Really, this is a serious question. Are you one for subterfuge, hiding, waiting striking, always looking for the best profit low risk outcome? Or more of a warrior type? Big Bulgy and Blooded, Valhalla ... Waaaaaagh , Strategist maybe ? considerate from a distance ? Fancy yourself a real life Ceasar? or Sun maybe and what games do your likings reflect best?

Maybe a bit inspired from using the radious mod for Rome II ( also for the first time, earlier this week i gave the radious mod for Troy a try and boy it did connect ) this question suddenly arose, as food for thought. I do enjoy my total war, and certainly if it is presented in a slightly different manner then what the developer deems sane ;-) Not sure what this tells about its enjoyers but , maybe we can find out today

Screenshots as ambiance, sadly i had to shrink them

Well, first off, as a general answer to the thread title: virtual. Exclusively virtual.

I generally enjoy games that go beyond the usual rock-paper-scissors mechanic and make you leverage other battlefield factors such as terrain, weather and so on.

Secondly, I tend to favor real time strategies over turn based ones, although the latter are typically more balanced and give the AI less chances to cheat or outdo you at micro-management. If I had to say why, I guess it would be because of that sense of urgency and chaos that mimics what is realistically present in a conflict of this nature. War is never like chess, more like making the best of a terrible situation and dealing with things that are outside of your control.

Ironically, I'm not a big fan of Total War kind of games and the only true RTT I can stand are the Close Combat games, for some reason. But these concepts are generally applicable.

For example, you can have a space/4X type of RTS such as Sins of a Solar Empire which has capital ship abilities that are sometimes vastly negated or rendered unusable in certain nebulae (magnetic storms, if memory serves). Setting up a trap/ambush or doing a faint to get the said ships in those areas and then pounding them with the ordinance they are most vulnerable to really scratches that battle commander/strategist itch. So does bringing in hyperspace inhibitors and cutting off their desperate attempts at retreating.

My preferred style of war is magic, whether it's blasting the opponents with meteors from a safe distance, making my own units stronger, making the opponents fall asleep, raising fallen soldiers, or perhaps mucking with the battlefield.

High fantasy, as pretty much everything. Otherwise, tactical and very defensive, aiming to outlast while building up and training, with some precision strikes to cripple the enemy and not let them overwhelm me, some dashing to grab important resources/items/places, until I'll have a sufficiently powerful hero strike force to bring forward and crush everything in its path. Oh, and definitely turn based, can't deal with RTSs.

Superior technology. Defensive battles until overwhelming numbers. Attacking weak spots. Fortify.

one of the reasons i've started shifting from pause played total war towards real timing. I belief Radious and DEI both include bigger slower and more challenging battles all together. The warhammer series done by CA is the only one atm i'm playing with a pause function, the number of abilities be it magical or by training are so numerous that i would need to transform myself into this, you know learning all the possibilities and outcomes in chess.. i ain't in it for money