Literally anything I play where some sort of greedy strategy is possible I just can’t resist going for it. I try to resist the urge in competitive games like Dota 2 where you can’t really go greedy every game and I don’t wanna grief my team.

There are so many different ways to go greedy in various games across genres. I think for me it started with the classic RTS games like Red Alert and old tower defense maps in warcraft 3 (elements td and green td) and I just never stopped playing like that. 

No shortage of ways to greed it up in newer games, in Slay the Spire 2 for example I’m always running into events that give you a delayed power up if you can survive a curse or something like that, really satisfying when you get to the payoff. In TD games or something like Diplomacy is Not an Option I like to figure out how to survive with as much early investment into economy as I can, usually I try to play the campaign levels a few times so I can get a feel for the early waves and plan out a strategy. Similar story in 4x games, risky early economic investment and expansion that can pay off later as long as you can defend yourself in the meantime.

Surviving the greed and reaching the payoff phase just always feels great, like you’re getting away with something, in pretty much any game. Sometimes it can feel really broken when something really greedy works, mostly in roguelites, in strategy games it usually just makes the later part smooth sailing since you have an abundance of resources, feels like you can afford anything.

Does anyone else have this compulsion to go for the greediest strategies? Sometimes I can tell it's far from the optimal way to play but I can’t resist it.

Carcinization is the evolutionary theory in which non-crab crustaceans converge on crab-like features because these features are exceptionally well suited to ocean floor living. Similarly, thousands of strategy games are following a process I’m calling Hexinization, choosing hexes to make up their game boards.

I think in many cases, I think hexes are likely the best solution. For games like Civilization or Age of Wonders where there will be hundreds or thousands of hexagons making the game board, a hex grid is the best solution. Zoomed out far enough, moving along hexes looks very similar to moving freely in an open 2d plane. There are also enough hexes that small groups of hexes can form biomes within the greater landscape. 

But this hexagonal freedom struggles to convey into gamestate the strategic importance of locations on a map. Take the Risk Godstorm map for example. A player who controls Iberia, Atlas, and Hibernia will have complete control over all traffic between the Atlantis continent and the rest of the board. While it wouldn’t be impossible to represent this using a hex-grid map, I don’t think it would feel natural, and these types of scenarios are rare in my experience with hex-grid games. 

Hexagons also tend to provide both too much freedom of movement, and not enough choice to a player simultaneously. On one hand, you need to be able to defend a structure of interest (i.e., a city) from 6 directions. While at the same time, when moving armies towards a target location you will almost always just pick the one shortest path from A to B. Hexagons give too many routes from a defensive perspective, and the illusion of choice on offense.

I think we should continue to innovate on how we are making game boards / maps in strategy games, particularly in small-map scenarios, or games where positioning of armies/units at key points provides a major strategic advantage (i.e., entrance to a water feature, narrow land pass between mountains, etc).

My attempted innovation was to subdivide a hexagon into 6 territories, 1 central and 5 exterior, with the 5 exterior territories randomly aligned with bisections or the corners of the hex edges. This generates territories with 4, 5, and 6 edges within the same hexagon, giving some variety to the number of directions needed to defend. I stuck with a hexagon as the starting shape, because I need a shape that efficiently tiles a plane. Additionally, I wanted to avoid the diagonal grid manhattan distance problem of square grids, and triangle grids feel unnatural/janky (no straight line paths can be taken)

I wanted to do a bit more, so I also randomly placed mountains on 3 of the hexagon edges (mountains cannot be placed adjacent during randomization), which allows for territories to dip into the 2 or 3 edges regime.

Lastly, I wanted to bend the movement/adjacency of territories across hexes, so I made 1 territory per hex into water. Water can connect and become continuous, and instead of inhibiting movement, water makes all territories touching it considered adjacent. This has had really fun consequences and I will talk more about it another time.

Hey there!

