Strategy Bucket List

Three Native American civilisations, war chiefs and fire pits; the first Age III expansion.

Nine generals with their own armies, and the challenge ladder that is still played competitively.

Corporations, espionage, random events and the Advanced Start - widely held to be the best expansion the series has had.

Civilization rebuilt for a console pad and a two-hour game, without losing the one-more-turn pull.

Great Generals, vassal states and six warlike scenarios; the first of the two expansions Civ IV is now sold with.

China, Japan and India, each winning by building a wonder rather than collecting one.

The expansion adds the Atlanteans and the titan you spend the whole game trying to release.

Trade routes, world congress and a culture victory you win with tourism; the expansion that finished Civ V.

Red Alert 2’s expansion adds a third faction of mind control, and time travel to undo it.

Ensemble swap history for Greek, Egyptian and Norse myth: favour, god powers and a hydra that grows heads.

The expansion that ends the Tiberian Sun story, with CABAL turning on both sides.

Nine scenarios from the Peloponnesian War to the Pacific, and the rules changes that made Civ III worth returning to.

Religion and espionage return, and combat is rebuilt around the hex map the base game shipped with.

Golden and dark ages, loyalty that can flip a city to a neighbour, and governors to hold it.

Rome added to the 1997 original, with four campaigns and the units that fixed its worst balance.

No Tiberium and no Nod - the USA, China and the GLA in a near-future war, on a new engine.

Spend carrots to move; the first Spiel des Jahres, and still a clean race game.

Fill your zoo with animals from tile trucks without overcrowding a pen.

Stack your pieces on top of your opponent's in an abstract Sid Sackson designed in 1963.

Ocean exploration with a crew you build; the 2025 winner and a sharper Endeavor.

Central and southern Africa, where matching terrain cards double the value of the route you claim.

Say what you will do out loud, then decide whether to be brave or cowardly about it.