You know, not those with the minis in spiky armor. Those with the cardboard counters and the stacking rules thereof.

It appears I shall soon possess a copy of Squad Leader. Never played it, but I've read up on it and am positively psyched.

Which wargames, or counter-based boardgames broadly conceived (Divine Right qualifies, ditto Magic Realm, Dragonhunt, Wizard's Quest...), did you / do you enjoy most and why?

Squad Leader, Magic Realm, Victory in the Pacific, War at Sea, Ogre/GEV, Wooden Ships & Iron Men, Republic of Rome, Empires of the Middle Ages (okay, mainly via imperfect computer adaptations), Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage (oh, yass!), Napoleon, Ancients, King of Kings, Arena of Death, Voyage of the Pandora, Wreck of the Pandora, Star Trader (SPI), The Creature that Ate Sheboygan, Destroyer Captain, Diplomacy, Divine Right, Albion: Land of Faerie, Dune, Dreadnought, History of the World, Imperium Romanum II, Kremlin, Junta, Shanghai Trader (borderline as wargames go, but it's got the "spirit"), Peloponnesian War, Rommel in the Desert, War of 1812 (Columbia), Warp War...those are the ones I've played at least once and can with some confidence say I'd be delighted to play again.

I play warhammer 40k on occasion (like, twice a year or so). I also play the occasional game of Axis and Allies.

I hear squad leader can get pretty intense (especially with expansions)

Awww crap, just re-read the original post, and realized those don't count. The closest thing I play is the Awful Green Things From Outer Space.

Did a bit of Starfleet Commander when a couple of players didnt show up.

I used to enjoy quite a few of the old-style boardgames and hex & counter wargames. My favorites were:

Civil War (VG)
Vietnam (VG)
Magic Realm (AH)
Civilization (AH)
Star Fleet Battles (TFG)
Stellar Conquest (AH)
Republic of Rome (AH)
Ambush (VG)
Federation and Empire (TFG)
Paydirt (AH)

Don't play much anymore, except for Magic Realm.

I've played aroudn with a few.  Really liked Tactics II, and in theory, I like the idea of a lot of them.

But truth is, the complexity level of most hex/counter games is prohibitive for me, as is the near total lack of players.

And honestly, a lot of it just winds up feeling pretty primitive after playing stuff like Advance Wars.  

I still have a copy of Panzerblitz I rescued before my storage unit went up for auction, and maybe one day I'll actually play it.  And I'd like to get a copy of Tactics II at some point too.

Hell yes!

My friend Tom and I have played SL, many games in the Gamers TCS series, the Advanced Tobruk games, Crusader Rex, a lot of old SPI, GMT's AmRev games, Up Front, Twilight Struggle, Wilderness War, Empire of the Sun, Magic Realm, Sniper!, GBoH, King of Kings, Ancients, Totaler Krieg!, Hannibal...

The list goes on and on.  Those are just off the toppa my head.

Haven't stacked cardboard tokens in a dog's age.  I play stuff like Memoir '44 though.  Personally, I like the visuals that nice figures create ... my eyeballs have been seduced.

I regularly play the Columbia "block" wargames.  My (current) favorites are Hammer of the Scots (it's the Braveheart game) and Crusader Rex.  My all-time favorite is Rommel in the Desert.

I used to play the Civil War Brigade games from The Gamers (now done by MMP), but I have a lot less free time nowadays so I doubt those'll hit the table any time before my retirement.  But I already have plans to try out their Operation Series Korea game this winter.

I like Dune a lot, too, but it doesn't get out much anymore.

Quote from: forager23I used to play the Civil War Brigade games from The Gamers (now done by MMP), but I have a lot less free time nowadays so I doubt those'll hit the table any time before my retirement.  But I already have plans to try out their Operation Series Korea game this winter.

Tom and I are about set to give Korea a spin as the OCS rules seem to have settled in their latest round of revision.  We've been busy as hell lately and still need to finish up our Crusader Rex mini-tourney (best 2 out of 3), but we're both looking forward to something with more meat; our last few games have been decidedly lighter fare (Up Front, AmRev series, Crusader Rex).  I'd be interested to hear your experiences with Korea when you've gotten a chance to give it a spin.

I'm involved with the local wargaming club here in Calgary. These are some of the games I've played in the last seven years or so:

Totaler Krieg!
Hannibal: Rome vs Carthage
Paths of Glory
Wilderness War
WWII: Barbarossa to Berlin
The Napoleonic Wars
Twilight Struggle
Clash of Giants
Reds
Ukraine '43
EastFront
Napoleon
Rommel in the Desert
Hammer of the Scots
Crusader Rex
Chariot Lords
Pax Romana
Monty's Gamble: Market Garden
Fire in the Sky
Stalingrad Pocket II (SCS)
Fallschirmjaeger (SCS)
Drive on Paris (SCS)
Afrika II (SCS)
Tunisia (OCS)
Korea (OCS)

I don't have trouble finding opponents - loads of wargamers in Calgary. I do have trouble finding the time for the longer games. And after playing lots of euro games (I play euros more than wargames), I've found my patience for down-time is quite low. That's why I tend to prefer the quick pace of the card-driven games and the block games. My favourites are Hannibal, Twilight Struggle, and Hammer of the Scots.

Rules are another barrier. Most wargames have poorly written rules, and since I learn so many boardgames (25+ new games a year), I just can't keep the rules straight in my head. So that means lots and lots of flipping through rules.

You know, I've never found a fantasy-themed wargame that worked well as a game. Divine Right and Dragon Pass are very cool and evocative, but the gameplay is awkward and slow.

As far as the hardcore hex-and-counter wargames go, I recommend the Gamers SCS series (Fallschirmjaeger, Drive on Paris) for big-but-straightfoward play, and the Gamers OCS games (Tunisia, Korea, DAK II) for highly immersive and intense play. All the Gamers titles are multiple-session deals, though.

Quote from: KenHRI'd be interested to hear your experiences with Korea when you've gotten a chance to give it a spin.

Ditto. I didn't get much beyond setup when I played solo a few months ago. I did really enjoy Tunisia, so I know the system.

We've played a few turns of Tunisia, too, and we're veterans of a bunch of other Gamers games, so the only obstacle to playing has been time.

Really, that's one of the things I like best about something like Hammer of the Scots: over the course of a weekend you can get in a couple of satisfying games (we do mini-tournaments, too, Ken).  Also, most of the people I play games with now play RPGs, some Eurogames, or WH-style mini games: I usually only get a chance to play "real" wargames when I'm visiting with my brothers.

Oh, and I forgot to mention Paths of Glory, which I also really like.  I have Barbarossa to Berlin, too, but haven't had a chance to play it.

We did a run-through of Tunisia last year.  I sucked horribly; old habits from ZOC-type games and trace supply die hard with me.  Now that I have some experience with OCS under my belt, I don't think I'll have such a hard time wrapping my head around maintaining a steady operational tempo.