If you have played an Anno game, you know what to expect. The gas street lamps, the Parisian terraced housing, the smokestacks and revolutionary mobs these small details draw you into the spirit of the age. Zoom in close and you get the feeling you are watching a bustling Victorian diorama. What this game does so well however, is capture the aesthetic of the Industrial Age in a way the other games do not. This is not attempting to portray Victorian geopolitics maps consist of small islands the likes of which might be found in a Pacific archipelago as opposed to the European continent. Anno has always abstracted the geographical and political realities of the periods it represents by painting in stereotypical broad strokes rather than historically accurate detail. Without a strong economy you canвЂ™t dominate the late military game.ДЄnno 1800, which is the seventhВ iteration of the AnnoВ series takes place in the 19th Century, or to be more precise, a pseudo 19th-century. This is an engine-building game focused on resource management and logistics more so than military tactics. Yet, despite its single military victory condition, the game is more nuanced than it may seem. You then take that wealth and squander it fighting the other major powers with a single-minded end goal: conquer 50% of the Old World. You colonise the New World, exploit its resources and develop an economic engine. In some ways its gameplay cycle is a simplistic social commentary on the history of Europe from the 16th through 19th centuries. What makes Imperialism so engrossing is the way in which it reduces the economic, diplomatic, and military concepts of the Age of Imperialism into dispassionate realpolitik. Whilst Imperialism II technically starts in the 16th century, its endgame is set firmly in the Victorian era of iron and blood. Imperialism II was released in 1999 and despite its age, continues to hold up as a solid turn-based strategy game. Yet for all its imperfections, this gameвЂ™s ability to capture the Victorian and the colonial machinations between imperial powers gave it an unmatched charm and historical depth one surpassing its Paradox rivals. Frame rate issues when scrolling around the map also remain. Turn times have been improved over the years through patching, but remain problematic. This was game-breaking when one turn simulated 15 days and the grand campaign stretched from 1850 to 1920. It takes minutes to process a single turn. Unfortunately, the game also stretches the limits of the client it was built on. Related: Check out our list of the best grand strategy games From a card-driven colonial system that is a game within a game, to clever mechanics that seek to differentiate state finances from that of private equity, Pride of Nations is a masterclass in game design. Despite its age, it remains both original and fun to play.

It plays like any other AGEOD game in their long line of titles at least in terms of military mechanics.В Pride of NationsВ goes a step further by expandingВ its scope over previous titles by adding deep economic, diplomatic, and colonial layers into the game. It sits onВ my personal shortlist of greatest games. Released in 2011, this game was originally published by Paradox but is now published by Matrix Games/Slitherine after developer AGEOD left the Paradox fold and joined the latter companies. With the preamble out of the way, letвЂ™s see what games there are to scratch that Victoria 3 itchвЂ¦ The era is dominated by action/adventure games and RPGs such as AssassinвЂ™s Creed: Syndicate, Red Dead Redemption 2 orВ This Land is Mine.В We managed to find some gems that are worth checking out regardless.В ItвЂ™s worth noting that we havenвЂ™t mentionedВ Victoria II itself- itвЂ™s a valid option but if youвЂ™re like us, youвЂ™ve probably played it a lot already by now. This got me thinking, in the absence of the sequel everyone knows we deserve, what other Victorian games can we play whilst we wait?ДЄs I sat down to write this list, it became clear that there is a distinct lack of strategy games set during this period. Imperator: Rome showed that there is at least some willingness to look back at some of theseВ more niche grand strategy titles, but that game also betrayed perhaps a reluctance to commit any serious resources towards such a project. Despite a dedicated fanbase, Victoria fans have been waiting over seven years for a sequel.

Victoria: An Empire Under the Sun and its sequelВ Victoria IIВ have always felt like the black sheep of the Paradox family.

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