My Top 5: What My Favorite Games Say About Me
If you want to know how someone thinks, look at what they play. As I transition from 20 years in the Army to a career in software engineering, I’ve realized my gaming library isn’t just entertainment—it’s a reflection of my personality. Whether it’s managing logistics or executing a feint, these are the five games that shaped my gaming DNA.
1. Civilization VI
I almost exclusively play Civilization VI on a Terra map that resembles Earth because it appeals to the big-picture planner in me. I don’t want a random, procedurally generated blob; I crave the context of the real world. Starting from nothing and orchestrating the rise of a global superpower on a map that feels familiar satisfies my deep desire to see long-term plans come to fruition in a grounded, tangible way.
2. Battlefield 2
Long before I ever put on a real uniform, I sank an embarrassing amount of hours into Battlefield 2, marking the first time I played daily with a dedicated clan. This was my “teammate” origin story. It taught me the value of the squad—communication, defined roles, and showing up for the guy next to you—proving to be a sort of digital basic training before I even enlisted.
3. XCOM 2 (with Long War Mod)
XCOM 2 with the “Long War” mod hits the engineer and optimizer side of my brain hard. I absolutely loved the concept of the mobile base—the agility of it—and the ability to fine-tune every single super soldier and psychic to perfection. The mod turns the game into a grueling marathon of resource management and logistics, feeling less like a game and more like high-stakes project management with aliens.
4. Rise of Nations
The global Risk-style campaigns in Rise of Nations were incredible, appealing directly to the patriot and historian in me. My favorite memory is conquering the world as America in the Cold War scenario; it didn’t just feel like a game, but like navigating high-tension geopolitical tides where I could personally ensure the outcome favored the stars and stripes.
5. Warno
Warno is for the realist tactician in me, specifically because of the unmatched Army General scenarios where battalions persist between battles. If I lose tanks in one fight, they don’t magically reappear in the next, which forces me to apply the “Defense in Depth” and probing tactics my Army friends noticed I use naturally. The combination of a “Risk board” strategic layer and real-time battles creates actual stakes, rewarding conservation of force over blindly rushing the objective.