I am creating a strategy game similar to Hearts of Iron IV that is set during the cold war. Each nation will have their own focus trees, and technologies need to be researched as well. The twist is, rather than maneuvering troops on the ground, war will instead be turn-based, like Pokemon battles. My issue now is I need to plan out how war will feel like, whether it's one large battle or many smaller battles.

Having a large battle makes things much more strategic as you pretty much have to play the long game and think far ahead, but the main downside is that it can be long, boring, and it would stop you from doing anything else for several in-game years. One potential solution for this is perhaps you could temporarily leave the battle screen to do other stuff, but you would become vulnerable if you don't manage your army (perhaps generals and such could be unlocked as you go along to automate some tasks? That would turn the game into one of those idle games though, and those usually aren't very fun)

Having many battles that pop up could be a good alternative, as then you could do your focuses, research, and stockpile equipment between battles. It also makes the battles less boring/tedious as each battle could be unique in some way with various different challenges, whether that's taking a fort on a hill or crossing a fast river. There would probably be a war score meter of some kind, that ticks up when you win battles and goes back when you lose them.

The problem with this one is that I'm not sure how to transition the player from non-battling to battling, it would probably involve the use of events, where you could either go on the offensive (gain a temporary attack bonus but become vulnerable if you don't succeed quickly), stand strong with defensive (gaining a temporary defense bonus), or retreat (losing war score but preserving your equipment stockpiles). This might be annoying as it would stop whatever the player is doing. Perhaps this could be solved with a ticking timer that begins ahead of an enemy attack (and you have to select/plan an option ahead of time, and if you're late your nation is considered unprepared for an attack by the enemy and you get negative modifiers)

I'm also unsure how involving other faction members, allies, etc would work. Should they be similar to Pokemon Double Battles where each nation gets to do something each turn, should it alternate (so nation 1 of faction goes first, then nation 2, 3 and so on and it loops around), should there be different "fronts" with different nations competing in them, etc. And how would I deal with the really large factions with 10+ members each (like NATO or Warsaw Pact)

Those wholesome family game night ads? Gentle competition, perfect memories...

That's not what happens.

Reality: Someone's crying by round two. Controller 'accidents'. Nobody having fun—not even the winner.

I watched families for two years. Games aren't broken. Expectations are.

Build for the chaos. The comebacks. The kid losing at 9:47 who wins at 9:52.

Messy nights = Thanksgiving stories ten years later.

When did your game night derail?