Sid Meier's Gettysburg for Windows

Sid Meier is the main man behind such classic games as Pirates and Civilization , so it only makes sense that his first stab at a Civil War game is nothing short of brilliant. While Sid Meier's Gettysburg doesn't even attempt to painstakingly model every weapon, uniform, and other piece of equipment used in this most decisive of Civil War battles, it does a better job of convincingly reenacting the conflict than any other war game we've played. Gettysburg plays out in real time, unlike other games that model the battle with consecutive turns. Players can slow things down when the action gets out of hand, or speed things up during long marches or while waiting for reinforcements to arrive. The terrain is 3-D and line of sight is modeled, so you aren't going to see that Confederate regiment behind the hill until either your units or theirs crest the ridge. This also makes it possible to hide some units in a tree line for a devastating ambush. It takes time to limber and unlimber artillery bat