Scorched Earth

Scorched Earth is the classic artillery game where two or more tanks face each other across a landscape and attempt to turn their opponents into smoking wreckage. Players select weapons, adjust firing angle and power, account for wind and terrain, and then hope their projectile lands somewhere more useful than several meters behind them. The huge selection of weapons and tactical possibilities makes each battle surprisingly entertaining, while the simple controls make the game easy to understand. It is one of those games where missing spectacularly can be almost as entertaining as hitting the target. Scorched Earth helped establish the artillery formula that inspired countless later games, and its combination of strategy, experimentation and ridiculous explosions remains wonderfully addictive.