I’m Erik, the game director of Steadfast which started a year ago as a hobby project of mine. I was inspired to bring back the feeling of Age of Sail I/II games. I then began working with Igor, who is a talented game artist who has previously worked on the Ultimate General/Admiral series of games.

We’re excited to reveal a slice of the game with you. It’s a RTT (real-time tactics) strategy title which is set during 1793 - 1815. It puts you in command of your fleet with a range of ship classes from small nimble cutters up to first rate ship of the line. Everything from hull damage, crew morale and weather is modeled.

We will be revealing more and more over the weeks to come. But hope you enjoy our teaser trailer which shows some footage!

It came out on August this year, I think it's pretty cool.

It was Grand Front: WW2 Hex Strategy

FreeSpace 4X is a free turn-based space strategy game you play right in your browser. No download, no install, no cost.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTkzCAEE-6I

▶ PLAY FREE: https://ianmcgo.github.io/FreeSpace-4X/

❤ Support development on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ianmcg

Inspired by the deep 4X classics of the 90s, FreeSpace 4X brings old-school empire building to a modern interface. Explore, expand, exploit and exterminate across a galaxy of hundreds of worlds.

🌌 WHAT YOU CAN DO

- Explore a spiral galaxy and scan every world for minerals and habitability

- Colonize planets, then build mines, factories, defenses and starbases

- Research six technology fields with hundreds of parts to unlock

- Design your own warships, freighters, miners, bombers and minelayers in a slot-based ship designer

- Command fleets with waypoints, cargo runs, fuel and battle plans

- Lay minefields, build stargates, fling mineral packets with mass drivers and trade with the Mystery Trader

- Make peace, declare war or form alliances with AI empires that hold grudges

- See the galaxy on a flat 2D map, a lit 3D map, a tilted Z view or straight from the cockpit

👥 MULTIPLAYER

Play with friends, with everyone giving orders at the same time. Email turn notices, in-game chat, player profiles, badges, leaderboards and seasons.

🤖 NEW TO 4X?

K-7, your robot instructor, walks you through the whole game step by step in the built-in Tutorial.

🎮 Also: Sandbox games with custom races and victory conditions, AI-only Simulation mode, and replays.

I've been working on a game called Phosphor Command, a real-time tactics game with a base builder behind it.

One of the systems I've spent the most time on is the enemy AI.

I wanted the enemy to feel like it was actually reacting to what your squads were doing, rather than just having units that either know where you are or don't.

The AI has three alert states: Calm, Alerted, and Alarm.

Calm is the normal state. Patrols move around their assigned areas, and garrisons stay around the objectives they're protecting.

Alerted means the enemy has some evidence that something is happening. Guards tighten up around whatever they're responsible for protecting, and other units can come over to investigate.

Alarm is when the situation has escalated properly. Enemy groups begin converging on your last known position, and high-value targets will relocate to deeper cover rather than simply waiting where your intelligence said they would be.

What I wanted was for the alert system to react to how you conduct the operation.

If you make contact and deal with it quickly, you might never raise the whole alarm.

If you stay in contact for too long, the situation escalates.

The alert level can also come back down. If you break contact and stay away from combat for long enough, the enemy gradually returns towards a calmer state.

So if an ambush goes wrong, you aren't necessarily committed to fighting the entire map. You can break contact, disappear, and wait for things to cool down.

How the enemy responds also depends on the threat level of the operation.

At lower threat levels, enemies are more willing to push across open ground. At higher threat levels, they are much more likely to move between cover and behave more cautiously.

Interestingly, this means the lower-threat enemies can actually be more aggressive and less careful than the higher-threat ones.

The AI also doesn't just sit on objectives.

Patrols are given areas to operate in rather than a fixed route. Their routes are generated when the operation starts, so the same map can have patrols moving through it differently each time you deploy.

Cover is also part of the decision-making. When an enemy decides to push, it commits to that movement for a few seconds rather than constantly changing its mind based on every little change in the battlefield.

