Strategy games
Managing resources, position and timing: The genre where the winner is the one who plans well, not the one who moves fast.
What is the strategy genre?
In a strategy game you command not a single character but an army, a city or a whole civilization. Winning depends less on how fast you click and more on where you put your resources, which unit you build when and how you read the map. Every move is an investment in the next one.
The genre has two main branches. In real-time strategy the world keeps moving while you think, so the pressure never stops. In turn-based strategy you have as much time as you want to think, which makes mistakes harder to forgive: A wrong move has no excuse.
What defines it?
Limited production and income force you to pick your priorities.
Position, line of sight and terrain advantage are often worth more than the number of units.
The payoff of today's move often arrives dozens of turns later.
The same genre runs at two different tempos, and their audiences largely split.
Landmark games
Well-known examples often used to explain the genre. For the list on our site, see the games section below.
At a glance
Strategy games (197)
DAICE TR
Statecraft: Corrupted Democracy TR
Eye of the Match TR
Corsair Cove TR
Sudden Strike 5 TR
Northgard TR
Plants vs. Zombies 3: Evolved TR
Road to Vostok TR
Heroes of Might and Magic: Olden Era TR
Slay the Spire TR
Modulus: Factory Automation TR
Ascenders: Beyond the Peak TR
Island Market Simulator TR
All Will Fall TR
Tidehaven: Ale & Trade TR
Masters of Albion TR
Day Zero TR
Tower Petroleum TR
Heart of the Machine TR
Tlatoani: Aztec Cities TR
The Bustling World TR
Legends of the Round Table TR
ZeroSpace TR
Ex Sanguis TR
Latest stories on strategy games
Frequently asked questions
What do RTS and TBS mean?
RTS is real-time strategy, where the game keeps running while you think. TBS is turn-based strategy, where everyone moves in turn. They are two tempos of the same genre.
What is 4X strategy?
The name comes from explore, expand, exploit and exterminate. It describes civilization-scale strategy games that are usually turn-based and very long.
Are strategy games too heavy for beginners?
The first hours are dense because there are many systems to learn. Starting with a turn-based game is usually easier, since you are not under time pressure while you learn.