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The most top strategies for the computer. The best military strategy games on PC. List of the best war games. Only the best strategies

Strategies take a special place in the genre list. They are not designed for a mass audience, because they often lack outstanding graphics and hurricane gameplay, and the classic "swoop" passage can unpleasantly surprise the player.

Here you need to think, plan and solve the problem gradually, moving step by step towards victory.

The best military strategy games on PC

We present our top of the best military strategies for PC, which have already become classics and should certainly be on the list of everyone who calls himself a fan of the genre.

Red Alert Series


  • Release date: 1996-2009
  • Developer: Westwood Studios, EA Los Angeles

Series Red alert Is a separate series of games within the popular Command & Conquer franchise. The action takes place in an alternate reality in which Hitler was defeated with the help of a time machine invented by Einstein. This led to unforeseen consequences in the form of the USSR, which gained enormous military power, and declared war on the United States and its allies. A little later (in the third part of the series), another side joins the confrontation - the Empire of the Rising Sun.

  • Developer: The Creative Assembly
  • Release date: 2000-2017

It's hard to find a more famous war series than Total War. Back in 2000, when many of our readers were running under the table on foot, the world saw the first project of the series - Shogun. The player had to face Japan during the period of feudal fragmentation and taking control of one of the Japanese clans to bring it to power over the entire island state.


 Total War: Warhammer

But it was Rome: Total War that instilled love for the series, which impressed with its detail, depth of strategic capabilities and exceptional charm. Today, the collection has the ability to fight in any time era. We can try to lead one of the nations of the Ancient World to greatness, lead the invasion of barbarians in the Dark Ages, build a medieval empire, wage wars and discover new lands in the New Time, and even plunge into the fantasy world in the game Total War: Warhammer. The series is well worth it to spend hundreds of hours on it and have a lot of fun.

  • Developer: Blizzard
  • Release date: 2010
  • Link: http://eu.battle.net

Fans have been waiting for the second part for 12 years. And their hopes were fully justified. We are waiting for a new round of confrontation between the three main races in space: Terran, Zerg and Protoss. People rely on their firepower in the form of flamethrowers, tanks, heavy cruisers. Zerg is a highly developed swarm, where each member of the hive is only a tool for solving a specific task that faces the main brain. The Protoss are an ancient race that stands on the brink of psionic ascension, but is still struggling with its inner conflicts.


Starcraft II is based on a very interesting story, the development of which does not get tired of following from mission to mission. And the tasks themselves are extremely diverse, have many side tasks, non-trivial solutions. Many may indeed call Starcraft II the best military strategy game and will be right in their own way. After all, it was not in vain that it was included in the esports Olympiad in Korea right after its release.

  • Developer: New World Computing, Nival, Black Hole Entertainment
  • Release date: 1995-2015

You can't make the top strategic war games and miss out legendary series Heroes of Might and Magic. Having seen the light of day in 1995, the game has gone through over 20 years of history. The most successful is still the third part of the series, despite the currently outdated graphics. The second most popular is the fifth part created by domestic developers.


We will be told about a fairy-tale world where there are constant wars. Almost all mythical and legendary creatures that are present in the myths of the peoples of the world are fighting here: genies and wyverns, gremlins and trolls, demons and orcs. This is a turn-based military strategy game, each session is unique. Everything depends on the decisions of the player, each campaign can be played with the style inherent only to a particular player. And how interesting it is to play multiplayer is hard to imagine. This is a lot of sleep-deprived nights spent storming fortresses.

  • Release date: April 21, 2016
  • Developer: Tindalos Interactive
  • Link: Steam

Real-time strategy in the setting of Warhammer 40,000. Takes us into space, where we will fight armadas against enemy fleets. Among the advantages, one should immediately highlight the very beautiful graphics. Probably the space landscapes from here are the best in the industry. If you've played HomeWorld, you can imagine the gameplay, with the only difference that, for some reason, starships obey the laws of physics that apply to earthly ones. Imagine a navy transported into space. You will receive Battlefleet Gothic: Armada.


 Battlefleet: Gothic Armada

As you'd expect from the Warhammer 40,000 universe, everything here is epic. If this is a flagship, then it is the largest warship in the galaxy, if there is a battle, then this is general engagement deciding the fate of space. Yes, and the pathos so inherent in the setting is enough here.

In general, all games created in the Warhammer 40,000 universe will be of interest to those who are fond of the setting. Others can install and play, suddenly this is the project you like.

  • Release date: October 21, 2016
  • Developer: Firaxis Games
  • Link: Steam

Probably, there is hardly a gamer who has not heard of Civilization. This is a global strategy in which you choose your people and lead them to world domination through the centuries from the Stone Age to the Space Age. It can be safely called a military strategy, since rarely does any player fight for a religious or cultural victory. Basically, all tasks are performed with hot iron and atomic bombing.

Compared to the previous installments, several major innovations can be noted. First and foremost, the graphics have become much more cartoonish. At first, this seems like an illogical decision, considering that with each new Civilization the game became more realistic. But after playing one or the other party, the design of the game begins to be pleasant.


The second global change is the emergence of districts - suburbs that are responsible for specific directions. Now cities can specialize, so you can develop a city that will bring science and culture by building a campus and a theater square there, or you can build a powerful economic and military port by combining a shipyard and a commercial area.

Finally, the third notable change is the two tech trees. The former are researched at the expense of science points - these are the main inventions. The second are social, researched at the expense of culture points. It will no longer be possible to play the barbarians on horseback, you will have to delve into the culture.

The principle of fighting has been carried over from the fifth part, where the war is like a classic wargame with a hexagonal layout. Civilization 6 is an excellent successor to the entire line. Replay value and many hours spent playing are guaranteed.

  • Release date: May 9, 2016
  • Developer: Paradox Interactive
  • Link: Steam

Stellaris is a global military strategy in which the player is instructed to take the reins of control over one of the civilizations that has just entered space, and by any means to make it dominant in the galaxy. Usually in games we are offered limited set races, but here, thanks to the constructor, you can create hundreds, if not thousands.


This is a star empire simulator. The player will have to solve all the tasks that may face the ruler. From providing your subjects with food, ending with the control of science and the invention of new engines for ships or the construction of a dome over colonies on planets poorly suitable for life of your race.

And do not forget that you are not the only race in the galaxy and you will have to fight, even if you are playing a pacifist who is generally against any conflicts. After all, your planets are a tasty piece of cake for some race of militaristic bulls.

The whole review is not enough to tell about this game, so you only need to play it. This is truly a masterpiece and the best military strategy of 2016.

  • Release date: 11 Aug 2017
  • Developer: Kite Games
  • Link: Steam

The revival of the legendary line, which the domestic gamer knows under the name "Confrontation". It takes us back to the events of World War II and sets difficult tasks with the help of tanks and cannons to decide the outcome of the conflict. The past parts received dozens of modifications and unofficial add-ons, which are still being created, more than 10 years after the official releases were released.


The novelty offers us three campaigns: For the Axis, the USSR and the Allies. In each mission, you are given a certain number of troops: infantry, tanks, artillery, support. And with this limited supply of military resources, you will need to complete the mission. One can hope for help only in cases laid down by the script.

The estimates are quite ambiguous. Many swear at the cardinal simplifications in comparison with other parts, while others, on the contrary, call her a worthy successor of the genre.

