8 Best Strategy Games For Kingdom Building (2024)

Of the many pleasures strategy games offer, kingdom building is one of the best. There's nothing quite like taking a first humble step in a overbearing world and constructing a mighty empire out of nothing. Though each campaign can take some time, the satisfaction of a successfully built kingdom that can stand on its own two feet is hard to beat.

Luckily, there are quite a few strategy games that offer kingdom-building goodness, most of which rank as some of the best stategy games ever made. While the scale may vary from building cities to world-spanning imperial empires, all offer the fundamental thrill of starting from humble beginnings and rising to become the apex predator.

8 Age Of Wonders 4

Allows Players To Take On The Kingdoms They Create

Age Of Wonders 4

Turn-Based Strategy

Systems

OpenCritic Reviews

Top Critic Rating:82/100 Critics Recommend:93%

Platform(s)

PC , PS5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Released

May 2, 2023

Developer(s)

Triumph Studios

Set in a dynamic fantasy world that is constantly shifting, Age of Wonders 4 offers an individual experience for would-be kingdom builders with a wholly unique and brilliant magic system. Age of Wonders 4 allows players to design their own individual fantasy race and kit out their aesthetics however they like to pursue world domination.

However, the really cool part about this game is that the mighty kingdom players build can return in later games as rival NPC forces. Soon enough, Age of Wonders 4 players could be in competition with the many mighty kingdoms they've built, creating a uniquely satisfying narrative that few other strategy games can offer.

7 Age Of Empires 4

A Legendary RTS Title That Highly Encourages Kingdom Construction

Age of Empires 4

Real-Time Strategy

Systems

See Also

Crusader Kings 3: How to Found the Mongol Empire

Platform(s)

PC , Xbox One , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Released

October 28, 2021

Developer(s)

Relic Entertainment , World's Edge

The Age of Empires series is legendary, and Age of Empires 4 is no different. As the prototypical example of a history-based real-time strategy game, Age of Empires 4 tests a player's ability to make quick and efficient decisions, or else they will face being left behind by the ascendant empires elsewhere on the map.

For history nerds, it's a great time with lots of learning to be had. It's extremely fun to play as the world-spanning factions, from the Saracens to the Japanese, resulting in an ahistorical and delightful mash-up of combat styles and kingdom constructions to determine who belongs at the top of the dog pile. The only way to keep up is to build a kingdom that can survive.

6 Anno 1800

Allows Players To Create Mighty Kingdoms That Can Spread Far & Wide

Anno 1800

Real-Time Strategy

Simulation

Systems

OpenCritic Reviews

Top Critic Rating:82/100 Critics Recommend:95%

Platform(s)

PC , PS5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , Microsoft Windows

Released

April 20, 2019

Developer

Blue Byte

Where most kingdom builder games take place in a fantasy or Medieval setting, Anno 1800 is unique for taking place in the Victorian period essentializing trade and commerce. Focusing on the industrial revolution and the mighty technological leaps involved, Anno 1800 asks its players to build an island-spanning empire that must be created to produce mighty fleets to secure economic and militaristic domination.

This sense of kingdom building grows ever grander, however, as Anno 1800 allows the player's kingdom to expand far beyond the original continent, spreading to the polar ice-caps, the sunny Caribbean, and the wild plains of Africa. It's a constant battle to stay ahead of the competitors, but it's a war well worth waging.

5 Total War: Warhammer 3

A Kingdom Builder That Offers Incredible Freedom

Total War: Warhammer 3

Strategy

Tactical

Systems

Platform(s)

PC

Released

February 17, 2022

Developer(s)

Creative Assembly

Fans of the Warhammer universe have never been served better than Total War: Warhammer 3. Serving as the culmination of the previous two games, Total War: Warhammer 3 offers a mind-boggling amount of mechanical and aesthetic choice when it comes to building a faction across a massive war-torn world.

Whether one wants to embody the chaotic evil of the Skaven or the noble and fearsome warriors of Kislev, players have near infinite choice about the way they wish to build, exploit, or turbocharge their empire.

4 Europa Universalis 4

A Kingdom Builder That Focuses On Exploration, Absolutism, & Revolution

Europa Universalis 4

Strategy

Systems

Platform(s)

PC

Released

August 13, 2013

Developer(s)

Paradox Development Studio

Spanning from the 15th century all the way through to the 19th Century, the historical scale of kingdom building through multiple generations is truly astonishing, and it makes the satisfaction of building a competitive kingdom all the sweeter. Though its complexity is fierce, Europa Universalis 4 is the premier history-based strategy game.

Whether players want to take the reins of mighty nations like England or France or try to forge an independent path and resist colonizers in the yet untouched Americas, Europa Universalis 4 offers any intrepid kingdom builder the choice to forge their own path.

3 Banished

Allows Players To Build A Kingdom Out Of Nothing

Banished

Strategy

City Builder

Systems

OpenCritic Reviews

Top Critic Rating:74/100 Critics Recommend:35%

Platform(s)

PC

Released

February 18, 2014

Developer(s)

Shining Rock Software

While most kingdom builder strategy games take a wide continent-scale perspective, Banished instead wonders what a kingdom builder strategy game might look like as a historical city builder. Starting with just a few villagers in the wilderness looking to build a place of their own, Banished deals in the microscale of how settlements come to be and the trials and tribulations that come with them.

However, the deep involvement the player has in making each and every choice results in incredible satisfaction when their scrappy village that can barely support a couple of people grows into a thriving mini-metropolis that becomes a fearsome power to any would-be threats.

2 Sid Meier's Civilization 6

Allows Players To Shape Their Kingdom In Various Ways

Sid Meier's Civilization 6

Strategy

Systems

Platform(s)

PS4 , Xbox One , Switch , PC , Android , iOS

Released

October 21, 2016

Developer(s)

Firaxis Games

Civilization 6 doesn't need much of an introduction, as it's the prototypical example of a game about building an empire from scratch. However, in case one is new to the realm of strategy games, Civlization 6 is considered to be the single-best entry in the grand strategy department due to its incredible historical scale, its tightly-tuned mechanical precision, its engaging decision trees, and incredibly fun multiplayer madness.

Whether players want to create a kingdom forged by flourishing trade or through the annexation of one's enemy cities, Civilization 6 offers the scope to build a kingdom however the player would like. However, players should note that not many kingdoms can withstand the apocalyptic power of a nuclear bomb in the end-game.

1 Crusader Kings 3

An Incredibly Detailed Kingdom Builder That Provides A Great Deal Of Player Freedom

Crusader Kings 3

RPG

Grand Strategy

Systems

Platform(s)

PS5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S , PC

Released

September 1, 2020

Developer(s)

Paradox Interactive

Crusader Kings 3 somehow renders the intricate politics, warfare, economics, and diplomacy of the Medieval Age in astonishing detail, focusing on the individuals who construct empires and how fragile they are when competing egos bump into each other. Whether the player wants to focus on cunning assassinations to ascend the political ladder or do it the old-fashioned way with sword and shield, there's always a beginning ruler that makes the chosen playstyle a lot of fun.

Stretching from the emerald Isle of Ireland all the way to the farthest Eastern reaches of the Mongolian Empire, Crusader Kings 3 is the ultimate sandbox for forging empires in the dust of others, starting from the lowliest duchy and rising to the very heights of divine power.