Ancient Battle: Hannibal is the newest edition to the Ancient Battles series. Experience the magnificence of the Punic Wars, as you follow Hannibal on his crucial campaign against Rome. Based upon, and a major upgrade to, the game system developed for Ancient Battle: Rome, a game that was the No.1 strategy game on the App Store in 8 different.
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- The Ancient Art of War
The Ancient Art of War
DOS - 1984
Also available on: Mac - Amiga - Amstrad CPC - Apple II - PC-88
Description of The Ancient Art of War
Before Dave Murry and Barry Murry designed the seminal The Ancient Art of War in 1984, best-selling wargames like SSI's Kampfgruppe bear no resemblance to best-selling strategy games like M.U.L.E. As a result, strategy gamers and wargamers are two secluded camps who don't speak the same language.
The Ancient Art of War united the two camps in one masterful stroke. Here, at last, is a wargame that wargamers would enjoy for the excellent engine based on the classic war treatise by Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu. Implementing tactics based on Sun Tzu's words becomes the key to victory. Strategy gamers were drawn to the game for its colorful graphics, the chance to match wits with 8 of the most famous military leaders in history in their most important battles, and intuitive command interface.
Here is your chance to challenge the goddess Athena, Alexander the Great, Geronimo, Crazy Ivan, Caesar, Genghis Khan, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Sun Tzu himself. As in the first game, battle locales are varied and historically important. You will wage wars in the Sherwood forest, ancient Rome, Asgaard, Custer's Last Command, Napoleon's France, ancient China, the Appalachians, and Mongolia.
The game, like chess, is simple to learn, yet hard to master. The lack of campaign mode is just about the only criticism I can think of. Suffice it to say that anyone who's never played this game is missing out an important chapter in the history of war and strategy gaming. Two thumbs up!
Review By HOTUD
Captures and Snapshots
Screenshots from MobyGames.com
Screenshots from MobyGames.com
Screenshots from MobyGames.com
Screenshots from MobyGames.com
Comments and reviews
Anunaki2020-01-310 point
I think the EGA version is bugged. So I heard. So is the apple version. Get the CGA version.
I don't know about the Amiga version... Its in French
Peregrino2019-07-023 points
This is a true clasic that still retains full playability. Why no one has ever done a remake is lost to me.
About the campaigns included in the game, five are races to the enemy flag:
- Race for the Flags and Contest of the Gods are about learning to maximize your unit's speed.
- Pharsalus and Custer's Last Stand are about defending your flag while your side detatchment runs fast to take the enemy's. The lessons learnt in Race and Contest will help you to achieve the latter.
- The Spy is about maneouvering among the enemy troops to reach the enemy flag. Avoiding the enemy is an useful skill to learn for later battles. When you have an objective in mind, do not let enemy troops lure you away of it.
Sherwood Forest is a siege. You must take the villages to cut the fort from getting supplies and starve the enemy. The position of your flag is randomized in each battle, which adds a dynamic element every time you play this campaign.
The other five scenarios are wars of attrition where you must defend your forts to build up your forces and take over the enemy ones.
- The Rivalry, being just one fort per side, is the easiest to learn. Defend your initial turf and let the enemy burn trying to assault you, then advance and move down.
- Wu vs Ch'u is pretty straightforward as you begin in control of your forts and the enemy begins in control of hims, so you can move on inmediately on to seizing villages and starving the enemy.
- Tale of Three Islands and Islands of Doom require you to maneuver quickly at the beggining of the scenario to seize as many forts as possible, then you can slowly starve down the enemy.
- War in the Mountains is the toughest one, as the enemy can move faster than you do, will get a lot more forts than you to spawn troops, and forts produce food so you need to take the enemy ones by assault instead of besieging them. Beating this scenario takes hours of gameplay.
