What are the best strategy games on PC? Some would say StarCraft II, others Civilization VI. Join us as we list the genre’s greatest hits, featuring the biggest Steam games available. Fun fact: the strategy game genre was first invented back in 1938, when Winston Churchill looked out an aeroplane window over France and thought, “Hey, this would make a really cool videogame, whatever that is.” Probably.

Feb 10, 2020  There are many lists of the best RTS games, and many of those lists a packed with the classics from the 90’s and early 2000’s. These legends have quite rightly earned their place in the real-time hall of fame for all time, but this status quo sees the same titles appearing time and again, with little new to say about them. Mar 10, 2017 “War, huh, what is it good for?” – Edwin Star, War from the album War and Peace Well apparently, it’s good for good times. War games are all over the map. So, to honor our ever-present source of joy and soul-crushing doom, Mac Gamer HQ presents you with a four-star general overview of the best war games for Mac.

Since then, there have been about a hundred million different strategy games, simulating as many different kinds of fighting as we humans have had reasons to fight one another, and then some.

From the all-encompassing broad strokes of the Civilization games to the individually rendered blades of the Total War series, and not to forget the far-flung fantasy tech of StarCraft – strategy games are as diverse as they come. But which are the absolute top strategy games on PC? Well, just drag a selection box over our bodies and right-click on the horizon, and we’ll all be on our way to finding out.

The best strategy games are:

Offworld Trading Company

Offworld Trading Company is right at the other end of the strategy games spectrum from Civilization, though its designer, Soren Johnson, also worked on Civ IV. While Civ spans the history and some of the future of humanity, chronicling the progress of mankind, Offworld Trading Company is all about making a fortune by exploiting our red neighbour, Mars.

It’s an RTS crossed with the intricacies of the best management games, one in which victory is not achieved by throwing tanks at enemies, or demolishing their bases. Instead, your weapons are resources and cash, which you use to manipulate the marketplace not just to simply get rich, but to completely screw over your competitors. That’s if you haven’t made a temporary alliance with one of your rivals, of course – though you might end up closing deals with one hand while holding a dagger in the other.

You might not expect an economic strategy game to be very aggressive, but Offworld Trading Company encourages you to be just as hostile as a warmonger. When you’re eyeing up menus, planning what to build next, what to sell, which company to launch a hostile takeover against next, it’s easily as thrilling as when you’re sending infantry across artillery-pummelled fields or launching sneak air attacks against an enemy stronghold in Company of Heroes or StarCraft II.

Total War: Warhammer II

With Total War: Warhammer, the iconic strategy series dipped an experimental toe into fantasy. The joyous fun of dragons and magic (not to mention a popular licence) made for mass appeal and record sales, but developer Creative Assembly did not forget how to make a good strategy game. The character of Warhammer’s factions was channelled into engaging campaign mechanics that varied for the first time, encouraging replayability, and unit rosters that enabled a better Lord of the Rings battle simulator than any other game out there.

All of that’s even more true in the sequel, as our Total War: Warhammer 2 PC review points out. This time, CA goes even bigger, making it one of the best strategy games in recent years. Again, though, this ambition is tempered with craft: the new Vortex victory condition may seem like fantastical indulgence, but it serves the game by keeping the pressure up right to the end, when you would previously be cruising to an easy win. The factions are richer and more vibrant than ever, yet mastering more vanilla classes adds common sense to all the bombast. So don’t be fooled by the dragons and dinos – this is the best Total War has been by the old, analytical metrics, as well as the flashy new fun ones.

If you’re looking for the most recent fantasy strategy content, check out our blood-soaked Total War: Warhammer – Curse of the Vampire Coast review. If that gets you excitedly gnashing your extra sharp incisors, here’s our exhaustive Total War: Warhammer Vampire Coast guide. However, if you’re looking for something more historical, check out our verdict on the latest major game in the series in our Total War: Three Kingdoms review.

