The most interesting strategy games released in 1996

Strategy 01 January 1996

Refreshed and heavily tuned version of TalonSoft's popular turn-based strategy from 1995. The game has been enriched with two completely new maps and 14 additional scenarios. A number of improvements have also been made to the Battleview engine, thanks to which the production not only looks better, but also has a much higher playability.

PC

Strategy 31 January 1996

A direct sequel to the cult turn-based strategy of Panzer General from 1994. This time we are experiencing the Second World War from the point of view of the Allies, taking part in a Russian, British or American campaign.

PC

Strategy 11 February 1996

Ocean Trader is an extensive economic strategy, in which the player is at the forefront of the company providing services in maritime trade. As with many programs of this type, your task is to increase capital through efficient freight transport. Of course, it should be remembered that the competition is not asleep.

PC

Strategy 15 February 1996

The Settlers II is the second installment of a series considered to be a real time strategy (RTS) classics. The player directs the actions of a group of settlers who are trying to build a colony on the newly discovered land. Developers from Blue Byte Software studio have prepared a captivating one-person mode campaign consisting of 10 missions and a fully functional, network multiplayer.

PC

Strategy 29 February 1996

Another strategy game developed by Strategic Simulations Inc. This time the developers are taking the player to a world that combines fantasy and steampunk. The player is tasked with assuming the role of one of the four masters summoned to destroy the evil Shadowlord and his followers. Fantasy General focuses primarily on combat, during which the player uses units of four categories – immortal, magic, monsters, and mechanical.

PC

Strategy 21 March 1996

A real-time strategy that takes players to the world of the future, where they take part in a war waged between two sides of robots: Red and Blue.

PC

Strategy 21 March 1996

One of the first Polish real-time strategy games, developed by MDF studio under the lead of Miroslaw Dymka. We take the role of Mirko, the leader of a village belonging to the eponymous tribe of Polans, who returns after a war expedition only to find his home plundered and his subjects slaughtered. The young duke vows revenge on the hostile tribes responsible for the massacre.

PC

Strategy 22 March 1996

The official expansion to Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, the extremely popular RTS developed by the Blizzard Entertainment studios. The storyline of Beyond the Dark Portal is focused on the further development of the conflict between humans and orcs. Despite the destruction of the Dark Portal, a rift capable of condemning humanity to another plague of green-skinned invaders still exists in the world of Azeroth.

PC

Strategy 02 April 1996

Award-winning real-time strategy game about the landing of Allied troops in 1944 on one of Normandy beaches - Omaha beach. Take on the role of commander of one of the warring parties and bravely perform your duties.

PC

Strategy 01 May 1996

Official addition to the 1995 Worms turn-based strategy and arcade game. The extension introduces a completely new single player campaign and several changes to the gameplay mechanics and user interface. The novelty is also the ability to design your own boards and add your own sound files to the game.

PC

Strategy 15 May 1996

American Civil War: From Sumter to Appomatox is a strategy game trying to recreate the reality of the American Civil War. We are on the side of the Union or the Confederates in order to participate in all the most important moments of war, from the Battle of Sumter to the capitulation of General Lee at Appomatox.

PC

Strategy 16 May 1996

SimTown is a game from the cult Maxis series. Our goal is to create a small town and take care of the appropriate level of happiness of its inhabitants. The title is addressed to younger computer users.

PC

Strategy 13 June 1996

The third installment of the Battleground series is a faithful recreation of the events that took place during the last battle of the Napoleonic War at Waterloo. Bonaparte's army fought with the allied forces of Prince Wellington and Marshal Blücher, suffering a shameful defeat.

PC

Strategy 15 June 1996

A suite of Command & Conquer add-ons offering several new scenarios for single player, both on the GDI and NOD side, as well as new maps for multiplayer gameplay.

PC

Strategy 30 June 1996

A sequel to the extremely successful turn-based strategy game Sid Meier's Civilization. Like in the first installment, our goal is to create a global empire through the advancement of army, economy and politics. Going from the year 4000 B.C. up to the distant future, the player can lead one of the 21 playable nations to its glory.

PCPS1

Strategy 31 July 1996

A strategy combining the best features of titles such as K-240, Civilization, SimCity, Outpost and Utopia. The action of the game was set in the distant future. The player's task is to expand the colony on the planet Gallius IV.

PC

Strategy 30 August 1996

A cosmic strategy in which we are faced with great battles of starships, colonization of planets, construction of mines, extraction of raw materials and other duties serving the welfare of our nation.

PC

Strategy 31 August 1996

Jagged Alliance: Deadly Games is a stand-alone addition to the first part of the Jagged Alliance strategy game by Sir-Tech studio. Once again, we command a mercenary team, which must carry out dangerous missions. Unlike the basic version, Deadly Games has no feature layer.

PC

Strategy 15 September 1996

The fourth part of the Battleground series takes players back to the realities of the American Civil War. This time we can take part in another, important for the course of the war, which took place in April 1862 near the city of Shiloh, Tennessee.

PC

Strategy 15 September 1996

A real-time strategy that simulates the largest naval battles of the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries in which the British, Spanish, French and American fleets took part.

PC

Strategy 27 September 1996

Hybrid JRPG and a strategy game in which we travel across the continent of Zetegenia to overthrow the bloody rule of the emperor. While we move around the tactical map in real time, clashes involving various units (from humans to mythical creatures like griffins or vampires) take place in turn-based mode. Depending on our actions, history can end in one of thirteen ways.