  • Release date: February 21, 2017
  • Developer: 343 Industries, Creative Assembly

Continuation of the popular strategy game in the world of Halo. It all started with an action game in which you moved into the Master Chief robot and smashed the aliens on the surface of the Ring World. In 2009, a strategy based on the setting appeared. And now we can observe the continuation.


Halo Wars 2 is a classic RTS with base building, resource extraction, and a rush towards the enemy base. But how beautifully done it is! The graphics in the game are really at the level of the military strategy of 2017. The animation, drawing, effects from explosions and the use of various energy weapons are simply amazing. There are many units to choose from, from small soldiers to huge walking robots.

The only thing that might seem like a setback is some of the gameplay simplifications introduced in order to simplify the controls on consoles. Yes, the project was originally developed for X-Box. For amateur console players, it will be a real find in the genre of military strategies.

Warhammer 40 000: Dawn of War 3

  • Release date: April 27, 2017
  • Link: Steam

And again we have the universe of Warhammer 40,000, but this time on earth, not in space. The game features three races: Space Marines, Orcs and Eldar. And they are fighting for the possession of a superweapon that can change the balance of power in the Galaxy.


 Warhammer 40,000: Dawn
of War_III

Before us is the classic Dawn of War with a new storyline and beautiful graphics... The variety of troops has also been added, the units are chopping each other more and more efficiently and beautifully. Compared to the previous game in the series, the number of units that can take part in the battle has expanded. But if you consider that the units are still highly specialized and have many skills and abilities, massive battles will not work. At best, it is convenient to control two or three detachments, inflicting tactical verified strikes against enemy positions.

The game turned out great. Fans of the setting are delighted, and all fans of military strategy on PC have already bought the game and spent many hours playing it.

  • Release date: 2006-2013
  • Developer: Relic Entertainment

A WWII-themed strategy game with very beautiful graphics and an extensive arsenal of tactical options.

You can very finely customize each unit that will participate in the battle. Fighters swing, gaining new abilities, improving the rate of fire, accuracy and other important abilities.


 Company of heroes2

The game is not massive, you control a small amount of equipment, so Company of Heroes can be called a tactical strategy.

The game invites us to fight both on the side of the Allies and the Red Army. For the second part of the project, several add-ons were released that expand the possibilities of the game, offering new missions, weapons, and squads.
Behind enemy lines

In the subordination of the player there is a sniper, a machine gunner, a demolition man, and other highly specialized fighters. There will be no massive rush-zerg, only verified tactical decisions, and the loss of each soldier is not just a decrease in the unit's combat capability, but the failure of the mission.

In total, two games in the series were released, for each of them there are many add-ons and re-releases. So there is where to take a walk when familiarizing with it.

Total war: three kingdoms
  • Platform: PC (Steam)
  • Release date: 23 May 2019
  • Developer: Creative Assembly

Another game in the famous series of historical strategies, this time changing the scene to Ancient China... In a difficult time for the country, when the territory is divided into many independent provinces that have staged an endless war with each other, it needs a strong leader with remarkable organizational skills more than ever. And you can become this leader by uniting the disunited clans and building a new empire with their help. The choice is made from 12 famous generals with their own strengths and weaknesses - some are good at diplomacy, others prefer military action.

The gameplay, judging by the information provided about the game at the moment, did not deviate much from the classic formula. As before, it is divided into two components - the first is turn-based tactics on the global map, where players must prioritize and think about which region to attack, which one to defend, and which one to bypass. The second component is spectacular battles of huge armies, storming of fortress walls and other traditional medieval activities. Troops will have to be controlled in real time, and the squads require micromanagement. It will not be possible to simply select the entire crowd and send with a right mouse click to destroy the enemies - so you will surely lose. You need to think, and only then act (it is for this, however, that players love Total War so much).

King arthur ii
  • Platform: PC (Steam)
  • Released: September 20, 2011
  • Developer: Neocore

Continuation of an exciting strategy with a bias in the role-playing component. Compared to the first part, the battles have become a little simpler and clearer: there is a certain piece of terrain, the enemy is wandering around it, and while he is alive, the battle is not won. Yes, there are still key objects on the map that give the invader a bonus or a free spell - but they do not affect any abstract "moral" or "victory points". There is not even a time limit: until the archers shoot the last infantryman, and the rangers find and knock down the horseman who has lost his way in the forest, the battle will not end. A certain confusion is brought in only by heroes running across the field, performing typical feats: either the leader will heal all nearby soldiers with a wave of his hand, then the warrior will send seven people to the next world with a wave of his sword, then the magician will burn all the enemy shooters along with the remnants of the allied cavalry broke through to them.

Thanks to the heroes and their abilities, the most intricate tactical puzzles are solved. For example, the battle for London, when the enemy has at once a dozen quickly reloading totems with lightning, and an ordinary squad dies from just two hits. It would seem that the mission is impassable, but only certain characters can overcome it, for example, those who are invulnerable to lightning or the ability to quickly replenish their health. Of course, the experience of the game has been spoiled for many by countless bugs and crashes, as can be judged by the many negative reviews on Steam, but in all other aspects the game is very good.

Kingdom Wars 2: Definitive Edition
  • Platform: PC (Steam)
  • Release date: Q2 2019
  • Developer: Reverie WS

Good news for fans of the Kingdom Wars series - the developers decided to modernize one of their main hits, transferring it to a new engine that supports all technological standards, and use them to the maximum. The changes affected the graphic component, the interface was redesigned towards greater convenience, and several significant changes were made to the gameplay balance, which fans have been asking for since the last part. Now being in this fantasy world filled with elves, orcs and other bizarre creatures has become much more interesting to spend time, especially when you consider that the game has added co-op and survival mode.

The gameplay formula of the game is quite diverse. There are economic elements, a city-building simulator, and epic battles of huge armies in real time. It turned out to be a kind of Warcraft 3, but significantly modified and with a deeper gameplay. Here, too, there are powerful units - heroes capable of mowing down entire troops of ordinary mortals with the help of their powerful abilities, as well as wizards who control the forces of nature and have the ability to summon a destructive hurricane or thunderstorm. Special units can be enhanced using an advanced system for making items for which you will have to collect resources and recipes. Some of them will be difficult to obtain.

Steel division 2
  • Platform: PC (Steam)
  • Release date: May 2, 2019
  • Developer: Eugen Systems

The sequel to the game of the same name, scheduled for release in May 2019. Unlike our predecessor, where we were given the opportunity to play as the Americans, new Steel Division will tell the story of the events in Eastern Europe from the point of view of the USSR. For other factions, however, they will also be allowed to play, but without them the gameplay is quite diverse. There are all the necessary units for fighting here: infantrymen (machine gunners and riflemen, officers, etc., performing various tactical tasks), tanks (from light to heavy), artillery (mortars, anti-tank artillery and howitzers), air defense, aviation. Bombers and attack aircraft, according to your assignment, will bomb targets, scouts will conduct aerial reconnaissance, fighters will fight enemy aircraft.

In the game, as in real combat, very close attention is paid to the morale of the infantry. So, once surrounded, the morale of the detachment falls (with the exception of paratroopers) and, if the rescue is not carried out, the infantrymen will begin to surrender. Run into a bayonet attack, under the fire of German machine guns, your infantry, too, will not, if it is not motivated. An officer can cheer up a soldier. Much attention in the game is paid to the terrain: by placing scouts on tall buildings, you can detect the advancing enemy in advance, and by hiding behind cover, you can get an additional level of protection.

