Strategy games have translated to touch screens better than most gaming genres. Game developers have noticed this and now you can find a metric ton of strategy games in the Google Play Store. Which ones are the best? That’s the question we set out to find out. Here are the best Android strategy games.

Age of Civilizations

[Price: $2.29]
Age of Civilizations is a turn-based strategy game with no in app purchases. It also pulls out all the stops on add on content such as Google Play Games services, offline play, and a bunch of scenarios including both World Wars. The way it works is you issue commands before the start of every round and then those actions get completed. What you can do is limited by your Movement Points. Overall, it’s kind of like the classic board game Risk so fans of that should enjoy this title quite a bit. You can also do things like form alliances and sign peace treaties.

Anomaly 2

[Price: $4.99]
Anomaly 2 is a tower offense and tower defense hybrid game that includes intense game play and decent graphics. That includes PhysX integration and support for the Tegra K1 (if you have any of those devices). There is an online multiplayer mode where someone plays tower offense and the other plays tower defense which is a unique game play feature you won’t find in many other places. It’s also one of the few strategy games on this list to have a decent story line. There are also no in app purchases!

Autumn Dynasty – RTS

[Price: $4.99]
The first thing you’ll notice about Autumn Dynasty is its unique graphics. All of the graphics are done in the style of traditional Chinese painting which adds a bit of an authentic feel to the game play. You “paint” your orders by manually circling troops and targets to tell them what to do. It’s a real-time strategy and the idea is that you have to take up the sword and prevent civil war. It’s $4.99 and there are no in app purchases in this title.

Battlestation – First Contact

[Price: Free with in app purchases]
In this lighter, but addictive strategy game, you control a battle station. Using troops, upgrades, weapons, and other implements of destruction, you must defend your battle station from an alien invasion. The first level of the game is free to play but you much purchase the rest of the game via an in app purchase. It features quick, intense game play that provides a solid experience for a freemium title.

Boom Beach

[Price: Free with in app purchases]
Boom Beach is a free (with in app purchases) strategy game from the super popular Supercell developers. In this game, you must load up boats with troops and storm the beaches of your opponents which can be both offline and online. There is a campaign mode where you must defeat the Blackguard and free the island natives from their reign of terror. You can upgrade your own base along with your troops to give yourself a better chance at defense and attacking. It’s a fairly simple game with a strong social aspect and it’s great for casual players.

Clash of Clans

[Price: Free with in app purcahses]
Supercell’s more popular title is Clash of Clans. In this game you must build up a defense to defend against raids from other players and then raid other players. It’s almost entirely a social game as the campaign mode falls into the background almost immediately after you begin playing. You can join clans with other players and give each other troops and engage in clan wars against other (usually similarly leveled) clans. It’s been cloned a bunch of times and still remains the most popular free strategy game on Android.

Eufloria HD

[Price: $4.99]
Eufloria HD is a different kind of strategy game. Instead of focusing on an intense battle between two entities, this title focuses on conquering asteroids in space and then using their resources to kind of terraform them. It’s known as an ambient strategy game because it’s actually more relaxing than anything and the muted colors and easy game play kind of lend themselves to that experience as well. It’s $4.99 and there are no in app purchases which, frankly, only serves to strengthen the relaxing atmosphere of this title.

Frozen Synapse

[Price: $2.99]
Frozen Synapse a fairly intense tactical combat game where you must clear levels by controlling your troops and killing the bad guys. There is an array of weapons you can use and a lot of the game focuses on breach-and-clear style tactics. There are over 50 single player missions and five online multiplayer modes. There are also no in app purchases which is great news if you don’t like those. This game won’t work on older tablets due to resolution constraints but if you have something fairly new then you’ll be okay.

Great Little War Game 1 and 2

[Price: $2.49 and $2.99]
The Great Little War Game series has been popular and highly rated for quite some time now. The premise in both games is roughly the same. Both games are checkerboard-style, turn-based strategy games. You move troops along a board and once you get within range, you can shoot at them. There are different strategies thanks to terrain and troops but overall this is more geared toward the casual gamer than the serious one. They’re inexpensive and they also come in free version if you want to try those out first!

Kingdom Rush and Kingdom Rush Frontiers

[Price: $0.99 with in app purchases and $1.99 with in app purchases (respectively)]
The Kingdom Rush series is another highly touted and popular tower defense series. The first one has a 4.6 rating in the Play Store and the other has a 4.7. Those are very impressive marks. They’re known for their fast, addictive game play and their goofy but fun choices in towers and troops. Alongside that are 70 achievements, 18 tower abilities, 40 enemies, 11 heroes, and three difficulty modes. The games themselves are a little short but you can still have a lot of fun.

Out There

[Price: $3.99]
Out There is a survival strategy game where you must gather resources and interact with alien life forms in order to survive. Like most strategy games you must travel, collect resources, and build updates to improve your changes of survival. You must combat some aliens while you befriend others while you slowly learn each of their languages. It’s a pretty unique game with three different endings and it even builds a slightly different galaxy each time you start a new game.

Plague Inc

[Price: Free with in app purchases]
Plague Inc is an intensely fun and popular game that has managed to keep a 4.5 rating in the Google Play Store. The premise of the game is quite simple. You must develop the next wave of super diseases to wipe out the planet. There are a variety of diseases to choose from and each one can be upgraded and modified to do more things. Despite its popularity and age, the developers are still adding new content as well. It’s a great freemium title.

Plants vs Zombies 2

[Price: Free with in app purchases]
Plants vs Zombies 2 is arguably the most casual strategy game of any on this list. In this checkerboard, tower defense-style game, you must create weaponized plants to defend your yard from the zombie hoard. By using a combination of plants, you can achieve victory in each level. The developers have been adding new content since the game came out and that just adds to its value. If you don’t like this version, you can always try the original Plants vs Zombies which is $1.14.

rymdkapsel

[Price: $3.99]
The phrase “Great graphics don’t necessarily mean great games” applies to a game like rymdkapsel. Despite the simplistic (albeit colorful) graphics, this game is intense and fun. In this title, you focus on building the best base you possibly can by building units and generating resources. You must also defend from wave after wave of attacks. The price is $3.99 and the game does only contain a single level so if you’re a thrifty app buyer, you may not like that. Otherwise, rymdkapsel is worth some consideration.

Skulls of the Shogun

[Price: $4.99]
Skulls of the Shogun is a turn-based strategy game with a quick pace and fun, cartoon-ish graphics. It contains 24 levels, 4 magical animal monks, 4 gods, 6 generals, and all sorts of other content to enjoy. There are also two forms of multiplayer. There’s a pass-and-play style multiplayer and an online multiplayer available where you send moves much like a chess game. It hasn’t gained the popularity of some of these other titles and it really should.

Star Command

[Price: $2.99]
This title was actually originally funded on Kickstarter which is where most of its early popularity stemmed from. In this game you build your own ship, explore the universe, prevent aliens from invading your ship, and blow up a lot of stuff. The graphics are old school which provides a charming retro feel to the game. Some people have complained about the lack of updates because the game only gets an update about once every six months but most people seem to enjoy it.

XCOM Enemy Unknown

[Price: $9.99]
Those looking for console quality titles need to look no further than XCOM Enemy Unknown. In this combat strategy game you must train your allies, upgrade and research new tech, and save the planet from aliens. The strategy comes in combat as you must move your characters around to best take advantage of cover while you flank and kill your enemies. It’s a deep game with a lot of content and great graphics. Of course, with a console level comes a console level price tag which some people may not be happy about.

Wrap up

If we missed any great Android strategy games, by all means please let us know in the comments!