Allied General

Allied General was published in 1996 by Mindscape and developed by Strategic Simulations, the company that effectively defined turn-based wargaming on computers. The catalogue notes a top-down view and support for more than one player, which matches the established shape of a hex-map game.

The principle is classical. The map divides into hexagonal fields, every unit carries its own range, firepower and resilience, and turns alternate. Terrain governs movement and cover, air power supports the ground forces, and without supply an advance stalls on its own. Anyone who knows earlier titles from this school finds his footing within minutes.

What separates this from a set of standalone scenarios is the campaign. Units that survive a battle carry their experience into the next mission, so anonymous battalions gradually become formations the player is afraid to lose. That element is what made the line Allied General belongs to more than a sequence of separately solved maps.

The focus on the Allied side of the Second World War also shapes the battlefield: a different mix of units, a different tempo of advance and different objectives from the side that is defending. The game works with an asymmetry the player feels mainly when deciding how much strength to hold in reserve.

In the OldGame.cz catalogue, Allied General comes with the release year, the developer and publisher names and visual documentation, though it cannot be started in the browser here.