Strategy with a big world. Global Strategies

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Top best strategies that you can play online or online with friends and random opponents, a description of how to play

Strategy games are games in which you can feel like a king, ruler and even God. They do not differ in the dynamics of the gameplay (as in shooters), but they force the player to reason logically, develop tactics, and make various decisions. Victory in them depends on the user's ability to anticipate the opponent's future actions, coordinate the actions of his army and calculate his forces.

At other times, strategies are not only battles between thousands of troops. Behind the entertainment lies a complex economic system, the development of which will also bring you victory in the game. And sometimes there are no fights at all - some developers release exclusively economic strategies based on some business (or in other areas).

In any case, strategies can keep you at the screen for a long time. In this article, we have presented the TOP of the best PC strategies of all time, in which you will find decent games. They can be played with friends, teaming up against the AI, alone or against other users. For convenience, the strategies are presented in the form of a list that describes their main advantages.

Of course, you can also express your opinion in the comments on the article, and those who do not have time to download strategies on a PC can see a list of the best rated browser-based online strategies that you can start playing right now.

Warcraft III - online

Released: 03.06.2002

Genre: real-time strategy with RPG elements

The essence of the game lies in the uniform construction of the base, pumping heroes and hiring an army. For each game stage and situation are prioritized different actions, of which there are an inexorable multitude, which in itself led to the incredible success of the game among gamers. It is worth noting that for different races there are different priorities, which creates a kind of abstract balance.

Of course, the game achieved success primarily because the history of Warcraft is quite old, and the first game in the series was released back in 1994 on DOS, which allowed it to win crowds of fans at the dawn of the gaming industry. The whole Warcraft series has a deep and thoughtful history, on which the plot of Warcraft III is based, although it is not important here, it is necessary for the full perception of the game.

For the most part, the game received recognition for a good balance of races and atypical, for those years, gameplay, which marked the beginning of a new era of strategies.

• Balanced system of pumping heroes;
• Balanced system of economy;
• Interesting solo company;
• Balan races;
• Can be played online;
• Graphics are outdated.

Warcraft can be played online on servers: tangle, garena, iCCup.

Heroes of Might and Magic III - online

Released: 28.02.1999

Genre: Turn-based strategy with RPG elements

Although the series of "heroes" is quite old, it has not acquired a noble plot. First of all, in the games of the series, the gameplay and the gaming component are valued, and the plot is completely unimportant.

The gameplay itself boils down to the fact that the player needs to destroy all opponents on the map. Initially, the player in submission has an undeveloped castle and one hero. The castle is gradually pumped through the construction of new buildings, which opens up access to the hiring of new creatures. The hero can be pumped in battle, or by distributing gold from chests to your troops. To win, it is enough to destroy all the enemy heroes and capture all the castles.

In total, there are 9 races in the game (specifically in the third part), including:

• Castle - people;
• Stronghold - elves;
• The tower is the residence of magicians;
• The fortress is a swamp;
• Citadel - barbarians;
• Inferno - demons;
• Necropolis - undead;
• Dungeon - command underground creatures;
• Pairing - command the elements of the elements.

Each race has its own focus, advantages, special skills. For example, a necropolis can raise the dead, infernos can turn their defeated fighters into demons, and so on.

Among the players, only the 3rd and 5th parts of the game are in demand, while the rest either do not live up to the gameplay, or have too good graphics, from which the eyes flow. We are talking about excessive detailing of the 6th and 7th parts of the game, which played a disservice. The fourth part was not to the taste of the players because of the creepy models and textures.

It is the third part of the heroes that is considered the genius of the series, so major tournaments are still held on it and there is a significant gaming community. The problem of the network game in heroes 3 is the duration of the matches, because individual games lasted up to a month of real time.

If you'd like to try your hand at online play, we recommend visiting the heroesworld portal for all the useful information.

• Expanded economy system;
• Developed leveling of heroes;
• Balance of game needs (in pumping, building, hiring creatures, etc.)
• Can be played online
• Balanced combat;
• The presence of an unofficial team that constantly refines the game.

Civilization Series

Released: 1991-2016

Genre: global step-by-step strategy

Initially, the game captured the minds of the players with its interesting gameplay, which boils down to balancing the army, economy and development (and later culture) of the nation. The game also has a certain historicity, because all nations actually existed.

To win this game, you need to skillfully create cities, build trade networks between them, make alliances and betray allies, create an army balance that matches your economic development and competently develop technologies.

A simple example: if you only invest in the army, then there may come a time when your soldiers will fight with sticks, and the enemy will already have tanks. You can also invest only in development, but then ordinary barbarians can destroy your civilization, and you will not have time to develop.

It is because of the diversity of the gameplay and the variability of development that many call Civilization the best strategy of all time.

At the moment, a network game with random participants is available on Steam, allowing you to test your strength and skills.

• Unique economy system;
• Unique research system;
• Balance of nations and play styles;
• Advanced multiplayer;
• Expanded political system.

In 2016, the continuation of the legendary line was released, Civilization 6 became the best turn-based strategy of the year on PC.

XCOM Series

Released: 1993-2016

Genre: step-by-step strategy

The famous strategy to protect the earth from the invasion of alien invaders. You - special squad professionals, the only bulwark of humanity in the struggle for survival. Learn the technology of the aliens, take them into service and destroy the enemies!

The gameplay of the game is tied to the tactical and economic component. Tactical includes battles with opponents, sorties to the place of landing or fall of alien ships, development of fighters, choosing the right perks for them, and so on. Economic - development of the base, the right choice of technology, additional rooms, waste of resources and other things. Also, after the battle, the player receives trophies from the dead, which can then be sold on the black market or used independently in battle.

Many consider XCOM to be one of the best strategy games on PC.

• An interesting leveling system for fighters;
• Various game cards;
• Many battle strategies;
• An interesting system of research, base pumping;
• Extraordinary endings.

Command & Conquer: Red Alert

Released: 1996-2008

Genre: real time strategy

The so-called "cranberry" strategy. For reference, cranberries are considered an unrealistic presentation of the inhabitants and ideology of the USSR, including its territory after the collapse. The game is built on this non-existent ideology. The action takes place in a parallel universe where there was no World War II, so all nations, including the USSR, were able to develop and become incredibly strong.

Later, a time machine was invented, allowing you to change the course of history. So, for example, the third part of the game takes place when the Russians decide to kill Albert Einstein in the past. Sending to the past was successful, the USSR captured almost all of Europe, but the war did not end - it was only the beginning.

The gameplay is standard for games of this genre, namely, you need to develop your base, hire soldiers, equipment for the complete destruction of opponents on the map.

• Fascinating plot;
• balance of nations;
• Unique combat units;

Space Rangers

Released: 23.12.2002

Genre:"epic game" RPG elements, turn-based strategy, arcade, text quest.

A game about war in intergalactic space between intelligent races. Almost all races can be played by the player, except for Kleesans and Dominators - hostile semi-sentient races that receive orders from the main ships that control their behavior. The whole plot of the game tells about the war of the peaceful races of the commonwealth against the above invaders.

The main advantage of the game is the gameplay. As you may have noticed, the game does not have a dedicated genre, since it is absolutely difficult to attribute it to any genre. But often the game is singled out as the best strategy, because most of the time players spend driving their spaceship in individual systems. There are also arcade elements in the game, namely, in flights between systems, you can stumble upon hostile nodes, where the game turns into a real-time battle.

RPG elements are manifested in pumping your captain's skills, playing the role of a good ranger or an evil smuggler pirate. Elements of a text quest appear in some tasks that NPCs give to the player, or, for example, during visits to prison institutions, where the player balances between getting free as soon as possible and not dying at the hands of fellow inmates. IN latest versions games also exist robot fights on planets driven in real time strategy mode.

