Turn-based strategy (TBS) games are something like chess--they include built-in pauses, in which you can consider your tactics and plan the defeat your opponent. A TBS title allows you to build a formidable army and use the skills and abilities of each unit to inflict maximum damage on enemy units. Moves made by your opponent may force you to change your strategy, and this aspect makes battle more engaging.
Over is 25 Turn Based Strategy Games for iOS & Android

Android Featured IOS Strategy Turn base

12:44:00 PM

You will find plenty of puzzle, arcade, sports and action games on your iOS device. However, few turn based strategy (TBS) titles are available on iPhone or iPad. The good thing is that most iOS TBS games are impressive as PC games. Some offer tactical gameplay, others are a mixed bag.

I know all you PC gamers would frown upon the idea of playing a tactical game on a small screen space when you have a bigger LCD monitor to get a perfect view. Playing a TBS game on a 3.5 inch touch screen isn’t disappointing at all. It adjusts very well within the small screen estate, plus your device's touch-screen makes it very easy for you to maneuver units, fire at enemies and get your strategy right. Here's a rundown of the some of the best games that make the most of your device's touch screen to provide a satisfying gameplay experience.

1. Skulls of the Shogun

Skulls of the Shogun is a stunning TBS game set in the underground, where ghoulish samurais fight their hearts out to gain supremacy in the field of war. The game is fast-paced, has excellent graphics and great presentation. However, Skulls of the Shogun isn’t an easy game to win. The AI is smart and will make the right moves to ensure your troop gets vanquished in no time. There’s a tutorial mode, but the real fight starts right after the basics are explained. Trust me it’s one hell of a hard game to finish.

Battles are standard turn-based affair, with limited number of actions for each unit. You can recruit new units throughout the game in order to have a stronger defense and a good counter attack strategy. You will need to make the most of archers, monks and cavalry to send a strong message to your enemies. One unique aspect of gameplay is the ability to “devour” the skulls of the dead enemy to restore health. This adds more depth to the overall gameplay.

Skulls of the Shogun is one game you should not miss playing on your iOS device. It challenges players to rethink their strategy (the game has lots of replay value). The stylish visuals, presentation and challenging gameplay clearly makes it one of the top turn-based strategy games for iPhone and iPad.

2. Crimson: Steam Pirates

Crimson: Steam Pirates

One of my dream themes for a TBS game was naval combat/pirate battles. Developers Bungie Aerospace has made my dreams come true. Crimson: Steam Pirates teleports players to the world of pirate ships.

This visually-enticing game looks like a slick graphic novel, but ends up as an engaging TBS title. Players can explore islands, embark on a treasure-hunting journey and battle rival pirate ships and zeppelins. The game's gripping story slowly unfolds as the virtual "torned" pages of a journal explain the story bit by bit.

Crimson: Steam Pirates’ strategy is not limited to turn-based combat. It relies on several factors, such as speed, the number of crew members on a pirate ship and additional units, such as air balloons, which give additional assault support to defeat enemy pirate ships.

The full-scale pirate battle looks great from a birds-eye view, giving you full control of your fleet. You can easily distinguish your ships from the enemy ships and use their abilities to win battles. If you like to add some steam to your game collection, play Crimson, because it is it is by far the best naval strategy game for the mobile platform.

3. Hitman Go

I am a big fan of all Hitman games, but was a bit baffled when I heard that developers Square Enix Montreal decided to launch a mobile strategy title. However, the gamble to infuse chess-like gameplay style into the traditional sneak-and-kill mechanics has paid off surprisingly well. Hitman Go’s board game style, the visuals and unique gameplay mechanics is brilliant to say the least.

In every mission, you will be moving Agent 47 from one point to another without being spotted. There will be guard pieces patrolling an area, which can be taken care of by sneaking up on them and eliminating them from behind (or from the sides) or by distracting them by throwing rocks or tennis balls.

All missions are little puzzles in themselves, and they require players to reach a target or finish a game in 10-15 turns or less. You will also have a chance to snag a disguise of two, which will help Agent 47 blend with the guards. Occasional use of sniper rifles and silverballers to kill enemies add more fun to the board game. Fans of Hitman will find this pocket strategy title interesting, but not as immersive as PC titles.

4. Civilization Revolution

Civilization Revolution is not for the impatient. It’s a slow-paced TBS mobile title best suitable for single-play, because the multiplayer mode would require two even-tempered players to slowly evolve their civilization from Stone Age to the Atomic Age, which may take days, even months to finish.

Revolution should be played on your iPad, because everything, from maps to units looks great on the big screen. The artwork of each unit, soldier and leader is quite detailed, but the animated battles could be impressive if they were shown on a larger screen.

