Best games
Best Strategy games in 2026
The 250 best Strategy games, ranked from 24,362 critic and player ratings.
The best Strategy game right now is Advance Wars — updated September 2026.
Also covers 4x, moba, real time strategy, real-time strategy, rts, tactical.
How this ranking is built
- Games are ranked on the aggregated critic score out of 100 imported from IGDB and Metacritic, never on Tier's own grades.
- A game only enters the ranking with at least 80 external ratings, so a single enthusiastic review never outranks a proven classic.
- Each game is ranked in one genre only, the one that defines it best, so the same title never tops two different genre charts.
- Community grades from F to S are shown next to every game, and only stated as a fact above 5 Tier ratings.
- Release window covered: 1970 to 2026.
- 50 games are listed on this page, carrying 24,362 ratings between them.
- Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 28 September 2026.
Top 50
01
Advance Wars
Just because this battle fits in the palm of your hand doesn't mean the stakes are small. On the contrary, this all-or-nothing fight will have you accessing guns, grenades, launchers, and weaponry of all sorts. Players assume command of an army that's out to reclaim a world that's been broken up by warring factions. The battle map is essentially a grid, and moving units is like moving chess pieces on a board -- each of the units can move a specific amount of spaces within this grid, and can only attack at a certain distance from specific enemies. Advance Wars features more than 115 maps, a map editor, head-to-head play via link cable, and an easy-to-understand tutorial mode for beginners.
100
/100
02
Satisfactory
Satisfactory is an FPS open-world factory building sim. You play as an engineer on an alien planet tasked to complete ‘Project Assembly’ - a massive machine for a mysterious purpose. Conquer nature, build multi-story factories, and automate to satisfaction!
95
/100
03
Company of Heroes
Command the company that changed the face of history! Battle your way across Europe as your troops make intuitive use of the terrain and buildings for cover and mount attacks on an equally intelligent enemy. Your Mission. Your Men. Your Decisions.
95
/100
Advance Wars
Just because this battle fits in the palm of your hand doesn't mean the stakes are small. On the contrary, this all-or-nothing fight will have you accessing guns, grenades, launchers, and weaponry of all sorts. Players assume command of an army that's out to reclaim a world that's been broken up by warring factions. The battle map is essentially a grid, and moving units is like moving chess pieces on a board -- each of the units can move a specific amount of spaces within this grid, and can only attack at a certain distance from specific enemies. Advance Wars features more than 115 maps, a map editor, head-to-head play via link cable, and an easy-to-understand tutorial mode for beginners.
100
/100
02
Satisfactory
Satisfactory is an FPS open-world factory building sim. You play as an engineer on an alien planet tasked to complete ‘Project Assembly’ - a massive machine for a mysterious purpose. Conquer nature, build multi-story factories, and automate to satisfaction!
95
/100
03
Company of Heroes
Command the company that changed the face of history! Battle your way across Europe as your troops make intuitive use of the terrain and buildings for cover and mount attacks on an equally intelligent enemy. Your Mission. Your Men. Your Decisions.
95
/100
04
Sid Meier's Civilization IV
Sid Meier and Firaxis Games will take this incredibly fun and addictive game to new heights by adding new ways to play and win, new tools to manage and expand your civilization, all-new easy to use mod capabilities and intense multiplayer modes and options
94
/100
05
Command & Conquer
Experience the game that started it all! Enter a gritty, high-tech world and take advantage of electronic intelligence and covert surveillance to determine who reigns supreme. Join either the forces of the Global Defense Initiative (GDI) or the Brotherhood of Nod as you build bases, muster forces and dominate your enemies. All for the love of power. Play as the Brotherhood and obey the charismatic Kane’s every command or take control of GDI forces as they seek to save the world from Kane’s ambition. Gather Tiberium to produce tanks, infantry and more to decide the fate of the world.
94
/100
06
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos is an RTS made by Blizzard Entertainment. Take control of either the Humans, the Orcs, the Night Elves or the Undead, all with different unit types and heroes with unique abilities.Play the story driven single player campaign, go online to play default- or custom maps against people around the world or create your own maps with the map creation tool.
93
/100
07
StarCraft II
93
/100
08
Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness
Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness is a Strategy video game published by Blizzard Entertainment released on 1995 for MS-DOS. Warcraft 2 is a successor of the popular Warcraft real-time strategy game. The game contains many improvements over the previous version in graphics, sounds and playability. The Multiplayer was also greatly improved allowing up to 8 players in the marvelous multiplayer skirmish.