Oil rush
  • Platform: PC (Steam)
  • Released: January 25, 2012
  • Developer: Unigine Corp.

Cutting back on gameplay has long been the norm among real-time strategy games. One gets the impression that this genre was born too heavy, therefore, so that the player is not torn between three things at once, good developers will either cut off direct control over units, then cut off the extraction of resources, or prohibit the production of new combat units. Developers from the Russian-Czech studio Unigine Corporation took a different path: they cut off everything, but a little bit. Therefore, on the post-apocalyptic Earth of the future, where the action of the game unfolds, it has become as simple and fun to fight as possible.

It is quite possible to do without minerals: new ships, planes and helicopters are stamped completely free of charge, you just need to grab the appropriate platform. It is impossible to build new factories or redesign existing ones, but even a nuclear warhead will not work to destroy the structure. That is why there is a constant struggle around all resource-producing rigs and platform-plants - and the winner is often determined by oil. Black gold is needed both to activate special skills and to provide factories with autonomous protection in the form of turrets. The result is a rather curious version of the strategy, where the life of the charges means almost nothing, and it makes no sense to accumulate resources (especially since there is a maximum limit above which you cannot store oil if you want to), but the price is a cavalry swoop and daring raids to the rear enemy. Thanks to them, the games are played extremely dynamically.

From the early 90s to the mid-00s, strategies dominated the minds of players, receiving well-deserved honor and respect. Alas, their golden time has passed: RTS (real-time strategy) cannot compete in entertainment with the next Battlefield, with the dynamics of Overwatch or the plot of Witcher 3. So you have to be content with another replay of the good old classics or wait for the release of a new "Civilization".

However, not everything is so pessimistic. Our rating of the best strategies will allow us to identify the most worthy representatives of the genre, as well as learn about the latest releases that have given some classic strategies a second life. We hope this TOP-10 will be informative. If not: comments and voting at the bottom of the article to help.

10. Stronghold


Stronghold was released during the golden era of RTS - in 2001. At the time, most strategies tried to emulate either C&C or Warcraft, but Stronghold had other plans. Although critics try to assure that this strategy has not brought anything fundamentally new to its genre, its fans will argue with this and, in my opinion, they will be right.

Stronghold had a fairly well-developed and extensive economic component. Although the amount of available resources has not gone far from the standard "wood / iron / gold / stone / food", such an unusual parameter as "Popularity" has appeared in the game. It provided an influx of new residents into the city and depended on many factors: taxation, the variety of food available, entertainment (ale taverns), and more.

To hire soldiers, it was not enough to build a barracks. It was necessary to build buildings that produce weapons. Provide gunsmiths with the necessary building materials, wait until the lame grandfather with an imposing gait delivers a hand-carved bow to the arsenal, and only after that you can hire ... as much as one archer. And so with all types of troops! It was impossible just to put up a barracks and "lay down" any units - this was preceded by the organization of a full cycle of production of weapons and ammunition. It is not surprising that the game had a number of economic missions that were not inferior in complexity to the military ones.


An ordinary serene morning in Stronghold crusader

However, it was not the first part that won particular popularity, but its sequel: Stronghold Crusaders, which was released the next year, 2002. As the name suggests, the game was about the confrontation between the Arabs and the Crusaders. Unfortunately, the attack / defense mode of the castle disappeared (the only thing worth paying attention to the first part), but more units appeared, some of which could be hired for gold without producing weapons. For money, only desert warriors were hired, while European soldiers were to continue to be equipped exclusively with weapons of their own production.


The game remains popular to this day thanks to the multiplayer and the release of various add-ons (for example, Crusaders Extreme in 2008). This is also facilitated by a simple, but rather diverse system for the construction of fortifications: Stronghold allows you to enclose the castle with high battlements and high towers, equip them with defensive weapons and archers, set additional traps or dig a moat around the perimeter of water.

Of course, there is no less arsenal of siege weapons, from battering rams and ladders to catapults and trebuchets, which can bombard enemy fortifications not only with stones, but also ... with cows. Add to this the ability to set the enemy city on fire or undermine its economy with hunger: the choice of battle strategy is quite extensive, as for RTS. This variety made the game very interesting for multiplayer games.


The first part of Command & Conquer was released in 1995, becoming at that time a real breakthrough in the genre and seriously competing with Warcraft and Dune. Many of the familiar gameplay features at that time looked revolutionary:

  • Players could select an entire group of units and issue a command to them with just one click;
  • There were neutral units, buildings and other objects on the map with which it was possible to interact (read "smash to the trash");
  • It was in C&C that a system for dividing units into classes, such as "rock, scissors, paper", first appeared - the first type of unit is effective against the second, but vulnerable to the third, etc .;
  • The game began to use videos and animations, paired with a cool soundtrack, allowing players to "feel" the history of the C&C universe, and not perceive it as another unnamed chessboard to hone their tactical abilities;
  • Another signature feature of Command & Conquer is the presence of only one resource, tiberium - it is for him that all wars in the universe of this game are waged.

C&C proved to be incredibly popular with all that it implies: many gameplay elements have diverged across other games, becoming familiar elements of most strategies. In addition to the classic C&C series, which pleases its fans with new releases so far, over time, two "alternative" versions of the C&C universe have appeared. This is Command & Conquer: Generals (2003) and the very popular line Games Red Allert.

  • Red allert


The tips seem to convey ardent greetings to old man Einstein.

Red Allert deserves a separate article. This game has absorbed an incredible amount of madness and "cranberry" on the theme of the Cold War and the confrontation between NATO and the USSR. Here short description prehistory of the universe of this game: after watching the horrors of World War II, the old man Einstein in 1946 decides to make a time machine and return to the past to destroy Hitler. As a result, the scales swung in the other direction: Comrade Stalin decides to build his own, communist Reich, and Europe, together with the allies, still has to fight.

How successful the game was, judge for yourself: 35 million copies were sold worldwide, and an entry appeared in the Guinness Book of Records assuring that Red Allert is the best-selling RTS in the world. In 2000 and 2001, Red Allert 2 and Red Allert 2 were released: Yuri's Revenge, which is still the classic choice of oldfags. However, for fans of more modern graphics, there is a third part of RA.


Warhammer is a vast fictional universe, on the basis of which many books, comics, films, computer and board games are built. However, there are two versions of this universe: Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000. In the first case, as the name suggests, Warhammer is faithful to the canons of fantasy and pleases fans of Tolkien and other "elves". And Warhammer 40,000 creates a mix of fantasy and science fiction, pushing the confrontation closer to the stars.

Games related to Warhammer 40,000 can be counted about 20. But only one of them is always associated with the word "Warhammer" by any fan of strategies: this is the one and only Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, released in 2004.

Strategy, in the usual sense of the word, is not given much space: the focus is on tactics. Buildings are built quickly, and only 2 resources are provided: energy, for which you need to build generators, and special points that can be obtained by holding check points under the onslaught of the enemy.

The creators of the game, as if from the very first minutes, say directly: leave all this fuss with the construction of the base and economic development for the nerds. The WH40K universe was created solely to force the armored paratroopers to fight various monsters (from orcs to more exotic creatures). So no long-term economic development is foreseen in it: only battles from the first to the last minute.


Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 2 looks like it was made for Jeremy Clarkson from Top Gear: with a yell of “Power !!!”, the player smashes all enemies in his path. Tactics? No, have not heard.

In 2009, the release of Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War 2, which received high marks from players, was thoroughly praised by many gaming publications, but ... suddenly turned out to be not a strategy. Loyal fans of the first part were horrified to find that the long-awaited Dawn of War 2 began to resemble an RPG like Diablo more than itself 5 years ago. True, this did not prevent the game from finding its fans, who assure that the multiplayer has retained all the necessary elements of the RTS and is quite satisfactory.

7. Total War


It's funny that Total War and Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War are located next door in the ranking of the best strategies, because just in May of this year, Total War: Warhammer was released - the first TW dedicated to the Warhammer universe. True, not Warhammer 40,000, but Warhammer Fantasy - so it, first of all, will appeal to fans of fantasy worlds. However, let's talk about everything in order - after all, the release of this game was preceded by 9 other parts, which brought TW worldwide fame.

The main distinguishing feature of Total War is the successful combination of turn-based mode and RTS: the level of each of them is selected separately. The main action takes place on the global map of the world, in which everything happens step by step. But battles are loaded separately and develop rapidly in real time. Players will have to wisely use the terrain and different types of units, which allows them to gain an advantage even over superior enemy forces.


The first TW came out in 2000. But the worldwide fame of the series was brought by its third part, Rome: Total War, which used a three-dimensional engine. As the name suggests, the action took place during the time of the Roman Empire. In addition to the "classic" European nations, Arab empires (Egypt) and even barbarians were available in the game. Depending on the side chosen, not only the units differed, but also the architecture of the cities. The subsequent TW could not surpass the popularity of this part.

Rome: Total War II came out in 2013 - initially bugged, but later polished through numerous patches. Probably inspired by Civilization, the developers of Rome 2 added the ability to win not only through conquest, but also through culture and trade. However, this is not the only part worthy of attention: Napoleon, Attila, Shogun 2 and the previously mentioned Warhammer are also interesting in their own way.


If I managed to create a product as successful as Warcraft, I would have been resting on my laurels for 20 years, spending all my money in some absolutely meaningless way. But the guys at Blizzard are not like that: having won a well-deserved standing ovation after the release of Warcraft 2, the Blizzards took to work on the space RTS. True, as a result, they still got Warcraft: the beta version was mercilessly criticized and perceived as "orcs in space." Fortunately, the developers have heeded the criticism and completely overhauled the graphics engine and setting. This is how the legendary StarCraft was born in 1998.

The game features 3 races: zerg, protoss and terrans, which are borrowed from the Warhammer 40,000 universe (tyranids, eldar, imperial guard). However, the similarity is extremely superficial: when it was born, StarCraft went its own way of development - the universe of this game has overgrown with its own characteristics and now has little in common with Warhammer.

In most strategies, in order to preserve a delicate balance, all nations have the same set of units and buildings + several unique buildings / soldiers, which add a certain variety, but do not fundamentally affect the tactics of the game. StarCraft didn't give a damn about these canons. All 3 races are completely different:

  • Zerg far from technology and science, achieve superiority solely by quantity.
  • Highly spiritual protoss are the complete opposite of the zerg: each protoss fancies himself an important person with a rich inner world, so it costs a lot of resources, but also hits, respectively, painfully and hard.
  • Terran(from the word "terra") represent people in the game. They are the "golden mean" between zerg and protoss.


Beautiful lights of Star Craft 2 lure gullible schoolchildren and cause skeptical grin of oldfags

Such striking differences between the races gave the game a solid advantage over the rest of the RTS, having won it a reputation for "smart" strategy, in which you need not only to "spawn" as large an army as possible, but to think over your actions in advance, showing strategic and tactical skills. Micro-control also plays an important role: if protoss are not particularly demanding on control accuracy, then the success of offensive operations of other races, especially zerg, directly depends on the speed and accuracy of the player's reaction.

StarCraft II was released in 2010. Modern graphics and excellent multiplayer allowed the game to return to its former glory and take its rightful place in eSports. Although the oldfags claim that the unique balance of the first SC is partly lost, StarCraft 2 received high marks from various gaming publications (an average of 9 out of 10) and gave it a second life.

5. Age of Empires


In 1997, the first part of Age of Empires was released: the same Warcraft, only in profile. Instead of fantasy races, the game featured 12 human nations that could develop from the Stone Age to antiquity. Furora in game world this game did not commit, but was generally received favorably, which inspired its creators to begin work on the second part.

Age of Empires II came out 2 years later: The age of Kings, which has become truly legendary. She overshadowed not only the first part, but also many of the then "whales" of this genre, having won a decent army of fans. In 2000, the addon Age of Empires II: The Conquerors appeared, which added 5 new nations with unique units to the game, as well as additional missions and technology. It was this part of the game that became the most popular in Age series of Empires. What is the reason for its success?

  • Diversity of nations. There were 18 nations in The Conquerors, many of which were quite exotic: Huns, Teutons, Saracens, Celts, Persians, Aztecs, Mayans, etc. In fact, it was this game that laid the fashion for strategies with many different civilizations.
  • Development opportunity. The second "trick", which was for the first time among the strategies implemented precisely by AoE 2 - the transition from one historical era to another. All this was accompanied by a rather extensive technology tree, for the research of which it was necessary to construct various buildings and spend resources.
  • Balance. Of course, nations differed not only in color and different designs of buildings. Each of them had its own bonuses and unique units. Some had an economic advantage, others had stronger cavalry, third class siege weapons, fourth long-range fleet, etc. All this variety was pretty balanced with no clear favorites. As a result, Age of Empires 2 has attracted many fans of online battles.


As it turned out, a beautiful picture cannot replace interesting gameplay.

In 2005, Age of Empires III was released. It was not bad, but it did not come close to the success of its predecessor. As a result, after several add-ons, Microsoft gave up and, to the delight of the fans, returned to Age of Empires 2. In 2013, they released Age of Empires 2: HD edition, and then 2 more add-ons: The Forgotten (5 new nations, including the Slavs) and The African Kingdoms (4 more nations and "African" campaigns). So today AoE 2 continues to evolve and delight fans with new additions.

4. Cossacks


The success of Age of Empires attracted the attention of many game makers: they stopped trying to create their own "Warcraft", switching to "Age of Empires" (which was undoubtedly inspired by Warcraft). So the guys from the Ukrainian company GSC Game World have created RTS, which conceptually has a lot in common with AoE.

The game "Cossacks", released in 2001, turned out to be so successful that in the eyes of many Russian strategists it overshadowed the "Epoch" for a long time. If you believe "Igromania", then at one time "Cossacks" became the best-selling domestic game(over 1 million copies).

"Cossacks" continued the idea of ​​numerous gaming nations. In the second addon of the first part, which was called "War Again", 20 different countries... And if in the "Epoch" there was not a single Slavic nation, then in the "Cossacks" not only Russia was available, but also Ukraine (which is logical, following from the name and geographical location of the developers). There were also more sophisticated nations like Piedmont and Saxony.


