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{{Short description|Type of game}}

'''Strategy [[game]]s''' are typically [[board game]]s, [[video game|video]] or [[computer game]]s with the players' decision-making skills having a high significance in determining the outcome.

{{About||the video game genre|Strategy video game}}

Many games include this element to a greater or lesser degree, making demarcation difficult.

[[File:chess set.jpg|right|upright=1.2|thumb|[[Chess]] is one of the most well-known and frequently played strategy games.]]

It is therefore more accurate to describe a particular game as having a ''degree'' of strategic elements.

[[File:TSR's Divine Right Strategy Game.jpg|thumb|The 1979 strategy wargame ''[[Divine Right (game)|Divine Right]]'']]

A '''strategy game''' or '''strategic game''' is a [[game]] in which the players' [[coercion|uncoerced]], and often [[autonomous]], decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome. Almost all strategy games require internal [[decision tree]]-style thinking, and typically very high [[situational awareness]].

Strategy games are also seen as a descendant of [[war games]], and define strategy in terms of the context of war, but this is more partial. A strategy game is a game that relies primarily on strategy, and when it comes to defining what strategy is, two factors need to be taken into account: its complexity and game-scale actions, such as each placement in the ''[[Total War (video game series)|Total War]]'' video game series. The definition of a strategy game in its cultural context should be any game that belongs to a tradition that goes back to war games, contains more strategy than the average video game, contains certain gameplay conventions, and is represented by a particular community. Although war is dominant in strategy games, it is not the whole story.<ref name="multiple">{{Cite journal|last=Dor|first=Simon|date=April 2018|title=Strategy in Games or Strategy Games: Dictionary and Encyclopaedic Definitions for Game Studies|url=http://gamestudies.org/1801/articles/simon_dor|journal=Game Studies|volume=18|issue=1|issn=1604-7982}}</ref>

Strategy (and [[tactics]]) are usually contrasted with ''[[luck]]'', games exist on a continuum from pure skill to pure chance.

==History==

==Abstract strategy==

The history of turn-based strategy games goes back to the times of ancient civilizations found in places such as Rome, Greece, Egypt, the Levant, and India. Many were played widely through their regions of origin, but only some are still played today.<ref name=":32">{{Cite journal |last=Depaulis |first=Thierry |date=2021-04-13 |title=A Timeline of Mind Games, with Some Correlations |url=https://sorbonne-paris-nord.hal.science/hal-03737319 |journal=BOARD GAME STUDIES COLLOQUIUM- the Evolutions of Board Games, Apr 2021, Paris, France. |language=en}}</ref>

In [[abstract strategy]] games, the game is only loosely tied to a real-world theme, if at all.

The mechanics do not attempt to simulate reality, but rather serve the internal logic of the game.

[[Chess]], [[checkers]], and [[go (board game)|go]] are excellent examples.

According to [[Thierry Depaulis]], oldest strategy games would be the "Greek game of [[Polis (board game)|polis]] (πόλις), which appears in the literature around 450 BCE, and the more or less contemporary Chinese game of weiqi (‘[[Go (game)|go]]’), which, under the name of yi (弈), is mentioned in [[Confucius|Confucius’s]] [[Analects]] (Lunyu) compiled between ca 470/50 and 280 BCE."<ref name=":32"/>

==Simulation==

This type of game is an attempt to capture the decisions inherent to some real-world situation. Most of the mechanics are chosen to reflect what the real-world consequences would be of each player action and decision.

Abstract games cannot be cleanly divided from simulations and so games can be thought of as existing on a continuum of almost pure abstraction (like [[Abalone (board game)|Abalone]]) to almost pure simulation (like [[Strat-o-Matic|Strat-o-Matic Baseball]]).

The [[Royal Game of Ur]] from c. 2500 BCE which often been called one of the oldest board games, likely had some strategy elements as well, although it is generally seen as a luck-based [[race game]].<ref name=":22">{{Cite journal |last=Depaulis |first=Thierry |date=2020-10-01 |title=Board Games Before Ur? |journal=Board Game Studies Journal |language=en |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=127–144 |doi=10.2478/bgs-2020-0007 |issn=2183-3311|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":23">{{Cite book |last=Botermans |first=Jack |url=https://archive.org/details/bookofgamesstrat0000bote/page/712 |title=The book of games : strategy, tactics & history |date=2008 |publisher=Sterling |others=Fankbonner, Edgar Loy |isbn=9781402742217 |___location=New York |pages=[https://archive.org/details/bookofgamesstrat0000bote_r1h7] |oclc=86069181}}</ref>

==Real-time strategy==

Usually applied only to certain computer strategy games, the moniker "[[real-time strategy]]" indicates that the action in the game is continuous, and players will have to make their decisions and actions within the backdrop of a constantly changing game state.

Very few non-computer strategy games are real-time; one example is [[Icehouse (game)|Icehouse]].

