Crusade in Europe

The first of the Command Series of tactical wargames released by MicroProse in the mid-1980s, Crusade in Europe is the descendant of Meier's first wargame, NATO Commander. Sid Meier and Ed Bever, Ph.D., collaborated on Crusade's design, which (along with the game's manual) shows an enormous amount of research and attention to historical detail. As the title suggests, the game's focus is the European Theater of World War II in 1944-45, and the Normandy Invasion in particular. Although there are only five scenarios, each can be customized through multiple variants (with different initial deployments and reinforcement schedules) and levels of difficulty. Another nice feature is the ability to play using either traditional board game symbols or unit icons. Both sides (Allied and Axis) can be played, and two players can play head-to-head in hotseat mode.