PS1

Strategy 01 October 1996

The official expansion to the turn-based strategy game Heroes of Might & Magic II. Unlike the vanilla version of the game, it has been developed not by the New World Computing company, but by the Cyberlore Studios team. The expansion titled The Price of Loyalty introduces four new campaigns – two long ones (8 missions) and two short ones (4 mission). Each of them tells a completely unique story that is not directly tied to the plot of the original version.

PC

Strategy 01 October 1996

A continuation to a bestselling turn-based strategy game created by Jon Van Caneghem and his New World Computing studio. Heroes of Might and Magic II: The Succession Wars is set several years after the events depicted in the original game. When the ruler of Enroth, Lord Morglin Ironfist dies, a conflict over the throne breaks out between his sons.

PC

Strategy 23 October 1996

A fantasy-based real-time strategy, inspired in many ways by the cult Warcraft series. In the game we move to the planet Yavaun, to the very middle of the conflict of four warring races, each of which is characterized by different specificity of the fight and pursues its own specific goals. Production introduces several innovations to the genre, such as the ability to move units to further missions, or a special stealth system that allows you to mask them.

PC

Strategy 31 October 1996

Lords of the Realm II is a sequel to the Impressions Games strategy game published in 1994. The action was again set in the Middle Ages, and the player plays the role of a feudal magnate, who after the king's death becomes a rival for the crown. Gameplay is a combination of turn-based strategy and real time (RTS).

PC

Strategy 31 October 1996

Referred to as SimIsle in the "light" version of the economic strategy, which belongs to the famous Maxis series of sims. We play the role of a ranker, whose task is to create and maintain a park, located somewhere in the continental part of the USA. Rather addressed to younger audiences, the game has great educational value, offering a huge knowledge base of various species of plants and animals.

PC

Strategy 31 October 1996

Tactical turn-based strategy in response to the popularity of the Jagged Alliance series. In the game we are at the forefront of the mercenary organization, which for an appropriate fee willing to undertake a number of dangerous missions, commissioned by governments and private corporations. The action is shown in isometric view and takes place in turn-based system with the use of action points of individual team members.

PC

Strategy 01 November 1996

The second part of the famous strategic Steel Panthers series, thanks to which we can participate in the great armed conflicts after the Second World War.

PC

Strategy 01 November 1996

Hybrid turn-based strategy and RTS, based on the Magic: The Gathering card game license. The player takes on the role of one of the mighty mages and ends up on the continent of Corondor, where he takes part in a war for influence with other wizards. The title has both a multiplayer Duel mode and a feature campaign in which we try to gain control over the whole land.

PCPS1

Strategy 09 November 1996

The continuation of the enthusiastically-received RTS title from the Westwood Studios company. In contrast to the purely fictional storyline of its predecessor, this time the developers have decided to provide the players with an alternative version of reality, in which Stalin decides to “liberate” the world from the hands of imperialists and subjugate it to Soviet authority.

PCPS1

Strategy 20 November 1996

The first official expansion pack to Sid Meier's Civilization II. Conflicts in Civilization Scenarios is a set of twenty new scenarios. Interestingly, for those twenty scenarios only twelve were made by the developers. The remaining eight were created by the fans in the built-in map editor. Many of the scenarios proposed by the Microprose developers refer to historical conflicts, e.g. American Civil War, Alexander the Great's conquests, crusades or World War I.

PC

Strategy 30 November 1996

The fourth part of the strategic cycle, initiated by the famous Panzer General. In the new part of the game we move into space to conquer unknown worlds and fight on the surface of different planets. We have at our disposal 7 playable races and the possibility of fighting both in space and on land.

PC

Strategy 30 November 1996

Turn-based strategy game which is an adaptation of a popular board game of the same title. The game plays epic sea battles from the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century.

PC

Strategy 03 December 1996

A strategy game taking place in the distant future in which, as the leader of one of the eight rival factions, we colonize the newly discovered planets, which are rich in resources. Creators from Interplay created an original hybrid, combining the mechanics of contemporary RTS production with elements of classic turn-based strategies.

PC

Strategy 10 December 1996

The next installment of the legendary series of marine tactical games. Traditionally, the authors put the emphasis on realism. We have at our disposal numerous scenarios, from simple sea battles involving several vessels to complex air-desant operations involving hundreds of planes and ships.

PC

Strategy 11 December 1996

A real-time strategy in which we take control of a tribe of bald humanoids, and our task is to direct them in such a way as to enable them to defeat their eternal enemies - the evil Hairies.

PCPS1

Strategy 14 December 1996

The second installment of the popular series of economic games, in which we play the role of the manager of the Roman Empire. The aim of the struggle is to expand the city in the designated provinces and turn the virgin land into a vibrant metropolis, which is a commercial, industrial and cultural centre.

PC

Strategy 28 December 1996

A legendary strategy game belonging to the subspecies known as Space 4X. The game takes place in a turn-based system and the game is about managing a galactic empire. To this end, we colonise the planets, we develop technologies, we care about economic growth, we deal with diplomacy and, ultimately, we also wag wars.

PC

Strategy 31 December 1996

In the next part of their flagship series, the creators of TalonSoft remain committed to the theme of the Civil War. In this version we can recreate the events that took place in September 1862 on the Antietam River. It was the bloodiest day in the history of the United States.

PC