Need advice: strategic war games

[Mixxi]

My father has asked me for recommendations for games he and his buddy can play with each other online. They have played Avalon Hill battle games by mail for decades (these are the hex/counter tabletop games), but they want to ditch all the little pieces and the need to keep boards set up around the house.

They like the American Civil War era as well as WWII.

While I played my share of Avalon Hill games in my youth, I have no clue where this has gone in terms of computer games. They  really like the specifics of actual units and movement and aren't really interested in more "non-realistic" strategy games (I lump the Civilization games into that category). They prefer setting up a historical battle and seeing if they can play it out any differently given the resources available.

Any suggestions?

[Allen]

You may want to check with Kalese in game.  I know that he and his father play games together similar to what you are describing.  They used to use a voice server (ventrillo and then mumble) to communicate while playing.

[Corsair]

Hey Mixxi,

Sent you a PM also, with a bunch of stuff I looked up. Years ago when this sort of game still was published, I played a few. (Have an early history of AH wargames also...part of how i got hooked as a wee fella.)

[Menemas]

For individual battles, you can't beat the Total War franchise.  Which game would depend on the era the desire.

Do they want to play head to head or cooperative?

Real time or turn-based?

[Mixxi]

Head-to-head and turn-based.

And thanks so much for the advice. I will pass it on to him. I knew you guys would come through!

[oakmist]

The Total War franchise mentioned is excellent.  However, to my knowledge, it doesn't cover the eras you mention.  The closest one that I know of would be Napoleon Total War.

Interestingly, there was a TV show here about 10 years ago where teams of people would take command of one side in a historic battle and try to either recreate it or play it out differently.  This used Total War for the reconstructions and although being lightweight and geared towards entertainment it was pretty interesting:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwJdGShUy8I