While Civilization Revolution is a slow-paced game, it mainly lets players focus on his/her civilization’s culture, military, technology or economy. Some elements have been omitted, and thankfully so, otherwise gameplay would have been excruciatingly boring. All in all, it’s a good game and will suit those who are looking for a nice little pocket historical strategy game for their iOS device.

5. Battle Nations

Battle Nations

Part turn-based strategy, part resource management, Battle Nations (BN) follows the traditional TBS game mechanics. It lets you place soldiers and assault units on a small grid and strategically position them to get a tactical advantage over enemy units.

BN follows the rock/paper/scissor mechanic. You will need to ascertain the strengths and weaknesses of each unit before choosing them for battle. When in combat, each turn lasts only for 20 seconds. You will have to be extra careful in positioning key units and have to be quick enough to place units/attack opposing forces before the timer runs out.

Battle Nations' premise is very much like any war game sim. The colorful graphics and animations are spectacular. The attention to detail of each army unit and the terrain is amazing. The visuals look more like the polished version of Advance Wars. So get ready with your flame throwers, tanks and snipers and battle AI/friends via the multiplayer mode in this epic TBS game.

Uniwar

6. Uniwar

One of the first TBS titles to hit the mobile platform, Uniwar combines the galactic battles of StarCraft with gameplay mechanics borrowed from Advance Wars and has a lengthy 21-mission campaign.

A short tutorial explains key gameplay aspects and immediately takes players to the first campaign map. The controls are very simple, making it easy for even non-TBS fans to get used to it.

Along with the campaign mode, there are plenty of individual maps to explore. Local multiplayer mode allows players to play with 20 online friends. The player will receive notifications via email for any moves made by his friends. That doesn't mean the The AI isn't impressive. It throws a good challenge, but playing with random opponents online can be fun. If you like hex-based strategy games and are into futuristic settings, you will love playing Uniwar.

7. Rogue Planet

Rogue Planet

Rogue Planet offers pure, unadulterated strategy fun. Most TBS games released for the iPhone are a mixed bag (i.e. combine RPG with TBS elements). But this game sticks to traditional TBS.

The game has a gripping storyline, spectacular map design and smooth controls. The animated 3D artwork is too good. The animated combat will remind you of games like Advance Wars. Besides top-notch graphics, Rogue Planet offers some good strategic gameplay. Gameplay surprises like Kamikaze makes things more interesting. It allows units to self-destruct. Doing so destroys any nearby units. As you progress, the enemy AI becomes more difficult and challenging.

The current version has a multiplayer mode, which is great news for online players. The detailed visuals in the iPhone 4S versions look even more stunning than the 3GS version. Trust me guys, Rogue Planet is a steal!

8. Rad Soldiers

Rad Soldiers visuals remind me of Team Fortress. The gameplay mechanics is similar to X-Com: Enemy Unknown. It’s a simple turn-based strategy shooter that leaves plenty of room for team tactics. Every unit type has its own abilities which add more depth in tactical combat. However, each unit has a fixed energy count. You need to juggle between positions and firing options keeping in mind the energy currency. Good energy management, position and firing options will decide the mission outcome.

The game’s top-down visuals are simply brilliant. You can pinch-zoom to see each unit in action. The units respond with grunts and other taunts for each command you give. Its excellent touch screen controls allow players to rotate the screen and view the positions of soldiers behind cover.

Rad Soldiers is a marvelous game because it gives enough space for strategy. While the objectives are a bit repetitive in nature, the graphics and gameplay is brilliant.

9. Mecho Wars

Mecho Wars

Another iPhone turn-based strategy game with a sci-fi theme, Mecho Wars is inspired by Advance Wars. The game has a pretty vague story, but the strategy is flawless. Moreover, the inclusion of time and environmental elements forces players to change their strategy every time, which makes gameplay quite challenging. Watery areas freeze during morning, which allows land units to pass over them. But as time passes, the ice melts. This strategy element will force you to make an early move and inch in closer to your opponents. During combat, the split screen will show splendid animated battle between the two forces.

Mecho Wars has a host of strange alien species to encounter. Most have bizarre insect-like features. The alien artwork variety is excellent, so is the colorful background. If you are a fan of sci-fi strategy, this game is worth a gander.

10. Battle for Wesnoth

Battle for Wesnoth

This fantasy strategy title offers a nice combination of role-playing and TBS gameplay. While the visuals aren’t that epic, the gameplay has plenty of tactical moments to keep gamers glued to their seats for hours. It will take more than 100 hours to complete 200 challenging campaign scenarios.

