Your favorite strategy games.

[flyingjohn]

In honor of JA3 winning the Goty, I thought why not have a thread about the Codex favorite strategy/tactical games regardless of genre. Preferred format is, top games and hidden gems with a minimum of 4 entries each so something like this:

Top games:
Civilization IV
Master of Orion 2
Master of Magic
Total War Shogun 2
Distant world Universe

Hidden Gems:
Stars in shadow
Old world
Remnants from the precursors
Warhammer 40k Mechanicus
A-Train Tourism.
Simutrans

The reason I am doing this is because any best/top thread seems to be confined to specific genres.

Edit: Here is a list of everything mentioned so far minus my picks for anybody interested

List of games mentioned

Spoiler

0ad
7.62

A

achron
achtung spitfire
advanced tactics
age of empires 1
age of empires 2
age of fear series
age of mythology
age of wonders 1 and the ziggurat mod
age of wonders 2
age of wonders: shadow magic
AI Wars
alea jacta est
alpha centauri
american conquest
Army Men 2
armello
armoured brigade
attack at dawn
at the gates

B

banner saga games
beyond all reason
battle brothers
battle bugs
battle realm
Black and White 1
blood bowl 1/2

C

c&c general
chaos gate
chaos overlords
chris sawyer's locomotion
civilization
colonization
civilization 2
civilization 3
civilization 4 + fall from heaven 2 mod
civilization iv: colonization
civilization v
close combat ii
close combat iii
close combat iv
close combat v
combat mission(originals)
combat mission: fortress italy
command and conquer 2: tiberian sun
command and conquer 3: tiberium wars
command and conquer: red alert 1 + 2
command and conquer: tiberian dawn
Commandos
Command HQ
company of heroes
company of heroes 2
conquest of elysium 5
cossacks
crusade in europe
Crusader Kings 1
crusader kings 2 + geheimnisnacht mod
crush deluxe

D

dark omen
dawn of war 1 + expansions + dowpro mod
decision in the desert
desperados 3
disciples 1 /2
distant world universe
dominions 3-4
dominions 5
doomdark's revenge
dotage
driftland the magic revival
dune ii
dungeon keeper 1 /2

E

eador: genesis + new horizons mod
egypt: old kingdom
Empires Dawn of the Modern World
Empire Earth
emperor: rise of the middle kingdom
empire earth 2
endless space 2
europa universalis 4
europa universalis ii
europa universalis iii
evil genius

F

fantasy wars
fantasy general 2
field of glory 2
field of glory: empires
fights in tight spaces

G

galactic civilizations ii
graviteam: mius front
graviteam tactics: operation star
ground control 1+2

H

Haegemonia
Hyperiums: Online browser game
Hard West
Haegemonia
heroes of might and magic 2
heroes of might and magic 3
heroes of might and magic 4
heroes of might and magic 5
high fleet
hinterland

I

imperalism 1
Imperium Galactica 2
imperator: rome
invisible inc
incubation
ironseed

J

Jagged alliance 1
jagged alliance 2 + 1.13 mod
jagged alliance: deadly games
jagged alliance 3

K

king's bounty: armoured princess/ legend
king arthur: knight's tale
king arthur the roleplaying wargame
king of dragon pass
knights and merchants
kohan: immortal sovereigns

L

langrisser 2
laser squad
last federation
legends of eisenwald
lego rock raiders
lords of chaos
lords of magic
lords of midnight
lords of the realms ii

M

Maelstrom
m.a.x.
majesty 1
master of magic and caster of magic
master of orion
master of orion 2
metal knights
Mega Lo Mania
millennia
mission force cyberstorm 1+2
mount and blade
myth 1 and 2

N

Nexus
Northgard

O

Original War

P

pandora first contact
Panzer Corps 1 & 2
panzer general
panzer general 2
people general
patrician 3
Perimeter 1
phantom doctrine
pharaoh
pike and shot

