A turn-based strategy (TBS) game is a
strategy game (usually some type of
wargame, especially a
strategic-level wargame) where players take
turns when playing. This is distinguished from
real-time strategy (RTS), in which all players play simultaneously.
Examples
Board games
Many
board game
Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well.
Many board games feature a co ...
s are turn based, such as
chess
Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...
,
Reversi,
checkers,
Hare games, and
Go, as well as many modern board games.
Turn-based tactics
Turn-based tactical game-play is characterized by the expectation of players to complete their tasks by using the combat forces provided to them, and usually by the provision of a realistic (or at least believable) representation of military tactics and operations.
Tactical role-playing game
Tactical role-playing games (abbreviated TRPGs), also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as (both abbreviated SRPGs), are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical (Turn-bas ...
s are a part of this genre. Examples include ''
Fire Emblem'', ''
The Battle for Wesnoth'', ''
Poxnora'', ''
Silent Storm
''Silent Storm'' is a 2003 turn-based tactics video game developed by Nival Interactive and published by JoWood. The game is set in a fictionalized World War II Europe with science fiction elements.
An advanced game engine, the Silent Storm ...
'', ''
Steel Panthers: World at War!'', ''
King's Bounty
''King's Bounty'' is a turn-based fantasy video game designed by Jon Van Caneghem and published by New World Computing in 1990. The game follows the player's character, a hero of King Maximus, appointed with the job of retrieving the Sceptre of ...
'', ''
Great Big War Game
''Great Big War Game'' (commonly abbreviated to ''GBWG'') is a modern military 3D turn-based strategy video game developed by British studio Rubicon Development. It has been released on iOS, Android
and Microsoft Windows. The game is a sequel ...
'', ''
Nintendo Wars'', ''
UniWar
''UniWar'' is a video game for mobile devices, initially released in April 2009 for Android and iOS and then released to other platforms such as Ovi (Nokia) and BlackBerry App World. It is a turn-based strategy game with multiplayer online game ...
'', ''
XCOM 2'' and ''
Chessaria: The Tactical Adventure''.
Mainstream computer games
After a period of converting board and historic TBS games to computer games, companies began basing computer turn-based strategy games on completely original properties or concepts. The presence of a computer to calculate and arbitrate allows game complexity which is not feasible in a traditional board game.
Some well known turn-based strategy games are
Sid Meier
Sidney K. Meier ( ; born February 24, 1954) is a Canadian-American programmer, designer, and producer of several strategy video games and simulation video games, including the ''Civilization'' series. Meier co-founded MicroProse in 1982 with ...
's ''
Civilization
A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system).
...
'' series,
''
Heroes of Might and Magic
''Heroes of Might and Magic'', known as ''Might & Magic Heroes'' since 2011, is a series of video games originally created and developed by Jon Van Caneghem through New World Computing.
As part of the ''Might and Magic'' franchise, the series ...
'' series, ''
Panzer General
''Panzer General'' is a 1994 computer wargame developed and published by Strategic Simulations Inc. (SSI). It simulates conflict during World War II. The designers of ''Panzer General'' were heavily influenced by the Japanese wargame series '' ...
'' series, ''
Warlords
A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...
'' series, and ''
Age of Wonders'' series.
Indie games
A further market trend is the rise of "Indie" TBS games (games produced by small groups, independent or only somewhat affiliated with the major elements in the computer games industry). These games often extend or refine already existing TBS games. Examples include
Freeciv or
Golden Age of Civilizations.
Open-source games
Since turn-based strategy games do not typically require vast amounts of art or modeling, developers willing to volunteer their time can focus on gameplay. Directories like
Freecode
Freecode, formerly Freshmeat, is a website owned by BIZX, Inc., hosting mainly open-source software for programmers and developers. Among other things, the site also hosted user reviews and discussions. While a majority of the software covered is ...
provide large lists of
open-source
Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open-source model is a decentralized so ...
, turn-based strategy projects.
Browser-based games
Online browser-based games do not require users to install files and are often free. The Hex Empire set of games is a good example of browser-based games in this genre.
See also
*
List of turn-based strategy video games
*
Time-keeping systems in games
*
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy (RTS) is a subgenre of strategy video games that do not progress incrementally in turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in turn-based strategy (TBS) games, players take turns to p ...
References
{{VideoGameGenre
Video game genres
Video game terminology