Episode 69: Panzer General

When Panzer General first released in 1994, it revolutionised the war gaming genre. It was more accessible, easier to understand and more cleanly illustrated than any other war game to come before it. Portraying many historical battles of World War 2 (while also indulging in a few ‘what if’ scenarios), it was an instant hit amongst grizzled veterans and newcomers to the genre alike.

But is what was approachable and revolutionary in 1994 possibly still strike the right chords more than 25 years later? Can a game with no characters and no real storytelling draw us in? Can the relatively inexperienced Pat and James possibly get into and dominate the battlefields of a war game they’ve barely played?

On this episode, we discuss:

• How meaningful is it that the battles of Panzer General are historical battles instead of fantasy battles? Can historical context provide a meaningful hook of engagement in the absence of characters or story beats?
• How does the strategic layer of Panzer General actually function? What degree of decision making do you have on a macroscale to affect the outcome of a battle? Are these decisions enjoyable and varied?
• How does the more zoomed in tactical layer of Panzer General work? How easy is it to read and understand unit attack and defence values? What tactical configurations brought us the most success?

We answer these questions and many more on the 69th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

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Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Panzer General OST: Doug Brandon

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Panzer General is abandonware, which means its the excellent price of zero dollars. There are a few different ways to access it, but I recommend using a DOS version since early Windows builds can be complete nightmares to get working.

First step is to download DOSBOX. It's a DOS emulator that runs Panzer General with no issues. You can download it here.

Second step is to download Panzer General. Just use the top link on this page. To run the game, all you need to do is drag the Panzer General.bat onto the emulator icon. You can also launch it manually within DOSBOX, but it's far easier just to click and drag.

Finally, make sure you download and read the manual located here. IIt explains most of the mechanics in the game, but I’m sure there’s one or two things missing. Most importantly, it has a detailed breakdown on exactly what to do in the tutorial, down to explaining how to split up your units to take multiple objectives and the order of attack.

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How does Panzer General compare to the many war games that came after it? Which war game should we play next? Are there strategic or tactical depths to this game that we missed? Come let us know on our community discord server! Whether you’ve got a game to suggest, an opinion to share, or simply want to play alongside us each fortnight we’d love if you’d drop by!