Civilization VI

If Civ V was the most streamlined the series had ever been, Civilization VI is the most celebratory – a 25th anniversary iteration that sheds the sterility of previous entries in favour of a stirring soundtrack and a brave new (cartoonish) look. It finds Firaxis remembering that the power of 4X games is as much in their atmosphere as its systems.

It’s testament to the attentiveness of Sid Meier and his studio, however, that those systems have not been neglected either. Civilization VI has exhumed several of the best additions from its predecessor’s Community Balance Patch, while pushing onwards and upwards with some new offbeat ideas – builders that expire after three turns, for instance, and cities that spread across several tiles.

Firaxis will surely continue to build on these strong foundations with balance patches and DLC like the Civilization 6: Rise and Fall expansion – and there’s even more following the Civ 6: Gathering Storm release date arrives. And, of course, players will do the same as they conceive game-changing Civ 6 mods.

Stellaris

Paradox’s 4X grand strategy hybrid makes space surprising again with event chains that are, at first, evocative of Crusader Kings II, but end up going much further. In Stellaris, expect mutant uprisings, robotic rebellions, and the discovery of alien texts that make your citizens question their place in the galaxy.

It’s not just a 4X game; it’s a galactic roleplaying game and empire sim, bestowing a vast array of options upon you, allowing you to create unique, eccentric space-faring species. You can play as a fundamentalist society built on the backs of slaves, or hyper-intelligent lizards that rely on robots whether they are fighting or farming. The robust species creator and multitude of meaningful decisions mean you can create almost any alien you can imagine. No wonder we praised it highly in our Stellaris review.

And underpinning all of that is the game’s focus on exploration. While most space games with 4X elements stick with one method of interstellar travel, Stellaris gives you three to choose from, each with their own strengths and counters. In one game, the galaxy might be a network of hyperlanes, but in the next you might find yourself building wormhole stations and blinking across the galaxy.

Stellaris’ multiplayer is not to be overlooked either, transforming decent human beings into Machiavellian alien tyrants at the drop of a hat. It’s easily one of the best strategy games of recent years. Plus, there’s always new DLC on the horizon for dedicated players, like the upcoming Stellaris Federations update.

XCOM 2

XCOM 2 is one of the all-time greats of the tactics genre, so we gave it a really good score in our XCOM 2 review. It takes the best bits from the series so far – the savage struggle, the ragtag group of heroes, the devious aliens, the tight tactical battles – and throws improvement after improvement on top.

Once again, XCOM 2 has you sending up to six soldiers into the breach, but this time as a group of struggling survivors fighting against a tyrannical alien regime. It’s all guerrilla tactics, covert missions, and dissidence. You need to learn to make sacrifices, leaving men and women behind so you can save the rest, and you need to learn to swallow loss and failure.

The battles are challenging and varied, full of horrific adversaries with tricky, surprising abilities, but the biggest changes are found at the strategic layer – why else would it be on a list of the best strategy games on PC? You will travel all over the world, setting up cells, infiltrating black sites, hunting for more resources so you can field more powerful weapons and tools – it is compelling, rather than an afterthought.

And besides the great XCOM 2 mods – there are corgi guns, for goodness sake – the War of the Chosen and Tactical Legacy Pack expansions will keep you occupied long after the credits of the main game roll. Featuring new environments, stories, and a devious new enemy called the Chosen, working out how to weather these new storms will certainly steal your remaining free hours.

Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault

Company of Heroes 2 was great but it didn’t quite match the magic of its predecessor. Then Ardennes Assault came along; in our Company of Heroes 2: Ardennes Assault review we found that it’s one of the best RTS games you can play.

The US forces and German Oberkommando are fighting over control of the Ardennes in a campaign inspired by The Battle of the Bulge – in true war games style. That sets it apart from both Company of Heroes and the sequel alongside its non-linear single-player campaign that plays out across a strategic meta map. The Germans are dynamic, being reinforced by retreating forces, changing the challenges posed by both story missions and the dynamic skirmishes.

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While the campaign is only played from the American point of view, the US forces are split into three companies, all with unique specialities covering air, support, and mechanised roles. These companies all have special officer abilities and upgrade trees, and any can be used to tackle a mission. Even if you focus on one, the other two will still be on the map, and can provide assistance by blocking the enemy retreat out of a captured province.