Unlike other strategies, in "Cossacks" resources were spent not only on the acquisition of units, but also on their maintenance. Without food, hunger began, and the mercenaries, acquired for gold, raised an uprising, as soon as the treasury was empty. To use firearms, iron and coal were needed - without them, arrows and artillery were defenseless.

Also in the game it was possible to capture some enemy buildings, artillery and peasants (except for Ukrainian ones, with them as usual: will or death). In comparison with the "Age of Empires", "Cossacks" seemed more dynamic, allowing you to create an incredible number of some crazy and fearless units - in network game the battles of such hordes looked epic and exciting.

  • Cossacks 2


In 2005, "Cossacks 2" came out: despite the high marks of many gaming publications, the game did not cause the same enthusiasm as the first part. Everything has been redesigned in it: it has become more realistic and thoughtful. No "controversial" nations, raids of hordes of fearless madmen and upgrades of ancient guns to such a degree of efficiency that even Kalashnikov becomes envious.

Battles in "Cossacks II" forced to take into account the peculiarities of the terrain, to reload guns for a long time and to monitor the morale of soldiers who can chicken out and rush into the loose. Sounds good, but in the multiplayer game there is no trace of the former fun.

  • Cossacks 3


And on September 21, 2016, the long-awaited Cossacks 3 was released, which no one dreamed of anymore. And everything would be fine if it were not for the number 3 in the title - everyone expected the continuation of the series, but received a remaster of the first part. Old game was ported to a new graphics engine, the gameplay is completely taken from the original "Cossacks". Add to that a decent amount of bugs that GSC Game World has been actively fixing after release through various patches, and you can see why many gamers felt cheated. Still, GSC should have announced that the game is a remaster of the first part. before release, not after him.

3. Heroes of Might and Magic


The first part is step by step Heroes strategies of Might and Magic was released back in 1995. Its predecessor was King's Bounty, which appeared back in 1991. But universal love and recognition for HoMM came gradually, covering Heroes of Might and Magic III with a head somewhere closer to 1999.

The action of all "Heroes" takes place in a kind of fantasy universe. There are races, but the player is not tied to them: the hero can conquer castles of any faction and hire any available units. So under the same banners the most motley and wild brethren can gather: elves and skeletons, centaurs and dragons, people and elementals.

Battles take place on a field divided into tiles (hexagons). Units of the same type occupy one square, regardless of their number. The moves are carried out in turn, the hero looks at this action from the side, from time to time trying to help his army by casting various spells. Gradually, the hero gains experience, learns new skills and collects various artifacts that make him better and higher.


HoMM IV was released in 2004 and was perceived, to put it mildly, ambiguously: there were too many innovations. The main and key innovation concerned the heroes: from passive observers, they turned into active participants in battles who could move, inflict damage and be attacked like other units. Heroes could travel without troops at all: one by one or huddled in a gang of 7 characters. Having pumped up properly, a lone hero could independently endure a large army.

There was also a downside to the medal: if you managed to kill an enemy hero at the beginning of the battle, you could get a solid advantage. For example, it made sense to organize a sabotage attack on the enemy, lay down the leader of the army and retreat - the decapitated army lost the ability to capture mines and castles, which forced it to retreat and drag the lifeless carcass of the commander home.

All these innovations have spawned countless spaces for controversy and Hallivars: since 6 years have passed since the release of the third part, a new generation of gamers has emerged who have never seen "Heroes" before - they liked HoMM4. But those who grew up in the previous installments experienced mixed feelings butthert.

  • Heroes of Might and Magic V


The controversy between supporters and opponents of the fourth part stopped the release of Heroes of Might and Magic V, which took place in 2006: yesterday's opponents joined forces in a common impulse to express complaints about cartoon graphics for anime lovers. If we close our eyes to the picture, the gameplay "Heroes 5" was a modernized copy of the third part - obviously, the developers did not experiment in order to earn extra money on the nostalgia of the fans of the series.

This ends the classic "Heroes" and begins something completely incomprehensible. HoMM 6 and 7 have turned into a kind of alternative product, so far from the original that even Heroes 4 look like the standard of kosher against their background. Therefore, most fans of "Heroes" prefer to play the earlier versions, from 3 to 5. But the most popular are the Third HOMMs. Moreover, the HD version of this game was released in 2015.

2. Civilization


The first "Civilization" appeared in shaggy 1991 and is said to be a digital version of the board game of the same name in the early 80s. Since at that time ordinary mortals did not have computers, few suspected a new strategic toy: mainly employees of research institutes and other interesting enterprises.

Nevertheless, the game turned out to be quite successful: what engineer could resist the temptation, after a busy work shift, to try on the role of Stalin or Gandhi? The presence of the Civilopedia, a detailed game encyclopedia, favorably distinguished Civilization from other strategies of those times.

  • Civilization II


In 1996, Sid Meier and company released the second part of Ziva, which, thanks to the increased prevalence of computers, became a very successful commercial product. Despite the mediocre graphics, the game had some cool moments: for example, a video clip of a real newsreel was played during the construction of a wonder of the world. You could see the launch of Apollo or a nuclear rocket, filming the Sistine Chapel or Notre Dame de Paris. In subsequent parts, the movie was replaced with ordinary animation.

  • Civilization III


2001 was marked by the release of Civilization III: the first Civa with nice graphics. Even now she looks quite attractive, and in 2001 this picture caused a real delight. The gameplay has also undergone certain changes. In Civ 2, players tried not to collect many units on one square, because in the event of an enemy attack and the death of one of them, everyone who stood on the cage died. In Civ 3, nothing like this happened: in order to clear the cage of enemies, it was necessary to destroy them all.

Therefore, the obvious and only tactic of waging war in the third Tsiva: the creation of the so-called stack - a crowd of motley units on one cell. From time to time, a leader appeared who could unite 3 units under his banners. Such a formation was called an army and was a kind of fat unit with 20 HP. With the help of the army, almost anything could be cut.


The city window is the best thing in Civilization III

The trademark of the second and third Tsiva was a situation in which a technologically backward unit, having more combat experience, could calmly destroy some miracle weapon of the future. For example, in the order of things there was a situation when a spearman tore to shreds with an accurate blow enemy tank or the archer, having pulled the bowstring properly, shot down an enemy bomber. I was especially amused by the fact that the plane was shot down equally successfully not only by an archer, but also by a swordsman. In subsequent parts, this problem was partially solved, but in the first Tsivs, such events gave rise to many attacks of hysteria.

Civilization III had a number of innovations that migrated to all subsequent games in the series: various resources on the map, the Golden Age, cultural influence on neighboring cities, with which it was possible to assimilate a neighboring settlement, a technology tree (in previous parts, you had to memorize or write down the sequence discoveries of various sciences).

  • Civilization IV


Civilization IV, released in 2005, has acquired a three-dimensional image. Players accustomed to the third Tsiva were wary of the unusual graphics, so different from the previous part. Religion and espionage appeared in the game (addon Beyond the Sword), and the actions of aviation became more realistic: planes raided from the city and could not be shot down by some stern spearman. The problem of accumulating a large number of units on one cell was partly solved by aviation or artillery: all units in the stack received damage from their attacks.


Another cool innovation in the Warlords addon is vassal states. Now, instead of completely conquering negligent neighbors, it was enough to defeat the bulk of the troops and capture several key cities. After that, the enemy agreed to capitulate and became a vassal. Also, the status of a vassal could be granted to a group of their cities on another continent or islands, turning them into a kind of autonomous republic.


