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The Wargamer's Readers' Choice Awards - 2006

	Author: Staff Article Type: Editorial Publication Date: 5/6/2007 Related Categories: Business and Industry, Best of the Year Awards

The Readers' Choice Awards - Wargame

	Conquest of the Aegean by Panther Games
	Take Command: 2nd Manassas by Mad Minute Games
	Forge of Freedom: The American Civil War 1861-1865 by Western Civilization Software

Wargame of the year voting was tight. 2006 was a good year for wargamers and a number of excellent titles were released. Taking the gold was an operational real-time wargame from Panther Games, Conquest of the Aegean. With exceptional AI, historical and hypothetical scenarios, and a sleek interface, wargamers favored it with the gold.

Hotly contesting the honor for best wargame of 2006 was the return of Mad Minute Games in Take Command: 2nd Manassas. 2005 saw Mad Minute Games take the gold in. 2006’s release, Take Command: 2nd Manassas, was only slightly behind the accolades given to Conquest of the Aegean. Take Command: 2nd Manassas was the second release of the game engine, but the developers took the time to make solid improvements to both the AI and the graphics. The result was an award-winning game that took second place in the voting.

Coming in third place was another Civil War game, Western Civilization Software’s Forge of Freedom: The American Civil War 1861-1865. Giving gamers both strategic and tactical gameplay, Forge of Freedom: The American Civil War 1861-1865 took players to a turn-based Civil War that included diplomacy, politics, and economics in addition to combat; a mix that clearly won fans and brought it to third place for 2006’s best wargame of the year.

Coming in with an honorable mention was a revolutionary war title, Birth of America from the French developer AGEOD. Originally released by Battlefront, Birth of America gave gamers great strategic level gameplay combined with attractive graphics and set it in an era that saw the birth of democracy on the new continent. It made a strong showing for third place in the voting and deserves recognition as one of the top wargames of 2006.