Wesnoth’s campaign scenarios are for serious strategy gamers. Battles are designed for shrewd gamers who would love to use their very best units to defeat enemies. The one gripe I have is the game’s slow frame-rate. This makes scrolling a bit frustrating. It takes time, especially when I click on a unit, scroll down and click on the area to move it.Thankfully, the game has an option that lets me speed up unit movements.Despite some hiccups, Battle for Wesnoth gets my thumbs up because of its depth and variety.

Featured IOS Strategy Turn base

11:13:00 AM

Turn-based strategy (TBS) games are something like chess--they include built-in pauses, in which you can consider your tactics and plan the defeat your opponent. A TBS title allows you to build a formidable army and use the skills and abilities of each unit to inflict maximum damage on enemy units. Moves made by your opponent may force you to change your strategy, and this aspect makes battle more engaging.

For Android, there are a few satisfying turn-based strategy games, covering a range of genres like wargame, fantasy, and squad-based combat. Here are six titles available on the Google Play Store.

1. Hunters: Episode One

Hunters: Episode One is a tactical turn-based title with focus on team-based tactics and combat. Played from a top-down perspective, this squad-level combat game lets you command a ragged team of heavily-armed ruthless mercenaries as they storm into enemy territory blasting anything that comes in their way. But don’t expect it to be a fast-paced action game. It’s a rather slow, tactical game that gives you ample time to plan your tactics and use your small team to inflict maximum damage on enemy territory.

Missions are generally focused on tactical kills and fetching objects of interest. Maps are varied, and the game gets regular mission updates. However, one needs to be online to get new missions and maps. Completing missions lets you earn in-game cash, which can be used to upgrade mercenary armor, weapons, and other equipment.

Movement and attack rely on action points. One must use these precious points strategically to ensure maximum kills. Visuals are slick and quite polished. Maps are designed to ensure a challenging gameplay. One can easily zoom in to get a closer look at combat or zoom out to get a “bird’s eye” view of the battlefield. PlayHunters on your Android tablet PC to witness superb graphics and excellent character models.

“Hunters” has plenty of surprises in store for strategy gamers. The $5 price tag may irk many players, but they won’t be disappointed with the gameplay.

2. Hoplite

Hoplite is a turn-based strategy game with a hexagonal play area. Inspired by dungeon-crawling games, this TBS title puts you into the boots of a warrior. Armed with a spear and shield, your 8-bit hero must find a way to recover the “Fleece of Yendor”. You guide him through the underworld, avoiding or killing demolitionists, demon archers, and footmen.

Each level has a uniquely hexagonal game board where enemies are randomly placed on stone tiles. You will need to move your character tile-to-tile to the end point to reach the next level. And because moves are turn-based, you have plenty of time to think about your next move. A proper tactical approach would be to move away and hit enemies using your spear, a long-range weapon. Getting past those quick-footed enemies is tough, so you must get your tactics right. Fortunately, there are plenty of new tactics to discover every time you jump into a new hexagonal game board.

Hoplite’s first 16 levels are free to play, but you will need to spend cash to download additional levels. The premium version also allows unlocks achievements and new power-up choices at the temple.

3. Great Big War Game

Great Big War Game

A large-scale turn-based strategy title, Great Big War Game adds a cartoon-like flavor to the war game genre. The game focuses on land, air, and sea skirmishes fought between the Red and the Blue army. Its large 50-mission single-player campaign presents various objectives, such as rescuing and escorting personnel to a safe zone, assassinating enemy generals, and building a strong defense against the Red army. The game’s riotous one-liners and funny moments are a comical take on intense military battles.

In Great Big War Game’s turn-based combat, Red and Blue teams take turns moving and attacking each other on a hex grid, using a variety of units, including snipers, bazookas, and rocket launchers, as well as an assortment of air and naval units. There’s also some resource-digging, which involves collecting money from captured oil fields. The money can later be used to buy advanced units. Upgrades can be made using battle points, which are earned throughout the campaign mission.

Multiplayer skirmishes against human opponents are far more engaging than battling AI enemies. But both players must be online to ensure combat takes place quickly.

Visually, Great Big War Game is way ahead of its competitors. The 3D graphics are top-notch and the cartoonish characters and units are adorable. If you love strategy games, then you should not miss this epic war game.

4. Battle for Mars

 If you have played games like Advance Wars, then you might be familiar withBattle for Mars’s turn-based mechanics. Instead of fighting enemies on terrestrial territories, you will be taking on evil Martians on the Red Planet. The futuristic Android turn-based strategy game allows players to recruit units of different abilities, not just soldiers but mechanical combatants like Bomb Bots, Sniper Bots, Rocket Robots, and Transport Bots.

