Strategy games, when they’re done right, can offer up a sense of control and mastery that few other genres can match, as you direct your troops or characters around to carefully execute long-planned approaches.

For a long time, the strategy genre (whether real-time or turn-based) was associated with PC gaming primarily, thanks to easier mouse controls, but there are now plenty of great console strategy games. The Nintendo Switch plays host to a bunch of them, so we’ve gathered the best options for you right here.

If you’re thinking about other gaming genres, check out the table of links below for our other Switch guides.

• Fire Emblem Engage

  1. Best overall

• Tactics Ogre: Reborn

  2. Runner Up

• Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope

  3. A Top Pick

• The DioField Chronicle

  4. Strong Contender

• Valkyria Chronicles 4

  5. Also Great

• Subset Games

  Into the Breach

  6. Worth Considering

• Square Enix

  Triangle Strategy

  7. A Good Choice

Engage is the latest Fire Emblem game and, while it’s hugely hard to pick between it and the older Three Houses, the massive visual upgrade gives Engage the edge. It has absolutely superb strategy battles to offer up across a range of battlefields.

The story surrounding things is a little flimsy, but there are some fun characters and moments to enjoy in a laid-back way. The game really does look and sound great, though, and Three Houses stands as an alernative option if you want something a little grittier.

A clever, dedicated remake of one of the most beloved and influential strategy games ever, Tactics Ogre: Reborn tells a classic war story about the Valerian Isles. You play a young warrior thrust into the conflict, and the choices you make can have a major impact on the game’s ending.

This remaster has cleverly updated gameplay elements to feel more modern, although the core tactical combat has aged so well that the tweaks aren’t massive. With full voice acting and a memorable plot, this is a wonderful story to experience.

The team-up we never knew we needed has more to give in this excellent sequel, which smooths over some of the rough edges from Kingdom Battle. You can now move more freely on your turn without worrying about accidentally wasting a move, and things once again get surprisingly deep.

It’s all told with a sense of real humour, though, and this is the perfect strategy game for someone new to the genre since it has a really gentle learning curve.

This is a really interesting title from Square Enix because unlike many of the other options out there, it’s a real-time strategy – you control units as they move around, not on a turn-based system. There’s quick pausing for more intuitive planning, of course, but it makes the flow of a battle very different.

There’s also a fun, engaging story to play through that doesn’t outstay its welcome, and plenty of strategic depth in its rock-paper-scissors system of unit weaknesses.

The latest Valkyria Chronicles game brings its blend of real-time and turn-based combat into a new time period with new characters to get to know and a mysterious war-torn story to explore. There are some changes to its combat, to make it a bit more modern, and a new unit class to try out, as well.

It’s got a great formula that it sticks to, making this a stellar entry in a series with a cult following.

This minor masterpiece of strategy is a super simple beast, in which you attempt to fight off giant bugs that are invading the crumbling cities of the ruined world. It’s fast-paced and really, really simple, but as you start fighting with more units and against more enemies, it becomes a total mind-bender.

The simplicity of its systems makes it easy to learn, but Into the Breach is a genius bit of design thanks to the way those systems scale up to really complex heights.

Another modern strategy title from Square Enix, this one is a lot more retro in its stylings, a throwback to the days of Final Fantasy Tactics and more, with a mature and slowly-told story that is punctuated by pitched battles on a grid.

You control a range of troops, often outnumbered, and turn the tides of battle your way. It’s got some fun dialogue and branching choices to make, and a simple but fun battle system.