Gary Grigsby's War in the East 2 similar games & best alternatives

Gary Grigsby's War in the East 2 - gary-grigsby-s-war-in-the-east-2_1.avif
Gary Grigsby's War in the East 2 - gary-grigsby-s-war-in-the-east-2_2.avif
Gary Grigsby's War in the East 2 - gary-grigsby-s-war-in-the-east-2_3.avif
Gary Grigsby's War in the East 2 - gary-grigsby-s-war-in-the-east-2_4.avif
Gary Grigsby's War in the East 2 - gary-grigsby-s-war-in-the-east-2_5.avif
Gary Grigsby's War in the East 2 - gary-grigsby-s-war-in-the-east-2_6.avif

Gary Grigsby's War in the East 2

2021

Should you play it?

War in the East 2 is the most comprehensive, most realistic, and most advanced wargame modeling Eastern Front warfare in World War Two.

What works

  • Extremely detailed and realistic wwii eastern front simulation
  • Deep strategic and operational gameplay
  • High replay value with multiple scenarios and campaigns
  • Active community and multiplayer pbem support
  • Comprehensive manual and tutorial resources

Things to keep in mind

  • Steep learning curve requiring significant time investment
  • Complex and sometimes unintuitive user interface
  • Ai uses some unrealistic teleportation for balance
  • High price point may deter casual players
  • Limited audiovisual presentation and customization

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Strategic Command WWII: War in Europe

  • Civil War II

  • Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm Player's Edition

  • Strategic Command WWII: World at War

  • Gary Grigsby's War in the East

  • NationWar2:Chronicle

More expressive

Games that feels like Gary Grigsby's War in the East 2 but with more self-expression and customization

  • The Operational Art of War IV

  • Hex of Steel

  • Age of History 3

  • Darkest Hour: A Hearts of Iron Game

  • Supreme Ruler Ultimate

  • Making History: The Great War

More fantastical

Games that feels like Gary Grigsby's War in the East 2 but with more imaginative fiction

  • Deity Empires

  • Conquest of Elysium 5

  • KeeperRL

  • Supreme Ruler 1936

  • Solar Nations 2

  • Imperiums: Greek Wars

Less competitive

Games that feels like Gary Grigsby's War in the East 2 but with less competition against others

  • Graviteam Tactics: Operation Star

  • Command Ops 2 Core Game

  • Unity of Command II

  • Armored Brigade

  • Grand Tactician: The Civil War (1861-1865)

  • Command: Modern Operations

Choose your own criteria ->

Similarity map

How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

Gary Grigsby's War in the East 2: Less representative of its motivational profile, with noticeable differences. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Competition, Status, Fellowship, Domination. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Story. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Fantasy, Status.

Last update: 03/08/2026