Strategy Games Online: Armies, Territory, Cards and Builders
Updated
Strategy games online reward planning over reflexes: you decide where the troops go, what to build and when to attack, usually with less than you would like of everything. Below are the main kinds, how each plays and games from the strategy games collection. Tower defense has a guide of its own: tower defense tips.
What counts as a strategy game
Wikipedia's article on the strategy video game describes a genre built on planning and decisions, often with indirect control of many units and limited resources, rather than quick reflexes. Its article on real-time strategy draws the main line inside it: in real-time games everyone acts at once and continuously, while in turn-based games players take turns.
| Kind | What you decide | Start with |
|---|---|---|
| Real-time battles | Which units to send and when, while the enemy does the same | Age of Defense 3 |
| Territory conquest | Where to send troops from the bases you hold | Tower War |
| Army building | Which units to take and where to place them | Legiontide Army Runner |
| Card and board duels | Which card or move to play on your turn | Castle Wars: Legacy |
| Builders | What to build, and where | Village Builder game |
Real-time battles
- Age of Defense 3 is a real-time war between cavemen. Select units with the left mouse button to send them out, scroll the map with A and D or the arrow keys, and lead your people to the enemy base.
- Takeover puts you at the head of one of three nations in a real-time battle for the Rivadis Empire, with a built-in tutorial.
- Evolution Era starts in a primitive society and moves through the ages as you upgrade your skills and warriors. Summon units to defend your base and send them against enemy strongholds.
- Epic Rivals Battle has you choose elves or dwarves across 20 levels. Spin a wheel to bring out soldiers, build defense walls, cast spells, and kill or steal the opponent's soldiers.
Territory conquest
Conquest games put numbers on bases or regions, and you send troops from yours to take the rest.
- Tower War captures towers: drag from your base to an enemy tower to send your troops, over 30 levels with different tower layouts.
- Our Land gives each region a number of tanks. Click your region, then lead your tanks to an enemy or neutral one.
- Capture The Planet Idle captures castles, with bonus fields on the map that grow your army further. Upgrade weapons and soldiers, and add giants.
- City Takeover connects your buildings to others with a drag, then grows your buildings until the city is yours.
- Conquer The City connects cities with a slide of the finger, and you win when every city turns blue.
Conquest habits:
- Take the neutral spots early. They cost troops, but they do not attack back.
- Compare the numbers before you send. A small group thrown at a big one is simply lost.
- Do not empty the base that sits next to the enemy.
- When you can, send from several bases at the same target at once rather than one at a time.
Army building and counters
Army games are about the right mix of units, and some of them show you what beats what.
- Legiontide Army Runner steers a crowd of soldiers through gates that add or multiply troops, or turn soldiers into shield bearers, archers, giants or mages. The enemy groups ahead show what beats them: shields stop arrows, archers take down towers, giants break barriers and armor, and mages clear swarms. Every fifth level ends with a boss that has a weak spot. Between runs you build up an island kingdom whose farms make gold while you are away.
- Army Playground 3D has you select combat units and place them on the battlefield, so read each unit's characteristics first.
- Medieval Battle 2P places soldiers on a medieval field, in single-player or two-player mode.
- Defenders of the Realm places knights to hold your castle while enemies come from the right along one of five lines.
- Battle For Powerful Kingdom gives every unit different characteristics, and you place towers to protect each line.
- Tank Napoleon collects tanks for battles of 12 against 12.
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The habit that carries across all of them: answer what you see. If the enemy brings archers, shields come first; if it brings a swarm, bring something that clears swarms, like Legiontide's mages. Legiontide shows the counters plainly, but the same thinking holds in every lane game.
Card and board duels
Turn-based games give you time to think, so the plan matters more than speed.
- Castle Wars: Legacy is a card duel: build a deck, stack resources, summon armies and cast spells to defend your castle and break through the other player's walls. Play the campaign, quick matches against the AI, friends online or daily tournaments.
- Battleships Armada deploys your fleet on a grid, and each turn you and your rival fire three missiles. The first to sink the last enemy ship wins. Rules and search patterns are in how to play Battleship.
- Maritime Conflict is another turn-based naval duel: pick a cell on the grid and fire.
- Mini Dice Chess is a chess variant where the dice decide which pieces you may move, so you adapt every turn. The standard rules are in how to play chess.
Builders and management
- Village Builder game grows a settlement from the ground up. When you hover over a tile, numbers show how many points a building will score there, and some buildings need certain neighbors.
- Tower Siege builds a tower from the blocks you are dealt, a hand of four shapes between waves: walls, archers, cannons, mortars and tesla coils. Blocks that lose their support fall and crush what is below them.
- Power The Grid runs several power plants to meet demand, while you manage resources and invest in renewable energy.
- My Army Base combines base management, soldier training and capturing territory.
Strategy games FAQ
What is the difference between real-time and turn-based strategy?
In real-time strategy everyone acts at the same time, as in Age of Defense 3 or Tower War. In turn-based strategy you take turns, as in Castle Wars: Legacy or Battleships Armada, so you can think as long as you like.
Can I play strategy games online with friends?
Yes. Castle Wars: Legacy lets you battle friends online, Empire.io lets you build an army with other players, and Medieval Battle 2P has a two-player mode.
Do strategy games work on a phone?
Many do. Tower War plays with taps, Legiontide Army Runner steers with a drag, Evolution Era supports tap controls, and Tower Siege says everything plays with one hand on a phone. The site works in the browser of a phone, a tablet and a computer.
Where do I start if I am new to strategy games?
Start with a territory game such as Tower War, where one drag is the whole control, then move on to army building and real-time battles.
The strategy games collection has many more armies to lead and maps to take.
