Fit check
Is Commander: The Great War worth it for you?
We tell you who should skip it, too.
Play it if you…
Good fit- World War I history fans who want campaigns based on historical offensives
- Turn-based strategy players who want supply, morale, research, and fog of war
- Modders who want to alter combat and campaign rules with Lua
Skip it if you…
Saves you a refund- Players seeking real-time battles or direct moment-to-moment control of individual troops
- Players looking for short, simple sessions rather than large campaigns with many interacting systems
- Players who require ongoing official developer support, since the last patch was released in 2015
Our take on Commander: The Great War
Its focus on a broad war campaign trades immediate battlefield simplicity for management across multiple theaters, unit types, technologies, and conditions. Official support has also ended, with the final patch released in 2015 and possible glitches remaining.
What is Commander: The Great War?
This turn-based strategy game follows the First World War, beginning with Belgium’s invasion on August 5, 1914, and ending at the November 11, 1918 Armistice.
Its hex-grid theater covers the United States, Africa, Arabia, Scandinavia, and the Urals. Five Grand Campaigns open in different years and at historical offensives, with over 40 historical or hypothetical events triggered by conditions on the campaign map. Eighteen unit categories include infantry, cavalry, tanks, artillery, naval vessels, fighters, bombers, and airships. Generals, admirals, and flying aces may lead units, while research advances aircraft, artillery, and armor.
Battles account for supply, morale, terrain, leadership, equipment, training, and limited visibility. PBEM++ enables multiplayer, including PC-to-iPad games. Lua modding can alter combat, research, units, and terrain effects. Developer support has ended.
How Commander: The Great War plays
- 01Five Campaign Starts
- Campaigns begin in 1914, 1915, 1916, 1917, or 1918 at different historical offensives.
- 02Conditional War Events
- More than 40 historical and hypothetical events are triggered by conditions on the campaign map.
- 03Eighteen Unit Types
- The roster spans land, naval, and air forces, including infantry, tanks, artillery, battleships, submarines, fighters, and airships.
- 04Historical Commanders
- Generals, admirals, and flying aces provide specialized strengths for ground, naval, and air units.
- 05Technology Research
- Research advances aircraft, artillery, and armor, including the development of tanks.
- 06Lua Modding
- Lua scripts can change combat, research, unit statistics, terrain effects, and other gameplay elements.
- 07PC-iPad Multiplayer
- The PBEM++ multiplayer system allows iPad players to challenge PC owners.
Commander: The Great War compared to similar games
Men of War: Assault Squad presents a World War II experience with direct, hands-on combat, while Commander: The Great War uses turn-based hex-map campaigns about World War I. Xenonauts centers on a multinational organization defending Earth from aliens with small persistent squads, whereas Commander: The Great War commands land, naval, and air forces across a global war. Shogun Showdown also uses turn-based combat, but focuses on attack tiles, skill selection, deck building, and a Shogun encounter rather than a historical campaign.
Commander: The Great War: platforms & release
Is Commander: The Great War worth it?
It is worth it if: world War I history fans who want campaigns based on historical offensives. Skip it if: players seeking real-time battles or direct moment-to-moment control of individual troops.
Where can I download Commander: The Great War?
Use the Download Now button on this page: it opens Commander: The Great War's store page, where you can choose how to get it.
What platforms is Commander: The Great War on?
Windows only.
