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The Napoleonic era is one of the most beloved historical periods for military enthusiasts. Massive clashes of arms, swirling cavalry battles, and heroic last stands; it’s all here. It’s surprising then that there aren’t more wargames depicting the era.

Those that do choose to focus on the period run the gambit in terms of combat, historical accuracy, and gameplay. 

Here we’ve chosen our top picks for what the best Napoleonic War games are. 

Our List of the Best Napoleonic Strategy games

Scourge of War: Waterloo

Have you ever felt like Total War battles are a bit too flashy, too quick? That they’re over before you can really implement your strategy? If so, then Scourge of War is for you. Scourge provides real-time battles similar to Total war but allowing a greater depth of tactical and strategic decisions. 

Following the previous Scourge of War games set in the American Civil War. Waterloo takes us to the most iconic battle of the Napoleonic era. This is by far and away from the most comprehensive and detailed game about the Waterloo campaign.

Following the French, Prussian, and British armies through 20 scenarios, including individual sandbox battles and a campaign. 

The game gives the most realistic command in a Napoleonic wargame, allowing you to command from the saddle, sending couriers to give orders to your subordinates, orders which can be intercepted or lost. The game gives an extraordinary amount of control over the positioning and formations of your troops. This is an extremely deep strategy game with well-implemented realism mechanics that add more to the game then they take away. 

It’s only brought down by poor scenario design, where the name of the game is capturing objectives you can sometimes take and hold 1 of 3 potential objectives and win the scenario without the enemy ever counter-attacking you. This is a small critique that only some scenarios suffer from in an otherwise great game. 

Wars of Napoleon

AGEOD games generally come with several caveats, the game will crash, it will likely be slow, and the UI is absolutely atrocious, nevertheless, they are some of the best Grand Strategy Wargames out there. 

Wars of Napoleon is set, of course, in the Napoleonic era, allowing you to jump into several different time periods and campaigns throughout the period. The game has been refined to be focused intently on managing and organizing armies, no small feat in this era. 

It’s said logistics win wars, and that’s especially true in Wars of Napoleon, supply, troop condition, and command ability have far more impact on success than whichever tactics you choose.

But it’s not all war, the game allows you intricate political settings to develop your empire, raise troops, and quell unrest to ensure the homefront is solid as you march across Europe.

While the clunky interface of AGEOD games is a given, the strategic challenges and freedoms presented in the game make it well worth your time. 

JTS Napoleonic Battles Series

JTS is known for its depth of gameplay, accuracy, and strategic challenge which are all present in his Napoleonic Battles Series, along with the trademark terrible UI. Like AGEOD, This is another set of clunky, yet extremely rewarding wargames that allow you to play out the greatest battles of the era.

The games are played out through either a zoomed out view showing NATO-counters or a zoomed-in view of the actual units.

The games use a hex-based system of movement, which works well. These games are deceptively simple, there are only a few things you can outright do during a turn but each decision has a cascading effect on the battle. 

There are multiple games in the series each for a pretty hefty price but what you’ll be getting is a deep and historically accurate rendition of the Napoleonic Wars. If you don’t care about graphics and just want the detail and decision making then these games are right up your alley.

Austerlitz: Napoleon’s Greatest Victory

Austerlitz, and the previous entry Waterloo: Napoleon’s Last Battle, are solid Napoleonic wargames. They use the Sid Meier’s Gettysburg engine transporting you now to the battlefields of Europe. The game is both historically accurate and provides difficult strategic situations to solve.

Thankfully, the interface is clean and gives you everything you need to take the reins of command. Austerlitz’s best feature is the ability to hand over your command to sub-generals and have them carry out your orders. These commanders will attempt to interpret and execute your orders and each has their own idea of how it should be done. 

The battle itself is difficult for the French, as it should be. Austerlitz was a masterpiece victory by Napoleon and it’s easy to see where it could have all gone wrong. 

March to Glory

March to Glory often feels more like a puzzle game than a strategy game. Instead of freely moving your units around you instead move them through various tiles. The game features 14 scenarios from the Napoleonic era as well as non-historical skirmish battles.

You can determine the tactics and formations of your troops, and it’s all pretty straightforward. You can charge, fire, form a square or column, your standard stuff. With the simplicity of the game, the terrain becomes an important factor in your success. Taking and holding strategic terrain is critical to your overall success. 

The game’s 2D graphics and overall interface make it easy to recommend, although you won’t get as much strategic depth out of it as other games on this list. It’s great for those looking for a more laid back turn-based experience.

March of the Eagles

March of the Eagles is a Paradox Grand Strategy game. Before Europa Universalis 4 and Crusader Kings 2, Paradox released smaller games as a proof of concept for these staples. For Europa Universalis 4 that predecessor was the Napoleonic March of the Eagles. 

