Strategy games are so called because there's just so much to think about. Typically, you'll be arranging units, monitoring those of the enemy, choosing the best arsenal and skills for the job, capturing territory or resources and generally trying to plan several steps ahead. While keeping all objectives and potential sub-objectives in mind, naturally. They can be very stressful, all told, especially if you're challenging yourself on a higher difficulty setting. Some titles, like those in the RTS genre, require very deep strategic thinking.
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The deeper players get into these grand strategy titles, the more fun and satisfying they become.
The trouble is, it's difficult to know when to stop thinking. Overthinking things can really get you into trouble, and there might be more than just the loss of a unit or a skirmish at stake. Sometimes, errors like this might throw off a whole campaign.
10 Advance Wars Series
When An Hour-Long Battle Hinges On One Unit
Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp marked the first time this classic strategy franchise had reared its head since Advance Wars: Days Of Ruin in 2008. It became infamous as a series that looks harmless enough, with its cartoony visuals, but which poses a stiff tactical challenge. Depending on the map, players will have to command land, sea, and air units simultaneously, and with that, plus managing fuel and ammo for your units and guarding your HQ while challenging territories, there's a huge amount on your plate. There are also defensive bonuses from terrain to make use of, not to mention potential weather effects and the unique CO power of the enemy commander (which could do anything from increasing the opposing army's movement range to causing a vicious snowstorm).
On top of everything else you've got to balance, in the main campaign and the War Room mode (essentially challenge maps), you're ranked on your performance at the end of a match. This takes into account factors such as how many turns you took to win, how many opposing units you destroyed, and how many you lost. Overthinking any decision, such as sending an infantry in a transport copter in a daring raid to capture the enemy HQ, could result in failure, as not defending it adequately, or committing to do so too much, could lead to destruction. You might have to start producing units again for another attempt, ceding momentum, setting yourself back so much that you may as well retry. At best, a victory could take much longer, thereby costing precious ranking points and causing a disappointing restart anyway.
9 Darkest Dungeon
"Prodigious Size Alone Does Not Dissuade The Sharpened Blade," Supposedly
Strategy is everything in this monstrously challenging and strategic Red Hook RPG. The player has inherited a doomed estate haunted by Lovecraftian horrors, and must send parties of adventurers into the dungeons surrounding (and beneath) it to beat back the infestation and (ultimately, perhaps) finally destroy it. Parties consist of a range of Hero classes, from the healing Vestal to the vicious powerhouse that is the Highwayman, but when in battle against bandits, beasts, and everything in between, it's not just HP damage they'll be taking.
Stress is a second health bar, of sorts, and it fills up rather than depleting. When it fills, it causes an Affliction, which can have effects from skipping crucial turns in battle to striking allies instead (spreading further stress to them as well). If the bar fills a second time, they have a heart attack, putting them in Death's Door status. Overthinking on the player's part can be fatal in all kinds of ways, from overloading your Inventory will supplies you don't need (thereby reducing your space for loot) to worrying about removing every negative quirk and reinforcing the best positive ones for every Hero. Being impractical with your money, or committing too many resources to Heroes that are already super stressed and not worth keeping around because you're attached to them, will slow your progress. This is one of those titles that can be an enormous slog if played inefficiently, and isn't the most generous at teaching you how not to do so. Some games let you go in all guns blazing, but this isn't one of them.
8 Civilization 6
You Have To Settle Somewhere
Gamers have a way of ruining the fun for themselves at times. For instance, if there's a way to over-optimize and take things super seriously, they'll often go for it. This can be quite challenging in series such as Civilization, where the world's so dynamic. For instance, you might be looking to settle your capital city at the start of the game, but not entirely sure whether the region you're considering offers the best start in terms of resources. It's a decision you commit to, after all, and you may be reluctant. As you debate between spots, turns pass, and you might just find that Alexander the Great (who seems to pop up as AI in so many games) runs into view and claims the spot you were considering. Then, you've got to hustle elsewhere and start growing before his Warriors begin spawning.
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A quick loss is one thing, as it doesn't take long to restart, but your whole playthrough could become a slog if you have to pick a different spot as a result of CPU movements you have no influence over. This is particularly difficult if you're playing as the Maori under Kupe, because of their ocean start and the limitation of space on land as a result. There may not be a perfect spot, so scout quickly and choose one that's good, or you may be in for a rough match.
7 Fire Emblem: Three Houses
The Teacher's Dilemma
As any teacher will attest, getting the very best out of your students is the ultimate task. For Byleth in Fire Emblem: Three Houses, there are seemingly infinite decisions to be made, and they will shape the young pupils for the whole of the long campaign. Whichever of the houses you lead, you will be able to tutor your students and directly raise their individual stats. There's a lot to micromanage, if you choose to do it all manually, but it's important to think about the long game. Do you know which classes you plan to advance each student/unit through? If you don't, you may be investing in stats that they won't ultimately be able to make effective use of. The Fortress Knight, for instance, is a physical defensive behemoth who doesn't really use swords, but if you invested in them previously before changing class, all of that experience was essentially wasted.
If you overthink the direction you want to take your characters in, you may fret and reclass them. It's still perfectly possible for every member of your class to be formidable in the endgame roles they ultimately have, but try to pick and stick with them for best results.