The year 2010 came and Civilization V was released. Square cells were replaced by more convenient and practical hexes: with them, the borders of states got rid of the strange linear angularity and became more believable. The system of accumulating a huge number of units on one cell was demolished: now only one military unit could be placed on one hexagon. At the same time, they were made more effective and stronger.

The maintenance of certain units required spending strategic resources: horses, iron, oil, coal or uranium. Without them at hand, the state risked being left without cavalry, battleships, nuclear weapons and aviation, which not only added realism, but also forced the players to carefully manage resources instead of riveting whatever they wanted in incredible quantities.


The tactics of building as many cities as possible also outlived theirs: large empires received fines for culture and science, and the population began to show discontent. So several different tactics emerged: develop through 4-5 cities with a large population, or build more settlements with fewer inhabitants in cities. It became possible to win with one single city (greetings from Venice).

Another innovation: the emergence of city-states that do not claim world domination. Friendship with them brought various bonuses: resources, points of science, culture or religion, units and additional votes in Congress.

It is worth noting that many of the functions, as in the previous Civs, were added in add-ons: religion and espionage, caravans, the ability to pass various resolutions in Congress and the UN - in the initial version without add-ons, all this was not. Therefore, reading the reviews about the game, it is not difficult to trace how the anger of the fans of the series was gradually replaced by mercy.


On October 21, 2016, Civilization VI was released. Notable innovations include 2 tech trees, cultural and scientific, which open independently of each other. The cells around cities must be built up with special areas: scientific, cultural, military, religious, industrial, etc. It will definitely not work out to build everything - there will simply not be enough cells. Moreover, each wonder of the world also requires a separate tile.

It is difficult to describe all the innovations and features of the sixth Ziva due to its freshness. But the game has already received the highest ratings from various gaming publications, and the reviews on Steam are, by and large, very positive. And this is despite the fact that usually the first version of Civilization turns out to be damp and only over time, with the help of several add-ons, it turns into a masterpiece. But, apparently, the sixth civilization may become the first representative of the series, which is good initially.

1. Warcraft


Warcraft - one of the founders of the RTS genre, whose developments have become the benchmark for tens and hundreds of subsequent games - climbs by a wide margin to the first place in the rating of the best strategies. Do not be surprised that C&C and StarCraft could not even get close to Varych: his influence on game industry cannot be overstated. Dota, World of Warcraft, tabletop and card games, and now a full-length film - all this was born only thanks to the game from Blizzard, which was released back in 1994.

The plot of Warcraft: Orcs and Humans is tied to the confrontation between humans and orcs. As in the film, the orcs fall out of the portal into the human world and a struggle begins between them for a place in the sun. However, the first part did not attract much attention to itself - all the glory went to its sequel, Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness, which was released just a year later. But just look what changes in the schedule have taken place in this short period! Add interesting videos and a good plot to a nice picture, and that's it - the masterpiece is ready.


As if "before" and "after" - the year has not passed in vain

But the continuation of the banquet had to wait a long time - as much as seven years. And the first reaction of the gaming community was mixed: too many suspicious innovations appeared in the game:

  • 3D engine;
  • 2 races grew into 4 (night elves and undead were added);
  • A lot of neutral units and monsters have appeared on the maps;
  • Heroes were added to the game who gained experience, pumped skills and cast all sorts of things (what is not an RPG?);
  • The rollers have become even brighter and more beautiful;
  • The plot is even more twisted and pathetic.

The pinnacle of the evolution of the third part was the release of Warcraft III: The frozen Throne in 2003, which gave birth to all the memorable dotka (I will hardly discover America if I remind you that DotA was created in the usual Warcraft 3 map editor and was not considered as a full-fledged independent game).

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    • We'll start our top of the best in the strategy genre with the already forgotten, but revolutionary Spore games... Don't be fooled by the cartoony graphics, because the game of the legendary Sid Meier in terms of scale level is a real No Mans Sky from the world of strategies. At its core, Spore is a god simulator. In strategy, we create civilization with our own hands and bring it from an embryonic cellular state to a super-race, freely plowing the vast expanses of space.

    The main feature of Spore is that each stage of the development of civilization in the game offers a unique gameplay:

    • Cell. The initial stage of evolution in a game where the fittest survives. We wallow in original soup and eat other cellular organisms
    • Creature. We get out on land, create cool Frankensteins and feast on the inhabitants of the terrestrial world
    • Tribe. At this stage, the "Dispute" resembles the usual building strategies like Age of Empires: collecting resources, building armies and raiding rival tribes in the game
    • Civilization. As you might guess, this time the game offers gameplay in the style of Civilization strategies: we are expanding to rival powers. Both the force method and the ability to conquer cities by diplomacy are available
    • Space. We go through the thorns to the stars. The main goal of the last stage of the strategy is to reach the center of the galaxy (thousands of randomly generated star systems are attached)

    So why is Spore, for all its scale, ranked last in the top 10 best strategies? The problem is that in an attempt to provide the player with a maximum of interesting mechanics, the developers did not bring any of them to a competitive level.

    9th Place: Command and Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars

    If you like classic building strategies, then you should pay attention to the Command and Conquer series, based on the mechanics of the cult strategy Dune 2. When reviewing the entire variety of projects in the series, we prefer Command and Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars. The game skillfully sits on two chairs and for beginners in the genre of real-time strategy will offer colorful graphics and clear game process... And oldfags will be satisfied interesting gameplay, with its general simplicity, giving huge scope for tactical maneuvers, thanks to the motley equipment and soldiers.

    Tiberium Wars is especially valuable for the storyline and Hollywood polish that oozes from every crevice of the game. The strategy came from those bearded times when the RTS genre was at the forefront of the mainstream. Therefore, Electronic Arts was not afraid to pour huge resources into the game and shoot lengthy cinematic videos with the involvement of Hollywood stars. Thus, playing Tiberium Wars is the best choice for fans of single-player projects, who, in fact, do not particularly like to build a base and understand other intricacies of strategies.

    8th place: Supreme Commander

    Against the background of expensive and spectacular "Tiberium Wars" in 2007, Supreme Commander was completely undeservedly lost, which at first glance caused skepticism because of:

    • Mediocre graphics
    • Cumbersome and inconvenient interface
    • Slow gameplay

    But even with all the claims, Supreme Commander often makes it to the top 100 strategies. The reason lies in the same scale that attracts attention in single-player strategies. Forget about skirmishes with tiny squads, there are hundreds of fighters to play in Supreme Commander and the enemy in the game is always ready to send a new army of soldiers, which turns the strategy into a dynamic carnage of a planetary scale.

    Nobody forgot about tactics either, and most often the review of the field of action has to be carried out from a bird's eye view, which makes the gameplay resemble a strategic version of chess. Don't forget about the ability to play online.

    7th place: Stronghold

    The cult Stronghold continues our top of the best strategy games on PC. The game was released almost 20 years ago and is still not losing its popularity, forcing gamers to fill up search engines with requests like "Please advise a game like Stronghold." Another thing is that it is quite difficult to find such a game, since Stronghold on PC is in many ways a unique genre vinaigrette among strategies, where both single large-scale wars with the construction of a base and a city-planning simulator with state management were combined. Moreover, all aspects of the game organically complement each other.