The Eleven campaigns included in the game are fun to play, though the real thing comes with the Campaign Editor. Once you master the game, including understanding how the different AI Enemies react to situations, and all the exploits available to the player, you can engineer a lot of diverse challenges beyond the ones proposed in the basic campaigns.
Azrael2017-08-190 point
awesome! cuando todo era tan simple este juego estuvo adelantado a su epoca, Warcraft???
SoulSoldier2017-01-101 point
F.Y.I.
If the installation doesn't work, you can go to
http://ancient-art-of-war.0fees.net/the-ancient-art-of-war.htm
(2017)
It gives downloads for the Ancient Art of War for multiple platforms, and also gives the manuals and some custom campaigns. It's a really cool website, give it a shot!
SoulSoldier2017-01-101 point DOS version
I just discovered it and it should work.
To create a new campaign, in the location where Ancient Art of War is stored, create a new directory (folder for you non-tech people) named floppy (I actually don't know if it's name matters or not). Then, on DOSBOX:
mount a c:/dos/artofwar/floppy
mount c c:/dos
C:
CD artofwar
Then run it. Go to the campaign selection and then create a new campaign. It should work.
Sun Tzu2015-05-181 point Mac version
Thanks for this amazing game it brings back a lot of memories.
Unfortunately this download doesn't include Disk 2 ('Campaign Disk') that was included with the original, which allows editing and creating new game campaigns. If anyone knows where this can be downloaded please post a link. thank you.
Griff2015-02-260 point DOS version
I'm back in 1988
Edward2015-02-160 point DOS version
it's great to have this game again!
Hawabaz2015-01-04-6 points Mac version
Wow. This is blast from the past. used to love BroderBund games. I really wanted to try this and its sea version again. Thanks for providing the link. Can you advise how to play it on windows 8? Is there an emulator or a simple way to load the game and play without bugs?
Thanks a bunch.
Fucking Animals in their asses2013-02-26-15 points DOS version
This game makes my sack hard and allows me to cum buckets.
guest2012-10-03-1 point DOS version
Review of The Ancient Art of War for DOS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdgwPOf2BCA
Aviad2012-05-220 point DOS version
I spent most of my time on this game back in the 80s. Brilliant !!!
Ray2011-11-220 point DOS version
One of the best games ever. The origin of the RTS gaming.
Rogueci52009-07-110 point DOS version
This game is one of the Classics! 8 /10
Alex2008-10-080 point DOS version
This is the best RTS game ever made and no one has the hindsight to remake it?
Joe M2008-06-060 point DOS version
Oh man I used to love this game back in the day. Could be the original RTS game.
Mike2008-05-090 point DOS version
I absolutely love this game.
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DOS Version
Game Extras
Various files to help you run The Ancient Art of War, apply patchs, fixes, maps or miscellaneous utilities.
Mac Version
- Year:1985
- Publisher:Brøderbund Software, Inc.
- Developer:Evryware
Amiga ROM
- Year:1990
- Publisher:Brøderbund Software, Inc.
- Developer:Evryware
Amstrad CPC Version
- Year:1990
- Publisher:Brøderbund Software, Inc.
- Developer:Evryware
Apple II Version
- Year:1984
- Publisher:Brøderbund Software, Inc.
- Developer:Evryware
PC-88 Version
- Year:1986
- Publisher:Brøderbund Japan Inc.
- Developer:Evryware
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Those who are looking for naval warfare can find games that are worth an investment, whether more arcade-style combat, or developing the strategy for an entire battlefleet. The following titles are absolute plays for the admiral-minded types looking to expand their naval-themed experiences.
What are the best Naval War Games?
- Naval Campaigns: Wolfpack
- Command: Modern Operations
- Cold Waters
- Rule the Waves II
- Supremacy at Sea WW2
- Atlantic Fleet
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Developer/Publisher: John Tiller Software
Tags: WW2, Atlantic Theatre, Submarine Warfare, Operational, Real-Time
Purchase:Direct
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There are 50 scenarios in total, along with two campaigns covering a wide range of battles and set-pieces. Not all of them can be played from both sides, but most of them can. There is also a powerful editor as standard, and the usual JTS bells and whistles to go with it. It's still fairly old-school in that JTS fashion, but this is a more straight-forward game in many ways.