This is the first time the battles in Company of Heroes have had real weight to rival the very best WW2 games. Previously, winning was all that mattered. Finish the mission and you move on to the next one, starting fresh. Ardennes Assault is a persistent campaign, though, and losses in battle can bring down a company’s veterancy and manpower. There is even a risk of it being wiped out entirely, leaving the other two companies to face the Germans alone.

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2

There’s a lot to love about Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2. From the ludicrous unit types to the corny FMV cutscenes, you will struggle to find a strategy game with as much personality and charm as this RTS. It may not be as wild as the sequel, which managed to cast J.K. Simmons, Tim Curry, and George Takei, but there’s a degree of sincerity amidst the bombast.

And if you’re just looking for something with solid strategy gaming chops, then Red Alert 2 hasn’t aged a day in the two decades since its release. You’ll find two varied campaigns to barrel through – one from the US perspective and one from the Soviet Union – and a tightly balanced multiplayer offering with a couple of endlessly addictive modes. No other strategy game lets you pit democratic dolphins against Soviet squids, and for that alone we’ll always adore Red Alert 2.

Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak

Blackbird Interactive has done the seemingly impossible with Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak. And that’s to transpose the elegant, minimalist space wars of the original Homeworld games to a single planet, making for one of the best RTS games in the process. Somehow it works. Really well.

It’s a journey across a vast desert directed by your mission to save a civilisation. Each battle is connected to the last as well as the ones yet to be played. Every unit that survives will live to fight another day in another mission in a persistent war for survival.

Kharak itself, despite being a giant desert, is a fantastic planet-sized battlefield that does for the ground what the originals did for space. The addition of terrain and elevation replicates the three-dimensional battles of the previous games, with the sand dunes providing cover, hiding spots, and high ground from where you can unleash devastating attacks.

Like its predecessors, the game is blessed with some of the best art design you could hope to find in an RTS, meaning you can take beautiful Homeworld screenshots. Add with its incredible sound design, and a genuinely interesting narrative, Deserts of Kharak is a classic.

Endless Legend

In our Endless Legend review, we lavished praise on a game that blends fantasy and science fiction seamlessly, throwing stranded spacemen against magical dragon people in absolutely the most striking hex-based world there is. Diverse, gorgeous, it looks almost tangible, like you could reach out and pick up one of the elaborate cities and cradle it in your hands. “Don’t worry, citizens. We won’t let the horrible man-eating insects devour you and your families,” we whisper into our cupped palms. It’s easily one of the best PC games of 2014.

Fascinating factions vie for dominance over the apocalyptic world. Each is blessed with unique and interesting mechanics that set them apart and inform how they’re played. You have got the horrible aforementioned flesh-eating insect race, the Necrophage, for instance, who are so foul they cannot make alliances with other factions, forcing them to always be the opposition. And there are the bizarre Cultists, a faction of peculiar zealots that can only construct one city, and must rely on swallowing up other factions if they want to expand.

Endless Legend is also blessed with a strong narrative that lends it a strong sense of place. Every faction has a set of story quests that will inform many of your decisions without backing you into a corner. There is also an abundance of side-quests and stories that make it feel like you’re managing a world where a genuine roleplaying adventure is taking place.

Crusader Kings II

Talk about a murderous bastard of a grand strategy game. In Crusader Kings II, you play a medieval ruler trying to gain more power, influence, and territory in a historically authentic medieval Europe. It’s a game of intrigue, war, politics, and religion played out on a gorgeous map of the known world and in countless, complex menus. Really, though, Crusader Kings II is a strategy game about people: your dynasty, your vassals, your lovers, enemies, and family members.

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It’s this personal element that makes Crusader Kings II so compelling. You’re in charge of a family, not an abstract nation. You’ll marry and have kids, you’ll die, and then your heir will take over and the whole thing begins again. In between all this, you can use intrigue or brute force to increase your holdings, but the key is to develop a real personal connection with your characters, your avatar. You’ll mourn their death and cheer their every triumph.

