Best Browser Strategy Games to Play Free Online

Good strategy games give you simple rules and leave the depth to you. Every move is a decision, and the best ones reward planning far more than fast fingers. This list covers the best strategy games you can play free in a browser, from centuries-old board games to tower defense and a full turn-based empire builder, with how each one plays and who it suits.

Quick picks

If you want…	Play
The deepest classic	Chess
Simple rules, big swings	Reversi
A game that can never end in a draw	Hex
A modern twist on an old game	Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe
Strategy with some luck	Backgammon
Real-time tactics	Tower Defense
A full turn-based empire	Freeciv-web

Classic board strategy games

1. Chess

Chess traces its roots back roughly 1,500 years, and its modern rules settled in Europe in the 15th century. It is still the benchmark for strategy games online. Our Chess lets you play White against a computer opponent at three levels, from an Easy mode that moves at random to a Hard mode that searches several moves ahead.

How it plays: Click a piece to see its legal moves, then click a destination square. There is an undo button, a move history and a flip-board option. Controls: Mouse or touch. Best for: Anyone, from beginners learning how the pieces move to regulars who want a quick game against the computer.

2. Reversi (Othello)

Reversi was invented in 1880s England, and a version with a fixed starting position was later trademarked as Othello in 1971. You place a disc so that it traps a line of your opponent’s discs between two of yours, and every trapped disc flips to your color. Most discs at the end wins.

How it plays: The board can swing wildly in a few moves, which is what makes it so much fun. Corners can never be flipped, so the whole game becomes a fight to take them. Play Reversi against the computer on Easy, Medium or Hard, or against a friend on the same device. There is also a faster 6×6 version on the site, a board size computers have solved as a win for the second player. Controls: Click or tap a square. Best for: Players who want rules they can learn in a minute and a game that rewards thinking a few moves ahead.

3. Checkers

Checkers, called draughts in British English, is played on the dark squares of an 8×8 board with 12 pieces each. In 2007, Jonathan Schaeffer’s Chinook project proved that perfect play from both sides ends in a draw, one of the most famous results in the history of solved games.

How it plays: Pieces move diagonally forward and capture by jumping. Under standard American rules, captures are forced, which lets a strong player set traps by offering a piece. Reach the far row and your piece becomes a king that moves both ways. Controls: Click a piece, then its destination. Play the computer on three difficulty levels or play a friend. Best for: Beginners who want a first serious strategy game.

4. Backgammon

Backgammon is one of the oldest board games still played, and it is the best example of strategy mixed with luck. You race your checkers around the board and home, while blocking and hitting your opponent’s.

How it plays: The dice decide how far you can move, but you decide which checkers to move and when to take risks. A single checker alone on a point is a blot your opponent can hit and send back to the start. Our version pits you against the computer. Controls: Mouse or touch. Best for: Players who want strategy with a little drama, where a lucky roll can still turn a game.

Abstract strategy games

5. Hex

Hex was invented in 1942 by Danish mathematician Piet Hein and independently rediscovered a few years later by John Nash. Two players take turns placing stones on a board of hexagons, each trying to connect their two opposite sides. Because of the way hexagons fit together, a game of Hex can never end in a draw.

How it plays: A clever proof called strategy stealing shows the first player can always win with perfect play, but nobody knows that winning strategy on full-size boards. You learn to use “bridges,” pairs of stones that can’t be cut apart. Play Hex on boards from 7×7 up to 13×13, against the computer or a friend. Controls: Click or tap a hexagon. Best for: Puzzle lovers and anyone who enjoys a short game with real depth.

6. Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe

Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe puts nine small tic-tac-toe boards inside one big three-by-three grid. Win a small board to claim that square on the big one, and three big squares in a row wins the game.

How it plays: The twist is that each move decides where your opponent plays next. If you play in the top-right square of a small board, your opponent must play their next move in the top-right board. That turns a children’s game into real strategy. Play the computer on three levels or a friend. Controls: Click or tap a square. Best for: Players who know regular tic-tac-toe is always a draw and want something with more to it.

7. Gomoku

Gomoku, Japanese for “five in a row,” is played with black and white stones on a Go-style grid. The goal is simple: get five stones in an unbroken line before your opponent does.

How it plays: It looks like a big tic-tac-toe, but it is much deeper. Strong players build “open threes” and “open fours” that force the opponent to block, then create two threats at once. On a 15×15 board with freestyle rules, the first player has been proven to win with perfect play, so tournament versions add extra rules. Play the computer on three levels or a friend. Controls: Click or tap an intersection. Best for: Fans of quick, sharp games.

8. Connect Four

Milton Bradley released Connect Four in 1974. You drop discs into a seven-column, six-row grid, and the first to line up four in a row wins.

