The American Civil War
In the world of historical strategy games, few events resonate as profoundly as the American Civil War. This pivotal era in U.S. history, marked by vast battlefields, individual heroism, and a nation divided, offers an unparalleled setting for immersive wargames. The American Civil War captures a unique moment in military history, where commanders navigated the traditional line formations of the Napoleonic era while grappling with rapidly advancing firearm technology. For PC gamers with a love of history and strategy, these games provide an opportunity to step into the shoes of Union and Confederate leaders, facing the complex challenges of Civil War-era combat and decision-making.
Over the years, many games have emerged to bring the Civil War experience to life, combining historical authenticity with compelling gameplay. This article explores the top American Civil War games available on PC in 2024, highlighting what makes each game stand out in terms of accuracy, strategic depth, and lasting appeal for fans of historical wargaming. Dive in to discover which titles have best captured the drama, tactics, and intrigue of one of America’s most defining conflicts.
The Best American Civil War Videogames On PC In 2024
7- Grand Tactician: The Civil War (1861-1865)
Let’s start this list with its most recent title: Grand Tactician: The Civil War (1861-1865). Despite all the praise I sing about it, the reason it isn’t ranking any higher is because the game seems always to be plagued with some kind of permanent bug curse. Depending on whatever patch you play, it might be an amazing or a terrible game. And that’s a shame because it’s by far the game with the most potential in this list.
The best way to describe Grand Tactician is American Civil War: Total War. The game is split into a massive grand-campaign map (in real-time) where the player manages either the Union or the Confederate’s economy, diplomacy, and armies. When two armies meet, the battles transition to a battlefield, also in real-time. Battles are impressively massive, with the larger ones being capable of lasting for several days.
Grand Tactician’s sole DLC Whisky&Lemons deviated a bit from the norm, and it added RPG elements to the game. You’ll now be able to create and play as your officer, in control of just a single regiment, and be continuously promoted until you’re in control of an army, or of the entire campaign. It’s a really neat touch that adds a lot of flavor and plays around with concepts seldom explored in other games. There’s something cool about being a small cog in a very massive machine, and sometimes playing your small part in holding that small ridge can make a big difference.
Hopefully, Grand Tactician: The Civil War continues to evolve and offer more fresh takes on the American Civil War.
6- Sid Meier’s Gettysburg!
A mandatory game in any list, Sid Meier’s Gettysburg is the classic wargame set during the most iconic battle of the war: The Battle of Gettysburg. Players take command of Union or Confederate forces, strategically deploying troops across the historic battlefield.
The game’s emphasis on historical accuracy, combined with its engaging gameplay for the time (1997!), makes it a must-play for fans of both the Civil War and people interested in gaming. With its deep tactical options, the linked scenarios that can be played as a campaign, its challenging AI, and its massive reputation with the Civil War wargaming community, Sid Meier’s Gettysburg remains a timeless masterpiece in the genre. Sid Meier’s Antietam! was released two years later, in 1999.
5- Ultimate General: Gettysburg
Ultimate General: Gettysburg is a brilliant real-time strategy game that follows very closely the formula laid out by Sid Meier decades prior. Created by the guy responsible for the Darth Mod Total War series of mods, Ultimate General: Gettysburg is a game that offers an intense experience of the Battle of Gettysburg. Players command Union or Confederate forces across a series of pre-made scenarios, or by playing the whole battle.
The game’s highlight is its impressive AI, which can be modified to have different personalities, offering a different experience every time you play. Alongside its competent silicon enemies was also a very innovative and cool movement system, where the player can draw movement paths for the troops to follow, allowing for a level of precision that’s hard to achieve with point and click.
I love Ultimate General: Gettysburg, and it’s still one of those games that I play as a comfort title because the bite-sized 20-minute scenarios are so fun to experiment with. This was the title that first got me interested in the American Civil War.
4- Civil War 2
There aren’t a whole lot of grand-strategy American Civil War games. My podcast co-host Al says it’s because the American Civil War is boring, but since he’s British, that might be the sore loser in him talking. Civil War 2 is the rare exception that proves the rule.
This simultaneous turn-based grand-strategy title, released in 2013 and created by AGEOD has since become a cult classic by offering an in-depth experience of grand-strategy military management. You’ll be in charge of building, organizing, and commanding your armies either for the Confederates, or the Union. The game has 2 weeks long turns, with 14 phases each – 1 per day. Since the moves happen simultaneously, there’s a need to anticipate your enemy’s next move and plan accordingly. If your reinforcements arrive just one day too late for an ongoing 3-day battle, the war might be lost.
Civil War 2 isn’t just impressive, it’s also massive, with its map being divided into 3000 regions, and having over 1000 historical units. This just comes with one caveat: even on modern computers the game isn’t going to run smoothly.
3- Wargame Design Studios: Civil War Battles
I don’t think there’s a best-of of list historical games that don’t feature some game from Wargame Design Studios. Their series of turn-based strategy games offer such a deep and complex simulation of every period they put their hands on, and the American Civil War is no exception.
Each game in their Civil War Battles series focuses on a specific campaign (with several battles), allowing players to experience these historical events in astounding detail. Moreso, there are a lot of what-if scenarios, and each game in the series offers between 200 to 400 scenarios depending on the title. That’s a lot of content. Multiply that for the 16 games in the series and you would be fighting scenarios for longer than the war lasted.
2- Scourge of War: Gettysburg
If you’re looking for the most detailed representation of a battle in videogames, the Scourge of War series is where it’s at. Before their work on one of the best Napoleonic Strategy videogames ever made, Scourge of War: Waterloo, the Norbsoft team created the most expansive and realistic representation of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Scourge of War: Gettysburg is a real-time strategy game that offers a highly detailed and immersive experience of the iconic Battle of Gettysburg. Players command vast armies, tactical strategic decisions in real-time to outmaneuver their opponents, always having in mind that communication wasn’t instantaneous, and that orders took their time to arrive, messengers could be killed, and commanders had some degree of autonomy. Even the smallest of scenarios feels larger than any Total War battle you can put together, despite its sprite-based units, I love the charm of it, and the massive battles are really awe-inspiring stuff, and the graphical fidelity quickly fades from your mind when the compromise is controlling armies whose battle lines extend for miles.
With its focus on tactical combat and historical detail, Scourge of War: Gettysburg is a must-play for fans of both the Civil War and real-time strategy games. My only hope is that Scourge of War – Gettysburg gets the same treatment Scourge of War: Waterloo got and we will see it being remastered sometime soon. There are also the Pipe Creek, Antietam, Chancellorsville, and Brandasdy Station battles as DLC.
1- Ultimate General: Civil War
My opinion might upset a couple of you with this one, but Ultimate General: Civil War is- in fact- my favorite American Civil War videogame of all time. It picks up on where Ultimate General: Gettysburg left off, and expands the scope tremendously while keeping the same fantastic AI, smooth controls, and beautiful graphics. Instead of re-inventing what didn’t need to be reinvented, the team added a campaign layer (even if mostly on rails) and recreated the major battles of the American Civil War.
The game is one of those rare hardcore titles that manages to offer a unique blend of historical accuracy and accessible gameplay, allowing players to command vast armies on the field, and make strategic decisions. The game’s emphasis on grand-scale battles, combined with its intuitive controls and stunning visuals, makes it a thrilling experience for both casual and hardcore strategy gamers.
Personally, Ultimate General: Civil War is a must-play for anyone interested in videogames about the American Civil War.
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