Usurp thrones, create politically advantageous marriages, murder your wife, and if it all gets too much there’s always the occasional jousting tournament or day of hunting to keep you in good spirits. As long as they don’t kill you. Best of all, Crusader Kings II has just gone free-to-play, making it one of the best free PC games around.

Starcraft II

What’s not to love about a game that pits armoured cowboys against xenomorphic aliens and space elves? StarCraft II is a classic base-building RTS that tasks you with gathering resources, building armies, and killing your enemy before they kill you with quick decisions and even quicker mouse clicks.

StarCraft II is one of the best multiplayer games on PC. Your enemies are human; they’ll probably be able to click faster than you, issuing orders quicker than you. You’ll probably lose a lot, but you’ll get better the more you play, making this one of the best RTS games for anyone with a competitive streak. Or, if you would rather watch the action, there’s a small but dedicated esports playerbase.

The PvE campaign is also interesting – Blizzard has combined frantic action with the backdrop of some of the best RPGs as you follow the exploits of Terran mercenary Jim Raynor. You’ll fight through a series of missions, many of which will have unique objectives – like trying to harvest resources on a map that periodically fills up with lava, or defending against waves upon waves of Zerg for a set period of time. In between missions you’ll explore an RPG-like hub, where you can talk to people, research new tech, and decide your next destination. Story is hard to do in RTS games, and many developers resort to cutscenes or in-mission dialogue, but StarCraft II has you interact with the world outside of combat.

Supreme Commander

Back in the day, Supreme Commander was the game that broke PCs, such were the demands it placed on processors. This future war robo-RTS simplifies resource management and focuses more on creating the perfect war machine. You start off with a single irreplaceable command unit, and from there you build factories that will churn out units to wage war on your enemies.

Nothing genre-breaking, but it’s the sheer scale that puts Supreme Commander up there with the best RTS games. Years later, Supreme Commander doesn’t so much break PCs anymore as it breaks minds. A player’s army can potentially reach up to 1,000 units separated out into land, sea, and air. You have to orchestrate a careful ballet of production, movement, and attack, grinding down your opponent while keeping your command unit safe, as well as your factories powered and supplied so that they can create more machines of death. It’s brilliant and mind-boggling all at once.

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This was one of the few games at the time to officially support dual monitors, which means you can have a zoomable map up on the second screen. It’s a godsend, as it allows you to keep an eye on the big picture a lot easier. Few games are blessed with the same scale as Supreme Commander, and when you take the war online that’s where the real challenge begins.

Titles like StarCraft demand quick thinking and quicker reactions, but they only deal with a couple dozen units at most. Supreme Commander demands all of that too but deals in the thousands. Compared to many upcoming PC games, this RTS may look a little creaky around the edges, but it still offers a supreme slice of strategy.

Upcoming strategy games

Iron Harvest

The upcoming strategy game from King Art Games is set in the World of 1920+ created by artist Jakub Różalski. In our Iron Harvest hands on preview, we marvelled at the intimate battle scenes, detailed world destruction mechanics, and each character’s story interwoven between three fighting factions. Fans of the classic RTS will find a lot of familiarity in Iron Harvest when it releases September 1, 2020, as it brings the genre into 2020, expanding on building mechanics and bringing a plethora of mech units onto the battlefield in this dieselpunk dystopia.

So there are the best strategy games on PC. While you’re here, check out the best PC MMOs for similar life-swallowing experiences. And if you’re after the very cream of the crop, check out the best PC games of all-time. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’re off to defend our bases/save humanity from alien annihilation/wage global war. Phew, this strategy stuff sure is stressful.

Naval warfare has a rich history dating back to ancient times, spanning countless conflicts that have relied on access to the world’s oceans. Fleets and flotillas have been crucial for the logistical transportation of materials, goods, treasures and troops. In combat, naval vessels have the capability to strike a decisive battle against the opponent or interdict against their supply lines. Undoubtedly, this is an important branch of a nation’s military, but how does this element of warfare translate to videogames?