How it plays: Because discs fall to the bottom, you always have to think about what your move sets up for your opponent. In 1988, the game was solved: the first player can force a win by starting in the center column. In practice, few people play perfectly, so it stays fun. Play the computer on three levels or a friend. Controls: Click a column. Best for: Families and anyone looking for a fast strategy game.

9. Mancala

Mancala is a family of “sowing” games played across Africa and Asia for centuries. Our version uses two rows of six pits, four stones in each, and a store at each end.

How it plays: Pick up all the stones from one of your pits and sow them one at a time counterclockwise. Land the last stone in your store and you take another turn. Land it in an empty pit on your side and you capture the stones across from it. The player with the most stones in their store at the end wins. Play the computer on three levels or a friend. Controls: Click or tap a pit. Best for: Players who like counting ahead and setting up combos.

Tactics games and turn-based strategy

10. Tower Defense

Tower defense games are about placing defenses well, not about reflexes. Our Tower Defense gives you four towers, Blaster, Cannon, Frost and Sniper, to stop 25 waves of enemies marching along a winding path, with boss waves every fifth round.

How it plays: You earn money for kills and cleared waves, then spend it on new towers or upgrades up to level 3. The key is combining towers: Frost slows enemies so they bunch up, which is perfect for Cannon splash damage. Controls: Click or tap to build, keys 1 to 4 to pick a tower, Space to start a wave. Best for: Players who like tactics games with a clear plan and a little pressure.

11. Battleship

Battleship is a guessing game with real strategy underneath. You hide five ships on a grid and take turns firing at your opponent’s hidden fleet until one side is sunk.

How it plays: The strategy lies in where you place your ships and how you search. Spreading your shots in a checkerboard pattern finds ships faster, and every hit narrows down where to fire next. Our version plays against the computer, with a random placement option. Controls: Click to place and fire, R to rotate. Best for: A light strategy game for players of any age.

12. Freeciv-web

Freeciv is an open-source strategy game inspired by Civilization, and Freeciv-web lets you play it in a browser. It is the deepest pick on this list and the best choice if you want classic turn based strategy games on a big map.

How it plays: You found cities, research technologies, manage your economy and raise armies, one turn at a time. You can play against computer opponents or other people, and a single game can take many hours. Controls: Mouse, with keyboard shortcuts for units. Best for: Players who want to build and run an empire. If you prefer real-time battles, our list of the best real-time strategy browser games covers that side of the genre.

How to get better at strategy games

• Ask what your opponent wants. Before each move, look at the threats on the board, not only your own plan.
• Control the center. In Chess, Checkers and Hex, central positions give your pieces more options.
• Value mobility. In Reversi, having more possible moves is often worth more than having more discs.
• Play the computer first. An easy level is a low-pressure way to learn the rules, then step up one level at a time.
• Review your losses. Use undo to find the move where things went wrong.

A colony strategy game on Dinogame

For a strategy game about planning rather than battles, try our Ant Game. You run an ant colony in a side-view nest, digging tunnels, a nursery, food stores and a queen’s chamber, and split the colony between workers, foragers and soldiers. Foragers lay pheromone trails to food, rain floods shallow tunnels, and a beetle and a rival colony attack. Three scenarios set population targets with a season deadline, and a sandbox mode has no time limit.

A turn-based tactics game on Dinogame

If you like grid tactics, Army Game gives you a squad of plastic army men on a 10 by 10 board. Each toy moves and then acts, tall objects block line of sight, low bricks give partial cover, and the hit chance is shown before every shot. The 12 missions include toppling every enemy, holding a hill for three rounds and escorting a medic to the exit.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best strategy game for beginners?

Connect Four and Checkers are the easiest to learn, with games that take a few minutes. Reversi is another good starting point, since the rules are simple and the computer’s Easy level is forgiving.

Which strategy games have no luck at all?

Chess, Checkers, Reversi, Hex, Gomoku, Connect Four and Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe are all pure-skill games. Both players see the whole board, and there are no dice or cards.

What are turn based strategy games?

Turn based strategy games let each player make their moves in turn rather than all at once in real time. Every board game on this list is turn based, as is Freeciv-web. Tower Defense is the exception, since enemies move in real time once a wave starts.

Can I play these strategy games online against a friend?

Reversi, Checkers, Hex, Gomoku, Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe, Connect Four and Mancala on Dinogame all have a two-player mode for playing on the same device. For playing over the internet, Freeciv-web supports online multiplayer.

Do these games work on a phone?

Yes. The board games and Tower Defense work with taps on a phone or tablet. Freeciv-web is easier on a computer because of its larger interface.

Make your move

The best strategy games online are free, quick to start and deep enough to keep you coming back. Start with Chess or Reversi, try Hex when you want something new, and switch to Tower Defense for tactics. When you want a break from thinking ahead, the Chrome Dino game only needs you to jump at the right moment.

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