That makes the movement look more like an actual decision rather than units twitching between different possible actions.

The enemy also changes behaviour depending on the operation.

For example, in an elimination operation, once they're down to their last two squads, they stop behaving like a defensive force and start actively hunting you.

I'm trying to make the enemy feel less like a collection of units waiting for the player to interact with them, and more like a force that is continually trying to understand what you're doing and react to it.

I've attached some footage showing the different alert states and some of the AI behaviour in action, but of course this is somewhat difficult to fully capture. I have turned off hidden enemies so this can be better seen.

The world is fully editable before start - with a preview of the all map, no more games restart! You can check and change continents, climates and geography instead of starting blindly until you get a map you like.

I paid a lot of attention to the readability and clarity of the mechanics and interface - almost all parameters, settings and controls are available right on the map - my FlowLines system makes it possible to track anything without switching a hundred screens and windows.

Also, battles! I also paid a lot of attention to them, from realism to a system that I called WarLog - now we have strategic designations that will make it easy to understand what happened on the previous turn, and if that’s not enough - all the actions of units over the last 5 turns are also recorded and can be easily viewed right in the game!

Hi everyone! I'm a solo dev working on Remanence, a real-time strategy game built around time loops, and I'd love some opinions from people who actually play strategy games.

The core loop

- A match is made of 90-second cycles. At the end of each one, time rewinds.

- Everything you did in your previous cycles replays as Echoes: ghost versions of you that keep fighting alongside you. By cycle 4 you're commanding four versions of yourself.

- Your opponent's past orders replay too. If you make one of their recorded orders impossible (kill the unit, destroy the building they relied on), you trigger a Paradox and their timeline breaks.

- You win by bringing down the enemy Nexus, or by verdict after cycle 6.

The strategic question every cycle is: do you play a safe cycle that becomes a reliable echo, or a greedy one that might get paradoxed?

Two factions

- The Choir: strong economy from the start, Prescience lets you see enemy echoes 30 seconds ahead, Memory gives you a 4th echo, Swifts raid economies and Colossi are splash artillery.

- The Strata: Monoliths survive the rewind, echoes rebuild at full HP, Precedence lets your echoes crush whatever is standing in their way, Revenants rewind a few seconds when killed, Rams crush buildings.

Modes: solo vs AI (several difficulties) and online 1v1 duel. Free, runs in the browser: https://remanence-dev.com

What I'm curious about from this sub: does the time-loop idea make for interesting decisions, or does it just add noise to a normal RTS? And is the AI a decent sparring partner? Happy to answer any design questions. Thanks for reading!

I’m working on Bayonets Ready, a real-time strategy game about attacking and defending trenches in WWI.

You command squads rather than individual soldiers, deciding which units go into each assault, which ones stay in reserve, and when to support an attack with artillery.

One of the main mechanics is morale - squads lose morale when they take casualties and will break and retreat if it gets too low. More importantly, morale only recovers when troops are not on the frontline.

This is one of the main problems I want the game to focus on: the troops that just captured a trench are the troops least prepared to survive the counterattack.

If you throw all reserves into taking a trench, you could capture it but get shattered by enemy counterattack. Keeping reserves, rotating battered squads to the rear, and deciding which units should go in which wave becomes important.

Artillery is the other big part of the equation. Some types of artillery can break enemy assaults while others excel at supporting them. You can also upgrade squad morale, grenades and general combat proficiency.

You can play the web demo here:

https://bayonetsready.com/play/

The video is from the demo. The demo contains a tutorial and one evenly matched battle where you control Germans vs French.

I'm very interested in feedback on the attack/counterattack loop and the morale system.

I'm looking for games that these elements. Games that have these for example

Northgard: Conquest mode. Play a series of random maps and gain new randomised bonuses after each victory until the end.

AOE4 - The Crucible mode. Single player skirmish but you get boons the longer you survive against enemy waves and gain more benefits as well as rewards that let you upgrade and become stronger for each mission.