Those who are looking for naval warfare can find games that are worth an investment, whether more arcade-style combat, or developing the strategy for an entire battlefleet. The following titles are absolute plays for the admiral-minded types looking to expand their naval-themed experiences.

What are the best Naval War Games?

• Naval Campaigns: Wolfpack
• Command: Modern Operations
• Cold Waters
• Rule the Waves II
• Supremacy at Sea WW2
• Atlantic Fleet
• Victory at Sea
• Silent Hunter 3
• Ironclads 2 Collection
• Enigma: Rising Tide
• Navyfield
• Fighting Steel: World War II Surface Combat 1939-1942
• World of Warships

Naval Campaigns: Wolfpack

Free Rts War Games

Developer/Publisher: John Tiller Software
Tags: WW2, Atlantic Theatre, Submarine Warfare, Operational, Real-Time
Purchase:Direct

A rare naval-themed outing from the fabled JTS house, Wolfpack is the latest entry in the Naval Campaigns line and takes you to the till-covered Atlantic theatre. You are in charge of a varying number of U-Boat ships as you try and disrupt the Allied supply lines in the Atlantic Ocean. Alternatively, you're in charge of the Allied fleets trying to keep Britain's life-line up and running.

There are 50 scenarios in total, along with two campaigns covering a wide range of battles and set-pieces. Not all of them can be played from both sides, but most of them can. There is also a powerful editor as standard, and the usual JTS bells and whistles to go with it. It's still fairly old-school in that JTS fashion, but this is a more straight-forward game in many ways.

Command: Modern Operations

Developer/Publisher: WarfareSims / Matrix Games
Tags: Naval, Land, Aerial, Real Time, Various Theatres, Strategy, Simulation, Grand Strategy, Modern Warfare
Purchase: Steam, Direct

Command's definition as purely a 'naval' war game is getting rather stretched now, but despite improving the ground operations part of the simulation most of the scenarios and focus is on naval (and air) assets for the most part. Regardless of how you want to define it, it's a damn good piece of software and deserves to be on every list it can fit under. Since it's predecessor was here, feels right to continue the tradition.

You can read our Command: Modern Operations review to find out more about what we thought, but the basic break-down is this: This is the finest, most-in depth simulation of modern warfare you will ever see, and the new version definitely has a number of improvements in terms of U.I. and accessibility. If you've never owned CMANO but have a passing interesting, then buying CMO is a must. If you're an existing owner, there's not as much new as perhaps justifies the asking pricing. Existing owners of the base CMANO game get a 50% discount until January 31st, but even then what's on offer may not be enough for some. Still, you can always take the Paradox mentality and think of it as an investment in the game's future in terms of new free content.

On Feb 24th, 2020, CMO received its' first piece of Command LIVE micro-DLC, Broken Shield 300. To date it's the best example of such DLC that's been released since the project started, and bodes well for the future of such smaller releases on the new platform.

Cold Waters

Developer/Publisher: Killerfish Games
Tags: Naval, Real Time, Various Theatres, Strategy, Simulation, Submarine
Purchase: Steam

Killerfish Games manages to hold two titles on this list, and with good reason. Cold Waters manages to walk a perfect line between arcade and simulation with this submarine-based naval game. Establishing itself in a modern setting, the player sets out in nuclear submarine and strike against surface targets and warships while evading modern ASW countermeasures. Great mission and unit variety, outstanding visuals and intuitive UI enables Cold Waters to stand tall among the greatest naval wargames out there.

Content for Cold Waters is still being released, with the latest addition being a South China Sea campaign. Those looking for a more immersive sub sim, please note that this isn’t Silent Hunter – you may be disappointed if that’s what you’re looking for here. Read our Cold Waters review to learn more about what makes this game so popular.

