The Best Strategy Games to Play Right Now

A deep, hilarious, wholly original tactics roguelike that finally justifies its legendary development. If you want turn-based combat with genuine personality and endless build variety, this is the standout.

A deep, gorgeous, series-best Roman city-builder that is hard to put down. Docked only for a rough launch, it is the pick for anyone who wants to plan, trade, and watch a city grow.

A polished, clever fusion of grid tactics and deckbuilding aboard a train. Its combat core is superb, held back mainly by a lean pool of cards and enemies that more content should fix.

Still in early access and already one of the best deckbuilders available. We scored it as the promising work in progress it is, but a foundation this strong tells you where it is going.

A sharp, standalone distillation of Company of Heroes combat that nails the tactics. The pick if you want real-time squad warfare without committing to the full campaign.

A clever build-trade-defend loop from an ambitious small studio, dragged down a little by technical rough edges. Worth a look if the hybrid of city-building and siege defense appeals.

Every game here is one we played and reviewed ourselves, and the scores are our own. We spread the list across sub-genres on purpose, tactics, city-building, RTS, and deckbuilding, and ranked them honestly rather than by size.