Like all Paradox games, you’ll choose a country on the map and attempt to conquer your neighbors. The difference in March of the Eagles is the greater focus on Warfare, something that’s been fairly static in most Paradox games. To help with this, Paradox had AGEOD come in to help consult for the game. 

The core combat system remains the same but there are several quality of life features here that I’m surprised haven’t shown up in the later Paradox titles. March to the Guns is a great feature that allows nearby armies to automatically go to the aid of others.

This eliminates the often tedious micromanagement of armies in later Paradox games. The way that victory is now achieved is through Dominance which is a modifier that awards points to the most powerful nation in either Army or Naval power.

If you like Europa Universalis 4 but are disappointed in the way the game reflects the Napoleonic era then this game is right up your alley. It’s not as polished as more recent PAradox releases but is fun nonetheless.

Cossacks II: Napoleonic Wars

While never as popular as the similar Age of Empires series, Cossacks II is a strong RTS which mixes Age of Empires style scenarios with Total War regiments and morale systems.  

You play as one of the European Great powers during the era. Three is a campaign that plays fast and loose with historical accuracy but features some fun scenarios. You can also jump into the Battle for Europe Mode which is a meta-campaign that allows you to conquer Europe and adds context to your RTS skirmishes. 

Unlike many RTS, the addition of a morale system means that not all fights are to the death. This encourages flanking and other useful tactics to break the enemy instead of just annihilating them. 

The game overall does a good job of managing the balance between micromanaging units and making interesting strategic decisions. While it’s not as historically accurate as others on this list it is a great time. 

Campaigns on The Danube

Campaigns on the Danube is an interesting hex-based operational wargame. Instead of fighting in a single battle or managing an entire empire, you’ll be focused on a single campaign.

The game features two campaigns; Napoleon’s Austerlitz campaign of 1805 and the 1809 Wagram campaign. The scenarios of both campaigns present interesting strategic options, with 1805 being much easier for the French and 1809 having Allies on a more even footing. The map is wide but not tall as you’re looking to drive east towards Vienna. 

The game is unique in its dedication to the historically accurate depiction of a campaign instead of battles. It’s an interesting change-up to the usual wargame, and fans of board games will feel right at home. 

Napoleon: Total War

If other games on this list surpass Napoleon: Total War in historical accuracy, the depths of tactical decisions, or overall realism, none can match up to it in terms of the pure spectacle it provides. I’d easily call Napoleon: Total War the prettiest game on this list and beyond that it’s also an amazingly fun game. 

Napoleon: Total War has you both on the turn-based strategic campaign and in the real-time battles. The game features a series of mini-campaigns detailing Napoleon’s rise and eventually culminating in a grand campaign to take over all Europe.

Players can also jump into the historical battles and test their own skills against Napoleon, although these are not really historically accurate, with Austerlitz being a notable disappointment. 

No other campaign captures the whizz of cannon and epic proportions of the battles during this era in a graphically pleasing way. The gameplay is smooth and intuitive allowing for easy pick-up and play without having to read pages of the manual.

The game also features a DLC depicting the Peninsular War which is often neglected in Napoleonic era wargames.

Fields of Glory

In 1993 MicroProse released Fields of Glory (not to be confused with Field of Glory), anticipating both the Total War and Sid Meier’s games. The game simulates tactical battles during the Waterloo campaign through its beautiful pixel art style.

While the game looks good, the AI is completely incompetent even on harder difficulties, and there’s very little tactical depth once you know what you’re doing.

This game is an absolute classic which I would recommend for anyone who would like to see just how far Napoleonic wargames have come. 

Ultimate Admiral: Age of Sail

Ultimate Admiral is certainly one of the most unique games on this list. Blending both naval and land combat Ultimate Admiral follows up on the excellent Ultimate General: Gettysburg, and the not so excellent Ultimate General: Civil War.

The game takes you through two campaigns one following the career of Horatio Nelson up to Trafalgar and the other during the American War of Independence. Both campaigns feature a mix of naval and land warfare, which is similar to previous entries in the series. 

Gameplay-wise, you’ll be dragging arrows around for units to follow until they make contact with the enemy. Then you’ll sit and wait until one side runs away. The tactical combat is simple with the only real option being to charge, otherwise, it’s all about positioning. 

One thing to note is that if you’re looking for a savvy AI opponent then this game is for you, the AI is both aggressive and uses terrain to its advantage. If you like a mix of tall ships and land warfare then this game is for you. 

Conclusions

Napoleon was a titan of his era. His generalship changed the face of warfare in Europe and affected almost every country in Europe.

It’s no wonder then why playing back his triumphs and defeats are so fun. The era is one of dashing romanticism, where the scale and bloodshed were on a scale never before seen. 

We gave our top picks for the Best Napoleonic Strategy games tell us what yours are in the comments down below. 

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