As you can see, the potential of the game is incredibly high, and it can rightfully be called one of the best RPGs of all time, not only due to the unique gameplay, but also nice graphics, random generation of maps, planets, tasks and other things, which allows you to start the game again and again .

• Unique game world, which is randomly generated in each new game;
• Developed system of playing role;
• Good mix of many genres;
• Fascinating text tasks;
• Nice graphics.

Stronghold: Crusader

Released: 2002-2014

Genre: real time strategy

A classic strategy game in which you act as the ruler of a small town. Your task is to equally develop military and economic power. In gaming companies, you can play both the role of the cruel Arab ruler Saladin and the role of King of England Richard the Lionheart.

The gameplay, as mentioned earlier, lies in the equal development of the army and the economy. Due to the unusual gameplay, the game received recognition. Among the features of the game stand out, such as:

• Your servants need to build personal homes that condition maximum amount armies;
• Need to develop food industry, for your entire war machine may perish simply due to starvation. It also creates the possibility of a long siege of castles, forcing the enemy to rot from hunger;
• Almost all fighters cannot be hired just like that - for them it is necessary to create weapons, armor, and for this it is necessary to collect resources.

If you play against the computer, you will notice that it creates monotonous castles, which, however, are not so easy to break through if the enemy is one of the strongest. Still, this is one of the downsides, which can quickly discourage the desire to play. The main potential of the game is revealed on multiplayer maps that can be played online using hamachi or tangle. It is also worth noting that the unequivocal minus is the binding of the player to the starting point - it is impossible to build buildings near the enemy's castle.

• Unique production and economic system;
• Advanced building options;
• Not a bad company;
• You can play online with friends.

King's bounty

Released: 2008-2014

Genre: role-playing strategy in real time with turn-based battles

The unusual combination of the genre makes the game interesting enough for beginners, and the beautiful graphics without excessive detail are pleasing to the eye. It is worth noting that in the latter parts of the game there is an option to turn on the 3D game mode, which must be played with the appropriate glasses.

The player can choose between three classes: warrior, paladin and mage. Each of them fights in their own way. For example, a warrior has an increased number of creatures, a mage attacks opponents with spells, and a paladin is something in between.

The game takes place in a fictional fantasy world inhabited by fairly canonical magical creatures such as vampires, demons, elves. The player acts as a treasure hunter, on whose shoulders lies the fate of saving the world. To begin with, he has to become a great hero, recruit an army of mystical creatures in order to fight evil henchmen.

The gameplay looks something like this: you walk around the world map in real time, and when you stumble upon enemy units, a turn-based battle mode starts, where the hero can use a book of magic, spirits. Looks like a classic turn-based battle. When you walk around the map, you can communicate with the characters that inhabit the world, complete tasks for them, receive rewards, hire troops, buy items, and so on.

• Interesting character leveling system;
• Many artifacts and unique creatures;
• Interesting combat system;
• Not boring quests;
• Nice cartoon graphics;
• Many games in the series are made in the same style.

StarCraft II - online

Released: 26.06.2010

Genre: real time strategy

No less exciting game from the creators of Warcraft - Blizzard. The plot of the game tells about the battle of three space races: zerg, protoss and terrans. Unlike Warcraft, the game came out more dynamic and there are no heroes in it, which completely changes the priorities in battles.

StarCraft also has a rich storyline, however it is presented to the players during story cutscenes, making you an observer rather than a maker of the story.

Each playable race has its own advantages and disadvantages. For example, protos units have a lot of additional abilities that need to be used at the right time, otherwise the army will be quite weak. Considering that the game itself is very fast, to be successful in the game you need to have the skills of fast playing and thinking.

StarCraft can rightly be called the best PC strategy game of all time.

The game can be played online through the Blizzard Game Downloader.

• Race balance;
• Balanced economy;
• Fast paced game;
• Can be played online;
• Regular tournaments from official developers.

Warhammer 40.000 series

Released: 1999 - 2009

Genre: real time strategy

Warhammer Enough popular game not only in computer form, but also in card form. The history of the game appeared long before the development of the computer sphere (in 1983) in America, which led to the success of the series.

The history of the world tells of bloody wars for control of the galaxy, grandiose betrayals and ascensions, and more. Games in this series are not tied only to the strategy genre, because there are both CCG and action offshoots.

The most famous for the wide inhabitants of the game series: Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, tells about the war for the control of one selected planet between the game races. The player chooses one of the sides in the war, which has unique units and battle tactics. In the future, your task will be to seize control of the entire planet. Some games in the series divide the gameplay into two stages: global turn-based control and real-time strategy. The first mode is just the choice of the point of attack, and the second is the actual battle. In battle, you need to rebuild your base, capture key points that bring one of the two resources - influence, strengthen them and attack enemy bases. It is worth noting that the main task of the game is to destroy all enemy buildings.

Almost all Wahe strategies can be played through Hamachi.

• Deep history;
• Race balance;
• Each race has its own, unique features;
• An interesting system for improving units;
• Interesting company.

Company of Heroes

Released: 2006-2009

Genre: real time strategy

The game's plot follows films such as Saving Private Ryan, A Bridge Too Far, and the television series Band of Brothers. Actions take place during the Great Patriotic War.

The gameplay is a classic RTS with wargame elements. Many note that the game resembles the Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War series due to the fact that the player can independently choose the weapons with which his platoons will fight. Also, the troops have a scale of combat morale, which affects the effectiveness of the soldiers. For example, if a platoon comes under machine gun fire, then its morale drops sharply, which reduces the speed of firing and running. In addition, upon the death of a member of the squad who held any weapon, it does not disappear, but remains lying on the ground, where it can be picked up. The next feature of the game is the squad ranking system, which with each increased level of fighters allows you to improve their characteristics, which creates a kind of convention that the squads are not just meat.

The elements of the wargame are also the fact that the player himself can install defensive structures that increase the effectiveness of the fighters. All ditches, sandbags, etc. can be occupied by your fighters to increase their effectiveness. Since the game can maintain a small limit, and the speed of combat is quite low, the result is an entertaining combat simulator. Of course, this game is not singled out as the absolutely best strategy, but it deserves to be at least a nominee.

• Interesting game missions;
• Unusual gameplay;
• It creates a feeling of real battles;

Series Cossacks

Released: 2001-2016

Genre: economic strategy

The game stands out for its gameplay, which is based on the balance of economic and military power. The correct construction of the economy has a key role in the game, because even if you skillfully use military forces, skillfully withdraw them, divide them into groups, opening the horizon for a volley of cannons, then sooner or later, with a weak economy, you will lose to a player who is more rested on economic component. Firstly, a player with a strong economy can simply spam units - he does not need to think about their safety, because there are always resources. Secondly, the ability of ranged units to attack is tied to the availability of resources such as coal and iron. If there is no coal or iron, the fighters cannot shoot. Also, food plays an important role, which is a constantly consumed resource. Therefore, if your population is growing, then the food infrastructure should grow accordingly.

The game also stands out in that each player can hire a huge number of troops, which allows you to apply diverse game strategies. Among the types of troops you can find: cavalry, melee units, ranged units, artillery. In addition, the game has a technical development that allows you to hire stronger and more technologically advanced troops.

Many players are betting that the third part of the series will be the best strategy of 2016!

• Addiction military power from the economy;
• Many battle strategies;
• The need to balance the economy and military power.

Anno 1404

Released: 2009-2010

Genre: economic strategy

The plot is tied to a parallel reality, which, however, repeats real historical prototypes, such as the crusades, dawn early forms capitalism and so on.

The gameplay is tied to economic warfare and the development of colonies and settlements. You, as an effective ruler, need to correctly calculate the distribution of resources for the development of cities, conduct diplomatic relations. The combat component of the game is divided into sea and land battles, however, the ability to wage war is not immediately open, but subsequently acts as one of the elements that help to defeat opponents.

