Nothing quite commands attention like a strategy game. Days when you've got no plans whatsoever and have to be absolutely nowhere are meant for sitting in front of your rectangle of choice and losing yourself in the inner workings of an imaginary world.
And you don't always want to be doing that against other people! There's nothing wrong with that; the AI was likely your first virtual enemy growing up, and your primary enemy, it shall remain. When you're itching to find a strategy game to keep you hooked for hours on end, here are some that deserve a look:
10 Europa Universalis IV
Europa Universalis 4
Platform(s) PC Released August 13, 2013 Developer(s) Paradox Development Studio Publisher(s) Paradox Interactive
Almost certainly the most complex game on this list, and quite possibly one of the most complex games ever made, Europa Universalis cuts no corners when it comes bringing absurd amounts of detail into the grand strategy space.
Having been supported for years now, it has plenty of DLC and new features added since launch, making this a game you can really make a three-course meal out of.
While this complexity might scare off newer players, it's definitely worth the learning curve, if you can weather it. Youtube (and TheGamer) is full of tutorials on how everything works, and with a little bit of studying up, you'll have a game that can keep your attention for a long time to come.
9 Crusader Kings 3
Crusader Kings 3
Platform(s) PS5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , PC Released September 1, 2020 Developer(s) Paradox Interactive Publisher(s) Paradox Interactive
Part grand strategy, part simulation, part RPG, Crusader Kings (in particular CK3) has it all. Commanding your medieval house through its lineage takes a certain kind of commitment. That commitment might be playing it safe. Playing it honorably. Being someone your subjects can be proud of.
Or, it could mean threatening, murdering, and blackmailing your way into a higher seat of power. Who is there to judge when everyone who knows what actually happened is dead? Crusader Kings might give you a glimpse into what you're willing to do for power, and while you might not like what you find, it will definitely be entertaining.
8 Total War
Total War: Warhammer 3
Platform(s) PC Released February 17, 2022 Developer(s) Creative Assembly Publisher(s) Sega
Total War as a franchise spans countless games, but many of them have the same strategic meat to them. That's not to say they're carbon copies of each other; far from it. But many of these games share similar grand strategy elements to them, combining some real-time strategy with over-arching, turn-based elements sprinkled throughout.
And because of the many different iterations, it's likely Total War has hit whatever flavor it is you happen to be looking for. Itching for a dark fantasy? There are a few Total War: Warhammer's that have you covered. Looking for something more historical? From Attila to Napoleon to Rome and plenty in between, look no further.
7 Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Platform(s) Nintendo Switch Released July 26, 2019 Developer(s) Intelligent Systems Publisher(s) Nintendo
Another strategy/RPG hybrid, Fire Emblem: Three Houses takes a very cool concept and does a lot with it. You play as someone invited to teach one of the three houses of an… unusual school. What you teach your students will be brought directly onto the battlefield as you fight together against increasingly difficult forces.
Planning what exactly you do with your time is going to very important in this iteration of Fire Emblem, as well as managing not just your own friendships with your students, but helping manage their own friendships, as well. Plus, there's no need to have knowleadge of any Fire Emblem lore going into this, making this a perfect entry to the Fire Emblem series.
6 Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
Platform(s) Switch Released August 29, 2017 Developer(s) Ubisoft Milan , Ubisoft Paris Publisher(s) Ubisoft
Practically no one expected this game to be quite the game that it was when it came out, but it blew the expectations out of the water.
Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle thoughtfully combined the world of Mario and the Rabbids together, creating a world that is genuinely delightful and consistently funny to travel around. It's a wonderfully designed world, with the occasional puzzle mixed in for flavor.
This game also does not cheap out on the strategy elements; the turn-based combat is fantastic here, perfecting mechanics from other games and adding in plenty of mechanics that are entirely new to this one, and are perfect themselves, too.
It's intuitive enough for anybody to pick up and play, while complex enough that anyone who's a fan of turn-based strategy has no excuse in skipping it.
5 Stellaris
Stellaris
Platform(s) PC , PS4 , Xbox One Released May 9, 2016 Developer(s) Paradox Development Studio Publisher(s) Paradox Interactive
For sci-fi-flavored grand strategy, Stellaris is one you can't afford to ignore. Easy enough for anyone familiar with the genre to pick up and have a working understanding of, it's got plenty of elements entirely unique to it to still have its own vibe entirely.
While it's certainly complex, Stellaris would be a good example of a game that someone entirely unfamiliar with this style of strategy game could pick up and learn, as well. It's got a fairly good tutorial system, and one of the more straightforward HUDs in the genre.
4 XCOM
XCOM 2
Platform(s) PS4 , Xbox One , Switch , PC , Android , iOS Released February 5, 2016 Developer(s) Firaxis Games Publisher(s) 2K Games
One of the titans of the turn-based strategy genre, XCOM is a no-brainer inclusion here. XCOM 2 in particular nearly perfected the franchise, with immense replayability even without the inclusion of mods or DLCs.
Fighting off an armed alien invasion has never felt so methodical, yet so emotional, and there are plenty of decisions you're going to be making mid-battle that are either going to make you fist-pump the air, or your eyes in quiet horror. XCOM is a game that you cannot help investing in, and rewards that investment with a very, very good time.
3 Civilization
Sid Meier's Civilization 6
Platform(s) PS4 , Xbox One , Switch , PC , Android , iOS Released October 21, 2016 Developer(s) Firaxis Games Publisher(s) 2K Games
Almost certainly the most popular grand strategy game, Civilization is a long-running series that's continually updating itself. Each iteration has a slightly new flavor to it, while still maintaining the soul that makes Civilization so recognizable apart from every other grand strategy out there.
What Civ has going for it is simplicity. That's not to say Civ is not complex, because it most certainly is; but every mechanic in Civ is funneled organically into the same system, making it probably the easiest to understand of the genre. It's easy to jump into a game of Civ and learn the mechanics just by taking some time to see how things work, and it's possible to start and finish an entire game of Civ in one sitting, making it a very rewarding experience.
2 Darkest Dungeon
Darkest Dungeon
Platform(s) PS4 , PS Vita , Xbox One , Switch , PC , iOS Released January 19, 2016 Developer(s) Red Hook Studios Publisher(s) Red Hook Studios
One of the most difficult turn-based strategy games ever made, Darkest Dungeon treats characters like the people they are, giving them quirks, both positive and negative.
A character might bleed often throughout a dungeon run, and develop a negative quirk causing them to bleed more easily in the future. On the flipside, they might resist the horrors of the dungeon, and accrue less stress in that dungeon in the future.
It's a game that includes a graveyard for a reason. Throughout your journey, characters are going to die. They will breathe their last breaths in horrific, unthinkable conditions, either due to your own decisions, or as victims of their own negative personality traits. But fear not. More travelers are always looking to join the fight.
1 Marvel's Midnight Suns
Marvel's Midnight Suns
Platform(s) PC , PS4 , PS5 , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S Released December 2, 2022 Developer(s) Firaxis Games Publisher(s) 2K Games
An absolute masterpiece of a game that inexplicably sold poorly due to people seeing a card in a game and deciding they weren't capable of playing it, Marvel's Midnight Suns is another turn-based strategy game that should be shown as an example of just what the genre can achieve.
Part turn-based stategy, part simulation, and part RPG, it's a game that has so much in it that you would expect one system has to be some kind of a letdown, but you'd be wrong. Every single system in Midnight Suns is just as well-thought-out as the last, meaning no matter what you're doing, you're going to be having a good time.