R

rimworld
rise of legends.
rise of prussia
rollercoaster tycoon 1/2

S

Sacrifice
settlers 2/3
shadow empire
shadows behind the throne 2
Sid Meier's Pirates!
shadows of forbidden gods
shadow tactics blades
shining force 2
sid meier: conflict in vietnam
silent storm/hammer and sickle
simcity
simtower
skyward collapse
sovereignty: crown of kings
space crusade
space pirates and zombies 1
spellforce 1+2+3
spellforce: conquest of eo
starcarft + brood war
starcraft 2
starsector
stars in shadow
star wars: empire at war
star wars: galactic battlegrounds
steel panthers
stronghold + crusader
syrian warfare

T

tabletop simulator
terra invicta
The Ancient Art of War
The Ancient Art of War at Sea
The Ancient Art of War in the Skies
theme hospital
thea 1
thea 2
the dungeon of naheulbeuk
the kings' crusade
the last spell
the lost technology.
The operational art of war series
total annihilation
total war shogun 1-2 / Rome with europa barbarorum / medieval 1-2 / Empire/ Warhammer
transport tycoon
troubleshooter: abandoned children (2020)

U

Urtuk

V

Valkyria Chronicles
vassal with the space empire 4x module
victoria 2
void destroyer 2

W

warcraft 3
warfare
Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate
Warhammer 40k gladius
Warhammer 40K mechanicus
Warhammer 40,000: Rites of War
warlock 1/2
Warlords (1990)
warlords 2 and 3
warlords battlecry
warlords battlecry 2
warlords battlecry 3
war of the lance
wartales
Worms
world in conflict + soviet assault

X

x-com: ufo defense
x-com: terror from the deep
x-com apocalypse
xcom enemy unknown + long war
xcom 2

 

[Bibbimbop]

Since you have the most based Civilization, we may as well add EU III as the most based iteration of Europa Universalis.

EU IV gamified it into trash, just as Civ V did for Civ.

 

[Axioms]

I reject the idea that RotP is a hidden gem, hence your decline rating.

In any case the list of my favorite strategy games is probably something like:
Majesty 1
Civ 3
GalCiv 2
Spaz 1
Field Of Glory 2
Rome: Total War(also Medieval 2)
Gratuitous Space Battles
Warlords Battlecry 3
Stronghold Crusaders
Dominions 3-4

I'm sure I'm missing a few from my top 20 or w/e, just because I no longer have the CD or because the online store closed and I lost it.

Edit:
Forgot Imperalism 1, sorry bros, amazing game.

Also would Patrician 3 qualify as strategy?

 

[Kabas]

Rise of Legends.
Age of Mythology. Star Wars Galactic Battlegrounds.
Majesty 1, Stronghold and WB3 were already mentioned, i would add Warlords Battlecry 2 into the mix.
Some people may call this a popamole choice but i have a rather fond memories of Warcraft 3.
Honourable mentions to Age of Fear series and The Lost Technology.
And DoW 1 with it's expansions, how could i forget. Granted, i only played Dark Cruasade and Soulstrom.

 

[Lagi]

Age of Wonders 1 (with Ziggurat mod)
Caster of Magic Win (MoM remake)
Fantasy General 2 (onslaught campaigns)
Dawn of War 1 (DowPro mod)
Northgard
BAR (beyond all reason)

 

[Riel]

Recent Games:
Battle Brothers
Crusader Kings II
Terra Invicta

Older games clouded by the good old times vive:
Europa Universalis II
Lords of the Realms II
Master of Orion II
Heroes of Might and Magic III
Master of Magic
Dune II
Warcraft
Starcarft
Total War Shogun I

 

[octavius]

Heroes of Might and Magic 3
Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic
Age of Wonders
Master of Orion
Heroes of Might and Magic 2
Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri

Hidden gems:
Lords of Midnight
Doomdark's Revenge

 

[std::namespace]

all singleplayer strategy games are garbage
what is there to sTrAtEgIzE about? the retarded ai? how to exploit the rules to beat the cheating retarded ai?
feels like 100% of the playable ones are living of the human drive to discover new shit
so something like endless space or legend with a variety of races and shit is the best one
cause the mechanics are certainly not interesting gameplay

 

[Humanophage]

