Just started playing Unity of Command 2, and it took me a good couple of hours and half a dozen attempts just to get through the tutorial. It's very punishing with not much room for error - you basically have to have a thorough understanding of how all of the systems work from the very beginning and make multiple very precise moves, because a single mistake can cost you a run.
This is coming fresh off me playing the Operational Art of War 4, in which the tutorial mission involves playing the Korean War as the DPRK. Same story, I tried it multiple times and got completely wrecked every time. There's supposed to be a Chinese intervention to help when you're about to lose, but I guess I was unlucky because I never saw that in any of my attempts.
I don't think this is just a matter of me being terrible at wargames either, because I've played others like Panzer Corps and Flashpoint Campaigns: Red Storm and found the early missions beatable without much trouble and the difficulty curves comfortable.
I have never heard of any of these games. I have many friends who enjoy maps and spreadsheets and I don't know these games. I think you may be very deep in to specialist strategy games designed for really intense partisans of the genre who, perhaps, are looking for a punishing challenge not available in more widely appealing games.
I just browse on Steam until I find something that looks cool
This might be my neurodivergence but I sometimes spend hours obsessively looking for anything in the steam catalogue that catches my eye for whatever particular genre I'm obsessing over that day, then realizing I have no money for it
I have money but can't find fun games. :/
Hell yeah. There are a lot of weird gems buried in the catalogu.