Rule the Waves II

Developer/Publisher: Naval Warfare Simulations
Tags: Naval, Real Time, Various Theatres, Strategy, WW1, WW2, Management, grand strategy
Purchase: Direct

While the sequel to Rule the Waves won't be ground-breaking for anyone experienced in the original title, Rule the Waves 2 is a clear improvement over its predecessor in more ways than one. Free games to download for apple mac free. With an expanded timeline through to 1950, air forces and Air Craft Carriers now make their appearance in the mid-to-late game, shifting the priority of naval doctrine from Dreadnoughts and super-ships to platforms capable of fielding large amounts of air power.

Other little improvements, such as changed naval invasion ranges, mean that this takes on a more long-form, emergent narrative experience similar to Hearts of Iron - it's less about painting the map your colour, and more about the strategic and long-term naval performance of your nation. There's still areas of improvement - in-game events and politics still take on a euro-centric affair, the game is terrible at explaining itself, and we'd love to see mechanics that cater towards large-scale warfare between alliances. As with the first game, this is a completely unique experience in naval war gaming, and anyone even remotely interested should definitely try it out for themselves. Read our Rule the Waves 2 review to find out more about what we thought.

Supremacy at Sea WW2

Developer: Naval Warfare Simulations
Tags: WW2, Strategic, Management, Pacific, Atlantic, Mediterranean, Operational
Purchase:Direct

In many ways SaS is a counter-point to NWS' other entry on this list, Rule the Waves 2. It's not getting a sequel and hasn't had the same amount of support as the other game, but provided you can still get a hold of it (you can only purchase what few physical copies remain from the NWS store) it's a very engaging naval warfare game that focuses on the big-picture. There are three campaigns covering the Pacific, Atlantic and Mediterranean theatres, and you're tasked with managing and deploying fleets and task forces based on operational needs of the campaign. Along with fleets and ships, you can also manage air assets, and even intervene in ground battles.

It's a little bit fiddly to get working on Windows 10 machines, but it is doable and this is one of those rare games that clearly has been designed by someone with immense knowledge and passion for the subject, and have offered a unique take that makes best use of the resources and technology they had available. The quintessential 'indie' war game and you can find out more by reading our Supremacy at Sea review.

Atlantic Fleet

Developer/Publisher: KillerFish Games
Tags: Naval, Turn Based, Atlantic Theatre, Strategy, WW2, Arcade
Purchase: Steam, iOS

Initially released on iOS as a sequel to Pacific Fleet in 2015, Atlantic Fleet excels as an arcade-style turn-based naval strategy game. Slug it out in single battles, scenarios or an Atlantic campaign as the Kriegsmarine or the Royal Navy. Both factions offer a wide variety of naval vessels, from famous ships such as the Hood and Bismarck, all the way to “paper” battleships such as the Lion-class and H-44! The use of land based or carrier aircraft for strikes against ships is also present and can give an edge over the enemy.

The turn-based combat is perfect for the surface ship engagements, but submarine and aircraft carriers are a bit sub-par. The price of admission is just right for the amount of content in the game. Read our review for more.

Victory at Sea

Developer/Publisher:Evil Twin Artworks
Tags: Naval, Real-Time, Various Theatres, Strategy, Arcade, Moddable, WW2
Purchase:Steam

Victory at Sea is an excellent game for those who want a fast-paced experience of WW2 naval warfare across multiple theatres of operation. Simplified combat controls and real time management allows for the action to be quick and engaging. Nation variety spans the traditional naval powers of British, American, Japanese and German fleets to the lesser represented Dutch, Italian and French forces for custom battles.

There is a lot of content for Victory at Sea due to free updates from the developers, coupled with a cheap purchase price. Along with modding tools that expand unit rosters (such as can be found here) and ship variety this is a great title for people looking to expand their naval libraries.

This game also received a sequel - Victory at Sea: Pacific. Sadly, the added campaign layer has added a whole new pool of potential problems for the developer. It's got a solid foundation, but there's still work to do yet before it's in a good enough place to knock the original game off its perch.

To Go Live, your game needs to be recognized by our built-in game detection system and you need to be actively viewing a server! When your game is detected, the Go Live tab will appear on the bottom left of your screen, above your status bar. Note: You can only Go. Discord Mac doesnt detect game im playing. No matter what game i play it doesnt display it as a status message. I tried discord on windows and it works on there. Is there some setting for Mac? Discord is a free and secure all-in-one voice+text app designed for gamers that works on your desktop and phone. Join Create post.