All states are divided into two types: European and Eastern. European country cannot fully develop without spices and quartz, produced only in the east, which by itself determines the need for active trade, which is also one of the main ways to earn gold. One of the key tasks in urban planning is the construction of large cultural elements, such as cathedrals or mosques.

• Developed economy;
• Interesting urban development process;
• Advanced diplomacy system.

Total War series

Released: 2000-2015

Genre: global strategy

Some semblance of a historical strategy. Actions take place on the global map of the world in different periods of time - it all depends on the part of the game. The player can choose any of the presented countries and subsequently capture the entire map, depending on the established victory conditions.

But not for the plot and the historical component, this game is distinguished as the best strategy on the PC, but for the gameplay. It is built on the turn-based movement of armies, development and capture of cities various countries. The battles take place in real time, where the player acts as a commander, places his troops on the map and directs the battle itself. There is also a politics mode where the player makes alliances, declares wars, exchanges resources, and so on.

• Interesting system of politics;
• Interesting intra-game battles in real time;
• Developed system of internal events (crusades, jihads, etc.);
• An advanced system for improving cities, depending on their location.

Disciples

Released: 1999-2010

Genre: turn-based strategy with RPG elements

The game takes place in the cruel fantasy world of Nevendaar, where every now and then they yearn to wake up dark forces. Companies for all nations are available to the player for passing. It turns out that the player himself weaves the whole story. In total, five nations are available in the game, including:

• Hordes of the undead - servants of the ancient goddess of death Mortis;
• Empire - a race of people under the auspices of the supreme angels;
• The Legions of the Damned are Bethrezen's demonic minions;
• Elven Alliance - a united army of elves led by Queen Ellumiel;
• The mountain clans are a harsh undermountain people ruled by a high king.

The gameplay is classic strategy. The player's task is to intelligently scout the territory, pump the army. Oh yes, unlike other strategies, here you can only hire lower-level minions, who later need to be upgraded, gaining experience in battle. In general, the combat system in Disciples is unique, which has led to the success of the game. Initially, the player starts with one capital and one hero. The capital is a unique city guarded by a very strong creature, so it is almost impossible to break through the capital from the very beginning. The war is fought for the sources of magic - one of the resources and separate outposts that allow you to hire troops away from the capital.

• Unique system for pumping creatures;
• The races are not alike;
• Race balance;
• An interesting system of applying magic;

Age of Empires series

Released: 1997-2007

Genre: real time strategy

A fairly old game that can also claim to be the best strategy game on PC of all time. The main advantage of this game is custom tournaments with large prize pools, reaching up to 100 thousand dollars. The reason for such amounts for such an old game is its fans from wealthy countries who can afford to spend such amounts on organizing tournaments.

The very same gameplay of the game comes down to a balance between technology, economy and the army. Each nation in battle can move between 5 eras:

• Age of Research;
• The era of colonization;
• The era of fortresses;
• Industrial Age;
• Age of Empire.

Each era opens up new research, types of troops and buildings. If you switch between eras early without spending money on the army, then most likely you will be crushed by “homeless people”, and if you focus only on hiring troops, then most likely the enemy will crush you with a more high-tech limit.

Many players argue that in order to play AOE effectively, you just need to be able to move your troops away from volleys of siege guns and archers, which leads to low losses of the army and increased economic development, by reducing the consumption of resources to maintain the combat limit.

Play AOE online with friends or random players via Steam, Tanggle or Hamachi.

• The need for skillful balancing of all game aspects (economy, troops, research, construction);
• Balance of all races (in the latest version);
• Tournaments with a large prize fund;
• Average game speed.

Age of Mythology

Released: 01.12.2002

Genre: Real time strategy

The age of mythology is somewhat similar to the game described above, but still has other roots and features that allow you to build a more interesting game.

A key feature of the game is the replacement of eras with the worship of the gods, bestowing special force and new mythical creatures, which have special characteristics and skills, such as fiery or poisonous breath, freezing a key unit, and so on.

Unlike AOE, where the player has only a human and siege limit, AOM also has a mythical limit, consisting of mythical creatures such as giants, dryads, rocs and others. AOM does not have such significant prize pools as AOE, but it also has its own community, among which relatively regular tournaments are held.

You can play AOM online through Steam, Tanggle or Hamachi.

• It is necessary to correctly balance all game aspects (economy, troops, research, construction);
• Balance of all races and deities;
• Can be played online;
• Average game speed.

Settlers 7

Released: 23.03.2010

Genre: RTS, city builder

Simulator of building cities, which subsequently create a vast kingdom. The main task of the game is to correctly place buildings, create transport links between them. The player can develop his kingdom in three areas, including:

• military production;
• Scientific approach;
• Trading perspective.

Each development path will eventually lead the player to victory. For example, if you choose the military path, then the focus of your development will be the army, which will subsequently try to crush the enemies. The scientific path will help you defeat your opponents with technology, while the trade path will help you capture the best trade routes on the entire map, which will give you an edge over your opponents. Each of the development paths includes unique units.

Critics point out good artificial intelligence, but a weak storyline.

• Good artificial intelligence;
• Expanded city building capability;
• Equality of development paths (economy, military development and technology).

Paradox Interactive continues to create complex worlds in the realm of grand strategy and grand strategy. Europa Universalis and Crusader Kings, created by these developers, impressed the audience and gained a large number of fans around the world. Having applied all their experience, the developers went to the stars, along with their next project - Stellaris, inviting players with them to a grander gaming theater than before.

Stellaris is a highly customizable real-time strategy/grand strategy hybrid. From the very beginning of the game, you can customize your interstellar people, starting from their appearance and the flag, to philosophy and demeanor. Some form of customization is present in many aspects of the game. The manner in which you explore nearby planets and star systems, study the sciences, expand your race's dominions, and interact with other races. Gradually, Stellaris accelerates from a somewhat slow start to a large and all-encompassing race for control of the universe.

The game does not forget its roots. Stellaris borrows socio-political and economic systems from other Paradox games, forcing players to balance between internal struggles and external influences and pressures. Stellaris is great to play solo, but multiplayer is where the game really shines. Playing online, against friends and foes, is a great pastime that stretches into many hours of fun from the game.

Battlefleet Gothic: Armada is one of the modern offerings in the Warhammer 40K universe, a tactical RTS with spaceships. Abandoning the ground combat of previous games in the Warhammer 40K universe, Battlefleet Gothic turns its attention to the stars to fight a desperate war against galactic enemies.

Acting by the standards of the lore of the Warhammer 40K universe, the journey through the story takes the player under control of a fleet of Imperial warships, the story will push you head-on head-on with familiar opponents: Chaos Indivisible, Orcs and Eldar. Survival in combat depends on the timely use of tactics, relying on the slowdown mechanic known as the Tactical Cogitator. Meanwhile, your task is to wisely spend all the resources on armament and customization of your ships in order to get the maximum performance in your chosen tactics.

In addition to single player, the multiplayer mode will allow you to use many ships of different factions and participate in multiplayer battles. With every victory and defeat in single player and multiplayer, you earn "Fame", which you can spend on upgrades and improvements, and defeats in the campaign affect your progress through the story campaign. Battlefleet Gothic: Armada is a bit difficult to learn, but from this game you can get the most interesting and comprehensive Warhammer 40K experience, not to mention that the game as a whole is an outstanding tactical spaceship RTS.

Best Strategy Where Montezuma (Aztec Emperor) Can Fight Gandhi (Indian Philosopher)

Civilization is a turn-based strategy game about human history: you guide a race of people from the stone age to modern times and beyond. This is a global strategy (capture, explore, use and destroy) and the best thing is that you start from scratch and grow to a global power. Or die trying to do it.

The decisions you will face in the game are political, economic, military and even social. You can become a friendly neighbor or an invader. The center of trade and tourism, or the state focused on the industry. Freedom of choice is the best asset of the game - where will you move? What are you going to do? Which path will you take to win? There are now more than 20 factions in the game, and each has a specific play style, but you will always have freedom of action.

