Conflict of Nations as logged here

Conflict of Nations gives you a contemporary nation and a map full of other players' nations, then runs the clock continuously. Units move in real hours, so an order given in the morning resolves during the afternoon whether you are watching or not.

The research tree covers modern doctrine properly - armour, air superiority, naval power, missiles - and specialising matters, because nobody can afford all of it. Coalitions form quickly and decide most games.

A round takes weeks and the tension sits in the waiting. It is the most adult-paced strategy game on this page.

Where it pulls ahead of the rest

• Real-time world map
• Modern arsenal
• Coalitions

Logged as right for

Players who like slow, consequential decisions and negotiating with real people, and who do not need to be present when things happen.

Logged as wrong for anybody wanting resolution inside one sitting.

What the log says about week one

Secure your own continent before looking outward. New players declare early wars across oceans and lose rounds to logistics rather than to combat.

Specialise your research. A nation with three half-finished doctrines loses to one with a single finished one.