92
/100
09
Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos
92
/100
10
D
Age of Empires II: Age of Kings
92
/100
11
Rome: Total War - Collection
92
/100
12
Galactic Civilizations II: Ultimate Edition
92
/100
13
Rise of Nations
92
/100
14
F
Dota 2
90
/100
15
Sid Meier's Civilization III Complete
90
/100
16
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
90
/100
17
Empire: Total War
90
/100
18
Medieval II: Total War
90
/100
19
Theme Hospital
90
/100
20
MineSweeper (Microsoft)
90
/100
21
Dune II: Battle For Arrakis
90
/100
22
StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void
90
/100
23
S
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
89
/100
24
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm
89
/100
25
Monument Valley
89
/100
26
Rise of Nations: Extended Edition
89
/100
27
Sid Meier's Civilization
89
/100
28
StarCraft
88
/100
29
Sid Meier’s Civilization VI
88
/100
30
Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne
88
/100
31
Medieval II: Total War
88
/100
32
ROME: Total War
88
/100
33
Total War: Shogun 2
88
/100
34
StarСraft II: Legacy of the Void
88
/100
35
Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition
87
/100
36
RimWorld
87
/100
37
Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts
87
/100
38
Orcs Must Die! Unchained
87
/100
39
Pikmin 2
87
/100
40
A
World of Goo
87
/100
41
S
Sid Meier's Civilization V
87
/100
42
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War
86
/100
43
Baba Is You
86
/100
44
Oxygen Not Included
86
/100
45
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Game of the Year Edition
86
/100
46
XCOM: Enemy Within
86
/100
47
Total War: WARHAMMER II
86
/100
48
Supreme Commander
86
/100
49
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 - Yuri's Revenge
86
/100
50
Homeworld Remastered Collection
86
/100
Sid Meier's Civilization IV
Sid Meier and Firaxis Games will take this incredibly fun and addictive game to new heights by adding new ways to play and win, new tools to manage and expand your civilization, all-new easy to use mod capabilities and intense multiplayer modes and options
94
/100
05
Command & Conquer
Experience the game that started it all! Enter a gritty, high-tech world and take advantage of electronic intelligence and covert surveillance to determine who reigns supreme. Join either the forces of the Global Defense Initiative (GDI) or the Brotherhood of Nod as you build bases, muster forces and dominate your enemies. All for the love of power. Play as the Brotherhood and obey the charismatic Kane’s every command or take control of GDI forces as they seek to save the world from Kane’s ambition. Gather Tiberium to produce tanks, infantry and more to decide the fate of the world.
94
/100
06
Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos
Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos is an RTS made by Blizzard Entertainment. Take control of either the Humans, the Orcs, the Night Elves or the Undead, all with different unit types and heroes with unique abilities.Play the story driven single player campaign, go online to play default- or custom maps against people around the world or create your own maps with the map creation tool.
93
/100
07
StarCraft II
93
/100
08
Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness
Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness is a Strategy video game published by Blizzard Entertainment released on 1995 for MS-DOS. Warcraft 2 is a successor of the popular Warcraft real-time strategy game. The game contains many improvements over the previous version in graphics, sounds and playability. The Multiplayer was also greatly improved allowing up to 8 players in the marvelous multiplayer skirmish.
92
/100
09
Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos
92
/100
10
D
Age of Empires II: Age of Kings
92
/100
11
Rome: Total War - Collection
92
/100
12
Galactic Civilizations II: Ultimate Edition
92
/100
13
Rise of Nations
92
/100
14
F
Dota 2
90
/100
15
Sid Meier's Civilization III Complete
90
/100
16
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2
90
/100
17
Empire: Total War
90
/100
18
Medieval II: Total War
90
/100
19
Theme Hospital
90
/100
20
MineSweeper (Microsoft)
90
/100
21
Dune II: Battle For Arrakis
90
/100
22
StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void
90
/100
23
S
StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty
89
/100
24
StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm
89
/100
25
Monument Valley
89
/100
26
Rise of Nations: Extended Edition
89
/100
27
Sid Meier's Civilization
89
/100
28
StarCraft
88
/100
29
Sid Meier’s Civilization VI
88
/100
30
Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne
88
/100
31
Medieval II: Total War
88
/100
32
ROME: Total War
88
/100
33
Total War: Shogun 2
88
/100
34
StarСraft II: Legacy of the Void
88
/100
35
Plants vs. Zombies GOTY Edition
87
/100
36
RimWorld
87
/100
37
Company of Heroes: Opposing Fronts
87
/100
38
Orcs Must Die! Unchained
87
/100
39
Pikmin 2
87
/100
40
A
World of Goo
87
/100
41
S
Sid Meier's Civilization V
87
/100
42
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War
86
/100
43
Baba Is You
86
/100
44
Oxygen Not Included
86
/100
45
Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War - Game of the Year Edition
86
/100
46
XCOM: Enemy Within
86
/100
47
Total War: WARHAMMER II
86
/100
48
Supreme Commander
86
/100
49
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 - Yuri's Revenge
86
/100
50
Homeworld Remastered Collection
86
/100
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Strategy game right now?
Advance Wars currently tops the ranking with a score of 100/100 across 82 ratings. Ranking updated September 2026.
How is this ranking built?
Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.