Free, turn based sprite warfare.
The land of Wesnoth is in turmoil and the best solution is war! Conducted on hex grid maps the general flow of a battle (but not all, there are variants) is to recruit units, conquer and hold villages (for gold production) and subsequently eliminate your opponent's leader.
It's a little annoying that said leader (both sides) usually has to stay within a keep so that they can actually recruit people but that's just one of the tiny nuances to get used to.
Expect some reading!
I like that various units perform better with in various terrain or time of day, so rushing your elves headlong into undead at night is a bad idea. Luring them into the woods during the morning is a better prospect but do you have time for that? Yes, most campaign missions have a turn limit to keep you pushing forward.
Some also have varying attacks - said elves shooting against sword wielders is a good idea. Shooting against mages? Not too bright, better to go hand to hand in that case. Simple mechanics that are easy to learn, but harder to master. Keeping units alive is also good, as you can recall surviving veterans in future campaign missions.
Lastly, there's a lot of content here. Campaigns upon campaigns, an editor, more player made stuff -
all available for free. The graphics are the obvious let down though, and if you don't like sprites you won't like this. Also, if the enemy has a gazillion troops it takes awhile for him to complete his turn.
Not quite my cup of tea, but if you like strategy games and don't mind the less than stellar art Wesnoth might be worth a look.
