Best Grand Strategy

Total Annihilation is a real-time strategy game developed by Cavedog Entertainment and distributed by GT Interactive. Released in 1997, the original title featured two expansion packs, *The Core Contingency* and *Battle Tactics*, alongside a medieval spin-off, *Total Annihilation: Kingdoms*. These t...

Civilization is a turn-based strategy game where players guide a human civilization through millennia. Gameplay involves managing urban development, exploration, and military affairs alongside diplomacy with competing AI civilizations. The game’s scope encompasses technological research, government...

Rome: Total War is a strategy video game created by The Creative Assembly and initially released by Activision in 2004. Subsequent versions for Mac OS X, iPad, iPhone, and Android were developed by Feral Interactive and published by Sega. It represents the third installment within the Total War seri...

Stellaris offers a sprawling 4X (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) experience set in a procedurally generated galaxy. Players build interstellar empires, encountering diverse alien civilizations, engaging in diplomacy or warfare, and researching advanced technologies. The game's strength lies i...

Master of Orion is a turn-based strategy game where players control one of ten alien races within a procedurally generated galaxy. Gameplay focuses on expanding influence through exploration, colonization, technological advancement, and strategic interaction with other civilizations. The objective i...

Total War: Shogun 2 is a strategy game created by Creative Assembly and released by Sega in 2011. The title represents the seventh installment within the Total War franchise, revisiting the historical period of Japan following previous entries focused on European conflicts. It returns to the setting...

The New Order: Last Days of Europe is a Grand Strategy game mod for Hearts of Iron IV. It presents an alternate history scenario where Nazi Germany achieved victory in World War II and continues to rule Europe in 2020. Players control the Reich or resistance factions, navigating a drastically altere...

Crusader Kings III excels in its character-driven gameplay, where your dynasty's survival and success hinge on the actions and relationships of your rulers. The games intricate web of intrigue, marriage, inheritance, and warfare creates emergent narratives that are often more compelling than any scr...

Medieval II: Total War is a grand strategy video game that allows players to command armies and influence events within medieval Europe and the Middle East during the 13th century. The game’s detailed historical setting and tactical gameplay provide an immersive experience for those interested in mi...

Crusader Kings II is a complex computer wargame simulating medieval European dynasties from the 9th to 15th centuries. Players manage rulers, navigate familial relationships, engage in diplomacy and warfare, and strive for succession. It’s notable for its deep historical simulation and emergent stor...

After Yang Wen-li successfully captures the Iserlohn Fortress, the Free Planets Alliance grows bolder in its militaristic ambitions. With recent incursions into Galactic Empire territory and the possession of a perfect beachhead, the Alliance is now able to deal significant damage to the Empire. How...

Mount & Blade: Warband is a medieval strategy video game where players forge their own destiny within a vast sandbox world. Set during the early Middle Ages, it allows for deep strategic gameplay involving warfare, diplomacy, and character development. The game’s realistic combat system and expansiv...

Marquis Reinhard von Lohengramm's plot to destabilize the Free Planets Alliance succeeds when the treacherous former Rear Admiral Arthur Lynch instigates a coup on Heinessen. Equipped with a plan crafted by Reinhard himself, Lynch encourages his longtime friend Admiral Dwight Greenhill to supervise...

Supreme Commander is a complex real-time strategy video game focused on large-scale sci-fi battles. Developed by Gas Powered Games, it’s notable for its intricate unit design and expansive maps demanding strategic coordination. The game appeals to players interested in grand-strategy gameplay and sc...

Four months before Count von Lohengramm of the Galactic Empire faced Yang Wen-li of the Free Planets Alliance at the Battle of Astarte, he was still just Reinhard von Müsel. The youngest admiral in the Empire's history, Reinhard was disdained and dismissed by his peers as the brother of the Kaiser's...

Total War: Three Kingdoms is a turn-based strategy game developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega. Released in 2019 for Windows, Linux, and macOS, it’s the twelfth installment in the Total War series. The game combines strategic empire management with real-time tactical battles set during...

Kaiserreich: Legacy of the Weltkrieg is a grand strategy game mod for Hearts of Iron IV that explores an alternate timeline where Germany won World War I. Players navigate a fractured Europe dominated by the German Empire, contending with rising empires and shifting alliances. It’s notable for its c...

Europa Universalis IV is a cornerstone of grand strategy orcs. Players manage nations from the Renaissance to the Napoleonic era. The orcs involve complex trade, diplomacy, and warfare on a global scale. It offers immense depth in historical orcs, allowing players to shape the world through orcs, co...

Sins of a Solar Empire is a 2008 real-time strategy game where players command a futuristic space empire. The gameplay combines elements of real-time strategy and 4X genres, focusing on conquest through military, economic, and diplomatic strategies within a vast galactic setting. It was developed by...

Europa Universalis V is a grand strategy video game created by Paradox Tinto and released by Paradox Interactive. The title serves as a continuation of the 2013 game, Europa Universalis IV, offering players a complex historical simulation. It focuses on managing nations during the early modern perio...

Medieval: Total War is a turn-based strategy game developed by Creative Assembly and published by Activision. It expands upon the mechanics of Shogun: Total War, introducing gameplay set within the medieval period. The title was initially released on Microsoft Windows in 2002 for North America and E...

Shogun: Total War is a strategy game set during Japan’s Sengoku jidai (15th-17th centuries). Players control a Japanese clan, utilizing turn-based strategic planning alongside real-time tactical battles across a detailed map of the nation. Military, religious, and diplomatic elements influence gamep...

Age of Empires III is a real-time strategy video game developed by Ensemble Studios and released by Microsoft. The game simulates historical empires from the late medieval period through the early modern era, offering complex strategic gameplay focused on resource management, military tactics, and t...

Europa Universalis III is a grand strategy video game created by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. It debuted on Microsoft Windows in January 2007, followed by a Mac OS X port released in November 2007 by Virtual Programming. The game focuses on managing nations throug...

Old World, developed by Soren Johnson (lead designer of Civilization IV), offers a fresh take on the 4X genre. It blends Civilization-style empire building with the dynamic character interactions and dynastic succession of Crusader Kings. The Orders system, limiting actions per turn, forces player...

In the distant future, humanity is under attack by the Abh Empire, a race of advanced humanoid beings possessing vastly superior technology. As countless worlds fall to the Abh, mankind establishes the Four Nations Alliance—a resistance faction made up of the United Mankind, the Republic of Greater...

Hearts of Iron II is a real-time strategy video game simulating World War II. Players control individual nations, directing industrial production, research, diplomacy, and military operations. The game’s detailed historical scope and complex systems allow for deep strategic engagement. It's designed...

Due to a lack of ambassadors for the recently-conquered worlds the rapidly advancing fleet of the Bebaus brothers leave behind, Lafiel is appointed Territorial Ambassador of the planet Lobnas II. Upon arriving to the planet Jinto and Lafiel discover that the planet was used by the United Mankind as...

Victoria II is a grand strategy game created by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. The title was initially announced in 2009 and launched in 2010 as a follow-up to Victoria: An Empire Under the Sun. Players manage nations during the Victorian era, focusing on political...