Silent Hunter 3

Developer/Publisher: Ubisoft
Tags: Naval, Real Time, Various Theatres, Strategy, Simulation, Submarine, WW2, Moddable
Purchase: Steam, Direct

As a U-boat captain of the Kriegsmarine, you will find yourself prowling for unsuspecting targets, ambushing convoys, or fighting against aircraft as you’re surfaced. Interacting with the ships interior is also a major component of managing your submarine. Of the Silent Hunter series, Silent Hunter 3 easily remains the undisputed champion.

What pushes Silent Hunter 3 beyond it’s sequels is the incorporation of the GWX3 GOLD mod. This mod gives the game an even more immersive experience, with quality of life changes, environment improvements and added variety still unmatched by the later titles. If you can sacrifice the visual fidelity that the later versions have, you’ll find afternoons and evenings lost as you develop into a successful U-boat Commander. Alarm! Fluten!

Ironclads 2 Collection

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Developer/Publisher: Totem Games
Tags: Naval, Real Time, Turn base, Various Theatres, Strategy, Simulation, 19th Century
Purchase:Steam

Where previous Totem Games releases can be considered misfires, the Ironclads 2 series of games bundled as a collection on Steam are a great addition for any Armchajr-Admiral out there. This collection of games has you fighting forgotten engagements in the late 19th century. While the strategic element is turn based, engagements are in real time. But don’t be fooled; managing ships can get complicated when you split columns or try and envelope an opponent’s fleet.

Opponent AI, ship models and unique settings allow these naval engagements to really come alive and provide wonderfully varied experiences. However impatient players or newcomers might be frustrated by the lack of tutorials (other than just a manual) and hardcore sim fans might be disappointed by the basic mechanics for tactical engagements. However, for the price of four games, and the unique setting each brings, these titles definitely deserve the attention they get.

Totem also make the Clad in Irons series, which is what they're currently focusing on. They recently released a DLC for one of their games title Clad in Iron: Carolines 1885, which you can also read our review on.

Enigma: Rising Tide

Developer/Publisher: Tesseraction Games/Dreamcatcher Interactive
Tags: Naval, Real Time, Atlantic Theatre, Strategy, First Person, Arcade
Purchase: Free

Enigma: Rising Tide is a very strange but excellent naval wargame. What makes it so strange is the alternative history the game is based upon; the Germans won the first world war, and everything stems from that. Now that you’ve digested that twist, it is easy to see what makes Enigma: Rising Tide such a compelling game to play. Focusing on small unit actions, such as operating a corvette, submarine or a destroyer.

The game pits the player on the bridge of these vessels and manages to operate a fine balance of arcade action and command options. Where it lacks in patience and finesse, the pace of the missions and the satisfaction of a ship sinking is still gratifying in this title. Enigma: Rising Tide is for those who are wanting to take a break from the hard-fought battles of stratagem and are looking add a few more hulls to the bottom of the sea in at what sometimes can be a neck breaking pace.

Navyfield

Developer/Publisher: SDEnterNet / Naiad Games
Tags: Naval, Real Time, Pacific Theatre, Atlantic Theatre, Arcade, WW2, Multiplayer
Purchase: Free, Free (Steam)

Navyfield is a curious naval game. Recommending it is like telling somebody to go see Woodstock today. As an MMO, it’s time in the sun has passed by a few years, but at it’s peak it was a phenomenal game. Although Navyfield has been overshadowed by modern releases, the game is still strong to this day. Pitting up to 32 players and an assortment of ships together, Navyfield has a surprising amount of variety and modes, backed by quick and addictive battle sessions.