One of the earliest strategy games still played is [[mancala]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/62089/11-ancient-board-games |title=11 Ancient Board Games |date=2016-03-01 |access-date=2017-04-10}}</ref> Due to claims that some artifacts from c. 5000 BCE might be old mancala boards, it has been suggested that mancala may be the oldest known strategy game, but this claim has been disputed.<ref name=":22" />

The game considered the father of [[Real-time strategy|RTS]] games is ''[[Dune II]]'', by [[Westwood Studios]], and was followed by their seminal ''[[Command and Conquer|Command & Conquer]]''. Cavedog's ''[[Total Annihilation]]'' ([[1997]]), [[Blizzard Entertainment|Blizzard]]'s ''[[Warcraft]]'' ([[1994]]) series and ''[[StarCraft]]'' (1997), and Ensemble Studios' ''[[Age of Empires computer game|Age of Empires]]'' ([[1998]]) series are some of the most popular RTS games.

Another game that has stood the test of time is [[chess]], believed to have originated in India around the sixth century CE.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-history-of-chess |title=The History of Chess: The Basics |last=(MisterCutie) |first=Matthew |website=Chess.com |date=28 January 2009 |access-date=2017-04-10}}</ref> The game spread to the west by trade, but chess gained social status and permanence more strongly than many other games. Chess became a game of skill and tactics often forcing the players to think two or three moves ahead of their opponent just to keep up.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Adams |first1=Jenny |title=Power Play: The Literature and Politics of Chess in the Late Middle Ages |date=2011 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=9780812201048 |url=http://muse.jhu.edu/book/22068 |language=en}}</ref>

==Turn-based==

The term "[[Turn-based game|turn-based strategy game]]" (TBS) is usually reserved for certain computer strategy games, to distinguish them from real-time computer strategy games. A player of a turn-based game is allowed a period of analysis before committing to a game action. The most notable games of this genre are the ''[[Civilization computer game|Civilization]]'', ''[[Heroes of Might and Magic]]'', ''[[Jagged Alliance]]'', ''[[Total War]]'', ''[[Master of Orion]]'' and ''[[X-COM]]'' series.

===RTS=Types==

TBS games come in two flavors, depending on whether inside a turn players play simultaneously or take their (mini-)turns. The former games fall into the simultaneously-executed TBS games, with ''[[Diplomacy (game)|Diplomacy]]'' a notable example. The latter games fall into player-alternated TBS games, and are subsequently subdivided into (a) ranked, (b) round-robin start, and (c) random, the difference being the order under which players start within a turn, (a) the first player being the same every time, (b) the first player selection policy is round-robin, and (c) the first player is randomly selected.

===Abstract strategy===

{{Main|Abstract strategy game}}

In [[abstract strategy game]]s, the game is only loosely tied to a thematic concept, if at all. The mechanicsrules do not attempt to simulate reality, but rather serve the internal logic of the game.

A purist's definition of an abstract strategy game requires that it cannot have random elements or hidden information. This definition includes such games as [[chess]] and [[Go (game)|Go]]. However, many games are commonly classed as abstract strategy games which do not meet these criteria: games such as [[backgammon]], Octiles, ''[[Can't Stop (board game)|Can't Stop]]'', [[Sequence (board game)|Sequence]] and Mentalis have all been described as "abstract strategy" games despite having a chance element.{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}} A smaller category of non-perfect abstract strategy games incorporate hidden information without using any random elements; for example, [[Stratego]].

Almost all non-computer strategy games are turn-based; however, the ''[[personal computer game]]'' market trends incline more towards "[[real-time strategy]]" games. Another interesting market trend is the rise of Indie TBS games (games produced by small groups, independent or slightly affiliated with the computer games industry), which normally extend or refine one or another already existing TBS strategy games. Amongst others, two good examples are [http://www.ageofcastles.com/ Age of Castles] and [http://www.suntasticsoftware.com/leaderz.html Leaderz].

==War=Team gamestrategy===

One of the most focused team strategy games is [[contract bridge]]. This card game consists of two teams of two players, whose offensive and defensive skills are continually in flux as the game's dynamic progresses. Some argue that the benefits of playing this team strategy card game extend to those skills and strategies used in business<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20150223171820/http://www.ibridgeplayer.com/2010/08/how-to-automate-strategic-tactical-thinking/ "How to automate strategic & tactical thinking]}}</ref> and that the playing of these games helps to automate strategic awareness.

[[Wargaming|War game]]s are simulations of historical or hypothetical military battles, campaigns or entire wars. Players will have to consider situations that are analogous to the situations faced by leaders of historical battles.

As such, war games are usually heavy on simulation elements.

Some games of this type will use physical models of detailed terrain and miniature representations of people and equipment to depict the game state.

===Eurogames===

A popular wargame with physical models is ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]''. ''[[Diplomacy (game)|Diplomacy]]'' and ''[[Global Diplomacy]]'' are also strategic wargames.

{{Main|Eurogame}}

Eurogames, or German-style boardgames, are a relatively new genre that sit between abstract strategy games and simulation games. They generally have simple rules, short to medium playing times, indirect player interaction and abstract physical components. The games emphasize strategy, play down chance and conflict, lean towards economic rather than military themes, and usually keep all the players in the game until it ends.