Civilzation is a well established series of games. The game has a strong set teaching aids and tooltips to help you make decisions. Combat is better than ever, thanks to Civilzation V's reimagining of the grid system. Having Steam Workshop support means you'll have an endless stream of mods and maps.

This is the game series that coined the term "one more turn and sleep" - this strategy is addictive, it's an addictive and fun game.

Best Total War Strategy

Total War is a game about managing an entire empire in between armed clashes on the way to dominance. Now you are busy with taxes and building baths, and the next moment you are firing cannons and headlong rushing at the enemy.

The game takes place in two different modes: empire management in turn-based strategy mode, and tactical battles in real-time strategy mode. The key to victory is the interaction between the two modes, for example: mount a cavalry charge against the enemy army, knowing that it is commanded by the opponent's king and his assassination will cause the collapse of the empire.

Whenever two armies meet, the game switches to tactical combat mode. You play as a general, a hero - you control your units, draw up battle formations and strategy, and fight your enemy to the last man. The choice is not always the best option - the right terrain and the right tactics, a slight superiority in strength can withstand almost any difficulty, and the most powerful army can be defeated with a good ambush.

Total War: Shogun 2 is by far the best game in the series. If the period covered (16th century feudal Japan) isn't to your liking, try Napoleon: Total War, a game centered on the famous general's campaign. Total War is a deep, tactical and thoughtful game: it can take you a week or so to complete a campaign in Total War.

Buyer's guide: Sega often discounts Total War, and you can get Shogun 2 and its expansions on Steam for less.

Nearly a decade and a half after the game's release, the original Stronghold is still the best game in Firefly's castle builder series. The combination of RTS with creative, strategic building, missions and combat sometimes detracted from the game's trump card - a simple but effective medieval building kit.

The campaign isn't particularly memorable and the combat is slow and can be confusing, but playing the free-building mode is a very addictive experience, like playing Lego or sand-sculpting in childhood sandboxes. Of course, the tide always destroys the fruits of hard work, but watching everything fall apart is part of the fun.

Buyer's guide:Stronghold HD is available in Steam

The best strategy to kill your spouse

Crusader Kings 2 is a bloodthirsty bastard of Grand Strategies. You play as a medieval lord trying to gain more power, influence and territories in historically accurate medieval Europe. The game offers complex game mechanics instead of beautiful picture. You control the economy, the army and the people.

The personality element is what makes Crusader Kings 2 a very compelling game. You are part of a family dynasty, not an abstract nation. You can marry and have children, when you die, your heir will take the reins and everything will start again. In between all of this, you can use intrigue or brute force to increase your holdings, but the key is that you develop a real personal connection with your characters, your avatar. You will mourn his death, you will applaud his every triumph.

As a count or duke, you can stage a coup and rebel against your Lord to increase your power. As a king, it is quite easy to lose the Realm due to an invasion or rebellion. But as long as a member of your dynasty is still alive, you will always have a chance to win everything back. Don't be put off by the apparent difficulty, the more you play, the more you'll learn.

Buyer's guide: Choose to purchase a bundle with most add-on packs, including the latest (Old Gods).

The best strategy for e-sports fans

Starcraft II is a sci-fi strategy game about armored cowboys fighting against xenomorphic aliens and space elves. This is a classic real time strategy where you collect resources, build an army and kill enemies before they kill you, you will need to make quick decisions and click quickly.

Multiplayer is a huge part of Starcraft II. People will become your enemies; they will be able to click the keyboard faster than you and give orders faster than you. You will probably lose a lot of nerve cells, but you will get better gaming entertainment and you will be good enough to compete against players at the level of esports.

The single-player campaign is also quite interesting - Blizzard combined the frantic action with RPG elements, and the story of the exploits of the mercenary Jim Raynor. You will fight in a series of missions, many of them will have unique objectives - for example, try to collect resources on the map periodically filled with lava, defend against waves of zerg during the allotted time period. In between missions, you explore a kind of RPG hub where you can talk to people, research new technologies, and decide which mission to visit next. It's very difficult to implement an interesting story in the real time strategy genre, and many are limited to cutscenes and dialogue in missions, but SCII, by forcing you to interact with the world outside the battlefield, actually makes the game story interactive.

Buyer's guide: Blizzard is one of the few companies that doesn't actually "make" DLC. Starcraft II has one expansion at the time of writing, Heart of the Swarm, with a second expansion (Legacy of the Void) due out at some point in the future. The expansion as a whole brings a few new units and tweaks to the multiplayer, but mainly advances the single player story. In the original game, you played as Terrans. In Hearts of the Swarm, you play as the Zerg. In Legacy of the Void, you will play as Protos.

The best strategy for playing dress-up with your dolls

XCOM was an unexpected hit. turn-based strategy that will require you to repel an alien invasion in a dynamic single-player campaign. It's a remake of the classic X-Com, and as a remake, it's one of the best.

You send teams of up to six soldiers into battle against little gray aliens, robots, insects, and more. Tactically intense firefights across city maps, countryside, aboard alien ships, all supported by easy strategy. The player's base is presented as an ant farm where you will research new technologies, perform autopsies, and request funding from a shady government agency.

In a word, it's fantastic.

The character customization is really cool. You can give your wars names and faces as you play the campaign they grow in your mind, they get backstory and fake accents. It is up to you to live or die for these soldiers, and you feel their every step, feel every plasma bolt that hits them, you feel their pain as your own. When they drop dead, mourn, and a new guy is sent in as a replacement... well, he (or she) won't get a name until he proves himself.

Tactical combat is the essence of the game, and if you've never tested your commanding skills against real people, then XCOM invites you to try them out in multiplayer.

This real-time strategy game set in World War II throws you right into the middle of a fight taking place during the Allied invasion of Northern France. Starting with D-Day, you will make your way through several maps divided into tactical zones. You must establish a base of operations, protect resources, and fight for a just cause.

It's tricky - you have to make sure all the corners are covered and that your front line is safe, because if there are gaps, nothing will stop the enemy from wreaking havoc behind your lines. Infantry can build defenses and/or garrison buildings, and engineers can set traps or lay obstacles. Tanks and other vehicles will provide you with brute force, but they are quite expensive to build en masse. As a commander, you have support abilities that give you an additional advantage.

This game is the highest rated strategy game of all time - the single player campaign reminiscent of the movie Band of Brothers makes the story campaign more than just an online tutorial and the online community itself is well developed. The two factions (or four if you have the add-ons) are well balanced so that you will need more than just maneuvering or simple ranged combat with the enemy. In the nine years since the first release, the modding community has flourished, which means that you can get even more interesting gameplay.

Buyer's guide: Company of Heroes has two expansions - Opposing Fronts and Tales of Valour. Opposing Fronts is the only add-on really worth buying. At the moment, a sequel has already been released, covering the Russian and Eastern fronts.

The best strategy where elephants and sports cars can collide in battle

Age of Empires is a classic real-time strategy series that is easy to learn, charming and can challenge the player if desired. You choose your civilization, create your city and your army, and fight against other civilizations on the map. You advance through various "ages" or tech levels to upgrade your troops and buildings.

This game is half resource management, half tactical combat like Warcraft or Starcraft. You always start the game in your city center and some civilians, but by the end of the match you can grow into a metropolis, with walls, fire towers, and a large army. Age of Empires came out before the beginning of the era multiplayer games on the Internet, so the main component of these games is single-player campaigns and battle with artificial intelligence. Representing a series of specially created cards (with customizable goals), with a famous person or group of people from history. These missions don't have to be historically accurate, but they draw you into the story, and each battle provides a unique scenario for the confrontation.

