The Hardest Strategy Games

These are the 36 hardest strategy games as rated by the How Difficult Is It community, ordered from most to least punishing. Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup leads the list at 8.4/10, ahead of FTL: Faster Than Light and Caves of Qud. Every score is averaged from real player votes, and a game needs at least five ratings to qualify.

Game	Release Year	Rating	Weighted Rating	Number of Ratings
Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup	2006	8.4	8.2	15
FTL: Faster Than Light	2012	8.3	8.1	19
Caves of Qud	2015	8.2	8.0	13
Jupiter Hell	2021	8.3	8.0	12
Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest	2015	8.2	7.9	6
ADOM: Ancient Domains of Mystery	2015	8.1	7.9	11
Darkest Dungeon	2015	7.9	7.6	24
Cogmind	2017	7.8	7.6	12
One Step From Eden	2020	7.6	7.4	14
Slay the Spire II	2025	7.6	7.3	7
Rift Wizard 2	2024	7.5	7.3	11
Darkest Dungeon II	2021	7.4	7.3	7
Rift Wizard	2021	7.5	7.3	12
Soulash 2	2023	7.3	7.1	10
Monster Train 2	2025	7.1	6.8	14
Blue Prince	0	7.0	6.8	16
Slay the Spire	2019	6.7	6.5	26
StarCraft	1998	6.6	6.4	5
Baldur's Gate 3	2020	6.1	5.9	26
Atomicrops	2020	6.0	5.8	11
Against the Storm	2021	5.9	5.8	18
Tangledeep	2018	5.5	5.3	10
Golden Krone Hotel	2016	5.5	5.3	10
Mass Effect 3	2012	5.4	5.2	8
Loop Hero	2021	5.3	5.0	16
Balatro	2024	5.2	5.0	23
Diablo	1996	5.1	4.9	10
Void Bastards	2019	5.0	4.8	11
Pokémon Omega Ruby	2014	4.1	3.9	11
Pokémon Alpha Sapphire	2014	4.0	3.8	10
Pokémon Moon	2016	3.8	3.6	10
Pokémon Sun	2016	3.6	3.5	11
World of Goo	2008	3.6	3.4	5
Rack and Slay	2024	3.6	3.3	5
Stardew Valley	2016	2.0	1.9	24
Cookie Clicker	2013	1.8	1.7	12

Hardest games by genre

RPGs Platformers Indie Games Shooters Puzzle Games Turn-Based Strategy Games Hack-and-Slash & Beat 'em Ups Arcade Games Simulators Strategy Games

Hardest games by era

2020s 2010s 2000s 1990s 1980s

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Difficulty Rankings

Find the most difficult, or the easiest, games as rated by players. Games must have at least 5 difficulty ratings to be ranked.

Game	Release Year	Rating	Weighted Rating	Number of Ratings