==City building=Simulation===

This type of game is an attempt to capturesimulate the decisions and processes inherent to some real-world situation. Most of the mechanicsrules are chosen to reflect what the real-world consequences would be of each player's actionactions and decisiondecisions.

[[City-building game]]s are a type of computer strategy game, where players, normally from a point-of-view high in the sky, can build and manage a simulated city. City building games normally do not support online or hotseat play. The most notable games of this genre are the ''[[Simcity]]'' by [[Maxis]] and the [[City Building Series]] by [[Impressions Games]].

Abstract games cannot be cleanlycompletely divided from simulations and so games can be thought of as existing on a continuum of almost pure abstraction (like ''[[Abalone (board game)|Abalone]]'') to almost pure simulation (like ''[[Diceball!]]'' or ''[[Strat-o-Matic|Strat-o-Matic Baseball]]'').

==See also=Wargame===

{{Main|Wargaming}}

* [[List of strategy video games]]

[[File:Kriegsspiel 1824.jpg|thumb|right|A [[German game|German]] military [[wargame]] from 1824]]

[[Wargaming|Wargames]] are simulations of military battles, campaigns, or entire wars. Players will have to consider situations that are analogous to the situations faced by leaders of historical battles. As such, wargames are usually heavy on simulation elements, and while they are all "strategy games", they can also be "strategic" or "tactical" in the military jargon sense. Its creator, [[H. G. Wells]], stated how "much better is this amiable miniature [war] than the real thing".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rundle |first1=Michael |title=How H. G. Wells Invented Modern War Games 100 Years Ago |url=http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013/04/09/hg-wells-little-wars-how-_n_3044934.html |work=The Huffington Post |date=2013-04-09}}</ref>

Traditionally, wargames have been played either with [[Miniature wargaming|miniatures]], using physical models of detailed terrain and miniature representations of people and equipment to depict the game state; or on a board, which commonly uses cardboard [[counter (board wargames)|counters]] on a [[hex map]].

==External links==

===RTS===

*[http://www.tauniverse.com/ The ''Total Annihilation'' website]

===TBS===

*[http://www.ageofcastles.com/ The official ''Age of Castles'' website]

*[http://www.suntasticsoftware.com/leaderz.html The official ''Leaderz'' website]

Popular miniature wargames include ''[[Warhammer 40,000]]'' or its fantasy counterpart ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battle|Warhammer Fantasy]]''. Popular strategic board wargames include ''[[Risk (game)|Risk]]'', ''[[Axis and Allies]]'', ''[[Diplomacy (game)|Diplomacy]]'', and ''[[Paths of Glory (board game)|Paths of Glory]]''. ''[[Advanced Squad Leader]]'' is a successful tactical scale wargame.

It is instructive to compare the [[Total War (video game series)|''Total War'']] series to the ''[[Civilization (series)|Civilization]]'' series, where moving troops to a specific tile is a tactic because there are no short-range decisions. But in ''Empire: Total War (2009)'', every encounter between two armies activates a real-time mode in which they must fight and the same movement of troops is treated as a strategy. Throughout the game, the movement of each army is at a macro scale, because the player can control each battle at a micro scale. However, as an experience, the two types of military operations are quite similar and involve similar skills and thought processes. The concept of micro scale and macro scale can well describe the gameplay of a game; however, even very similar games can be difficult to integrate into a common vocabulary. In this definition, strategy does not explicitly describe the player's experience; it is more appropriate to describe different formal game components. The similarity of the actions taken in two different games does not affect our definition of them as strategy or tactics: we will only rely on their scale in their respective games.<ref name="multiple"/>

===Strategy video games===

{{Main|Strategy video game}}

Strategy video games are categorized based on whether they offer the continuous gameplay of [[real-time strategy]] (RTS), or the discrete phases of [[turn-based strategy]] (TBS).<ref name="Apple on Strategy Games">{{cite web |url=https://www.apple.com/games/gettingstarted/strategy/ |title=Strategy Games |publisher=Apple |access-date=2008-12-28}}</ref> Often the computer is expected to emulate a strategically thinking "side" similar to that of a human player (such as directing armies and constructing buildings), or emulate the "instinctive" actions of individual units that would be too tedious for a player to administer (such as for a peasant to run away when attacked, as opposed to standing still until otherwise ordered by the player); hence there is an emphasis on artificial intelligence.

==See also==

{{commons category}}

{{Portal|Games}}

*[[Game of chance]]

*[[Game of skill]]

*[[Mind sport]]

==References==

{{VideoGameGenre}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Types of games}}{{Tabletop games by type}}{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Games]]

[[Category:Computer and video game genres]]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strategy Game}}

[[cs:Strategická hra (počítačová)]]

[[Category:GamesStrategy games| ]]

[[de:Strategiespiel]]

[[fr:Jeu de stratégie]]

[[ko:전략 시뮬레이션 게임]]

[[it:Gioco di strategia]]

[[nl:Strategiespel]]

[[ja:ウォー・シミュレーションゲーム]]

[[pl:Komputerowe gry strategiczne]]

[[zh:战略游戏]]