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Strategy game
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A strategy game is a game (e.g. computer, video or board game) in which the players' decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome. Many games include this element to a greater or lesser degree, making demarcation difficult.
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Encyclopedia
A strategy game is a game (e.g. computer, video or board game) in which the players' decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome. Many games include this element to a greater or lesser degree, making demarcation difficult. It is therefore more accurate to describe a particular game as having a certain degree of strategic elements, as in being mainly based around strategic principles.
The crucial factor that separates this type of game from all others is that there is relatively little chance involved. All players have equal degree of knowledge of the elements of the game. There is no physical skill required other than that necessary to interact with the game pieces.
Strategy (and tactics) are usually contrasted with luck, the outcome of luck-based games relying on probability. Games exist on a continuum from pure skill to pure chance, with strategic games usually towards the skill end of the spectrum. The word "strategy" is borrowed from a military jargon. It originally refers to planning at a very high level and often strategy games deal rather with planning on a smaller scale for which the word "tactics" is used in a military context.
Types
Abstract strategy
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.
A purist's definition of an abstract strategy game requires that it cannot have random elements or hidden information. However , many games are commonly classed as abstract strategy games which do not meet these criteria. Games such as Backgammon, Octiles, Can't Stop, Sequence and Mentalis have all been described as "abstract strategy", despite having a luck element. A smaller category of non-perfect abstract strategy games incorporate hidden information without using any random elements. An example is Stratego.
Simulation
This type of game is an attempt to simulate the decisions and processes 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 completely divided from simulations and so games can be thought of as existing on a continuum of almost pure abstraction (like Abalone) to almost pure simulation (like Strat-o-Matic Baseball).
Wargame
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, war games 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.
Traditionally, wargames have been played either with 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 counters on a hex map.
Popular miniature wargames include Warhammer 40,000 or its fantasy counterpart Warhammer Fantasy. Popular strategic board wargames include Axis and Allies and Diplomacy. Advanced Squad Leader is a successful tactical scale wargame.
Strategy video games
Strategy games played on computers generally take one of four archetypal forms, depending on whether the game is turn-based or real-time and whether the game's focus is upon military strategy or tactics. Some examples are: Age of Empires, Red Alert, and Heroes of Might and Magic series. The two distinct types of strategy games are Real-time strategy in which players make in game actions at the same time and Turn-based strategy in which players take turns to perform in game actions.
See also
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