war games are just as challenging as the more advanced types, but they focus on quick game mechanics rather than historical accuracy and technical details. The first war game anyone should be introduced to is Risk. It involves conquest on a large scale, and it has enough variability built in that even inexperienced players can be competitive with more experienced players. Risk involves building large armies that defend and attack using dice. The game mechanics are simple and designed to keep the game balanced. Although, as in any war game, there are a lot of rules, in this game, they can be learned quickly, and there are few gray areas in which people will spend a lot of time arguing about rules.

If one gets the hang of Risk, the next game up should be Diplomacy. This game limits the scope of combat to Europe and a small part of Asia. There are no dice involved, and the number of armies and navies is far fewer than Risk. The game mechanics are simple, but subtle, and so a much more detailed reading of the rules is required. In addition, the game is heavily based on bargaining and making deals (and of course even breaking them when the time comes). It is not a good game for the overly-sensitive player, because the intensity of competition is fierce.

Intermediate. Once one gets the hang of basic strategic thinking, it is time to add complexity. Axis and Allies is the perfect game for this intermediate level. It adds a host of new unit types to simulate air, sea and land combat. A&A also introduces concepts like resource management, multiple and different winning conditions and a more robust combat mechanics where different units have different attack and defensive capabilities. The rules complexity does mean that the person playing this game for the first time will be at a huge disadvantage.

Nero and Against All Odds are games in this category. They add a level of complexity to play, but they don’t have the rich detail and incredible complexity of more advanced games.

Advanced. Avalon Hill used to crank out war games that were both detailed and yet well play-tested. Since the demise of that great company, the big boys have taken to producing better packaging and tokens at the expense of realism and detail.

there are some exceptions, especially because of the renaissance of gaming in Germany. Memoir 44 is an elegant game that will challenge the experienced war gamer with its vibrant realism and its attention to detail. Beyond that, its game mechanics are nearly ideal. It revolves around key battles of WWII, in 1944.

Afrika Korps is a platoon level simulation of tank warfare in Northern Africa. There are over four dozen scenarios to play, and the attention to historical accuracy is notable.

Monmouth is an American Revolution war game. If revolves around battalion and regiment combat. Its game mechanics are stodgy, but efficient. It is also highly suited to both soitaire play as well as campaigns.

War games are such a rich source for history, strategic and tactical thinking. It’s a shame that so few players ever get past the absurd simplicity of a game like Risk, to the historical simualtions of the more advanced war games.