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)
Battle For Randland TR
Football Manager 2026 TR
Ashes of the Singularity 2 TR
Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch TR
Train Sim World 6 TR
Arma 4 TR
Tropico 7 TR
Surviving Mars: Relaunched TR
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 4 TR
Clash Royale TR
Yield! Fall of Rome TR
Warhammer 40.000: Dawn of War TR
Dorfromantik TR
March of Empires TR
The Guild 1 Remake: Europa 1410
Frostpunk 2 TR
Endzone 2 TR
The Scouring TR
Wild West Pioneers TR
Sid Meier’s Civilization 6 TR
Football Manager 2024 TR
Pile Up! TR
Stronghold: Warlords TR
Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap 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.