You want to get into strategy games and immediately run into names like Europa Universalis V, Hearts of Iron IV or Crusader Kings III, plus expansion lists with more than 30 entries. At that point the real question isn’t which strategy game is the best. It’s this: which one do I start with without quitting in frustration after two evenings?

That’s why there’s no ranking here, but an order in three stages: an easy start, the next step, grand strategy. On top of that come branches, depending on whether you’d rather play in turns or in real time and whether building or war appeals to you more. The strongest games in the genre overall are in our list of the best strategy games.

First things first: turn-based, real-time or real-time with pause

Strategy games play out in three ways:

  • Turn-based: You make your move, then the opponent makes theirs. As long as you’re thinking, nothing happens. That’s how Civilization VI and Into the Breach work.
  • Real-time: The clock runs without a break, and you control units and economy at the same time. How fast you make decisions matters too, for example in StarCraft II.
  • Real-time with pause: Time runs, but you can stop it at any moment, speed it up or slow it down, and give orders calmly while it’s paused.

The third point is the important one. All the big games from Paradox, the name behind the best-known grand strategy series, work this way: Crusader Kings III, Stellaris, Hearts of Iron IV and the Europa Universalis series. At first glance Stellaris even looks like a turn-based game. You can pause whenever you like, but as soon as time runs, the whole world moves at once. If you only want to play move by move, you’re better off with turn-based games.

The second question: would you rather build or wage war? And one thing up front: grand strategy is almost entirely a PC genre, and the platforms are listed for every game.

Stage 1: the easy start

Civilization VI

My tip for the very first step is Sid Meier’s Civilization VI. You lead a civilization from the Stone Age to the space age, found cities, do research, negotiate and wage wars, and there are several paths to victory. Because it’s turn-based, you can think through every move for as long as you want. That’s why it works so well as a warm-up: you learn diplomacy, economy and expansion here without time pressure, and these exact core ideas come back later in grand strategy.

A lot of the small stuff can be automated. That makes Civilization VI easy to play while still having enough depth, a good mix for learning. It runs on PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and iOS. I wouldn’t start with the far more divisive 2025 sequel. And the base game is plenty for the beginning, you can pick up the expansions Rise and Fall and Gathering Storm later.

Who it’s not for: if you’re looking for computer opponents that really challenge you, you’ll be disappointed, the AI is the game’s biggest weak spot. If you want a real war simulation or short matches, this isn’t the right pick either. Plan on around 80 hours.

Branches for getting started

Civ isn’t the right start for everyone. These three branches are smaller or more specialized, but they train exactly what you’ll need later.

Into the Breach

If you like turns and you’re mainly interested in combat, Into the Breach is the smallest possible way in. You control a few mechs on a small grid map and fend off giant insect monsters. You see in advance what the enemies are planning for their next turn, which turns every round into a puzzle you can actually wrap your head around. There’s no economy and no big map, just the question of how to stop every attack. That kind of thinking ahead is something you need in every bigger strategy game.

The free Advanced Edition added new squads, weapons and an especially tough mode. It runs on PC, Switch and iOS. Who it’s not for: anyone looking for building, big maps or a story. And because it’s a roguelite, you start over after a defeat, which you have to be into. Around 15 hours.

StarCraft II

For the real-time branch, StarCraft II is my tip. Three very different races fight over the galaxy, and the campaign eases you into the genre mission by mission. Getting started costs nothing: the first campaign, Wings of Liberty, and the multiplayer mode have been free since 2017, only the other campaigns cost extra.

There hasn’t been any new content since 2020, and the multiplayer demands quick reflexes and lots of practice. For the campaign, neither of those matters. Who it’s not for: anyone who’d rather plan with pause or is looking for building and diplomacy. If sci-fi isn’t your thing, go with Age of Empires IV, with real civilizations and historical campaigns. StarCraft II only runs on PC via Battle.net, around 60 hours.

Anno 1404

If building appeals to you more than conquest, go with Anno 1404: History Edition. You build medieval trading cities, keep your residents supplied through production chains and trade with partners in the Orient. Military pressure barely plays a role, and combat is the game’s weak side anyway. What you learn here is thinking in economic chains. That comes back on a big scale later in Europa Universalis.

The History Edition includes the Venice add-on with co-op and head-to-head matches, only runs on Windows and requires a Ubisoft account. Who it’s not for: anyone who wants to conquer. On PS5 and Xbox Series, go with Anno 117: Pax Romana from 2025 instead, although its interface can feel cluttered to newcomers. Around 40 hours.

Tip: Not sure yet whether turns, real-time or building suit you best? Take the quiz and get a recommendation in about three minutes.

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Stage 2: the next step

Now things get bigger, but not overwhelming yet.

Total War: Shogun 2

For the war branch, Total War: Shogun 2 is a good in-between step. You lead a samurai clan in feudal Japan and set out to unite the country. On the campaign map you play in turns, with diplomacy, economy and troop movements. When it comes to battle, the game switches to real time and you command your armies directly on the field. Among the classic entries in the series, it’s my tip for getting started, because it streamlines a lot without losing depth. You’ll still need to put in some time to learn it.

