10 Multiplayer Tactics Games Like Sword Of Convallaria

Tactics games like Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics tend to be solitary experiences. Multiplayer is often relegated to spin-offs like the often-criticized Fire Emblem Heroes or Gacha games with strategy elements like Sword Of Convallaria. But many players don’t like how the random chance and pay-to-win elements of Gacha are mixed with strategy gameplay. If that’s you, here are 10 multiplayer tactics games like Sword Of Convallaria that aren’t Gacha.

Multiplayer Tactics Games Like Sword Of Convallaria

Battle for Wesnoth

Battle for Wesnoth is an open-source turn-based strategy game in the vein of Advanced Wars and similar titles. It’s most noticeable for being a classic of free PC games of the mid-2000s. Perhaps because of its age, it features hotseat multiplayer as well as online PvP. It even features an official multiplayer campaign, a series of single-map battles, and a plethora of fan-made content for PvP and co-op play.

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp

Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp might not be as multiplayer focused as other games on this list, but it might be the most polished game of all. Advance Wars 1+2 is a remake of the first two Advance War games and a reboot of sorts for the series. It’s also the first of those games to be available outside of the Game Boy line of portable consoles. Fans were hopeful they would see better multiplayer support than the little they had before, but this didn’t materialize. Still, even with its clunky matchmaking, Advance Wars 1+2 might be the best portable tactics game with online multiplayer.

Card Hunter

Card Hunter is a free turn-based tactics game with strong co-op and PvP components. This game takes more than a little inspiration from tabletop games, from its retro-TTRPG aesthetics to the cards that represent the abilities of each character. Multiplayer options include cooperative campaign play, one-off matches, and even tournaments.

Wargroove

Wargroove is a turn-based tactics game from Chucklefish, of Eastward and Starbound fame. Despite its fantasy setting, Wargroove is strongly inspired by classic Advance War titles. The reliance on generic units over named soldiers and the unique power of each commander makes it especially obvious. Multiplayer options in Wargroove include local and online PvP and co-op, as well as customizable match rules. The game even comes with strong tools for custom content, from maps and modes to campaigns and even cutscenes.

Frozen Synapse 1 and 2

Frozen Synapse is a unique take on turn-based tactics. More than any turn-based title, Frozen Synapse takes inspiration from the planning phase of classic Rainbow Six games. The player (or each player, in the case of PvP play) plans all their unit’s moves in advance, including their soldier’s cone of view orientation and the pauses between each step. The easiest way to explain Frozen Synapse to a new player is as the top-down strategy version of a tactical shooter or a military sim. Both games include an asynchronous multiplayer mode, with the sequel greatly expanding on it.

Blood Bowl 3

In this weird take on Warhammer Fantasy’s setting, kingdoms and coalitions have decided to forgo war and settle their differences through a slightly less violent game of football. Did you know that the Blood Bowl series is based on a Games Workshop miniature game? That goes for both the 1995 original and the new series. Being an adaptation of a miniature not-war game, and a fairly faithful one at that, the series has spawned some great little turn-based strategy games. The last installment, Blood Bowl 3, features some great online play options, including most of the options you’d expect from an actual sports game.

Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector

The world of Warhammer 40,000 has made for some great video game adaptations. Those range from the Total War spinoffs to Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate, another turn-based title but with no multiplayer component, and Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, a space epic RPG somewhat based on 40K’s first edition. Compared to those, Warhammer 40,000: Battlesector seems almost quaint: a simple turn-based strategy game with little to get in the way of tactical combat. Perhaps it’s this simplicity that allowed it to implement online and local multiplayer modes, including asynchronous play.

XCOM 1 and 2

Tactics fans need not be introduced to XCOM: Enemy Unknown and its 2016 sequel. The original X-COM: UFO Defense all but created turn-based tactics as we know it today. But as popular as those games can be, few know that both titles in the rebooted series have a multiplayer mode. PvP is still fully available in 2012’s XCOM: Enemy Unknown, while the sequel, XCOM 2, deactivated multiplayer altogether in a patch. While it doesn’t take much to re-enable online play, either by loading an older version or modding the latest patch, it does make starting a PvP or co-op match more convoluted than it needs to be.

Mordheim: City of the Damned

Another Games Workshop board game adaptation, Mordheim: City of the Damned brings 1999’s Mordheim into the realm of digital play. Born as a simpler, smaller version of Warhammer Fantasy, Mordheim brings the scope from massive battles dozens of miniatures wide to scrambles that could fit on your average kitchen table. By translating this type of game to PC, Games Workshop ended up with a weirdly melee-focused XCOM. Clunkiness aside, this is a great alternative to XCOM for those willing to trade a little polish for enhanced online play.

Wargroove 2

Wargroove 2 is the sequel to 2019’s Wargroove, but it deserves a spot of its own on this list for the increased multiplayer options. Wargroove 2 supports up to four players in a single battle, either in PvP or co-op play. Just as in the prequel, battle rules and maps are customizable. Meanwhile, great content creation support makes sure there are always new surprises on the horizon, from new maps to whole game modes.

Those were all the multiplayer tactics games like Sword Of Convallaria we could find. For more content about Swords of Convallaria, visit our SoC guide hub.