Some gamers like to charge head-first into the action, others prefer just to casually enjoy the experience or story that unfolds, but then there are those who prefer a more tactical approach. While many games in the strategy genre often come with a steep learning curve, there are still plenty of titles out there for new players looking to flex their brains.
From colorful brainteasers to leading virtual troops into battles, the genre is loaded to the brim with games designed to test a player’s thinking. If gamers are looking for a challenge that allows them to sit back and contemplate their moves, there are several titles to get things rolling.
Chess Ultra
No gamer is ever too good for fundamentals. When it comes to strategy games, chess is the godfather of them all. There are several different chess-based titles available, but if players are going to spend a lot of time playing it, it might as well be a visually appealing game.
Chess Ultra is essentially what the title implies, a chess video game with some enhanced content. While it might seem impractical to some to give so many bells and whistles to a game like chess, it does offer a variety of ways to play, challenge levels, and aesthetic choices to satisfy the pickiest of newcomers.
Clubhouse Games
If chess isn’t the flavor of the day, Clubhouse Games offers a great selection of card and board games to give players a mental workout. Along with game room classics like chess, checkers, poker, and so on, the compilation features 51 different games of different varieties and features.
While there are plenty of games in the collection that will test a player’s luck, skill, and experience, there are several games that will test a player’s strategy as well. From something as simple as Four-in-a-Row to less-familiar games like Hare and Hounds and Nine Men’s Morris. It’s a great compilation for players looking for something different.
Shining Force
RPGs and strategy games are two genres that blend more frequently than many would think, usually to stellar results. Sega’s Shining Force offers a solid jumping-off point for new players to experience the blend of story and strategy with fantasy elements.
Available on the Sega Genesis Collection, the game has players commanding a small army of adventurers with classes like warriors, rangers, and mages to save a 16-bit kingdom. Taking influences from games like Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy, fans of the JRPG genre will have little issue getting into this game.
Fire Emblem Awakening
If there’s one series that’s synonymous with the strategy genre, it’s Fire Emblem. While the series has had several different entries over the years, one of the most popular and accessible in recent years has been Fire Emblem Awakening on the 3DS. It might be featured on an older console, but it’s easily one of the best.
With a rich story, customizable characters and units, and tons of ways to play, there are plenty of reasons for even a newbie to the series to dip their toes in the water. Come for the romance options, stay for the giant rabbit monsters.
Overcooked
They say two heads are better than one, but in the case of Overcooked, it can be a chaotic spiral resulting in a kitchen fire. Sometimes a strategy game with friends can be a double-edged sword, and this kooky cooking simulator will have more than a few players scratching their heads.
Players have to deal with various orders, tasks, and shifting environments if they want to keep their restaurant afloat. Part party game, part real-time strategy, this is certainly one title that is as fun as it is frantic.
Codename: STEAM
An underrated gem on the 3DS everyone should play, Codename: STEAM features an XCOM-like turn-based battle game with an eccentric comic book art style that puts famous faces from history and literature against an invading army of Lovecraftian horrors. As strange as that concoction might sound, it’s actually a very engaging experience.
The concept and story alone will win casual fans over, and the gameplay is more of a turn-based shooter than something like Fire Emblem or its descendants. There are tons of colorful and familiar characters, monsters and bosses to fight, and a giant steampunk mech of Abraham Lincoln. The game is nothing if not original.
Wargroove
Wargroove can best be described as a strategy fan’s strategy game. Taking more than a few cues from the Advance Wars series, this gorgeous 16-bit strategy RPG is perhaps the most user-friendly and customizable entry in the genre. If they can take the time to learn the combat system, new players will find an excellent way to slide into the genre.
Outside the colorful campaign of swords, sorcery, and other fantasy elements, the game presents highly customizable arcade and multiplayer modes to suit any skill level. Simply put, the game can be as easy or as difficult as a player desires. It’s an ideal game for both veterans and novices to the genre.
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
In a world already full of unusual combinations, Mario and the Rabbids are easily top-tier material. That being said, the turn-based strategy shooter is a surprisingly successful, if strange, spinoff title. As Mario and his squawking long-eared friends, players will have to do battle against a menagerie of strange and unusual enemies and solve various puzzles to make it across the map.
Given the fact that Mario is usually one of the first video game characters many players are introduced to, it makes sense that he would have an easy-to-grasp strategy game under his belt as well. It’s not the most conventional pairing, but one that works shockingly well.
Plants Vs. Zombies
Definitely one of the easiest strategy games to pick up and play, this classic tower-defense game has players leading an army of cute plant creatures against a horde of the undead. It might not be the most complex strategy title, but it’s as funny as it is user-friendly, and it has more than a few fans if the spinoff titles are to be believed.
Zombies are usually scary video game enemies and they aren’t normally silly or comical characters. But when they’re bug-eyed, trudging forward in single file, and can be taken out by a smiling flower, they tend to lose some of their fear factor. It’s the over-the-top absurdity paired with the user-friendly nature that truly makes this game such a hit with strategy fans of any experience level.
