Looking for a 4-player, heavy strategy game that rewards players who are willing to learn the complex ruleset and decision space? Here are our recommendations.
⭐️ Top Picks
Our top recommendations in this category, and games that we personally own to fill this niche.
Gaia Project
Summary: Expand, research, upgrade, and settle the galaxy as you strategically allocate the resources and abilities of your unique alien race.
You Might Like If… you enjoy deep strategic games with no random elements after setup, and are looking for a game with satisfying engine-building with variable setup that makes each game unique.
Nemesis
🔴 Daniel’s #3 All-Time
Summary: Survive an alien-infested spaceship but beware of other players and their agendas.
You Might Like If… you enjoy games that create memorable moments and don’t mind swingy randomness, and you want an epic story-driven game the odds are stacked against you and players have secret agendas so you don’t know who to trust.
Millennium Blades
🟢 Ryan’s #29 All-Time 🔴 Daniel’s #10 All-Time
Summary: Play as players of a collectible card game, buying booster packs, building decks and collections, and participating in tournaments.
You Might Like If… you enjoy collectible card games where you build your own deck and search for card combos, and want a really unique meta experience where you get to simulate the whole CCG experience in a single game.
A Feast for Odin
🟢 Ryan’s #9 All-Time 🔴 Daniel’s #19 All-Time
Summary: Acquire and upgrade tiles to fill the puzzle of your board as you hunt, farm, craft, and explore as a Viking clan.
You Might Like If… you enjoy worker-placement games with a wide breadth of options as well as puzzling pieces into a grid, and want a deep strategy game with a strong sense of progression.
Twilight Imperium: Fourth Edition
🟢 Ryan’s #38 All-Time 🔴 Daniel’s #2 All-Time
Release Year: 2017 Complexity: High
👥 3-6* Players
⏰ 360-600 min
💸 ~$140
🔗 Buy
* 8 players with expansion
Summary: Build an intergalactic empire through in this epic game of trade, research, conquest, and grand politics.
You Might Like If… you enjoy civilization-style games with lots of asymmetrical factions and upgrades, and want an epic full-day experience that is a rich combination of engine-building, combat, politics, and hidden objectives.
👍 Honorable Mentions
Games that missed being top picks, but that we still think are great choices for a lot of people.
Anachrony
Summary: Strategically time travel and borrower resources from yourself to ensure your vision for the future after the cataclysm.
You Might Like If… you enjoy games worker-placement games with more going on, and want a game with a really cool time-traveling theme that creates a really interesting decision space.
Root
Summary: Play one of four highly asymmetrical woodland factions as you fight for contrasting goals on the map.
You Might Like If… you enjoy games of conflict and jockeying for position with other players, and want a game that has really interesting interactions stemming from the unique factions and thrives with a consistent group that knows the game.
Sidereal Confluence
Summary: Play as one of nine alien races wheeling and dealing with the rest of the galaxy as you build up your technologies to be as efficient as possible.
You Might Like If… you enjoy engine-building games and open trading with other players, and want a unique and epic experience with highly asymmetrical factions that can support high player counts.
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