A few friends and I modified Circus Maximus back in the mid '80s so that all moves were done in pulses. We had a magnetic board with each player and a grid that broke down the planned move into segments. We drew cards to get the order of play for each turn. Made it much more fun and realistic at the same time. No more jerky moves with a chariot screaming up and hitting you. You actually felt it when you were run into the wall gradually.
I remember doing something with Gladiator as well, for similar reasons - but can't remember what it was, and didn't write it down ...
My favourite 3:
Squad Leader: Cross of Iron
Richtofen's War
Micro-Armor (my custom rules)
The modified Circus Maximus gets Honorable Mention. Got a lot of play value and fun out of that, although technically not a War Game
For "Beer & Pretzels" games I liked Axis and Allies and Shogun, although both of those needed a full complement of players to work properly.
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