14 DAY TRIAL // Wargame AirLand Battle is not an easy game and, much to their credit, the development team at Eugen Systems makes that clear, so it’s probably not a surprise that I tend to taste bitter defeat more than the sweet taste of victory.
But I do have a list of tips that I try to live by in the strategy game, even if as all strategy players know no plan survives contact with the actual enemy.
1. Scout, scout, scout – the most important units in Wargame are not beautiful tanks or powerful planes but the helicopters, vehicles and special forces that act as the eyes and ears of the commander.
Deploy a lot of them, set them up in good positions and make sure that they stay alive and offer a full view of what the enemy is doing.
2. Always think in depth, both on the attack and when defending – enemies always have surprises hidden beyond their battleline and you should too.
3. Air power is important but cannot win battles alone – AirLand Battle allows gamers to use beautiful, fast, powerful planes and they can turn the tide of an engagement.
But airpower cannot control territory and solid ground forces are needed to secure areas and take out enemy AA units.
4. When playing the campaigns, make sure what your targets are – I have often failed to complete a scenario because I lost sight of my final objectives and focused too much on tactical considerations.
5. Learn from failure and watch replays – I am losing more battles than I am winning and yet I love Wargame AirLand Battle because there are clear reasons for my defeats.
The replay feature is very well implemented by Eugen Systems and allows anyone to see where they went wrong and try to fix the situation in another match.