The adrenaline rush of maximizing a good strategy in a game remains unmatched. It gives us a good reason to exercise our brain muscles and challenges us in ways other games do not— especially when our strategic choices pay off. Strategy games have played a critical role in the landscape of mobile gaming. Whether it is real-time player versus-player contests or single-player self-contained puzzles; strategy games often take our brain places we didn’t think we could go— they take our brain to the next level. The Google Play Store is consequently saturated with less than impressive and sometimes downright frustrating strategy games. Lucky for you, here at Hardcore Droid we have you covered. We’ve compiled a list of the Best Android Strategy Games so that you can strategize to your heart’s content.
15. Build Master: Open Fire
Earth is on the verge of running out of resources and humans have no choice but to migrate to outer space to survive. However, countries worldwide are trying to be the first to secure a livable planet for themselves and their people, which means this is a race against time. While traveling through space, your ship malfunctions and you’re forced to land on an unknown planet. To reunite with your companions, you must gather resources from alien life forms.
What makes Build Master: Open Fire so special is that it’s a mashup of several games such as Kingdom Builder, resource management, city builder, and gatcha games to make something completely unique and fun. It also isn’t pay to win so you can make plenty of progress in the story as long as you keep playing, making said game on our Best Android Strategy list.
14. Into the Breach
A game that’s only available for Netflix members, Into the Breach allows players to lead a team to save the world from alien threats. Engage in turn-based combat and build powerful mechs to battle against enemies, defend cities, and plan the ultimate strategy to defeat your opponents. While the game is immensely brutal, the short length of battles and a limitless variety of playthroughs make the game a seriously addictive experience. With exciting, challenging, thought-provoking and intensely rewarding gameplay, Into the Breach is a tactical gem that will keep you jumping back into the fray for more.
13. Wolf Pack: The Wild Kingdom/Wild Animal Wars
Partner with wolves worldwide and battle against other wolf packs as you explore, hunt, challenge, and try to survive. As the Alpha wolf of your pack, your duty is to lead your wolves to greatness, defend your den, and rise to the top of the food chain. With real-time strategy gameplay, a world map with seamless transitions and the ability to create an alliance with other wolf packs, The Wild Kingdom/Wild Animal Wars is a unique experience in the strategy genre.
Additionally, the endless streams of notifications and fast building times make the game a rewarding and relaxing experience. The Wild Kingdom also has vivid animations that are appealing to look at and the developers are always listening to feedback to make improvements to the game. So if you’re looking for a fun time with one of the best Android strategy games, Wolf Pack: The Wild Kingdom/Wild Animal Wars is an experience certainly worth trying.
12. World of Asterra: Dragons Rise
A sandbox-style strategy game where you must use your skills in warfare, terrain and tactics to control battles in your favor and achieve victory. The gods of Asterra are no longer around and monsters now flourish across the land. It is up to you to create a band of heroes to extinguish the demons and become a Lord who will bring Asterra back to prosperity. With authentic 3D graphics and an epic story, World of Asterra: Dragons Rise is not one to miss.
11. Warhammer 40,000: Tacticus
A new turn-based tactical strategy game where players utilize mighty warriors to build an almighty army that can clear the galaxy from resistance. Upgrade your team with the best gear and enhance their abilities on the battlefield! Whether a new fan of Warhammer or a veteran, you’ll find plenty of challenges in Tacticus as you progress through the game. From PvE Campaigns and live events to Guild Raids and PvP, Tacticus has plenty to offer in terms of content.
For newcomers to the Warhammer franchise, Tacticus is an excellent entry point as it contains numerous methods to earn things in-game, brilliant strategy mechanics, and engaging gameplay. While the game is fairly difficult, it will keep you on your toes and allow you to stay engaged in the action. Fans of strategy owe it to themselves to have this game in their collection. Tacticus is the epitome of the best Android strategy games the Google Play Store has to offer.
10. Primitive Era
Play as the Chief of a newborn village and help your people survive. During the Paleolithic era humans had to evacuate from their caves due to destructive volcanic eruptions. After going through a long journey to find a new home, humans have finally found a suitable continent to settle down and call home. Now it’s your job to build and develop a village that can grow into a highly civilized settlement. In Primitive Era, you’ll be taming prehistoric animals, discovering areas, recruiting warriors to your village and building an original tribe that can’t be found anywhere else.
What makes Primitive Era so good is that it offers a fascinating adventure for a single-player experience. The cartoon art style allows the game to focus on fun and sets an appropriate tone for the game. Moreover, Primitive Era takes inspiration from other genres such as gacha, but you can make a lot of progress through the game without paying for any microtransactions.
9. Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus
Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus is a wonderfully brilliant turn-based strategy game. Yes, it does play like XCOM, however, it has originality with a unique twist in the gameplay. Set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, you control a group of cybernetically enhanced humans as they explore an alien planet. With a massive array of guns, traps, and gear you clear rooms taking out enemies. Despite the short campaign and the $9.99 price tag, Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus is sure to take your brain to task with its brutal turn-based combat and unrelenting gameplay. Like Tacticus, Mechanicus truly earns its way into our best Android strategy list.
8. Worms W.M.D: Mobilize
Mobilize your worms in Worms W.M.D: Mobilize! If you love strategy games and haven’t tried the Worms franchise, you need to do yourself a service and play it! What better place to start with Worms W.M.D: Mobilize. It is inspired by the classic Worms Armageddon from the 1990s but gives said game a more modern feel. Worms W.M.D: Mobilize is still the same turn-based strategic platformer you know and love. The $5.99 price tag gives you an insane amount of content to throw your worms at. Because— It’s a whole new can of Worms!