1. Victoria 2
2. Heroes of Might and Magic 3
3. Crusader Kings 2 (the mods are also great, especially Geheimnisnacht)
4. Civilization 4 (+Fall from Heaven 2)
5. Eador: Genesis
6. Thea 2
7. Thea 1
8. Age of Wonders 2
9. King's Bounty: Armoured Princess
10. Civilization 5
11. Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri
12. Endless Space 2
13. Jagged Alliance 2
14. nuX-Com (Long War)
15. Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War 1
16. Rimworld
17. Age of Wonders 1
18. Imperator: Rome
19. Europa Universalis 4
20. Field of Glory: Empires
21. Age of Empires 1
22. Conquest of Elysium 5
23. Rome: Total War
24. Battle Brothers
25. Heroes of Might and Magic 2

 

[spectre]

Is there a point to reciting the same list of classics? At this point it feels more like an alzheimer's early warning exercise, making sure everyone remembers the same list of 20 games.
Sure, there's an odd chance someone misses something obvious, but limiting it back to the last decade would be much more interesting - a laundry list of shit a discerning strategyfag should look into.

Classics:
(no particular order)
Civilization IV
SMAC
UFO Enemy Unknown (I was inclined towards Terror from the Deep more, which I recognize as a better game, but ship terror missions get so tedious)
Jagged Alliance, 2 (1.13) - get bent, it's never going to be an rpg.
Heroes of Might and Magic 3
Master of Orion 2
Panzer General 2
Total Annihilation
Silent Storm
Dark Omen
Settlers 2
Invisible Inc. - should be under hidden gems, probably, but eeeeh. For me it's a classic.
Sid Meier's Colonization - aged badly and the systems are janky, but holds a special place for me and I keep getting back to it every now and then.
Transport Tycoon
Total War.... durr, which one to pick... let's say Rome as I've sunk the most time into this one.
Gonna stop at 15.


Hidden Gems:
Mechanicus - very simplistic as far as strategy games go, but really well written and atmospheric.
The Last Spell - would anyone who actually played it call it an rpg with a straight face? A surprise hit with me.
Fights in Tight Spaces - a really interesting implementation of TB melee
Beyond all Reason - I consider it as a basically a TA/SupCom upgrade, featuring really mean AI.
Pandora: First Contact - Surprised how fun it was. Basically a Civ4 mod skewed heavily towards combat that wants to be SMAC, but (of course) really isn't.
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun - these are puzzle games to me, not strategy. Ignore the whiners who are afraid to open the fridge cause crt might pop out.
Mimimi did a good job on this whole series, just pick a theme - kinky nippon, cowboys or pirates and get one of their games.
Achtung Spitfire - still waiting for someone to revisit turn based air combat (low hopes for Scramble).
Highfleet - the arcade shooter + strategy might sound like an odd mix, but it works. SF, but at its core there's a rather in-depth system for electronic warfare, missile warfare, etc.
Battle Bugs - remember that one? It was my first game with simultaneous turn execution. Blew my mind back then.
7.62 High Caliber - putting it here rather than the classics, imo it falls a bit short of being listed as such, also it appears to still be rather obscure.

 

[Axioms]

Good games in the last 10 years is certainly an interesting way to go. How strategy must they be?

Conquest Of Eo counts but does Thea 2?

Achron I guess is up there purely for real functioning time travel. The true life inspiration for all those dumb political 4D RTS memes.

Shadow Empires obviously.

Field Of Glory: Empires was pretty great.

I could *probably* scrounge up 10 that I played that were if not A+ tier than at least B+ tier in the last 10 years.

Then maybe another 10 that I didn't play cause I was broke that I'd expect to qualify as B+.

 

[luj1]

Heroes 3 (GOAT TBS)
Starcraft (GOAT RTS)
Alpha Centauri (GOAT 4X)

 

[janior]

I really like combat mission titles yet never seen any supposed strategy aficionados around here talk about those games.

 

[Monk]

Sid Meier: Conflict in Vietnam, Decision in the Desert, and Crusade in Europe.

Several of the Total War games are also fine, especially Shogun.

Also, Attack at Dawn, which I also mentioned in this forum.

 

[flyingjohn]

EU IV gamified it into trash, just as Civ V did for Civ.

I would rather categorize EUIV as CIV 6. A game constantly updated with a bunch of systems that don't fit the original game design coupled with dlc milking for decades.

I reject the idea that RotP is a hidden gem, hence your decline rating.

