Each player is given a small nation to build and defend, by purchasing land or water, building power plants and cities, and conscripting military units. The goal of the game is to, er... I don't really know. Players are ranked in terms of land mass (land purchased or won through military conflict), military prowess, political approval, and economic strength. Your goal in playing may be vastly different, though: perhaps you want to own a navy with 1,337 ships, reach the future era more quickly than any other player, or just grief on newer players. I'll get to that last point in a bit.
The game is well made and feature rich. Despite the fact that Acebloke is currently working on War Games II, he still actively updates War Games, which is a giant plus. Nations have the option to design their own flag, join and form economic alliances, wage war, research technologies, and advance into different technological eras.
With all of the features present, the interface can be clunky for new players, especially when trying to place multiple buildings. Here's a tip: you have to reclick the building you want after each one you place, even if you're using the block placement tool (you have to reclick it for each block). This gets tiring very quickly, and is the main hindrance to fast expansion. Players who 'macro' will be able to work around this to an extent. Building prerequisites are often confusing, also. For instance, government buildings provide 'power' in the early stages of the game, yet this fact is in no way obvious to a new player; there is a 'getting started' document which states this fact, but by the time a player has located it, he has already asked "how do I get more power" and received an answer.
I mentioned earlier that players could form economic alliances; economic is an important word, here. Military alliances are currently not supported. What this means is that smaller nations cannot band together to fight more powerful nations, and because nations become stronger almost linearly over time, this means that the person with the most hours of play under their belt can do whatever they want. I experienced this in my time playing.
One troll noticed that my nation was growing quickly, and decided that I was too dedicated a player to allow in the game. At this point, he threw the entire might of his nation against mine. I then joined in an alliance with several other good players, but with no way to mass military forces, our alliance could do nothing.
Without any strategy in combat (it's a simple offense to defense comparison), nor any strategy in politics (be the best politician you want, but you can't band together militarily), combat is dead in the water. If you get on a troll's radar, and he's been playing longer, find a new server.
This isn't to say that you shouldn't play the game. Though troll protection is sorely lacking, even to the point of rewarding trolls, it is a very fun game if you can find the right server, or host your own. If you are a fan of SimCity or Age of Empires, War Games is a must try. If you are a fan of building games or sneaky back room political deals and back stabbing, this should prove a fun diversion. If you're looking for a game which rewards well thought out strategy, you'll only frustrate yourself.