    Taking the scepter of the monarch and managing the town in the Middle Ages, one can come to total domination by both dictatorial and peaceful means. Workers and military alike demand both healthy food and a refined city, where there are always fun options for leisure. And what to do if resources are at a minimum and smerds are prepared new riot against the king? Take up the substring of torture and suppress the rebellion. It's up to you to decide what kind of person you will go down in the history of the game.

    6th place: Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War

    Relic's developers have a reputation for being craftsmen, with every project contributing enormously to development. modern games strategic genre. Among the abundant developer portfolio, we especially note Dawn of War, created based on a universe that skillfully combined the future and fantasy. It is thanks to the skillfully chosen universe that the "Dawn of War" strategy allows you to create brutal battles, where each fighter can show his strength in both long-range and close combat.

    The main features of Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War:

    • A shift in focus from base building to tactical combat
    • Each squad has a morale scale, which requires you to closely monitor military battles
    • A list of 9 unique races (including the Soulstorm add-on) with transport and attack units that require different tactical approaches from the player
    • Realistic animations and a selection of juicy finishing moves
    • An epic universe and a cool opportunity to crush a heretic with the steel fist of a "dreadnought". What for? For the glory of the emperor!

    Even considering that the Warhammer 40,000 series of games already has 3 projects, each of which offers interesting and unique approaches to gameplay, it was the original Dawn of War that became a kind of "GOST" in and deservedly gets into the best PC games among strategies.

    5th place: Total War Shogun 2

    Our game rating of strategies would be completely inappropriate without mentioning we are great (no, seriously, just look at how large-scale battles are here) and popular games from the Total War series. All releases of the series combine several important features: colossal battles with the participation of several thousand fighters, realistic and authentically recreated historical eras, cool graphics and division of the game into strategic (with the seizure of territories, diplomacy and other moments familiar to Civilization) and tactical part in real time.

    Total War is still the liveliest of all, but the series proved itself best of all in Shogun 2, which touches upon the stage of the feudal wars in Japan. The game is as friendly to beginners as possible, but for those who like to play thoughtfully "Shogun 2" offers the most sophisticated strategic part. A separate pillar is the mechanics of generals, who can unite in strategies by dynastic alliances, occupy administrative posts and generally pretend that they are controlled not by a computer, but by a real player.

    4th Place: StarCraft 2

    Approaching the top of the ranking, it's time to remind about the existence of Blizzard, who create the most popular strategy games in the world. But this is the case when popularity does not harm the quality and depth of games at all. The original Starcraft was able to build and hone a gameplay foundation for the entire strategy genre, offering several unique races and units, each with both strengths and weaknesses.

    The strategy sequel, Starcraft 2, announced 9 years later, did not bring significant innovations and was released over three separate games:

    • Wings of liberty
    • Heart of the swarm
    • Legacy of the void

    Starcraft 2's hit in the top strategy games is driven by the consistent quality of Blizzard's contemporary creations and its 'game for all' status. The strategy is recommended to be played both by gamers who prefer single-player battles with cool graphics and an impressively staged plot, and by real online maniacs who play on the network, are able to make a hundred clicks per second on the computer mouse and know simple ways how to smash the enemy base with five builders in five minutes.

    Important note: since 2017, the Starcraft 2 trilogy games have become completely free and this is the best gift for everyone who loves computer strategies.

    3rd place Sid Meier's Civilization VI

    Over its nearly 30-year history, the Civilization series has built a reputation as a real forge, relentlessly releasing the best turn-based strategy games on the PC. The gameplay backbone for all strategies is the same: we take on the role of God, who builds civilization from its very foundations to the creation of a superpower. Not to be confused with Spore, where all elements of the game are rudimentary. Civilization is focused only on the human species and offers such intense and challenging gameplay that newcomers to strategy can easily get dizzy with the abundance of possibilities.

    So why exactly Civilization VI we made the top ten best games of all time on PC in the strategy genre? It's simple: the game not only acquired new graphics and retained the concept, where we are engaged in the seizure of territories, develop transport infrastructure and lead the historical powers through the gloomy Stone Age and the Middle Ages into the happy (or not so) future of the XXII century, but also methodically developed all the elements of the strategy ...

    For old fans of Civilization VI, there are:

    • Advanced AI of computer opponents who now act according to their historical prototypes
    • Branched technology tree
    • The ability to win with one religion
    • An updated system of generals and great people

    But for newcomers to the series, only sad news: the game has become even more complex, confusing and clearly not designed for gamers who love easy construction strategies to kill a minute or two of time.

    2nd place Heroes of Might and Magic 3

    We perfectly imagine how you could get tired of the old and hackneyed cliché like "ageless classics". But what can you do if these are the words that are best suited to describe the third part of the great "Heroes". The popular fantasy game will soon celebrate its second decade since its release date, but remains the benchmark entertainment for turn-based strategy fans.

    The formula for success is, as always, simple and ingenious:

    • 8 unique races
    • Excellent balance
    • Lightweight and uncluttered gameplay
    • And a colossal scope for tactics due to the numerous, seemingly insignificant nuances

    Important differences from previous parts: an abundance of role-playing elements. The hero is no longer just an extra. As befits any commander, he takes an active part in the battle thanks to the ability to use magic and try on himself unique items, allowing you to strengthen the army. And add to this the need to build your own state, look for valuable resources and travel through the game world full of dangers, and you will get a legal and cool drug.

    In addition, to play with friends, there is no need to get out online - just one computer and a company of comrades who know a lot about computer strategies are enough.

    1st Place: Warcraft III

    Admit it, you are probably not at all surprised by the leader of our top of the best strategies? To confirm the cult status of Warcraft 3, it is enough just the fact that 16 years later, strategy is still one of the main world cyber disciplines and gives gamers hundreds of thousands of dollars for prizes. But the standard gameplay with base-building, unique races and units working according to the "rock-paper-scissor" technique, erected to the absolute absolute, is only half the success of the third "Warcraft".

    Another moment is epic story company with one of best stories in strategy history, served through Blizzard's familiar action-packed videos. The history of Artes' desertion is really interesting to follow, and the general plot with a dozen colorful characters twists so rapidly that after completing the strategy, you just want to put the highest mark and throw money into the monitor, just to see the continuation of the intriguing story. But Bllizard is silent. However, the king of Warcraft 3 strategies is still in front of us and nothing will prevent us from spending another ten happy hours in Lordaeron.

    For even more high-quality computer games, see the selection and in.

    For those who like to think carefully about global decisions and lead huge armies a genre of strategies was created. In such games, you can become a front commander or the leader of an entire nation. There are also strategies where you need to not only come up with battle tactics for your warriors, but also develop trade and diplomacy. Games like this are a great workout for the brain. In some of them, developers embed encyclopedias detailing events that took place in different historical eras. The following are best strategies on PC- top 10 rating.

    10. Anno

    Anno series of games opens the rating of the best strategies on PC. The first part (Creation of new world) was released in 1998. There are 13 games in total, covering most modern eras, sometimes including alternate history. The main focus is on trade and providing their settlers with resources so that they increase their social status. For example, after drinking a cup of coffee, an ordinary citizen can become a merchant or a nobleman, depending on the situation. However, the gameplay here is built not only on the economy. Sooner or later, neighboring states will have a desire to seize the player's wealth. Therefore, it always makes sense to build yourself a couple of extra guns.