In what way? Hidden gems are a combination of quality gameplay and lack of exposure. Remnants is based on MOO1, already a underrated title compared to 2.Add to this, it is free and not featured on steam/gog and you only get it mentioned by specific people.
If it is the gameplay part you have a problem, well I disagree hard. There are already too many MOO2 clones and 4x games with shit AI, remnants is neither.

Also would Patrician 3 qualify as strategy?

Absolutely, the tycoon genre is a subgenre of strategy regardless of what some people think.

all singleplayer strategy games are garbage
what is there to sTrAtEgIzE about? the retarded ai? how to exploit the rules to beat the cheating retarded ai?

Luckily multiplayer fixes this by letting you play against retarded humans. It is ironic you bitch about a lack of strategy in single player when most multiplayer strategy games are about following a build order.

Is there a point to reciting the same list of classics?

Well, I was hoping for a little bit more tycoon/city builder/wargames being mentioned. But the primary reason for this thread is because you can easily find best rpg threads and then you have the crpg book. In this forum you need to go through every single subgenre best thread to find anything resembling that.
Your post is pretty much the desired result I was hoping for. A list of different subgenres and not just the classics.

Good games in the last 10 years is certainly an interesting way to go.

You are not limited to any timeframe.

How strategy must they be?

As long as they fit the genre/subgenre it is perfectly fine. City builder, tycoon, tactical, wargame,etc... Hell, you can even post srpg's.

I really like combat mission titles yet never seen any supposed strategy aficionados around here talk about those games.

A couple of reasons for that:
-Wargame
-The the trifecta of wargames problems. UI,AI and bugs with the calculation engine.
Personally the games are much better then the milked close combat series.

Sid Meier: Conflict in Vietnam, Decision in the Desert, and Crusade in Europe.

Now those are some vintage choices, in a good way.

 

[spectre]

all singleplayer strategy games are garbage

what is there to sTrAtEgIzE about? the retarded ai? how to exploit the rules to beat the cheating retarded ai?

Luckily multiplayer fixes this by letting you play against retarded humans. It is ironic you bitch about a lack of strategy in single player when most multiplayer strategy games are about following a build order.

Fucking this. Any online game out there is all about the meta. Makes everything predictable to a tee. I usually don't complain when the set of strategies is diverse enough,
because it's a bit like chess - openings are well explored and documented, it's the middle game where you get your inner snowflake to shine.
Still, always cracks me up when people bitch when you are NOT following a build, last time I saw it happen was in BAR where people got told off for opening with an air factory.

Is there a point to reciting the same list of classics?

Well, I was hoping for a little bit more tycoon/city builder/wargames being mentioned. But the primary reason for this thread is because you can easily find best rpg threads and then you have the crpg book. In this forum you need to go through every single subgenre best thread to find anything resembling that.
Your post is pretty much the desired result I was hoping for. A list of different subgenres and not just the classics.

Yeah, perhaps I overreacted a bit. There's plenty of games to remember and a pinned list doesn't hurt.
The genre has plenty of its own niches which don't necessarily appeal to everyone.
Probably the reason why there's no mention of the naval action autism where you need to look up wikipedia entries to get any sense of what you're doing.
I've never really gotten much into Harpoon, but it's without a doubt a classic title. I think Command: Modern Operations is a recent equivalent.

I was never into tycoons, so I can't offer a lot here (Theme Hospital was one of the few, it also has at least two modern spiritual successors that look interesting).
Also, a few difficult to excuse omissions from my classics list: Close Combat series, Steel Panthers, Great Battles (of Ceasar / Hannibal), and the original Homeworld.

 

[flyingjohn]

Probably the reason why there's no mention of the naval action autism where you need to look up wikipedia entries to get any sense of what you're doing.

