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Campaign mode starts you with a number of controlled territories and a decent sized starting force. Additionally, your faction has a unique unit that only you can produce and utilize. Each faction has a rank that determines when it gets to go during the turn. There is a certain advantage to going later in a turn, as your neighbors may have worn themselves out attacking or defending. Be careful to note who has not gone yet when your turn comes around, and never commit all your forces to a single battle (with one exception, which I will get to in a moment). Each territory has features that will give you a bonus in repair, fuel, damage and other factors that can enhance your forces. You can only attack territories that are adjacent to one of yours - looking at the features is a good way to decide where to move. On easier levels, the AI doesn't invade your territories as often, but is positively attack-happy as you crank up the difficulty.

The strategic map shows the territories owned by the factions, and allows you to manage your army. Watching where you opponent attacks is crucial, since it gives an idea which way they are expanding and how soon they might be coming after you. Once a territory has been attacked, units committed to defending that area are locked in and cannot be deployed elsewhere for that turn. Additionally, they may be damaged and easy pickings should you decide to take the territory. More then once I invaded a territory that had just fended off an attack, and was able to sweep aside the resistance with minimal loss. Your chance of being attacked goes up as you gain territory, as the other factions both see you as a larger threat, and run out of other places to expand.

Most of your time is spent in the tactical map, fighting forces similar to your own. Each territory has its own map: nothing random or unpredictable. If you invade North Texas multiple times, you will see the same map each time. Coupled with the mostly generic army, this can make the tactical battles a bit dull. By generic, I mean that every faction has the same units with only a single exception. The factions are mostly flavor and fluff, not requiring different tactics on the battlefield. Terrain is a factor, as is the forces your opponent has deployed; this is where the tactics comes in. A well-balanced force will do much better in the field then one solely of tanks or infantry or air. Once in battle, you are trying to capture various objective points, which cannot be held by air units. Having a core of infantry, backed up with armor, and support by aircraft will get you more then just tossing two dozen heavy tanks and doing a bum rush. It might work, but an equal sized force will probably exploit your slower movement and lack of air support to pick you off piecemeal.

Tactical battles are under a 14 turn time limit; once that has expired, the battle is over and it's time to cry or celebrate. A defender that can prevent an attacker from accumulating enough objectives will hold the territory, even if they are down to a single unit. When defending, you have to decide where the enemy might strike and bolster your forces in that area. Rarely will you be able to keep a large force together, but once the game starts you can move elements together as needed. Occasionally you will be get partisans to deploy as a defender. Use these very fast scouts that are able to get into the backfield and recapture objectives. Having a couple of scout vehicles deployed to move around the attack and take back objectives will be worth their cost many times over. Anti-aircraft units are also worth their weight in gold, being able to remove bombers that are 5 to 6 times their cost. Keep them well protected, since the AI will go after them first, than send in the air support to bomb your troops and armor. If you are the on the invading end of things, keeping a core group of troops moving forward is key, leaving 1-2 units behind to keep the enemy from retaking an objective under your control. You are given the option to have an automatic deployment, skip it. Place your troops yourself, as the AI tends to group units in an odd fashion. Once placed, the battle begins and you find out just how good your plan fares in the face of the enemy. You would be surprised how an off-beat defensive force can keep the enemy tied down for 14 turns, retaking objectives and leading them on a merry chase across the map.

I enjoyed the game, playing through the campaign a couple of times as different factions. The skirmish mode is good for testing out a mix of forces and acting as a pre-planning step for an invasion in the campaign mode. If you are looking for something fun and good for a quick campaign or three, Shattered Union is a good choice.