Command: Modern Operations
Developer/Publisher: WarfareSims / Matrix Games
Tags: Naval, Land, Aerial, Real Time, Various Theatres, Strategy, Simulation, Grand Strategy, Modern Warfare
Purchase: Steam, Direct
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You can read our Command: Modern Operations review to find out more about what we thought, but the basic break-down is this: This is the finest, most-in depth simulation of modern warfare you will ever see, and the new version definitely has a number of improvements in terms of U.I. and accessibility. If you've never owned CMANO but have a passing interesting, then buying CMO is a must. If you're an existing owner, there's not as much new as perhaps justifies the asking pricing. Existing owners of the base CMANO game get a 50% discount until January 31st, but even then what's on offer may not be enough for some. Still, you can always take the Paradox mentality and think of it as an investment in the game's future in terms of new free content.
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Cold Waters
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Tags: Naval, Real Time, Various Theatres, Strategy, Simulation, Submarine
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Rule the Waves II
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Tags: Naval, Real Time, Various Theatres, Strategy, WW1, WW2, Management, grand strategy
Purchase: Direct
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Supremacy at Sea WW2
Developer: Naval Warfare Simulations
Tags: WW2, Strategic, Management, Pacific, Atlantic, Mediterranean, Operational
Purchase:Direct
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Victory at Sea
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Tags: Naval, Real-Time, Various Theatres, Strategy, Arcade, Moddable, WW2
Purchase:Steam
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Silent Hunter 3
Developer/Publisher: Ubisoft
Tags: Naval, Real Time, Various Theatres, Strategy, Simulation, Submarine, WW2, Moddable
Purchase: Steam, Direct
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Ironclads 2 Collection
Developer/Publisher: Totem Games
Tags: Naval, Real Time, Turn base, Various Theatres, Strategy, Simulation, 19th Century
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Totem also make the Clad in Irons series, which is what they're currently focusing on. They recently released a DLC for one of their games title Clad in Iron: Carolines 1885, which you can also read our review on.
Enigma: Rising Tide
Developer/Publisher: Tesseraction Games/Dreamcatcher Interactive
Tags: Naval, Real Time, Atlantic Theatre, Strategy, First Person, Arcade
Purchase: Free
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The game pits the player on the bridge of these vessels and manages to operate a fine balance of arcade action and command options. Where it lacks in patience and finesse, the pace of the missions and the satisfaction of a ship sinking is still gratifying in this title. Enigma: Rising Tide is for those who are wanting to take a break from the hard-fought battles of stratagem and are looking add a few more hulls to the bottom of the sea in at what sometimes can be a neck breaking pace.
Navyfield
Developer/Publisher: SDEnterNet / Naiad Games
Tags: Naval, Real Time, Pacific Theatre, Atlantic Theatre, Arcade, WW2, Multiplayer
Purchase: Free, Free (Steam)
Navyfield is a curious naval game. Recommending it is like telling somebody to go see Woodstock today. As an MMO, it’s time in the sun has passed by a few years, but at it’s peak it was a phenomenal game. Although Navyfield has been overshadowed by modern releases, the game is still strong to this day. Pitting up to 32 players and an assortment of ships together, Navyfield has a surprising amount of variety and modes, backed by quick and addictive battle sessions.
Typically, fleets are a combined assortment, battleships, carriers, cruisers, destroyers and even frigates are some of the options available (unless the hosted room decides otherwise). The beauty starts with as you see the players naturally forming to picket the larger ships or the carriers and the ships with greater agility either lay torpedoes or scout for incoming spreads. Players that aren’t apart of the pack and are unexperienced can find themselves isolated and destroyed. Anti-Aircraft is also an important element, as although machine gun fire from your ships are automatic, it requires a keen eye to manage those flak bursts to take out incoming aircraft which can sway the battle in mere seconds. Matches are quick and full of action in an easy to look at isometric view.
