Crown Wars: The Black Prince is a turn-based strategy title set during the Hundred Years’ War, but with a dash of the occult thrown in for good measure. And while it does a lot right, severe balancing issues will prevent most players from really enjoying the fight.
At first glance, Buckshot Roulette is a title available on Steam by developer Mike Klubnika about playing rounds of Russian Roulette in a seedy nightclub for wads of cash. But just below the surface, it rewards critical thinking and the ability to calculate probabilities.
It’s difficult for new entries into the tactical empire-building genre to make a splash against established franchises like Civilization, Crusader Kings and others, but Millennia attempts to do so with a unique time and era altering mechanic that keeps its gameplay fresh every single time.
From the makers of the excellent Strategic Mind series of historic wargames comes Headquarters: World War II, a title that combines old-school tactical wargaming mechanics with brilliant modern touches. It’s a great choice for any armchair general who enjoys the tactical side of warfare.
Wartales is one of the most advanced tactical, turn-based RPGs to release in years, giving players the chance to manage an entire company of mercenaries. Adding a tavern ownership simulation DLC to the title might seem odd at first, but it works well for those looking for more of an economic challenge.
The Settlers of Catan is a beloved classic board game around the world and is played in multiple countries in over 40 languages. Now, that magic comes to the console with CATAN for Nintendo Switch with all the classic board game’s strategy and some enjoyable Switch-specific additions.
Developer Vanillaware is known for titles with solid mechanics, and the SRPG Unicorn Overlord might just be their best one yet. It offers incredibly satisfying strategy gameplay that is not often found on consoles, making it a must-have for Switch, PlayStation or Xbox armchair generals.
Clash II continues the endless battles in the series and pitts the colonizing Pure Ones against the druidic-like Old Ones fighting for strategic lands. At its core, Clash II offers players a solid but formulaic turn-based strategy experience.
Balatro is a new roguelike deck builder that takes the general rules of poker, and then uses mercurial joker cards to magically scramble everything around for players trying to achieve high scores and battle big bosses. It’s a unique experience with eight difficulty levels to test players’ skills and luck.
There is a little bit of everything in Rising Lords, which on the surface plays like a medieval version of Civilization. But below the surface you have elements of city building, turn-based combat, management and even some board game elements to keep things interesting.