Age of Empires 2 spans an abstract time period starting in the Middle Ages and progressing all the way to the early Renaissance. How do you like: Duke's Celtic raiders with his Persian elephants and medieval pikemen near Japanese fortresses? And those who know cheats can always play with sports cars with machine guns installed.

Buyer's guide: In January 2013, Microsoft released an "HD" version of Age of Empires 2 , Includes the base game and the expansion.

The best hybrid of Wargame (Wargame) and RTS

Wargame game. It will save you from unnecessary worries associated with the construction of bases and will allow you to focus solely on the battles. You command your own customizable army of tanks, infantry, artillery, and even combat helicopters and planes. The battles take place in highly detailed parts of the European countryside, which can be up to 150Km2.

Attention to detail is what drives WarGames, and it's what makes WarGame: AirLand Battle a brilliant game. Your tanks may be marching down the highway or trampling various crops in the fields, your infantry may be crawling through the forests or holding an important crossroads... but tanks need fuel, and weapons need bullets. If you are not supporting your troops with supplies, using logistics system, your fireteam will literally be stuck.

For a high-level strategy game, there's a surprising amount of atmosphere. If you bring the camera close to "ground level", the camera will be shaken by artillery shells crashing into the ground. The forests will burn around you, and if things are going really bad for you, retreating, the skeletons of fallen tanks and infantry fighting vehicles remain behind to burn out.

Wargame offers - a brilliant dynamic single-player campaign. You can play as NATO or the Warsaw Pact and fight for control of Scandinavia using real-life combat units, off-map support... even randomized political events. If you prefer to play with real people, there is a great online community. Also, Wargame has a lot of multiplayer maps in stock, and there is support for battles in 10 vs 10 matches.

Buyer's guide: At the time of writing, the Wargame series consists of three games, the latest being Wargame: Red dragon, with an alternate story set in conflict in Asia

Best Strategy for Ambitious Caribbean Dictator

Tropico is essentially a city builder, but what makes it cool is its charm. You play as a dictator with a Caribbean banana republic theme and it's up to you to guide your island from humble beginnings to greatness.

How you do this is up to you. You can exploit the natural resources of your island and turn it into industrial centre or you can use the natural beauty of the island and try to become a holiday destination for clueless white tourists. Or both. In Tropico, there are many options for where to place a residential complex or a factory, whether to assign pensions or call for military service. You bring immigrants to the island and they all need housing and jobs and you will have to build your economy and services. Throughout the game, your actions are wonderfully reported on the Tropico radio talk show, the host tries to make even the crappiest of your actions positive.

As your island grows, you will be able to start doing business with - America, Russia, or even China and Europe, everyone will want to influence you. They will offer you money and wealth if you only let them build a military base on the island, or let them export their waste to you. If you are not careful, you will have to deal with an uprising or an invasion. Either way, your regime will be overthrown.

Tropico is just a fun game: it's a city builder with a healthy dose of economics, commerce and politics.

Best Space RTS

Sins of a Solar Empire - this global real-time strategy focuses on building a big space empire. You have planets to colonize and develop industry and trade on, but when things get tough there are always groups of ships throwing bullets, lasers and missiles at each other in an endless struggle for dominance.

The game has a lot of things typical of the Sins series: your scouts will rush from planet to planet in search of new worlds to conquer. Your merchant fleets will move goods from place to place, turning the wheels of the economy, and your mighty battle fleets will rush from one crisis to another, because if pirates aren't knocking on your door, some other faction has come to lay claim to your property.

There is no single player campaign in the game: you just play an endless amount of skirmishes against the AI ​​using a wide variety of cards from the set, each with its own quirks and strategies. You can also create your own map using the editor and of course you can start the game online and play against real people.

Buyer's guide: Sins of a Solar Empire has three expansions. Lastly, Rebellion is a standalone expansion that includes all previous updates and features. There is also a DLC for the game called "Forbidden Worlds" which adds new planet types, new vehicles and several heroes.

The best strategy game with atomic weapons

DEFCON is a game about a war that cannot be won - a nuclear war. You are presented on a simple vector map of the world (in the style of the WarGames movie and other classic films), you are given a bunch of military equipment, and the world begins to slowly count down to Armageddon. You must make the best use of everything you have to come out on top in the soon-to-be-formed desert world.

Simplicity and abstractness of Defcon is its greatest advantage. You cannot stop all missiles and you cannot win every conflict. Regions will be destroyed, entire fleets will be lost, but... all you see is statistics on the screen. You gain points for killing more people at once, you lose points for every percentage of your original population. The player with the most points at the end will receive the "victory". Congratulations.

Defcon is an interesting game, but what makes it so addictive?! This is that the game is actually a battle of wits, akin to chess. The match will always start with DEFCON 5, and will count down the level of danger in the allotted time. The closer you get to DEFCON 1, the more you are allowed to do, but basically it all comes down to the good placement of your assets - your fleet and submarines, bombers and fighters, missile silos, radars. You and your enemies (up to 6 players or AI can play in the same match) will do the same actions, so you will need to have a premonition and the ability to guess the opponent's next move.

The game lasts no more than 45 minutes by default, although you can adjust this setting. The game is great fun for pure strategists and loads quickly and easily. We highly recommend playing against other players.

Buyer's guide: There are no add-ons or DLC, and the game itself is very cheap.

This space grand strategy will throw at you: space bugs, slaver raids, asteroids, even alien probes... and lo and behold, you accidentally meet another space empire. This is a dangerous universe and Sword of the Stars reflects this wonderfully and also gives the player an exciting and challenging game.

This living universe really works wonders on early stage games where traditionally almost nothing happens in global strategies before you face other factions. In addition, Sword of the Stars does something you don't often see in this genre of strategy games, it doesn't make all playable factions equal. Of course, everything starts with the same resources and planets, but each race behaves in a unique way - they have their own unique methods of traveling through space. It also binds the technology system to the factions: the game's technology tree is randomized for each new match, and each race has preferences for certain technologies.

Ship customization takes up most of the game, and you will spend some of your time just tweaking different ship designs. Like the Total War series, this game goes into real-time strategy mode when the shooting starts. You can give orders to your fleet, set battle formations, and watch as two groups of ships grind each other into space dust. Nice.

The Soviet Union is invading America and it's up to you to push them back. Gone are the days when you had to build a base and manage resources, you have command points and goals. If your units are destroyed, you can use your command points to call in reinforcements, and you must use your unit's strengths wisely, along with an impressive array of off-map abilities.

The single-player campaign is very cinematic and really pulls you in with the story. I almost wanted to join the Red Army after seeing the result of the Soviets storming West Berlin, and there is one scene in the middle of the game... well, I'll leave it up to you to figure it out for yourself. You basically play as a US Army officer helping to repel an invasion, but the Soviet Assault add-on adds missions from a Russian perspective, and this is critical to the backstory.

The game is a great example of tactical combat, taking advantage of the terrain, micromanaging troops, and it gets even better when you go online to play. Players can fight in matches with up to 16 players, and unlike a solo company, you must choose one of four roles for yourself, this will affect the units and auxiliary abilities available to you. Some roles are likely to be weaker against certain tactics, so you need to make sure you work alongside your teammates.

However, there is still no such problem that would not be solved by carpet bombing.

Buyer's guide: At the game World in Conflict there was only one addition - Soviet Assault. The add-on adds new missions to the story company for the USSR.

Best Large Scale RTS

Supreme Commander was the game that broke the PC, the demands on the processors were so high. This game is about the war of the future real-time strategy robo, it simplifies the management of resources and focuses more on building a beautiful war machine. You start with one indispensable device - the command machine, from which you build factories that produce units, they are necessary in order to wage war on your enemies.

The Player's army can potentially reach 1000 units, on land, at sea and in the air. You must carefully orchestrate a ballet of production, movement and attack, grinding your opponent down while keeping your command unit, as well as your factories and power grids, safe so that they can create more death machines. It's a brilliant and stunning game, and it's not for casual gamers.