    Caesar 3 is one of the best economic strategies on PC, in which the player will have to rebuild cities for the glory of the Emperor. After the training mission, the developers offer two options for further passage - military and peaceful. In the first case, the city will be regularly attacked by barbarians, in addition, a rebellion may suddenly begin. In the second option, there will be much fewer enemies. In some missions, they will not be at all, but the requirements for the prosperity of the settlement there are much higher. If the gamer does not cope with the plan that was drawn up by the game, then the emperor removes him from the post of governor. The city is very quickly attacked by Roman legionaries. In case of a loss, the player will be sent to the galleys, after which the level will have to be replayed. It is worth noting that this legion can be defeated by building defenses.

    8. Total War: Attila

    Ranked 8th in the top 10 best strategy games on PC Total War: Attila. This game has both a spectacular combat and a well-implemented turn-based mode on the global map. Total War: Attila is set in 395 AD, immediately after the division of the Roman Empire into West and East. The player needs to lead one of the peoples and completely capture the entire map. Difficulties begin almost immediately. Europe is under the attack of the Huns, and the lands of Rome are raging civil wars and the barbarians rage. In other words, the Great Nations Migration is in full swing. The diplomacy system is well done and allows for various tricky moves. AI is smart enough and may well cause a lot of problems for a novice gamer.

    7. Age of Empires 2: The African Kingdoms

    Age of Empires 2: The African Kingdoms, an add-on for the remake of Age of Empires 2: HD Edition, entered the top ten strategy games on PC. Compared to the original game, the graphics have been significantly improved and multiplayer has been built on the Steam servers. New nations and four fully voiced companies have also been added. The old classics have been revived and have been very warmly received by the fans. This remake is rightfully considered one of the best games in the entire Age of Empires series.

    Command & Conquer 4 is the final installment of the famous and one of the best strategy games. Despite the fact that the GSS and the Brotherhood of NOD have joined their efforts to save the human species, the last stage of the confrontation - the fourth war for Tiberius, is just around the corner. The developers have overhauled the entire gameplay. Now, in order to receive resources, the player needs to capture and hold special nodes that control the growth of Tiberium. Units have also undergone changes and are divided into attack, defense and support classes. Fans and critics have received mixed reactions to the game, mainly due to its multiplayer focus. All other changes were accepted by the public quite loyally.

    5.XCOM: Enemy Within

    The XCOM turn-based strategy series is considered one of the best games of its kind. Basically, the plot tells about the struggle of earthlings with aliens. The gamer will have to lead the XCOM organization and carry out various operations against aliens, which have a strong technological as well as numerical advantage. The non-storyline expansion Enemy Within has added new quests, weapons and mechs-robots, for the production of which you need to build a special laboratory. The atmosphere of the game allows you to completely immerse yourself in the noble cause of protecting the Earth from aliens.

    4. Civilization VI

    Continues the list of the best global turn-based strategy Civilization VI. One of the most interesting innovations was new system cities. Now settlements can occupy several cells and will give serious bonuses to the economy, as well as science. Unfortunately, it is impossible to capture a separate quarter - the city is owned only by the one who captured the center. The goal of the game remains the same - to lead your nation to victory through diplomacy, culture or military expansion. However, Firaxis Games was able to make quality game to please fans of the series.

    3. Age of Mythology

    Age of Mythology unlocks the top 3 strategy games on PC. Even ten years after its release, the game has a huge fan base. Developed by Ensemble Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. Like most standard RTS in Age of Mythology, the player needs to rebuild cities, collect resources and build troops to destroy enemy armies and settlements. The plot of the game is a kind of mixture of Greek, Scandinavian and Egyptian mythologies. Interestingly, gaming AI has been used in scientific research. The researchers wanted to find out what effect merging the emotional model with standard bot scripts has. According to the results, the aggressive variation won 25% faster. The only drawback of the strategy turned out to be very monotonous tasks in the company, but this did not reduce its replay value.

    Everyone has long understood that Blizzard does not bad games... Warcraft III was at one time the most anticipated and best strategic computer game in the market, so it's hard to find a gamer who has never heard of such colorful characters as Arthas, Illidan and Thrall. Well-chosen music allows you to fully immerse yourself in the history of the fantasy world. In addition to an excellent plot, Warcraft has excellent graphics, as well as a map editor that allows you to completely change the characteristics of units, textures and create your own cut scenes. This has led to the creation of many unofficial maps, the gameplay of which is strikingly different from the original game. The most famous example is DotA, which has grown into a separate major project.

    1. StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty

    Starcraft II Wings of Liberty is the best known and best real-time strategy game on PC and quickly became the new eSports discipline. The Blizzard developers did not even hide the fact that the main purpose of their game is online matches. However, a single player company with a cool storyline is present. Terrans, protoss and zerg will once again face off on epic battlefields. The main task in any mission is the complete destruction of the enemy and his buildings. The Havok graphics engine and excellent graphics only increase the enjoyment of the process. The game was released for a long time - thanks to a well-developed universe, interesting factions and network leagues that allow you to fight with other players.

    Strategy is a genre of game in which you have to turn on both hemispheres of the brain. Strategies give you the opportunity to be a king, warlord, lord, rebel, or even a god himself. Over the years of this genre's existence, thousands of games have been released, and it is very difficult to choose the right ones now. Therefore, below you will see best PC strategy games of all time, the top 3 includes the most popular and original games of this genre.

    1. Total war series

    It is impossible to choose one specific game from the Total War series, because each of them has its own advantages. IN Total games War you have to be the ruler of one of the states at a certain time of the existence of mankind. For example, in Rome total War you can take under the rule of the Roman Empire or dozens of other states, times the ancient world... Empire Total War can be unbreakable under your rule Russian empire, ambitious France, mighty Great Britain and many other countries of the 17-18 centuries. During the existence of this series, more than 10 games have been released, the plot of which takes place in different eras... The main feature of these strategies is that the history of the whole world depends on you. You can take over the whole world or destroy your country. Politics, economics, fighting, sieges, naval battles, this game has it all, so it ranks # 1 among the best PC strategy games of all time.

    2. Civilization V

    Civilization is a strategy where you have to control humanity from primitive times to the space age. In the course of the game, you will need to seize the lands of rivals, discover new technologies, extract resources, and build cities. Subsequently, you will create a great power or fall in an attempt to do so. In the game, you can choose more than 20 states, which have their own style of introducing politics, economics, and scientific progress. Also for the Civilization series of games, gamers have come up with a special term "one more move and go to sleep" - you know, the game is so exciting and interesting that you will not be able to stop.

    3. Starcraft 2

    Starcraft 2 is a strategy game where invincible people, aliens and elves face off in mortal combat on various planets of the endless universe. The task of the game is to extract resources, create an army, and destroy the enemy. To win, you need to make quick and intelligent decisions, otherwise you will be destroyed.

    The game has multiplayer and a single player campaign. In multiplayer, you will face the same users as you, so to win you must be one step ahead of your opponent. The single player campaign is also interesting, you will play as a mercenary Jim Raynor. During the passage of the campaign, you will face the armies of elves and aliens, and some battles will take place on a map that eventually fills with lava. Between battles, you can research new technologies, communicate with people and make decisions where to strike a new blow. Great functionality and fascination of the plot puts the game in third place best PC strategies of all time.