7. Civilization VI
The Civilization franchise is by far one of the best when it comes to strategy games, and Civilization VI is playable on mobile devices. Yes, you read that correctly! The massive game normally played on the desktop, is condensed onto mobile and adheres to the same strategic experience. Of course, with a few UI tweaks to make it better matched for mobile. Additionally, commanding the civilization of your choosing on mobile is just plain awesome and it will make you strategize for hours on end. Consequently, we do recommend playing it on an Android tablet and for those with older devices, the game may crash— a small price to pay for greatness!
6. Bad North
Bad North is not only a visual masterpiece, but this Viking-themed roguelike will get more brain-turning in unique ways. You give your soldiers orders before the battle begins however; they will respond to enemy actions concisely. The beauty of this system is to avoid the micro-managing aspects and let the player focus on the battle on a larger scale. The stakes are similar to that of Into the Breach. One wrong strategic move can put you dead in the water— so, choose your moves wisely. This not only makes Bad North one of the best Android strategy games, but it is also the most visually stunning one.
5. Total War: Medieval II
Once upon a time you needed a massive and quick computer to play Total War: Medieval II. Now, with the power of technology and the expansion of mobile gaming; you can play one of the best strategy games of all time. Additionally, the mobile port does not cut any content from the original game. Putting a massive game onto mobile does come with its quirks; the UI has been overhauled to make the said game playable. What you will find is a solid experience— just as long as you have a newer phone or tablet. This classic will always find its way onto our best Android strategy list.
4. Company of Heroes
A must-play real-time strategy game that takes place during World War II. Company of Heroes features dynamic combat environments, ultramodern squad-based tactics and enthralling campaigns for you to enjoy. Furthermore, the game is optimized for Android, making your gameplay experience seamless and allowing for quick tactics execution during intense battles.
Anyone who enjoys real-time strategy games should definitely consider playing Company of Heroes. There isn’t any tedious resource gathering or base building. You acquire resources just by taking on objectives and reinforcing/upgrading your units on the battlefield. The game also runs perfectly with no lag and has easy-to-learn controls that allow anyone to pick up the game and play it. With no monthly subscriptions or ads interrupting your play time as well, Company of Heroes is an easy recommendation for any strategy fan out there.
3. XCOM: Enemy Within
If you’re looking for an amazing strategy game to keep you busy for a long time,  look no further as XCOM: Enemy Within is the ideal choice for you. Newcomers are especially in for a treat as not only can you experience the original game in all of its glory, but you also have the added benefit of the expansion and all of its insane amount of content.                                      XCOM: Enemy Within is a standalone expansion of XCOM: Enemy Unknown, 2012’s strategy game of the year. This game features the core gameplay of Enemy Unknown but with more fun and engaging content. In fact, the heap of content the game gives you is what makes this expansion so incredible.
With new soldiers, abilities, maps, enemies, missions and a multiplayer mode, XCOM: Enemy Within expansion takes the overall game to an entirely new level of replayability and challenge. A game that was already incredible to begin with is now made even better thanks to the plethora of excellent content the expansion contains. It allows XCOM: Enemy Within to provide a fresh gaming experience for the strategy genre and is something many games in the genre should aspire to.
2. The Banner Saga 1 and 2
This story-based strategy strategy-RPG series involves leading your clan of Vikings and Varls (giants with horns stemming from their foreheads) across a hostile country on the verge of collapse. As the leader of your clan, you must manage your resources wisely, make courageous leadership decisions and make critical strikes during combat to allow your clan to survive.
The reason why The Banner Saga ranks so high on our list is that unlike some story-based games out there, the choices you make in the Banner Saga can completely change the course of the story. Your choices actually matter in this game, so it’s imperative you take a lot of time to think about your decisions before acting. This is especially because the game does not have a save and reload feature, which means you can’t go back and change your decision if you mess up or don’t like your answer. What you see is what you get.
It may sound like a flaw at first, but when you look into it more, you realize that it’s a great idea. You feel the weight of each and every significant choice you make which makes the story of the game more engrossing. Alongside its nice controls,  great characters and beautiful hand-drawn visuals, it’s no wonder why The Banner Saga series has been a major hit with the indie gaming community. Making this series one of the best Android strategy games to play.
1. XCOM 2 Collection
In this game, aliens conquered Earth and ruled the planet with an iron fist. They promise a bright future for those who conform to their ways but destroy those who do not. To fight against these invaders, an organization called XCOM was formed to protect humanity, start a worldwide resistance, and reclaim Earth again. As a member of XCOM, you must work with your comrades to defeat the aliens and reclaim Earth for humanity.
What makes this game rank at the top of our list is how it seeks to push the mobile gaming industry further. Feral Interactive, the developers for the game, have created some of the best strategies you’ll ever find in any mobile game. There are so many options at your disposal in how you can approach different scenarios and achieve victory.
The game also has numerous missions and four DLC packs containing new story missions, equipment, soldier types and mighty alien rulers that’ll keep you busy for a substantial amount of time. Additionally, the game is optimized for Android and boasts a redesigned interface that ensures smooth gameplay performance.
While XCOM 2 Collection is expensive, the price is well worth it due to the quality and polish put into the game. It easily makes XCOM the best Android strategy game, taking into account all the content and features the game has, you can see that it’s easily one of the most complete mobile games out there and well worth your time.
Enjoyed the list? Be sure to check out our list of the Best Android Games of 2024Â and the Best Android RPGs.
iPhone user? By all means head over to our sister site, Hardcore iOS and check out their take on the Best iPhone Games of 2024, Best iPhone Strategy Games of 2024 and the Best iPhone RPGs of 2024.
