Cossacks: European Wars is a historical real-time strategy based on events of the 16th through the 18th centuries in Europe, when nations and states were created and demolished, and wars shed seas of blood. There are 16 nations or regions in Cossacks: Algeria, Austria, England, France, the Netherlands, Piemonte, Poland, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, Saxony, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, and Venice. Each has its own original graphics, economic and technical development peculiarities, military advantages and drawbacks, and unique units and technologies, providing vast choices of tactics and strategy in war against any enemy. Thus, England is the mightiest sea power, Austria has powerful light and heavy cavalry, and Cossacks are the pride of the Ukrainian army.

Battles of up to 8,000 units may be conducted on single or network game maps. One can carry out lingering city sieges, wage guerilla wars, capture commanding heights and arrange ambushes, deploy landing forces on enemy shores, and conduct sea battles. The game system is arranged to reduce per-unit control and resource micromanagement, and to turn to global goals of powerful economy formation, science development, the capturing of new lands, and defending borders.