This probably applies to most wargames, but they all have three fundamental problems that feel like the game is punching you for even attempting to play:
-Ui issues.
The games are designed so you have to look into a million menus and submenus, which wouldn't be so much of an issue except the font in these games is mostly atrocious and non resizable. Having to squirm to find out what i am looking for in 2023 is maddening.
-AI issues
The good ones are pretty much hardcoded to emulate historical stuff. Everything else just can throw shit at you to make it seem like it has any understanding of the game. Even Command ops 2 which is hailed a sthe best wargame AI is just decent.
The only exception are Vietnam war games because muh teleporting units through tunnels/jungles. Oh and special mention goes to Flashpoint for not having a attack command letting the AI decide what to attack, it is a really fun experience loosing thanks to that.
-MATH and BUGS
Calculations are always broken in some way that will screw you over. Either intentionally or because of bugs. Losing a f -35 to a mig 21 somehow and then finding out this has been fixed in a patch is a fun experience where everybody was assuring you that it is player error.
Even popular stuff like decisive campaigns has logistics that is a black box of surprises.

These types of games could be more popular, but that would require fixing any of these things.

 

[std::namespace]

Luckily multiplayer fixes this by letting you play against retarded humans. It is ironic you bitch about a lack of strategy in single player when most multiplayer strategy games are about following a build order.

retards are rare, most are mid
multi is not about build orders - its about counters, you sp cuck, keep larping offline in your safespace

 

[flyingjohn]

retards are rare, most are mid

Whatever you say chan immigrant. Keep playing those mystical no retards online games.

multi is not about build orders

Of course not, it is about some big brain counter strategy in your head that doesn't work. Why do you think meta is called meta? Because it is easy to execute and hard to counter. You can obviously win against meta builds, but you are gonna be loosing alot more games then winning.
Especially in your no retards online matches. Or you are actually so bad you get matched up with the worst where your "counters" work.
And don't even bother with the typical "YOU SUCK, I EAT META BABIES FOR BREAKFAST WITH MY SUPERIOR GAMING SKILLS" response.

you sp cuck, keep larping offline in your safespace

Did the sequence of words you have written make more sense in your head? Do you zoomers understand that just randomly combining insult buzzwords doesn't make for a good insult?

 

[Axioms]

EU IV gamified it into trash, just as Civ V did for Civ.

I would rather categorize EUIV as CIV 6. A game constantly updated with a bunch of systems that don't fit the original game design coupled with dlc milking for decades.

I reject the idea that RotP is a hidden gem, hence your decline rating.

In what way? Hidden gems are a combination of quality gameplay and lack of exposure. Remnants is based on MOO1, already a underrated title compared to 2.Add to this, it is free and not featured on steam/gog and you only get it mentioned by specific people.
If it is the gameplay part you have a problem, well I disagree hard. There are already too many MOO2 clones and 4x games with shit AI, remnants is neither.

Also would Patrician 3 qualify as strategy?

Absolutely, the tycoon genre is a subgenre of strategy regardless of what some people think.

all singleplayer strategy games are garbage
what is there to sTrAtEgIzE about? the retarded ai? how to exploit the rules to beat the cheating retarded ai?

Luckily multiplayer fixes this by letting you play against retarded humans. It is ironic you bitch about a lack of strategy in single player when most multiplayer strategy games are about following a build order.

Is there a point to reciting the same list of classics?

Well, I was hoping for a little bit more tycoon/city builder/wargames being mentioned. But the primary reason for this thread is because you can easily find best rpg threads and then you have the crpg book. In this forum you need to go through every single subgenre best thread to find anything resembling that.
Your post is pretty much the desired result I was hoping for. A list of different subgenres and not just the classics.

Good games in the last 10 years is certainly an interesting way to go.

You are not limited to any timeframe.

How strategy must they be?

As long as they fit the genre/subgenre it is perfectly fine. City builder, tycoon, tactical, wargame,etc... Hell, you can even post srpg's.

I really like combat mission titles yet never seen any supposed strategy aficionados around here talk about those games.

A couple of reasons for that:
-Wargame
-The the trifecta of wargames problems. UI,AI and bugs with the calculation engine.
Personally the games are much better then the milked close combat series.

Sid Meier: Conflict in Vietnam, Decision in the Desert, and Crusade in Europe.

Now those are some vintage choices, in a good way.

I don't care about MOO1 vs MOO2, I just don't care about remakes of old games and also hate the dev personally.

My comment on 10 years was related to someone else's comment, I'm aware the OP doesn't specify.

The reason no one listed tycoon or citybuilder stuff is because those genres are not generally held under the strategy umbrella.