Oddly enough, it was one of the few games that officially supported dual monitors, which meant you could have a scalable map on the second screen. It's a find, lets you keep your eyes on " big picture» combat, and is recommended if you are going to play seriously. There are few games that allow you to play on the same scale as Supreme Commander, and when you go to war on the Internet, that's when the real difficulties begin for you. Games like Starcraft require fast thinking and reaction speed, but they only allow you to manage with a couple of dozen units at most. Supreme Commander requires you to deal with a thousand units. Think about it.

Buyer's guide: There is no DLC for this game, only a standalone pack of the Forged Alliance expansion. It's better to get Forged Alliance, it fixes a lot of problems in the base game and also introduces an additional faction.

Best licensed strategy

If you are a fan of Star Wars, then this game is for you. Empire at War lets you take charge of the Galactic Empire or the Rebel Alliance and fight for galactic dominance. You take command of a mighty fleet and army; even send notable heroes like Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader into battle. You can also build a Death Star.

By far the best element of the game is the tactical space battles. Up to four players can fight on the same map (the map can have hazards such as asteroids or gas clouds), each player with their own space station, and the object of the game is simply to knock out your opponent by destroying his bases . Large ships, unlike small ones, have the ability to target, and can shoot down our weapons or shields, and many ships (and heroes) have special skills that can help turn the tide.

In addition to space battles, you can participate in land battles, lead a squadron of hover tanks or AT-AT walkers. This game is similar in mechanics to Total War in that it has a separate campaign interface where you manage an empire and your forces and then boot into the battle screen separately. The only difference is that everything happens in real time, and there are no queues.

It's pretty big game which will be even better for you if you are a fan of the Star Wars universe.

Buyer's guide: There is no DLC, and only one expansion, called Forged Alliance - adds a third faction, completely different from the two that already exist, and also adds new units, abilities, etc.

A long time ago, when Westwood Studios was masterfully creating real-time strategy games, they wondered "what if there was no Nazi Germany?" The script they designed in the original game red alert, wherein Soviet Union becomes omnipotent and freely conquers all of Europe. The original game sets the bar high, featuring two surprisingly diverse sides to the conflict, a dangerous arsenal of weaponry, and a heavy techno/metal soundtrack and story told through live video footage between missions. The second game in the series hits an even higher bar, arguably higher than almost any other Westwood Studios title.

Red Alert 2 followed the idea that the Allies defeated Stalin and his troops, after which they installed their puppet government in the USSR. Unfortunately for the Allies, the Soviets did not take their humiliation very well. They rebuilt their forces and attacked the Americans on all fronts. The game's plot is a bit contrived, but it sets the backdrop for an incredible series of playable campaigns for the Soviets and Allies, complete with plenty of impressive technology for both sides.

If that's not enough, you can go online and invite up to 7 of your buddies into battle. The game allows each player to choose a nation, with their own special units bringing an extra layer of strategy to each skirmish. Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 didn't become Westwood Studios' swansong, but it may have been their main work. After Red Alert 2, they'll have other good games, but nothing captures the Westwood spirit quite like their second Soviet/Allied RTS game.

Best grand strategy

The mighty flagship from Paradox Development Studio. The Europa Universalis series has always been strong, impressive, intricate and with a sandbox approach to strategy. But with this confusion came many problems. Bugs, dumb interfaces, and poorly explained mechanics can turn players off before they annex their first nation.

Europa Universalis IV changed all that. The game is still a tough nut to crack and will require a lot of effort from players, but it is by far the most user-friendly game in the series. And while its myriad systems are still bewildering, it's entirely possible to just jump in and carve out a niche in history.

This is a game from the series "what if?". What if, if Italy swept through Ottoman Empire with a huge mercenary army? What if England and France became best friends and divided Europe, and did not fight each other? What if Scotland ruled the world? What to do, if.

Buyer's guide: Europa Universalis 4 has a lot of DLC and unfortunately they are not all in one pack yet. You can buy them individually on Steam, however. Packs and other support items can be ignored if you wish, but it's still worth picking up Wealth of Nations and Conquest of Paradise.

Best 4X (Global) Strategy

The best game for 4X lovers with goblin fanatics and halfling wizards

Is the desire to resurrect and give the classic series a new life. This is a fantasy grand strategy.

There are a few scripted campaigns to play through, but the meat is in the randomly generated maps and customizable factions. Fundamentalist goblins can fight - with the help of holy war engines - elf industrialists, while armies of dire penguins march through the frozen wastelands. This is all amazingly stupid.

The game makes damn big fights. Multiple units can be linked together to create gigantic armies. Reminiscent of Total War sieges in terms of scope, but with well-thought-out turn-based combat and magic.

While diplomacy and city management are the weak side of the game, Age of Wonders shines during battles. An abundance of magic and special abilities, a diverse roster of units, and battlefields littered with obstacles make every battle a great puzzle.

Buyer's guide: You can buy Age of Wonders 3 on Steam, GOG etc., there is a DLC that expands the building mechanics and introduces the Hobit race.

The best strategy for Warhammer 40k

Dawn Of War is amazing. In many ways, it feels like a very traditional real-time strategy game, with a lot of building, strategy, and resource management. But looking at its predecessors, the game is similar to Company Of Heroes. We see Relic begin experimenting with morale, cover, units, and radically different factions.

Tension is at the heart of the whole game. The whole game is about advancing, capturing and holding territory. And all the time, resources are running out faster and generators are falling into disrepair. But the war machine constantly needs to be fed.

Addons expand the game by introducing more factions with their own unique mechanics. There are the dastardly Eldar, the bloodthirsty Orcs, the numerous Imperial Guards - each faction offers different ways to play the same game. A total of nine factions were added.

Dawn Of War 2 has received a lot of changes, with combat smaller and more focused on tactics over strategy. It's still a great game, but in moving away from the genre's tradition, Dawn Of War has lost some of its magic.

Buyer's guide: The base game and all expansions were collected in Warhammer 40K: Dawn Of War Master Collection.

Best sci-fi economic strategy

Anno 2070 has said goodbye to historical setting and Ubisoft's voluptuous economic strategy series is embarking on a post-environmental calamity of the future. The game is still about making money and expanding your influence on the islands, but instead of a medieval or colonial power, the game is floundering with an eco faction and polluting industrialists.

An unpleasant feeling of despair permeates throughout the game. The world is fighting to survive and in the hope of making a profit, the decisions that are made can put the world in an even worse position. And social and environmental challenges add a new dimension of complexity.

Technology has a huge impact. The factions aren't limited to their island homes, and can build underwater as well, creating algae farms or dirty oil rigs.

On November 8, the presidential elections began in the United States and the excitement associated with them is an excellent occasion to recall a whole class of strategies in which political intrigues and elections play a key role.

The DTF editors have compiled a selection of 6 of the best political simulations that you can find on the Steam store. All of them are different, but dedicated to the same thing: the ability to manage the masses and be their adored leader.

The Political Machine 2016

The Political Machine 2016 is the most up-to-date of the proposed games. This political simulator is entirely dedicated to the current US presidential elections. Here you have to choose from a variety of candidates (or create your own) and lead him to victory. As the fight progresses, you will plunge into the campaign routine: fly around the states, give speeches, scatter promises, collect donations and participate in televised debates.

Your challenger, like your opponent, has a large set of characteristics, such as influence on the media, intelligence and stamina. In addition, certain positions on the political spectrum are inherent in him from the very beginning. Of course, playing as Donald Trump, it would be wise to push the topic of immigration and gun rights, and Hillary in her speeches should not stutter about the ban on abortion.

In order to win, you will need at least a small amount of knowledge about the political cuisine of the United States. At a minimum, you need to understand what kind of speech to give in a particular state. For example, Texans lynch a candidate for a proposal to ban civilian guns, and Californians are guaranteed to love the promise of cannabis legalization.

