Best Strategy Games To Play As A Pacifist

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Best Strategy Games To Play As A Pacifist

Key Takeaways

  • Civilization 6 offers pacifist victories by focusing on culture, religion, and diplomacy.
  • Anno 1800 allows players to expand peacefully through diplomacy and economic influence.
  • Stellaris provides a space strategy game with various playstyles, including a pacifist approach.

As a long-time strategy gamer who’s tired of the same old “build an army, conquer the world” routine, let me tell you how refreshing it is to find games that challenge my pacifist sensibilities! From the intricate resource management of Reus to the global sustainability focus of Fate of the World, these games offer a unique and engaging experience without resorting to violence.

Strategy games can offer a mix of frustration and fulfillment, but they also have their relaxing moments. Watching your scheme unfold as you acquire more territory, gather resources, and leave your opponents in disarray on the battlefield is quite rewarding. However, for some players, the thrill of conquest might not last long. Building up resources to ensure the best, most dependable weapons is a common tactic that can feel somewhat routine.

Instead of resorting to military force, what if they aimed to outsmart opponents using different strategies? Perhaps by persuading them to collaborate for a shared goal, or ensuring their own survival and advancement without any aggression. If gamers are interested in challenging their intellect through peaceful means, they might find these strategy games appealing.

1 Civilization 6

Rule The Land Through Peaceful Means

Best Strategy Games To Play As A Pacifist

In the time-honored historical strategy game, “Civilization“, players have consistently been given opportunities for non-aggressive triumphs. By the advent of “Civilization 6“, players could secure victory through several means: by spreading their religion across the widest area, demonstrating superior scientific advancements (such as sending a man to the moon or launching a satellite), cultivating the most inspiring culture via art and wonders, accumulating the highest number of diplomatic points, or masterfully controlling land with brute force. Yet, it’s rarely straightforward to accomplish all these objectives without maintaining a robust military presence.

As a keen player, I’ve come to realize that there’s always a more assertive civilization knocking on my doorstep, and giving in to their demands might lead to bigger problems later on. Additionally, the art of striking a balance between enacting policies that nurture wonders and geniuses, all while staying ahead of my rivals, can be quite complex. Even pacifists like myself need to focus on military investments, as a lack of a strong defense might render our words powerless in this competitive world.

2 Anno 1800

Profiting From Peace

Best Strategy Games To Play As A Pacifist

Instead of it, games like Anno 1800 and its earlier versions primarily emphasized city-building, economic growth, business development, and trade route establishment. However, these games also allow players to engage in wars on both land and sea for the purpose of founding new colonies. Yet, by employing smart strategies, gamers can progress within the series without ever having to pull a trigger. Through skillful diplomacy, trading, and investment, they can increase their power.

Instead of seizing control of an island, they could amass the majority ownership, subtly gaining influence over its economy. If this provokes rivalries, players might devise strategies to mollify these opponents with enticing offers, creating a harmonious environment. It’s a cunning form of capitalism, blending subtle tactics with peaceful growth towards economic dominance.

3 Stellaris

Spread Peace Throughout Space By Any Means Necessary

Best Strategy Games To Play As A Pacifist

As a space-faring gamer, I embark on an epic journey with Stellaris, where my civilization harnesses faster-than-light technology to explore habitable planets and broaden our sphere of influence. To maintain harmony with potential allies and avoid conflict with rivals, I engage in diplomatic negotiations or strategic alliances, but I’m always ready to assert dominance if necessary through military might or aggressive expansion. My civilization’s development is entirely up to me; I can mold it into a spiritual or materialistic society, establish an authoritarian or egalitarian government, foster xenophobia or embrace xenophilia, and maintain a militaristic or pacifistic approach – the choices are endless!