Now there's obvious stuff like Dungeon Keeper and less well known stuff like Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom, the best of the Impressions games. You've also got stuff like Kohan, does that count as obscure? What about Knights and Merchants?

You might also consider something like 0AD which is, depending on mods, a blend of city building and RTS and also it sometimes has squads, and there's a super fancy Zelda/Hyrule historical mod.

Would a game like SPAZ count as strategy for you?

I guess you do count Thea 2, which is great, and Thea 1 is also good and some people prefer it.

King Of Dragon pass probably counts though not sure if you consider that obscure or not. Great game. Pretty unique.

Hinterland needed a few DLC but was great as a core concept.

I enjoyed Sovereignty: Crown Of Kings a decent amount. Not top 20 but top 50 maybe?

Skyward Collapse and Last Federation get points for uniqueness at least, even if they aren't quite as good as AI War, which was Arcen's magnum opus.

Shadows Of Forbidden Gods is a solid 7/10 execution with a unique concept but the UI is an issue, especially since Bobby wanted people on very small resolutions to be able to play.

Some people actually prefer Shadows Behind The Throne 2 over SoFG as the former is more political and the latter more hero/agent based.

Is Potioncraft a tycoon game? Probably not but an amazing take on alchemy with merchant and exploration aspects.

I actually enjoyed At The Gates, too bad Jon Shafer had a bad personal experience that prevented it from being developed more.

Driftland The Magic Revivan is an okay take on Majesty with slightly more city building. Really needs a sequel or a few DLC.

Dotage was a good rogue-lite turn based village manager. Solid 7/10.

 

[std::namespace]

retards are rare, most are mid

Whatever you say chan immigrant. Keep playing those mystical no retards online games.

multi is not about build orders

Of course not

and yet you fucking said so, build orders are something from rts shit, its not strategy if you are realtime-limited and have to get something up in seconds

here is an example of no-retards-allowed:
i recently played a ut2k4 match online, 16 people, 2 are shit, 1 cheats, rest is better than me, i used to be good
thats not a game for briansurgeons

another one:
i recently played my 11 year old nephew lol in 'napoleon at waterloo'
that pic below: goal is to get 7 units out north and/or kill 40 strength points of the enemy, overwhelming prussian reinforcements on turn 3
i played the french
THE CHILD instantly grasped that he has to block me on the exit - strategy of punching left over...
i pulled 3 or 4 units right after punching left to try and sneak by some of them, 1 got through

ABSOLUTELY NOT ONE SINGLEPLAYER AI RETARD vidyagaym is capable of reacting that way - NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONE
why play them? there is no sTrAtEgY in them

literally playing rock paper scissors blind and predicting the next step based on the previous sequence and current standing is MORE STRATEGIC than ANY game vidyagame made EVER!

1. Victoria 2

look at this shit, thats not even a game! LOL

 

[Silva]

SMAC

Everything else is debatable.

 

[Ba'al]

Not a single mention of Cossacks? I thought this place was crawling with slavs?

 

[Axioms]

Not a single mention of Cossacks? I thought this place was crawling with slavs?

I know about Cossacks but sadly never played it. I was always looking for a good sale, though. Also not a Slav.

 

[Humanophage]

std::namespace Skill in online games depends too much on experience. The typical PvP gamer picks a game and plays it for years. E.g., I have a guy on my friendlist who has 1100 hours in Endless Space 2 and 1000 hours in Endless Legend. Most likely this doesn't even include tabbing out. UT2k4 is a typical old game with a dedicated fanbase that most likely includes a disproportionate amount of such players. But with strategies it is even more annoying because these games are more intricate, so there are more knowledge-based rather than intelligence-based advantages.

The AI is typically weak at tactics, but this is why you have higher difficulties where the AI is given various bonuses and the forces are not symmetrical. For example, Deity Civ 4 is about as difficult as experienced Civ 4 players, but for different reasons as it is hard to catch up.

As to always playing players, this is not generally viable as it would be too time-consuming and they'll drop the game the moment they start losing. Running a multiplayer TBS game is a huge bother. Also everything tends to devolve into war, which is often fairly boring. Besides, unfortunately, most games don't have good realistic anti-blobbing that would imitate overexpansion IRL, so everyone ends up exploiting it.