Deploying these units takes thought. The map layout forces players to adopt different tactics for the varied terrains. There are more than 15 large-scale mission maps, each more complicated and challenging than the other.

The game’s 2D visuals are adorable, with units of futuristic design. Battle for Mars's artwork and design seem to have come right out of alien B movies. The game is available in two versions: free (one map) and paid (which contains all 16 maps). The paid version also has a multiplayer mode to battle online players.

5. Greed Corp.

Greed Corp., an excellent fun game, stands out from the crowd with its destruction-centric gameplay and endearing visuals. Set in a steam punk universe, this game lets you control adorable mechanical beasts that destroy rival beasts and grab territory, all in a hexagonal grid where you and your enemies try out every means of destroying each other.

Besides battles, the game also focuses on resource-harvesting and unit-building. The game’s uniqueness lies in its destructible terrain. Building anything will blow up a chunk of the hexagonal grid. The crumbling hex columns are a treat to watch. Destroying enemy units and buildings help eliminate factions. The last one to survive is the winner.

There are some really fun units to build, including cannons to destroy enemy hex columns, cutesy walkers to grab land, and transport units to carry walkers to another location. The game has a multiplayer mode where you can topple rival online players off of hex columns. But the single-player campaign mode is plenty large, and each mission offers plenty of fun moments.

Greed Corp. has a single-player mode with over 20 unique destructible maps, and a multiplayer mode that lets you play against online and local players via Wi-Fi. It looks more like a board game than a TBS title, but it is extremely addicting.

6. King's Bounty: Legions

A fantasy turn-based strategy game for Android, Legions pits you against an army of monsters and warlords in a hexagonal battleground filled with secrets and treasure chests. This Android spinoff of the popular King's Bounty series keeps the intense turn-based combat intact and offers a variety of quests.

Quest-based combat is fun and allows you to battle deadly opponents with a host of units: knights, pirates, dragons, and anthropomorphic characters, armed with their own weapons and skills. Units can be upgraded to improve their attack and defense skills.

Turn-based battles are more like a game of chess, where you and your opponent take turns tapping on a hexagon to move units and tapping on enemies to launch attacks. There will be ranged attacks in the form of deadly spells, which can be launched from a distance. Offensive and defensive spells play an important part of your strategy. Once the battle is over, you can gather loot from the eliminated armies. The loot can later be used to craft new items, weapons, and equipment.

You will need to be online to play this game, which may be frustrating for some but necessary because many elements require an Internet connection to load. The game graphics are bright, colorful, and gorgeous. You will just adore those lovely visual effects when you cast a spell on your opponents.

The environment is quite lively and the animation is top-notch. The game is optimized for Android tablet PCs powered by NVIdia Tegra3, and may require a faster processor to ensure smoother gameplay. A must-download game, if you love lengthy strategic campaigns and intense turn-based combat.

Android Featured Strategy Turn base

11:03:00 AM

If you're looking for Steam games to run on an older laptop or a touchscreen device, turn-based strategy is a great genre. It rarely demands top-notch computing power and will wait patiently for you to fiddle with clumsy controls.

Even if you're just an everyday Steam gamer, top strategy titles are always worth a look. It's a neglected genre in the mainstream, yet contains so many unique titles. If you want a break from twitch gaming or role-playing, the mental workout of strategy can satisfy like nothing else.

So here's our top picks for gamers looking for a change of pace. A mix of introductory and in-depth titles with a particular eye toward those that work well on mobile. All of them guaranteed to give the gray matter a good stretch.

Sid Meier's Civilization V


Let's get this out of the way first: the most popular and accessible 4X (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate) game around.

Some say its predecessor Civ IV is more demanding and compelling. Which it might be for micromanagement maniacs. For the rest of us, the smooth balance of positional, diplomatic, and economic strategy offered by this game is a safer bet.

The chance to re-create human history in a randomly generated world is rarely less than enthralling. And a choice of play styles, world seeds, and difficulty levels ensures an almost limitless play time.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown

Staying with getting the most obvious choices out of the way first, here's the strategy smash of the decade.

Again, an approachable interface hides a cybernetic fist of strategic depth underneath. Add in the role-playing elements of gradually nurturing a squad of soliders toward elite status in a demanding environment and you've got a sure-fire winner.

The game also achieves a rare satisfying marriage of tactical and strategic elements. While famed for its combat missions, managing the whole XCOM enterprise is equally fun, and can be just as deadly if you make a bad choice.

Invisible, Inc.

One of the more obviously derivative spawn of XCOM turns out, on inspection, to not be derivative at all. Rather than a combat title, Invisible Inc is an almost unique stealth strategy game.