They can be mildly one or the other, or fanatical about them, with each path offering different pros and cons. Pacifist civilizations offer more stability, but they can’t engage in any aggressive approach. Their military might can only be used for defensive purposes. No indiscriminate orbital bombardment, and no aggressive first contact protocols, which can lead to interesting results when paired with the other parameters. Players could be the ultimate space hippies, or something more sinister.

4 Endless Space 2

The Cosmos Is Big Enough For Everyone To Live In

Best Strategy Games To Play As A Pacifist

A long time ago, a sophisticated civilization known as the Endless governed the cosmos. Their scientific prowess was so immense they attained immortality through transferring their consciousnesses into machines. However, this innovation created a division among them – those who accepted it and those who rejected it. This disagreement ignited a war that devastated both factions, leaving only a handful of Endless survivors to ponder the bittersweet irony of their survival.

In the game Endless Space 2, which has been around for tens of thousands of years, you, as the player, are tasked with choosing one out of twelve factions and building your own galactic empire. Instead of repeating the mistakes made by the Endless, you have the option to foster peace with your competitors and avoid conflicts. The game offers achievements for successfully completing a session without resorting to fights, or even winning a battle. It may seem challenging, but it’s possible through the use of the Umbral Choir’s stealth technology, sufficient resources for negotiating, and knowing when and where to exert your influence.

5 Fate Of The World

Save The Environment Through Policy And Diplomacy

Best Strategy Games To Play As A Pacifist
  • Developer: Red Redemption Ltd
  • Platforms: PC, macOS
  • Release: February 2011 (PC), September 2011 (Mac)

In games like Stellaris, Anno, and Endless Space 2, even with careful planning, events can turn volatile, forcing a pacifist to resort to defense. Now, imagine a strategy game devoid of combat entirely. Enter Fate of the World, where players guide a fictional global organization in modern times, focusing not on warfare but on making our planet more sustainable.

By playing this role, they can influence and develop policies concerning climate change, economically disadvantaged areas, and more, all backed by data from Oxford University. However, maintaining popularity in all twelve regions is crucial, as a drop in public opinion could lead to their removal from that area for the remainder of the game. Navigating this challenge requires foresight, as citizens might resist giving up fossil fuel vehicles or supporting social initiatives without careful planning and consideration.

6 Reus

Use The Giants To Build Society Or Watch It Tear Itself Apart

Best Strategy Games To Play As A Pacifist

In recent times, the genre of games that involve deities has seen a lull since the era of Black & White 2, and the controversy surrounding Godus didn’t exactly aid its revival. However, Reus offers enthusiasts of those classic games an engaging alternative. This time, players guide four elemental titans through a two-dimensional world, providing resources to humble humans. Unlike games such as Civilization or Fate of the World, where strategy plays a significant role, one might wonder, where’s the strategic aspect here? But in Reus, the strategy lies in managing and coordinating your giants effectively to achieve victory.

The solution rests in managing the placement of these colossal entities and their riches. They lack the power to govern humans directly, but can influence them through various means. A scarcity of minerals, flora, and fauna could lead to their extinction, while an abundance may trigger greed and conflict over these resources. This presents a captivating conundrum for a peacemaker, as they must strike the perfect balance in providing equal opportunities for growth without inciting strife.

7 Banished

Help A Group Of People Survive Without Raising Arms

Best Strategy Games To Play As A Pacifist

Banished provides a unique alternative by offering city construction and resource management similar to that of Civilization, but without competing civilizations. Instead, it focuses on establishing a self-sufficient community in isolation. To ensure their survival, players must manage the economy, assign jobs to citizens for them to produce necessary goods, and expand the town both territorially and in terms of population as time progresses.

It’s an intriguing idea, and one Banished mostly gets right. However, once players got to grips with it, they found it became less of a survival game and more like Sim City, complete with hazards like natural disasters and economic depression. Nonetheless, like Reus, it gives pacifist players a completely non-violent alternative to the likes of Civilization, where keeping their people happy and their hometown thriving is the name of the game, not waging war and raising soldiers.

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2024-11-04 07:34