Strategy games can be fun, frustrating, relaxing, and sometimes confusing - but the sense of accomplishment that comes with completing a level is a universal triumph. From playing sudoku to avoiding incoming killers, strategy games run the gamut of what’s possible in video games. Add a relaxing, chill soundtrack and a minimalist design, and perhaps there’s a hidden gem among these puzzling and wildly stimulating head-scratchers.

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With dozens of games to choose from, strategy and minimalist are two popular tags on Steam for games that do just that: get players thinking of the best move to make next while not getting too distracted by game design elements that might throw them off. Whether it's creating new land, defending hard-earned territory, or exploring caves and mines, there are some strategy games that flaunt a simple, minimalist design, that allows gameplay to triumph alongside it.

8 Sudocats

A Purrfectly Relaxing Strategy Game

Sudocats is best explained by Devcats’s short, sweet, and to the point tagline: “Sudoku for cat people.”

This simple, minimalist strategy game is easy to navigate and just as adorable to play. Adopt and collect new kitties to add to the collection that'll help beat more and more of these addictively relaxing levels. For fans of sudoku, fans of cats, or both, this relaxing strategy game involves placing one of each kind of cat across the board - but make sure to introduce them properly, or bear witness to a cat-fight!

7 Mini Metro

Design A Subway System, But Better!

Mini Metro is a simple city-builder, but there are no buildings to construct or roads to pave. Here, players will be put into a different, high-paced setting: designing a subway map for a bustling metropolis.

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Connect disconnected subway stations and help everyone commute to and fro in a more streamlined manner. Mini Metro is perfect for fans of city planners, but also for fans of trains. It’s a double-whammy.

6 Bad North

Protect The Land (And Use It To Win)

This real-time tactics strategy game has players defending their kingdoms from invaders and leading their people from island to island, taking strategic advantage of each unique landform to help win the day.

Bad North is simple in design, but surprisingly detailed in gameplay - even hiding behind a small hill could make or break a battle! It’s challenging but highly replayable, and the little soldiers are rather cute to watch all fight to the death.

5 Mini Motorways

Casual & Minimalist City Planner

Dinosaur Polo Club’s sequel to Mini Metro, Mini Motorways involves designing the road map for an ever-growing city, one motorway at a time. Keeping the city moving is harder than it looks!

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With its minimal color scheme, relaxing gameplay, and sense of accomplishment, fans of any sort of city planner games like the City: Skylines and the SimCity series will soon get sucked into strategizing the best ways to format this monochrome town.

4 Thronefall

Defend The Kingdom In This Minimalist Tower Defense

Vibrant and minimalistic, Thronefall’s early access demo showcases the game’s best features and a sneak peek into its tower defense gameplay. Keep the little kingdom safe from attackers, and build it up to become a spiraling fortress.

Build up the base during the day, then defend it during the night from sneak attacks. Achieve the perfect balance of economic success and strong defenses! Thronefall is perfect for fans of other tower defense games like Plants vs. Zombies.

3 Minit

Groundhog Day In A Game

Players have one minute. That’s it, one minute to learn as much as possible in the world of Minit, a minimal pixelated game that’s played sixty seconds at a time.

From finding secrets to strategizing the next move, Minit proves itself to contain hours of incredible gameplay - even if it’s only a minute for each round. Figure out what’s going on, find the appropriate tools to complete tasks, and hurry it up - there’s only a few seconds left!

2 Dorfromantik

Design A Zen-Like Dream

Settle in with a warm drink and some snacks, it’s cozy gaming time! This turn-based strategy game involves creating a beautiful biome by placing colorful tiles down on the board. Build a village, finish quests, and fill the environment with new life.

Casual and relaxing, Dorfromantik is a less high-maintenance version of various city builders; turn the tiles to fit with the previously placed ones and profit by having an idealistic, pastoral landform. Fans of Planet Zoo will love building a chill biome, especially thanks to the minimal, pastel palette of the game itself.

1 SUPERHOT

Plan The Next Move Carefully

The game that moves as the player does, SUPERHOT is arguably one of the most iconic VR games to date. As the player moves through the world, taking out enemies, the world moves with them - and pauses when they can stay still long enough to plot their next move. The game without its VR capabilities follows the same mechanics, and it's just as exciting to slightly scoot the mouse and watch the world come alive... for just a split second of chaos.

With its simple, minimal design and puzzling gameplay mechanics, SUPERHOT’s landmark time manipulation mechanic makes it one that any fan of The Matrix needs to check out.

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Sometimes a good laugh is necessary when playing games in the strategy genre. Here are some great parody and comedy strategy games.