Navyfield was and still is grindy, making the drive to those bigger ships a pain if you’re unwilling to cough up some compensation. Levelling up your crew and unlocking newer arsenals are still very much a mechanic here. However, a side benefit of this is understanding the types of ships and the benefit of different play styles. Rushing to be the King George V-class may not necessarily be as enjoyable as wiping out many unsuspecting players with a perfect torpedo spread from a Japanese light cruiser. Every faction has a distinct feel and doctrine.
Although there is a Navyfield 2, it tries too hard to compete with World of Warships, rather than capture the magic in a bottle that the first game had and suffers for it. Both newer titles feel more about smaller engagements and which captain has the widest bow (a matter of speaking). Navyfield managed to capture fleet combat exceptionally well in a multiplayer setting the first time around and is still supported and played by players today.
Fighting Steel: World War II Surface Combat 1939-1942
Developer/Publisher: Divide By Zero Software Inc./ Strategic Simulations, Inc.
Tags: Naval, Real Time, Pacific Theatre, Atlantic Theatre, Strategy, WW2
Purchase: Free (Abandonware)
Fighting Steel is a lesser known title for those looking into the war chest of naval wargames; as a game, it primarily focuses on fleet action. Pitting capital ships against others in often historical context or user created scenarios, in real time ships square off to lob shells until somebody capsizes or breaks off under the cover of smoke screen. What Fighting Steel does well is the variety through a large variety of ships and how they perform in battle, and it’s attempt of authenticity, through its scenarios and mechanics. Although the graphics are simple and dated, they are crisp and serviceable. It’s easy to distinguish targets by their silhouettes for the experienced admiral.
For Jutland players, the games are very similar, only standing out on a few overlay mechanics and time period of course. A rocky release might have damaged the hull of Fighting Steel a bit, but since 1999, the game has improved to be a compelling and immersive through patches from the dedicated. Work such as Fighting Steel Project which delivers an improved combat simulation and fixes a lot messy bugs along the way has Fighting Steel still on the fleet roster for those looking to see if their admiralty skills are still sharp.
World of Warships
Developer/Publisher: Wargaming.net
Tags: Real-time, action/arcade, WW1, WW2, Online Only, Multiplayer
Purchase: Free
While its definition as a 'war game' is understandably debatable, Editor Joe decided to include this on our list because not only does it offer a refreshingly different experience to everything above it, but it's also a fun a surprisingly cerebral game. Featuring ships that range from WW1-era right through to the end of WW2 and a bit beyond, World of Warships is what happens if you take the concept of something like Battlefield, or Call of Duty, except everyone is controlling a warship.
What sets it apart from most free-to-play arcade games though is that there's a surprising amount of forethought required in order to play well. You've got to consider your direction and the time it'll take you to change course, gun emplacements can take time to turn (especially in the big battleships), and when it comes to attacking your distance and lead-time with your shots are also important. It's a lot more fun to play with friends, and being free-to-play means a grind does start to set in at the higher tiers, but once you get to Tier 6 you can do the special PvE scenarios which are a nice change of pace. The late James Cobb was always a quiet fan of this arcade 'war' game, and we can easily see why. We're looking forward to seeing what the inclusion of Submarines will do for the game.
Other Naval War Game Recommendations
We regularly update these lists with new or looked-over games, and to keep things manageable we'll rotate out some entries to make way for others. Past members of this list include:
- Battlestations: Pacific
- Fleet Command
- Dangerous Waters
- Action Stations
- CMANO (R.I.P.)
- UBoat
- Carrier Battles 4 Guadalcanal - Currently only on iOS, but a PC version is coming.
What would your list of top naval war games look like? Let us know in the comments!