48 shopping days till Christmas. My local Home Depot already has trees and tinsel up. So you can now buy that power drill in the holiday spirit.

Or buy one of this month’s strategy titles.

November 6 – Anno 1701 (Aspyr/Related Designs)

November 7 – Left Behind: Eternal Forces (Left Behind Games), Great Invasions (Strategy First/Nobilis)

November 14 – Warhammer: Mark of Chaos (Namco/Black Hole), Medieval 2: Total War (SEGA/Creative Assembly), Heroes of Might and Magic V: Hammers of Fate (Ubisoft/Nival), Horsez (Ubisoft/MTO)

November 15 – War on Terror (Monte Cristo/Digital Reality)

November 17 – Heroes of Annihilated Empires (CDV/GSC)

November 28 – The Lord of the Rings, the Battle for Middle-earth II, The Rise of the Witch-King (EA)

Date unclear – Theatre of War (Battlefront/1C)

As always, list is compiled from the usual online sites, press releases and the like. It is neither exhaustive nor certain to be correct.

The November list seems a little thin, leavened only by Medieval 2 and expansions for BfME2 and HoMM. I’ve been hearing good things about Anno 1701, but have been burned enough in the series to be wary. The schadenfreude in me is irretrievably drawn to Left Behind. Based on the demo, I think it is likely to offend both Christians and strategy gamers, and I speak as one with a foot in both camps.

The big games for me are the new Total War one (I’ve preordered…) and the Witch King one. Until Company of Heroes came along, Battle for Middle Earth II was my real time game of the year and people I trust are saying nice things.