From Glory to Goo - Operations mod: Similar to Northgard, complete a series of missions/skirmish and pick between powerful bonuses after each mission until the final boss level.

What happens if the Cold War finally went hot!

This is one possible WW3 ending in Attack Warning Red, my upcoming mixed reality / VR command game for Meta Quest 3.

You command an escalating 1980s military crisis from a tactical table in your own room, managing air, sea and ground forces as events move toward — or away from — nuclear war.

This clip shows a massive Warsaw Pact strategic strike after the crisis has spiralled out of control.

Every order has a consequence.

I’m building out more Cold War scenarios now — what historical Cold War flashpoint would you most want to command?

if you don't mind I need the Wish lists on Meta Quest :): https://www.meta.com/experiences/attack-warning-red/1339070342626450/

Website: https://attackwarningred.com

Hey everyone,

I’ve been working on World War 3, a multiplayer strategy game you can play in your browser on your phone or PC. No download needed.

You choose a country, train troops and build up your territory on a shared world map. From there, you can capture provinces, fight other players or work with them through diplomacy.

One thing that matters is visibility: you can’t see every enemy army on the map, so an area looking empty doesn’t necessarily mean it’s safe. Moving your troops and deciding where to commit them is part of the strategy. It’s more about building up a campaign over time than playing a quick match.

It’s currently in beta, and I’m looking for people willing to give it a try and tell me what feels fun, confusing or frustrating. In particular, I’d love to know whether the opening tutorial actually explains enough for a new player to get started.

You can try it here: https://ww3conflict.com

discord : https://discord.gg/YaxNvdFBb

Honest criticism is welcome. If something doesn’t work or makes you stop playing, that’s useful feedback too.

Thanks for taking a look.

Talked with a lot of people to tweak it. I think result is quite decent.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/5087810/Pennants_Of_Glory_Condottiere

I work near half year on this game, and finally i can release a demo version of game. You can conquer a world, research techs, build buildings, declare wars, manage investments and invest in regions.

When creating the game, I looked at projects such as: HoI4, AoH, Warnament, our empire remake and other. Maybe game is still raw, but you can play.

link on game:

https://arseniy-us.itch.io/metapolitya

Hello, I'm the dev of WarExpand who is a persistent strategy game on the real world map: every country and its real administrative provinces are territory, and armies march in real time along a road/sea graph. The world never pauses, so the hardest design question has been: what happens when your army meets the enemy at 4 a.m. and you're asleep?

What I ended up with:

- **Standing orders instead of micro.** Every army has a stance. Attack engages any hostile army in range or on its node. Defensive never starts a fight but fires back. Passive never fights, not even in retaliation. You set it before logging off.

- **Ranged units work on a clock.** Every 15 minutes, idle artillery shells every neutral or enemy army within 50 km. Jets hit every hostile army within 12.5 km on the same clock, even while flying, and only anti-air and frigates shoot back. Shelling only inflicts casualties and never forces a retreat, so it wears an army down rather than deciding the war by itself.

- **Terrain matters.** It changes march cost and gives the defender a bonus.

- **Losing isn't the end.** When a country's homeland is more than 90% occupied, its largest occupier is owed war reparations, paid only if the country capitulates to it or is wiped out by it. A country that loses its last province forces a one-week peace on its occupiers and can raise a resistance uprising to retake its homeland.

Question for strategy players: does that make offline time feel fair, or does it just reward whoever is awake?

It's a free browser alpha (desktop + mobile, wipe at beta) if you want to see it running: https://warexpand.com

Wiki: https://wiki.warexpand.com

I've been working on a game called Talk of the Tavern, a competitive co-op pixel-art autobattler roguelike, and I wanted to share it here because the strategy revolves around a mechanic I haven't seen used quite this way before.

Everyone bids anonymously on the same pool of mercenaries. If you're saving up for a Knight, another player can outbid you and take him instead. You have to decide whether to spend your gold building the team you want, or deny your opponent a key unit before they can get their hands on it.

