ABSTRACT
A computer wargame is a form of videogame that descended (sometimes quite remotely) from tabletop wargames played with miniature models on arti cial terrain or with cardboard counters on a at mapboard. e subject of the computer wargame is war, but (unlike rst-person shooters [FPSs]) success does not depend on reaction speed and manual dexterity. Instead, the gameplay is focused on intellectual contests of strategy and tactics; real-time variants typically have less sophisticated rules than turn-based ones but require the player to perform many complex tasks simultaneously. Computer wargames, like board and counter wargames, generally present an overhead view of the battle eld, whether as a 2D map or as an isometric or truly 3D display. As the name suggests, they have usually been developed for personal computers rather than for game consoles. One reason for this is that the control methods available on computers (notably, the mouse) are more suited to such games than the devices supplied with consoles, but the fundamental cause is probably the historical (and now partially obsolete) view that intellectual games belong on computers and reex-based “action” ones on consoles.