6 Frostpunk
The Stakes, And The Pressure, Are Very High
Some survival games are quite light-hearted, while others are all about survival with a capital S. This War Of Mine, for instance, is absolutely brutal in its depiction of the horrors of the survivors' situation, and Frostpunk certainly is too. The game is set on a frozen Earth, and blends city building elements with the resource gathering required to attempt to keep the residents of New London alive. The player takes the role of The Captain, and like any good leader must, makes the hardest decisions in the most difficult situation. As with the aforementioned This War of Mine, events arise in which sacrifices must be made to ensure the community's continued existence.
What are you willing to burn to keep the heat working? What fate awaits rulebreakers? These decisions will all shape the New London population's moods, and will ultimately lead you along a different path and potentially a radically different type of city. As painful as some of these decisions are, things will fester over time. Losing the game is one thing, but the city continuing in an awful new form is quite another.
5 Wildfrost
A Final Twist In The Tale
Another title with a frosty theme, but an adorably cartoony one. That isn't to say that it's not just as challenging in its own way, though. A 2023 deckbuilder, Wildfrost sees the player choose a tribe and a leader, before taking off on a expedition to discover why the weather has taken the devastating turn that it has. The leader and the followers they recruit along the way are cards, of course, as are your utility options like weapons and team members with supportive effects. You'll encounter bosses, events, shops, and other points of interest as you travel the map, giving yourself a chance to customize and improve your deck as you go. Followers will be injured and may need to sit out battles if they're defeated, but the loss of your leader is an immediate game over.
A lot of these things are highly conventional for a deckbuilder, but the unique twist is the turn system. Your cards and the enemy cards are placed along two rows, and each has a turn counter that counts down before they attack. Turns count down when you play cards, Some enemies can hit a whole row, and so on. You have to be acutely aware of every opponent on the field and when and how they will attack, making the game very stressful indeed. It's easy to overthink your deck and overcommit to a particular strategy, but that's the danger. The game springs a devious trap on you: After completing a run, the final boss will use the deck you previously won with against you. To make it all the way to the end and be defeated so unceremoniously is crushing.
4 Among Us
Seems Very Sus Indeed
Among Us is a game that needs no introduction. It was one of those curious cases where a title had already existed for some time and then, seemingly at random, it's discovered and explodes in popularity. Those colorful little characters on that imperiled spaceship have brought joy, fury, and tense fun to millions around the world, and the game has continued to evolve as new twists and roles have been added. The Detective's ability to Interrogate can be a game-changer if used well, for instance.
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Being as nerve-jangling as it is, though, it's very easy to overthink every move you make, and indeed every move everybody else makes. Were they really just fixing the wiring? Where was your other friend when the body was discovered? You can't trust anyone, really, and your fate and that of the rest of the game depends on your reaction during meetings. You may never even be trusted again in an Among Us session if you make a false move.
3 Wingspan
Every Action Has To Count
Wingspan is, perhaps, one of the most relaxing and feel-good concepts for a board game ever devised. Players are developing wildlife reserves to attract birds, which are played by using a range of resources from the bird feeder. They must be matched to the right habitat, and the goal is to accrue the most points in a variety of ways: From eggs laid by the birds, special effect cards, the number of birds of particular types, and so on. In the digital adaptation of Wingspan, the 'living bird' aspect of the cards is captivating, and though the controls may be fiddly on console, it's a wonderfully chill experience.
Or is it? The fact is, the game can be over quite quickly, as each round only gives the player a certain number of moves to make. It's a game in which you have to establish an engine very fast and accrue a lot of points over the rounds to score big. One or two wrong moves may set you back enough that you can't keep up. Overthinking like this does not mean an instant game over, but rather a slow and inevitable loss.
2 Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles
Leveling Up Isn't Always The Answer
In many RPGs, taking the time to grind effectively means that you can have an easy ride and steamroll most foes you come across. It's important to be wary with this approach, though, because it'll just land you in trouble in some games. The Final Fantasy series has been known to mess with players in this way, with Final Fantasy 8 s etting enemies to the average level of your party (potentially making enemy drops much more difficult to acquire). Final Fantasy Tactics' random encounters scale too, and just as poor Junctioning will mean that Squall and co. Will lag woefully behind their enemies in the stats stakes, Ramza and his own vast roster of allies will struggle too.
Aside from that, it's important not to overthink every little decision in the game. There are so many skills to learn and jobs to use that battle strategies can be overwhelming. Keeping a party adaptable is the key, as the unfolding events of the Lion War are unpredictable and so are the encounters you'll face. The game's map, as of The Ivalice Chronicles, is gigantic, after all.
1 Against The Storm
Nothing Lasts Forever
The thing about city builders is, it's nice to admire your creation afterwards. From huge towering citadels to a happy and content little community, you might have spent countless hours building that. Every little square may have been thoughtfully placed, if you're a perfectionist. Sadly, Against The Storm isn't conducive to this sort of approach. The titular storm can be resisted for a time, but will inevitably prevail and wipe out all you've done.
The small communities you build are not intended to be permanent, but are simple temporary bases for different species to work in. The Scorched Queen demands that it arrives quickly in order to keep her Smoldering City standing. It's a fast-paced experience of managing your charges' needs, moods, and productivity levels, one in which you must simply make the best of the time you have. Providing supplies in order to keep your Reputation level up is key, and there's no time to overthink any decisions.
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Players best not rush their decisions in these tactical RPGs, because every move counts and should be carefully considered.