The Political Machine 2016 was created by Stardock, which has previously distinguished itself with such serious and iconic things as Galactic Civilization (parts 2 and 3) and Sins of a Solar Empire. But you should not expect any depth from the election simulator. This is more of a parody project than a serious strategy. Unfortunately, you can only play as a Democratic or Republican candidate, and the monotonous gameplay will get boring in one evening. But the relevance on the eve of the elections is the maximum.

Democracy 3

Democracy 3 can scare away with its extremely laconic design. The game looks like a presentation in Power Point, but behind this plainness lies a deep and detailed strategy. In a sense, Democracy 3 continues the story of The Political Machine 2016. But here you have already become president and now you have to do something about it. Your goal is to survive the years of government, make reforms and be re-elected for the next term.

On a white sheet, in a schematic form, all the internal policies of your state are presented. Each of the points is one or another reform that can be customized to your liking. Here you are like the operator of a complex mechanism: by moving the sliders in one direction or another, you are leading the country to certain results. Various reforms affect different segments of the population, making their lives better or worse. If you want to run for a second term - if you please, do what the electorate expects from you.

Particular depth in Democracy 3 is achieved through mods from the Workshop, which introduce a lot of new reforms, laws, states and social classes into the game. However, everyone who dreamed of trying himself in the role of an ideal reformer president will be disappointed. Democracy 3 is a political simulation that requires you to be a cynical populist. Only by indulging the greedy and stupid crowd can you be elected for new terms.

Victoria 2

Victoria 2 is one of the hallmarks of the Paradox studio. In this global strategy, you can manage any of the two hundred states that existed between 1836 and 1936. Of course foreign policy, with its wars, alliances and colonization plays a big role here. But internal politics makes the strategy really deep.

In the role of the patron of the nation, you need to understand the intricacies of the economy and the social sphere, constantly maneuvering between different classes and national groups. In addition, the political structure of your country plays a huge role. Through successive reforms and decisions (always difficult ones), you shape the constitution and character of your nation. It is up to the player to decide whether to maintain a despotic monarchy or arrange a dictatorship of the proletariat, intervene in the economy or follow the path of liberalization.

Elections, especially in the later stages, play a huge role here. Your people, sooner or later, will want to have representatives in power and influence your decisions, whether you like it or not. Ignoring this is dangerous: by raising a rebellion and taking power into their own hands, your own subjects can destroy everything that you went to for dozens of hours of the game. But the most curious thing is that you will continue the game after the revolution, you just have to deal with a completely different formation. The desires of the people here are often more important than yours.

Crusader Kings 2

Crusader Kings 2 from the same Paradox company is much more devoted to the influence of a particular personality on history. Here you have to play the role of a sovereign who controls a medieval country and his own clan. Your ruler, like every vassal, has a unique set of characteristics that makes them their own. Fighting among themselves, entering into marriages and contracts, lobbying for this or that law, all these people influence the policy of the state.

Roughly speaking, Crusader Kings 2 is a small simulator on a global strategic map. But this does not mean that there are few variables here. Your ruler will have to endure all the hardships of the Middle Ages: the construction of fortresses and cities, the fight against the plague and barbarians, the suppression of uprisings and difficult religious decisions.

You are forced to simultaneously deal with your family, weaving intrigues and with the state, which is always on the verge of collapse here. Barely accepting Buddhism in Rus' and fighting off Tatar-Mongol yoke, you discover that your heir has grown psychopathic and is plotting to dethrone you. All this makes Crusader Kings 2 the best alternative history generator.

Despite the fact that the time of action is the Middle Ages, you will constantly have to deal with elections and voting among your vassals. Firstly, there are republics here with their own unique mechanics, and secondly, the monarch is often elected or depends on the opinion of the lords. Bribery, blackmail, election promises, and simply killing an opponent - Crusader Kings 2 has no equal in playing out these situations.

Masters Of The World: Geopolitical Simulator 3

At the moment Masters Of The World is the most detailed, reliable and detailed political simulator. Just like in Victoria 2, you are trying to bring your nation to prosperity while playing on the global map. In order not to turn the country into a hotbed of poverty and crime, you will have to do incredibly meticulous micromanagement. He is both the best part of the game and its curse.

On the one hand, being aware of absolutely everything and controlling absolutely all spheres of society is incredibly interesting. On the other hand, it also makes it protracted and even monotonous.

Citizens here will not be able to take a step without your edicts, decrees and laws, so leaving everything to chance is like death. Again, the game is not implemented in the best way: the interface is extremely sloppy and unfriendly, and there are quite a few bugs. In general, Masters Of The World is a very curious experience of total control of the nation, but at some point it all comes down to trying to keep the initially doomed state afloat.

Tropico 4

Tropico 4 - colorful strategy dedicated to the everyday life of a Latin American dictator ruling on a remote island in the Caribbean. The whole series is full of humor and satire and at first glance it is perceived as a simple city-building simulator. But behind its carnival atmosphere, many do not notice that this is also an excellent and even very reliable political simulator.

Literally every inhabitant of the island has its own character, class affiliation and political preferences. And all these individuals initially wanted to spit on their government.

However, the “El Presidente”, in the role of which the player acts, has a large number of mechanisms through which he can influence the situation and rule according to the “divide and rule” principle. Migration policy, wage levels, intelligence agencies, bribing trade unions and legislation - these and many other tools will help you stay in the post of dictator for the rest of your life.

The Tropico series is unique in the sense that it allows policy making at the micro and macro levels. Did the ration cut edicts go badly? You can independently catch each disgruntled resident and send him to a concentration camp. A school teacher instills hatred for the authorities in children? "El Presidente" has already been reported, and he will personally go to the school for an explanatory conversation.

Regular elections in the country are a separate attraction that forces the player to go for tricks, forgery of votes and bribing voters. As in Democracy 3, without knowing the intricacies of domestic politics, it will be impossible to be re-elected.

Economic strategies, where players take on the role of "Master" of the city, attract attention due to the ability to personally manage the economy and construction, and sometimes deal with the invasion of enemies and natural disasters. The most important thing in all this is the need to think with your head, because in order for the economy of your state to develop successfully, sometimes you have to make difficult decisions.

So, if you like economic strategy games and have a desire to play one of them, then check out our list of TOP 10 economic strategy games on PC.

10. Total War: Rome 2

Of course, this game can hardly be called an economic strategy, because in addition to the economy, it combines war and global strategy, but still it managed to take tenth place in our top, because Total War: Rome is one of the best global strategy games in which the player will have to stand at the head of one of the factions of ancient Rome in the period from 270 BC. to 14 AD

Prove that it is your family that deserves to become the most powerful and get all the power. Develop the economy of your faction in order to achieve success as quickly as possible.

9 Civilization 3

On the shoulders of the player will be the management of the whole state. It will be important to make economic and political decisions that will lead your state to triumph and make it great.

You can use any tactic to achieve victory. The recalcitrant can always be subdued with the sword, and with those who are afraid, peace negotiations can always be held and a common conclusion reached.

Prove that you are a talented ruler, and not a slob, unable to prudently manage the available resources.

8. Rise of Venice

A game that shows the world of economic strategies from a new perspective. After all, only here you have to deal with the unique Venetian architecture.

This game is undeniably worthy of taking a place in the top economic strategies. Main story line will introduce the player to the events of the 15th century during the heyday of Venice.

Rise of Venice will surprise the player with an unusual implementation of actions, as well as a rather intriguing gameplay. Keep in mind that the passage of the game will probably drag you out for one hour, and therefore it is better to do all the household chores in advance.

7. Anno 2070

Among lovers of economic strategies, the Anno series of games is one of the oldest and most beloved. The project is dedicated to the construction and development of their own cities of different eras. You have to deal with all aspects of economic life, from resource extraction to trade wars with competitors.

