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Best Strategy games on Arcade

The 8 best Strategy games on Arcade, ranked from 561 critic and player ratings.

The best Strategy game on Arcade right now is ActRaiser, with a critic score of 79/100 — updated October 2026.

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 30 external ratings, so a single enthusiastic review never outranks a proven classic.
  • 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.
  • 8 games are listed on this page, carrying 561 ratings between them.
  • Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 12 October 2026.

Top 8

01 ActRaiser ActRaiser 1990 · 70 ratings ActRaiser is a 1990 platform and city-building simulation game for the Super Nintendo, combining traditional side-scrolling platforming with urban planning god game sections. In 2007, ActRaiser became available on the Wii's Virtual Console download service. A version of the game was also released for European mobile phones in 2004. 79 /100
02 BurgerTime (1982) BurgerTime (1982) 1982 · 44 ratings BurgerTime is a 1982 arcade game created by Data East for its DECO Cassette System. The game's original title, Hamburger, was changed to BurgerTime before its introduction to the US. The player is chef Peter Pepper, who must walk over hamburger ingredients located across a maze of platforms while avoiding pursuing characters. The game was popular in arcades. In the US, Data East USA licensed BurgerTime for distribution by Bally Midway. The Data East and Midway versions are distinguished by the manufacturer's name on the title screen and by the marquee and cabinet artworks. 76 /100
03 Dr. Mario Dr. Mario 1990 · 208 ratings Dr. Mario is a falling block tile-matching video game, in which Mario assumes the role of a doctor, dropping two-colored medical capsules into a medicine bottle representing the playing field. This area is populated by viruses of three colors: red, yellow, and blue. In a manner and style considered similar to Tetris, the player manipulates each capsule as it falls, moving it left or right and rotating it such that it is positioned alongside the viruses and any existing capsules. When four or more capsule halves or viruses of matching color are aligned in vertical or horizontal configurations, they are removed from play. The main objective is to complete levels, which is accomplished by eliminating all viruses from the playing field. A game over occurs if capsules fill up the playing field in a way that obstructs the bottle's narrow neck. 72 /100
04 Defender Defender 1981 · 37 ratings Defender is an arcade video game developed released by Williams Electronics in 1980. A shooting game featuring two-dimensional (2D) graphics, the game is set on a fictional planet where the player must defeat waves of invading aliens while protecting astronauts. Development was led by Eugene Jarvis, a pinball programmer at Williams; Defender was Jarvis's first video game project, and drew inspiration from Space Invaders and Asteroids. Williams planned to display the game at the Amusement & Music Operators Association (AMOA) trade show, though development delays resulted in the team working on the game up until the show started. Defender was commercially successful, selling over 55,000 units to become the company's best selling arcade game. Praise among critics focused on the game's audio-visuals and gameplay. It is frequently listed as one of Jarvis's best contributions to the video game industry, as well as one of the most difficult video games. Defender was ported to numerous platforms, inspired the development of other games, and was followed by sequels and many imitations. 70 /100
05 Marble Madness Marble Madness 1984 · 73 ratings Marble Madness is an isometric platform game in which the player manipulates an onscreen marble from a third-person perspective. The player controls the marble's movements with a trackball, though most home versions use game controllers with directional pads. The aim of the game is for the player to complete six maze-like, isometric race courses before a set amount of time expires. When a player completes a race, the remaining time is added to the next race's allotted time. The game also allows two players to compete against each other. Courses are populated with various objects and enemies designed to obstruct the player. As the game progresses, the courses become increasingly difficult and introduce more enemies and obstacles. Each course has a distinct visual theme. For example, the first race, titled "Practice", is a simple course that is much shorter than the others, while the fifth race, named "Silly", features polka-dot patterns and is oriented in a direction opposite from the other courses 68 /100
06 MAPPY MAPPY 1983 · 41 ratings The player guides Mappy the police mouse through the mansion of the cats called Mewkies (Meowky in the U.S. version) to retrieve stolen goods. The player uses a left-right joystick to move Mappy and a single button to operate doors. The mansion has six floors of hallways in which the stolen items are stashed. 67 /100
07 Columns (1990) Columns (1990) 1990 · 57 ratings Go back in time to a bygone civilization: the ancient world of Phoenicia. There you will play a simple and captivating game where sparkling, rainbow-coloured jewels drop one after another. According to the ancient merchants, by arranging three or more of the same jewels horizontally, vertically or diagonally, you shall perform miracles. 67 /100
08 Ikari Warriors (1986) Ikari Warriors (1986) 1986 · 31 ratings Ikari Warriors is a vertically scrolling action game. One or two players fight their way through a variety of terrain, such as jungles, rivers, and ruins. Along the way different weapons can be found, including machine guns, grenades, and rocket launchers. 52 /100
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Other platforms

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Same platform, other genres

Best Action games on ArcadeBest Adventure games on ArcadeBest Arcade games on ArcadeBest Casual games on ArcadeBest Fighting games on ArcadeBest Platformer games on ArcadeBest Puzzle games on ArcadeBest Racing games on ArcadeBest Shooter games on ArcadeBest Simulation games on ArcadeBest Sports games on Arcade

Nearby rankings

Best Strategy games of 2025Best Strategy games of 2024Best Strategy games of 2023Best Strategy games of 2022

Catalog statistics

Most abandoned gamesMost completed games

Frequently asked questions

What is the best Strategy game on Arcade?

ActRaiser currently tops the ranking with a score of 79/100 across 70 ratings. Ranking updated October 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.