I never got to play either of these games. Now I am going back and playing some of the games i missed. With limited time now, I have to choose one. Which should it be?

They are surprisingly different. I am good at Cossacks but always always get beaten in American Conquest, getting totally swamped by hordes of enemies outnumbering me 3:1 or more. Maybe you need to be fast in A C? I am not. The Cossacks anthology is a winner in my opinion.

I would say Cossacks.