In Anno 2070, the player will have to manage a huge city. In order for the city to develop, it is important to control all areas of its life. Make sure that the townspeople live well in the city, otherwise they may just run away. Increase the population, improve existing buildings and erect new ones.

Each stage of construction carries with it certain problems, and therefore the player will be required to make serious and responsible decisions.

6. The Guild 2

The sixth position is occupied by another game related to economic strategies. Despite the fact that the game was released back in 2007, it still remains in demand among fans of this genre.

The Guild 2 will immerse the player in Europe of the Middle Ages. Passions boil, events heat up, and this makes it even more interesting. The story can change depending on the decisions the player makes, so when choosing something, think about how this decision can affect the future.

5. Cities XL 2012

Cities XL 2012 is considered the best economic strategy game of 2012. However, the game remains popular among fans of games of this genre to this day.

The player will take on the role of a major city planner. The peculiarity of this project is that it is necessary to build not one city, but several at the same time.

The player is offered more than 1000 different buildings and dozens of fairly detailed maps.

Please note that you have a huge responsibility for the citizens of the city and maintaining order and stability.

4 Civilization 5

And again Civilization. This time, the fifth part of the legendary series, which is one of the most famous in the field of economic strategies released for PC. Of course, all games in the series are good in their own way, but the fifth part of Civilization raised the bar to unprecedented heights.

In the fifth version of the game, more buildings appeared, everything became much more realistic and interesting. The player will have to take care of the development of his nation and lead it through the centuries. You will have to start with the most primitive society and smoothly move on to the present.

In order to make it easier to play, it is very important to earn the respect and love of the citizens of your city.

3 Port Royale 3

Port Royal 3 takes a well-deserved third position in the ranking of the best economic strategies.

The plot of the game is based on the events of the 17th century, taking place in the Caribbean. Just then, the conflict between France, Holland, Spain and England flares up.

The whole game is based on trading. You will have to deal with the production and sale of certain resources. Only you can choose to become an honest trader or earn a reputation as an adventurer.

2. Second place went to Stronghold: Crusader

This is a strategy that will tell about the famous Crusade. The player will take part in the battle for dominance in the Middle East, but most of the gameplay is not war, but the construction and development of the state's economy.

The game has become popular due to its beautiful graphics and commitment to the classics of the genre. The last part of the famous series called Stronghold Kingdoms for the first time gives players from all over the world the opportunity to clash in battle with each other.

1 SimCity

The first place undoubtedly goes to the best and one of the oldest in the category of economic strategy games series. The whole series has long been known to players, and for its unique gameplay, as well as the abyss of opportunities for the construction and development of a virtual city, it deserves to be in the first place.

Sim City player is the main creator, master, boss or God, whichever you prefer. You have to build not just a city, but a huge metropolis with its own economy and developed industry. It is worth noting that not everything is so simple, because a wide variety of difficulties can arise on the player's path, starting with natural disaster and ending with the invasion of alien forces.

The term "global strategy" comes from the English "grand strategy", and is applied to games that provide the player with the opportunity to control an entire state, planet or even civilization. Unlike their closest relatives (classic and), in which the gamer has to solve purely tactical tasks, also divided into separate missions, global strategies make it possible to deploy larger-scale activities, including economic, political, research and military components.

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A classic example of this very popular genre is the Civilization strategy series. It is considered classic not only because it stood at the origins of the genre, but also because its gameplay lacks the tactical component that dominates other strategies. This means that only the global map is available to the player, where all actions take place in a step-by-step mode, while the player takes minimal participation directly in battles. This feature has made global strategies a niche product, which, however, is in great demand among a certain audience of users - those for whom unhurried, complex development is more important than constant action and endless wars.

The revolution in the genre was made by the Total War series of games. In 2000, the first game in the series called Shogun was released, which combined two strategic modes: global turn-based and tactical in real time. In Shogun, armies were no longer abstract units, but consisted of concrete units that could be controlled on tactical maps. The project made a real sensation in the gaming environment and for a long time determined the development vector of the entire genre. The idea of ​​combining the two modes was consolidated in the sequel Medieval: Total War, in which the global map has noticeably expanded, and the tactical component has become much more diverse. Today, the practice of combining tactical and strategic modes is used by all the best global strategies, although the details of the gameplay, of course, may differ.

No less popular are global space-themed strategies. Projects such as Galactic Civilizations II, Master of Orion, Space Empires are familiar to every self-respecting gamer. In such games, entire solar systems and even constellations are under the control of the player, and the economic, research and political components are so deep and complex that the gameplay in them drags on for months.

The best 4X games on PC

1. Sid Meier's Civilization Series

One of the best strategic franchises in principle: Civilization is the development of mankind from flying into space, complex relationships with neighbors, which are often solved by nuclear volleys, an endless race for possession of the wonders of the world and cultural masterpieces, espionage, sabotage, revolution and other delights of a civilized society .

2. Total War series

Total War organically mixes the gameplay of global strategy and real-time strategy: on the general map, you move your troops in turn-based mode, manage cities and build diplomatic relations with competitors, and on the tactical one, you fight against enemy armies, leading squads of fighters as a commander.

In this series you will find games for every taste: historical, fantasy - only space games are missing. Separate editions of the Total War line will allow you to change the course of the Napoleonic Wars, influence the conquest of Europe by the Huns, fight for the British Isles, unite the feudal and even take part in a bloody war between humans, dwarves, and other fabulous factions.

3. Europa Universalis series

A line of strategy games in which you can completely redraw the political map of Europe. Moreover, it is proposed to do this not by military means (although this possibility is also present), but through complex diplomacy, the conclusion of alliances (including dynastic marriages), the establishment of a strong economy, control over religion and other opportunities.

Different editions of the franchise take players to different time periods. When choosing a game, you also choose the time with the corresponding historical events: you can colonize America, make a revolution in France, take part in Hundred Years War and so on.

4. Hearts of Iron Series

And this franchise, located in our top, is dedicated to a very small, but very important segment of human history - (as well as short periods before and after it). The action still unfolds in Europe, and you are given the opportunity to completely change the course of events: for example, conquer Germany as Poland, or reach Berlin as the USSR, continue moving west.

5. Stellaris

4X-strategy, which can really be called "global", because here the events cover neither more nor less - the whole galaxy! Hundreds of star systems can come under your control if you expand wisely, paying attention to both diplomacy and scientific research, and a strong economy, and powerful army. Otherwise, you will inevitably be swallowed up by a stronger galactic civilization.

6.Victoria II

In this global strategy, one of 200 countries falls under your control in a difficult period for mankind from the second half of the 19th century to the outbreak of World War II. This is a time of industrial revolutions, social upheavals and irresolvable contradictions between empires. Will you be able to raise the rating of your state above all rivals or will you perish under the yoke of external and internal problems?

7. Master of Orion 2

A classic (released back in 1996), but a strategy that is still dearly loved by fans who do not stop releasing patches, mods and other content for it. Master of Orion 2 is dedicated to the conquest of space, and you can be sure that it will surprise you more than once with detailed gameplay, smart AI and an abundance of unusual situations. In 2016, the Master of Orion series received a remake from the company, but although it is very well done, it does not reach the level of the original games.

8. Crusader Kings 1-2

9 Endless Space

Another strategy about space conquest on our list. True to its name, the space here is almost endless - there is enough space for the expansion of the galactic strategy. Interestingly, Endless Space (as well as its sequel) is part of the Endless Universe line, which for 2018 includes several games in different genres: in addition to the 4X strategy Endless Space, on PC you can download the Endless Legend global strategy in the spirit of Civilization and hybrid and Dungeon of the Endless.

10. Galactic Civilizations Series

The last franchise in our ranking is also dedicated to the conquest of galaxies. Don't be fooled by the cartoony visual style of Galactic Civilizations: challenging gameplay with planetary , construction , multi-level diplomacy and epic battles awaits you.