Gifts for Gamers: Some End-of-Year Recommendations, Part 2

Strategy

Warzone 2100

GPL, activated 3D graphics, http://wz2100.net

Originally released 1999 as a commercial real-time strategy game from Edios Interactive, Warzone has been further developed by a horde of volunteers under the GNU license. Unlike its competitors in the same genre, Warzone 2100 allows for individual unit design with varied unit characteristics and tactics.

Originally Warzone 2100 was a commercial strategy game.

LordsAWar

Free, 2D graphics, http://www.nongnu.org/lordsawar

The turn-based strategy game is still in its early development stages. The object is to create armies in cities to conquer neighboring cities and send heros on quests for treasure.

Landscapes to discover in LordsAWar

LGeneral

Free, 2D graphics, http://lgames.sourceforge.net/index.php?project=LGeneral

Friends of the turn-based strategy game Panzer General would feel at home with the LGeneral clone. As general, you guide your troups across hexagonal battlefields.

MegaMek

GPL, 2D graphics, http://megamek.sourceforge.net

Likewise with a beehive playing field, MegaMek is an unofficial version of the BattleTech board game, with overdimensioned robots pulled into battle.

Massive robots moved in hexagonal fields are what make the MegaMek multi-player game.

Lux

Commercial, http://sillysoft.net

The strategy game is loosely based on the Risk board game, with some extensions. Taking over the world involves aligning your troops across 700 maps, including phantasy worlds

Lux is reminiscent of the Risk board game.

NAEV

GPL v3, activated 3D graphics, http://code.google.com/p/naev

Unlike Elite, this space trading and combat game has a bird's-eye view. The object is still to conquer large galaxies.

In NAEV, space trading is from a far-reaching perspective.

Privateer: Ascii Sector

Free, 2D graphics, http://www.asciisector.net

The game reduces the concept popular in Elite and Privateer to its graphic minimum. The space conquering simulation works exclusively with ASCII characters, with a considerable retro effect.

The graphics in Ascii Sector consist of ASCII and special characters.

Mechanical Tower

Free, activated 3D graphics, http://www.tdb.fi/mechtower.shtml

Robots gone haywire storm a tower and you must set traps to destroy them before they do the same to you.

BattleDuel

Free, 2D graphics, http://terstiege.de/battleduel

In a mountainous landscape, opponents try to out each other with fixed cannons. They take turns firing, but need to reckon with wind and ballistics.

BattleDuel is a new version of an old classic for the Commodore Amiga.

Tiffanys

GPL, 2D graphics, http://tiffanys.sourceforge.net

A simple chess game with multiple game modes.

The Tiffanys chess game has an opening database.