Where to start in 2022?

[Shad]

I think Eastern Front Deluxe and Battle of the Bulge are not getting the respect they deserve in this thread so far. Those are landmark titles in the series. Both would be great options for the solo player who can enjoy the entire scenario by playing both sides at once. Both have a nice mix of smaller and larger scenarios. All of the newer games mentioned can be played against some of these charming lads over VASSAL using their copies if they're kind enough to invite you and set up the scenario for you.

The two biggest knocks against EFDx and BotB from someone who likes them (me!) are:

1. the poor morale of early war Soviet formations can be very frustrating. You don't get many officers and they're all a bit shit. Also the Romanians are basically tissue paper.
   
2. the heavy forests of the Bulge maps prevent the late war AFVs from really showing off their abilities, but this is of course reasonable. If you want long-distance tank battles and aggressive maneuvering you need to go to late war EF or North Africa.
   

If you can get copies of EFDx and Bulge at low prices in good condition, do so. I'll protect you from these PG young-uns with my cane