Online War Strategy Games

WarOnline

WarOnline.net is a war game set in medieval times. Your goal is to defeat your enemy and capture his or her castle. Movement is based on a hexagonal grid system that has been used in many other war games.

There are three game types available, each offering a different experience:

• Battle - This game is all about war. You select your army (or have it selected for you depending on the game scenario) and then battle against your opponent. There is no economy or resources to worry about. This is about battle tactics only.
• Duels - This version plays more like traditional online war strategy games. In addition to combat tactics, you must also think strategically about managing your kingdom. This includes researching new technologies and making buildings.
• Campaigns - This version is for the gamer who wants the ultimate strategy game. In addition to battles and kingdom management, there is also politics to focus on. These games may last up to three months as players make only a few, carefully-calculated moves each day.

WarOnline is free to play. However, purchasing a membership will give you the following:

• Play up to six different games at a time.
• Access special Battle Scenarios.
• Play without annoying ads and banners.

WarGames 2

WarGames 2 is a deep, text-based war game. Each player in the game controls a real-life country. Every country in a game is controlled by a human player, so there is no computer artificial intelligence to worry about.

This game is heavy on strategy instead of battle tactics. Rather than just lead an army into battle, you’ll also have to contend with realities such as the national treasury, food supplies, and oil reserves.

It is a very complicated game but is fun for someone that likes their play based in reality. Expect to study charts and spreadsheets to help you make decisions. Fortunately, after signing up you’ll enter a tutorial to help you get started.

Play is continuous rather than turn-based. You’ll receive four moves every 30 minutes. Each action you make uses up a certain number of moves. For example, attacking a country uses five moves.

The game is free to play but donations are accepted and will give you access to the paid server.

Artifact

If the previous turn-based games are too slow for you, consider Artifact, which is a real-time strategy game. In Artifact, you’ll start with a single city in which to begin building your empire. To succeed, you’ll need to expand your empire, create an army, make alliances and search for artifacts.

The game world consists of ancient artifacts that give you increased powers. You’ll always be searching for artifacts, trying to steal them away, or hold on them. Examples of artifacts include:

• Red Dragon - This will increase the strength of your cavalry attacks.
• Air Artifacts - These artifacts increase the speed of your military units.
• Fire - This gives an attack bonus to all units.

Artifact is a persistent world. This means that even when you log off, the world will still be operating. This is one reason why you need to form alliances. You might be attacked when you are not playing. If this happens, you’ll need someone in your alliance to protect you until you return.

The game community has been in existence since 1999. It is free to play, but you’ll receive benefits if you purchase a three-month subscription for $19.95. Some of the benefits include:

• Unlimited play time (free accounts can only play four hours a day)
• Create or join a clan
• Play in up to 12 games at once (free accounts are limited to three games)

Conclusion

While they may not be as graphically sophisticated as console or computer games, online war strategy games offer a fun challenge for all strategy gamers. This list of games is only a small sampling of the games available online. For additional listings, check out Play Free Games.