Pay attention to which version you’re getting when you buy it. In October 2026, Sega released a new Complete Edition and pulled the previous versions from sale for it. The new edition had so many bugs and technical problems that it disappeared again for the time being after two days. The classic game is back on sale, so get that one until the new edition has been fixed.

Who it’s not for: anyone who only wants to play in turns, because the battles require real-time control. If you’re after fantasy, Total War: Warhammer III is the alternative with a similarly structured campaign, but with lots of expensive expansions. Total War: Shogun 2 only runs on PC, around 60 hours.

Stellaris

If you want to take the step to Paradox, Stellaris is the gentlest way in for me. You start with a single star system, explore the galaxy and eventually end up with galactic diplomacy, wars and strange discoveries. At its core it’s a space strategy game with the systems of a grand strategy game underneath, which makes it the natural bridge from Civilization VI to the big Paradox titles. It explains its many resources pretty elegantly, and in space you don’t need any history knowledge.

Keep in mind that Stellaris runs in real time with pause, even if it doesn’t look like it. Its weakness is the mid and late game: once the borders are set, there’s often downtime. Who it’s not for: anyone who wants a historical setting or a tight ending. The old console version for PS4 and Xbox One hasn’t received updates since 2025, so I’d play it on PC. Plan on around 150 hours.

Crusader Kings III

Crusader Kings III is the other big way into the world of Paradox. You don’t play an abstract state, but a character in the Middle Ages and their dynasty across generations. Every character has their own personality and their own relationships, and out of that come intrigues, inheritance disputes and stories you never planned. Those stories carry you through the phase where you don’t yet understand the rules. On top of that, the help features are good: almost every term can be expanded in a tooltip, with more explanations inside, and there’s an interactive tutorial.

It’s still not easy. Titles and inheritance laws are nested, and some consequences of your decisions only make sense to you once it’s too late. I’d recommend it to anyone who’s up for character drama and willing to take their time digging into it. Who it’s not for: anyone more interested in war and the map than in characters, or anyone who needs clear victory conditions. A plus for console players: there’s a well-maintained version for PS5 and Xbox Series, but new expansions arrive there about a year later than on PC. Around 100 hours.

Before you buy Paradox: start without DLC

Crusader Kings III and Stellaris each have more than 30 expansions and add-on packs in the store, plus subscriptions. My advice: start with the base game. At first you’ll have enough on your plate understanding the basic rules, and the big expansions pile new systems on top. With Crusader Kings III, a good share of the packs are purely cosmetic, too.

Only once a game has hooked you is it worth looking at the expansions. With Hearts of Iron IV they get interesting a little earlier, because many focus trees for individual nations are tied to expansions. But you don’t need them to get started there either.

Stage 3: grand strategy

You get here after Stellaris, Crusader Kings III or Total War: Shogun 2. Grand strategy means you steer an entire country over years or centuries, with economy, diplomacy, trade and war all at once, all in real time with pause.

Hearts of Iron IV

Hearts of Iron IV is the grand strategy game for the war branch. You take over any country in World War II and control production, research, diplomacy and the front lines, right down to planning individual divisions. The big advantage for beginners is the clear framework: the game starts in 1936, and you know from the start where everything is heading. So if the theme grabs you, you can even take it as your first Paradox title right after stage 1. That works much better than with Europa Universalis.

It still won’t be easy. For a game of this size it’s surprisingly approachable, but you’re juggling a huge number of things at once, and some of it is more complicated than it needs to be. If supply lines and front lines feel more like work to you, you won’t be happy here. The game is still being supported, and a big expansion about the war in Asia and the Pacific came out as recently as November 2025. It only runs on PC, around 120 hours.

Europa Universalis IV

For me, Europa Universalis IV is the epitome of grand strategy. You lead a nation from the early modern period into the 19th century, through diplomacy, trade, colonies and war. This is where you belong once you’ve got a handle on Crusader Kings III, Stellaris or Hearts of Iron IV and want even more depth. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone as a first game, the learning curve is too steep for that. And if you prefer characters and stories over numbers and maps, you’re better off sticking with Crusader Kings III.

Here too there are more than 30 expansions in the store, but some of the earlier ones are now part of the base game. That’s plenty for the beginning. It only runs on PC, but on Windows, macOS and Linux. Around 150 hours.

Europa Universalis V

Europa Universalis V is the current entry in the series, released in November 2025. The game starts in 1337 and spans around five centuries, with a very deep economic simulation. Precisely because it’s the newest entry, starting here seems like the obvious choice. My clear advice: don’t. For beginners, Europa Universalis V is far too complex. The tutorial and starting missions only scratch the surface, the menus are a maze, and without a lot of reading up you’ll barely get anywhere.

Once you’ve worked through the earlier stages, it’s a different story. Then the effort can pay off. The weak spots remain the convoluted interface and a rather passive AI. The game is still being patched and only runs on Windows. So on a Mac or on Linux, Europa Universalis IV is your only option. Around 150 hours.

Your path at a glance

What now?

If you don’t know yet which branch suits you, take the quiz. More strategy games, from short tactics puzzles to huge campaigns, are waiting in our list of the best strategy games. And if you’re new not just to strategy but to gaming in general, start with the best games for beginners and returning players.