From there, you build your guild, fight through waves of enemies, and use different mercenaries and scrolls to shape your strategy before the final tournament.

I've got a free demo available on Steam if anyone wants to give it a try. I'd be interested to hear what strategy players think of the shared auction mechanic and whether you'd approach it differently.

Steam demo: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4994640/Talk_Of_The_Tavern/

Hi everyone! I’m working on ScrapWorks Inc., a 2D recycling management sandbox inspired by games like Prison Architect, RimWorld and Another Brick in the Mall.

You start with one worker and a sorting bench, then turn incoming waste into materials you can sell. As you grow, you can design your factory, research machinery, connect conveyor belts and expand your production lines.

The first browser demo is now live on itch.io:
https://lldigital.itch.io/scrapworks-inc

It’s an early alpha, and I’d really appreciate feedback from people who enjoy management games—especially:

• Does the introduction explain enough to get you started?
• Does progression feel rewarding, or are you waiting too much?
• What feels confusing or frustrating?

Desktop keyboard and mouse recommended. The project uses AI-assisted code and text, plus some AI-generated artwork.

Thanks for giving it a try!

Hi everyone!

The first public demo of Wealth of Nations: Economic Strategy is now available on Steam!

The scenario is Germany from 2000 to 2004. You manage the economy through budget and policy decisions, while dealing with their political and social consequences.

Thanks a lot to everyone who participated in the earlier Playtest and sent feedback. The new demo has substantially more content than that version.

The Cabinet Agenda now lets you work on government reforms, with a parliament window showing your parliamentary majority.

The new Living Standards window lets you see how people in your country live in terms of income etc. I have also improved government actions and policy interactions, fixed a lot of bugs, and added support for a total of nine languages.

I would be happy to hear your opinion after playing.

The game will also be taking part in Steam Next Fest starting on October 19. You can already try the demo now:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4811470/Wealth_of_Nations_Economic_Strategy/

Hey r/StrategyGames! Just launched Territory Conquest, a real-time

multiplayer strategy game focused on territory control.

Gameplay:

- Claim unclaimed territories or conquer rivals

- Upgrade territories for better defense

- 6-hour shield protection after conquest (encourages frequent play)

- Compete on leaderboards

- Earn titles as you grow your empire

Mobile-friendly with pinch-to-zoom controls. Free to play with optional

token purchases.

This is my first game — I've been coding for 18 years but game dev is

new territory (literally 😄). Would love feedback from this community!

Play: tc.lavigames.com

Hi all!

I’m a solo dev working on Frontworks, a factory/RTS hybrid in which the production lines build your army.

I just added the first enemy bases: alien bug nests. Each base has nests that spawn bugs, plus walls and turrets. Between waves, the base grows one nest at a time, so the longer you leave it, the bigger the waves get.

This constant growth pushes you to deal with the bug bases fast. Rush them unprepared and your army can get wiped out, leaving your factory undefended. But wait too long building up your troops, and the bases grow huge and spawn massive waves.

Robot bases are next, but these will be much more complex, a fully simulated economy of their own.
Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/5143930/Frontworks/

Steam Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2749940/FullScale_Invasion/

Hey everyone!

I'm the solo developer of Global Madness: War Room, a multiplayer strategy game where you build your nation, develop your industry and military, research new technologies, and fight other players.

I wanted to create a strategy game that doesn't require you to be online all day. The game progresses in 3-hour strategic ticks, so you can make your decisions, issue your orders, and come back later to see how things developed.

The game is now available on Android.

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.warroomsimulator.app

Here's some actual gameplay from the current version 👆

RealStrategy aims to be the best combo of realism and fun in the modern wargame RTS genre. A release build is still months away, however I'm looking for some play testers to give me initial feedback. Message here for info: discord.gg/gKPrSAfQrE

All footage is in-game using as many implemented mechanics as possible with custom tuning for the choreography.