Typically, fleets are a combined assortment, battleships, carriers, cruisers, destroyers and even frigates are some of the options available (unless the hosted room decides otherwise). The beauty starts with as you see the players naturally forming to picket the larger ships or the carriers and the ships with greater agility either lay torpedoes or scout for incoming spreads. Players that aren’t apart of the pack and are unexperienced can find themselves isolated and destroyed. Anti-Aircraft is also an important element, as although machine gun fire from your ships are automatic, it requires a keen eye to manage those flak bursts to take out incoming aircraft which can sway the battle in mere seconds. Matches are quick and full of action in an easy to look at isometric view.

Navyfield was and still is grindy, making the drive to those bigger ships a pain if you’re unwilling to cough up some compensation. Levelling up your crew and unlocking newer arsenals are still very much a mechanic here. However, a side benefit of this is understanding the types of ships and the benefit of different play styles. Rushing to be the King George V-class may not necessarily be as enjoyable as wiping out many unsuspecting players with a perfect torpedo spread from a Japanese light cruiser. Every faction has a distinct feel and doctrine.

Although there is a Navyfield 2, it tries too hard to compete with World of Warships, rather than capture the magic in a bottle that the first game had and suffers for it. Both newer titles feel more about smaller engagements and which captain has the widest bow (a matter of speaking). Navyfield managed to capture fleet combat exceptionally well in a multiplayer setting the first time around and is still supported and played by players today.

Fighting Steel: World War II Surface Combat 1939-1942

Developer/Publisher: Divide By Zero Software Inc./ Strategic Simulations, Inc.
Tags: Naval, Real Time, Pacific Theatre, Atlantic Theatre, Strategy, WW2
Purchase: Free (Abandonware)

Fighting Steel is a lesser known title for those looking into the war chest of naval wargames; as a game, it primarily focuses on fleet action. Pitting capital ships against others in often historical context or user created scenarios, in real time ships square off to lob shells until somebody capsizes or breaks off under the cover of smoke screen. What Fighting Steel does well is the variety through a large variety of ships and how they perform in battle, and it’s attempt of authenticity, through its scenarios and mechanics. Although the graphics are simple and dated, they are crisp and serviceable. It’s easy to distinguish targets by their silhouettes for the experienced admiral.

For Jutland players, the games are very similar, only standing out on a few overlay mechanics and time period of course. A rocky release might have damaged the hull of Fighting Steel a bit, but since 1999, the game has improved to be a compelling and immersive through patches from the dedicated. Work such as Fighting Steel Project which delivers an improved combat simulation and fixes a lot messy bugs along the way has Fighting Steel still on the fleet roster for those looking to see if their admiralty skills are still sharp.

World of Warships

Developer/Publisher: Wargaming.net
Tags: Real-time, action/arcade, WW1, WW2, Online Only, Multiplayer
Purchase: Free

While its definition as a 'war game' is understandably debatable, Editor Joe decided to include this on our list because not only does it offer a refreshingly different experience to everything above it, but it's also a fun a surprisingly cerebral game. Featuring ships that range from WW1-era right through to the end of WW2 and a bit beyond, World of Warships is what happens if you take the concept of something like Battlefield, or Call of Duty, except everyone is controlling a warship.

What sets it apart from most free-to-play arcade games though is that there's a surprising amount of forethought required in order to play well. You've got to consider your direction and the time it'll take you to change course, gun emplacements can take time to turn (especially in the big battleships), and when it comes to attacking your distance and lead-time with your shots are also important. It's a lot more fun to play with friends, and being free-to-play means a grind does start to set in at the higher tiers, but once you get to Tier 6 you can do the special PvE scenarios which are a nice change of pace. The late James Cobb was always a quiet fan of this arcade 'war' game, and we can easily see why. We're looking forward to seeing what the inclusion of Submarines will do for the game.

Other Naval War Game Recommendations

We regularly update these lists with new or looked-over games, and to keep things manageable we'll rotate out some entries to make way for others. Past members of this list include:

• Battlestations: Pacific
• Fleet Command
• Dangerous Waters
• Action Stations
• CMANO (R.I.P.)
• UBoat
• Carrier Battles 4 Guadalcanal - Currently only on iOS, but a PC version is coming.

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What would your list of top naval war games look like? Let us know in the comments!

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