Your task is to guide agents through corporate buildings, hacking terminals for tasty secrets. Quiet is the order of the day, with missteps ratcheting up the security level in an unbearable corkscrew of tension.

Add in procedural generation, role-playing elements and terrifying time limits, to make one of the best indie games of the year so far.

X-COM: UFO Defense

Some gamers might not realise that XCOM is an up to date version of a much older game, originally released in 1993.

The presentation is as bad as you might expect by modern standards. The gameplay, however, doesn't feel like it's aged a day. This is the ancestor of almost all modern squad tactics titles.

It's also quite different from its modern day descendants. Most notably in its punishing level of challenge. Anyone who's already suffered at the hands ofXCOM might find that surprising, but seeing of the aliens is all the more satisfying as a result.

Chaos Reborn

The XCOM franchise is the brainchild of developer Julian Gollop. One of his earliest commercial games was fantasy strategy title Chaos on the ZX Spectrum.

What made is special was the simple mechanic for illusions. Wizards could summon creatures with a risk of failure, or cast an illusion that always worked. However, everyone had a disbelieve spell that destroyed illusions - at the cost of wasting that turns' casting slot.

This simple yet brilliant dynamic is intact for this modern remake. Along with better graphics, collectibles, stats, options, online multiplayer, and all the other bells and whistles we've come to expect.

Skulls of the Shogun

Quality fantasy strategy games like the latter pick can be hard to come by. Which makes it all the more surprising that this little gem, a hit on mobile, seems to have passed so many Steam gamers by.

The action follows a murdered Samurai into a violent afterlife to seek revenge. The tone is a fantastic blend of horror and humour.

What makes Skulls stand out, though, is the way it grafts difficult decisions onto simple mechanics. Do you attack the enemy, move to a defensive position, or eat someone's skull? It's a harder choice than it might sound.

King's Bounty: Armored Princess

There's a long and distinguished history of fusing fantasy strategy with role-playing. But most titles in this group tend toward the latter.

Not so Armoured Princess. Good job, too, since the narrative elements are mostly dire, as typified by the egregious bikini armour of the box cover.

If you can get past that, then the turn-based game beneath is a treat. The strategic layer sees you recruiting, training and maintaining an army. While tactical skirmishes seamlessly weave sword and sorcery together.

Endless Legend

If you want something fantastic but on a grander scale, you won't do better than this recent fusion of fantasy and 4x.

It takes two genres which are both defined and constrained by their stereotypes and blends them with a skilled eye on what to keep and what to tweak.

The result is at once comforting yet challenging. And also manages to be approachable without sacrificing the epic scope of a civilization game.

Unity of Command: Stalingrad Campaign

Turn-based strategy is synonymous with a certain genre of historical wargame. These titles have an often-deserved reputation for being confusing and inaccessible. Unity of Command turns that on its head.

With smooth graphics and simple mechanics, it brings the strategy of the Second World War alive for anyone and everyone. But don't mistake ease of access for ease of play: it's a demanding, realistic game with an AI that will punish your mistakes.

Interlocking historical scenarios given the game a grand narrative sweep. If you've any interest at all in military simulations, this is the place to start.

Order of Battle: Pacific

And if you're into World War 2 strategy, this is the place to continue.

The action has shifted to the island-hopping of the Pacific campaigns. It's epic in scope but eases the player in gently, like slipping into a warm bath. By the time you're in full flow, juggling supply lines for hundreds of unit types across the ocean, you'll hardly notice.

Plus it makes a breeze of spreading the action across land, sea and air, something that's eluded almost every game set in the Pacific before.

Panzer Corps

The previous entry owes an awful lot to this title which, in turn, owes and awful lot to the classic Panzer General series of the 90's. Wargame designers don't like to waste good ideas.

It gets that vital balance of being approachable yet deep right from the off, and keeps it across all its campaigns.

And those campaigns cover all the titanic clashes on the Eastern Front that you've read about. Stalingrad, Kursk, and Moscow transform from dots on the map to the epicenter of colossal battles.

Jagged Alliance 2 Gold

The majority of the games on this list focus on strategy over tactics. Which is a shame in some ways. Because what you lose in terms of epic sweep you gain in intimacy.

There's no better proof of this than the Jagged Alliance games, which see you nurture a squad of mercenaries through a series of demanding missions. You'll get to know each one, and the stories they carve across the map will be burned in your memory.

Plus, there's a suprisingly modern role-playing feel to the stats and inventory management in this game for a title released over fifteen years ago.

Featured Strategy Turn base

10:45:00 AM