Want suggestions for a strategy game when... idle?

[RedSwirl]

I've been thinking about installing a turn-based strategy game on my new laptop to just have running in the background when doing other things or whenever I have five minutes to do a turn or two. I'm thinking a "one more turn" kind of thing I can have in a small window in a corner of my screen in the middle of other things. My first thought was Civ V in that low-end graphic mode but I'm open to other suggestions.

 

Currently in my Steam pile:

 

-Civ V

-X-Com UFO Defense

-X-Com Terror from the deep

-X-Com Apocalypse

-X-Com Interceptor

-X-Com Enforcer

-Wargame: AirLand Battle (is that turn-based?)

-Unity of Commmand

-DEFCON

-King's Bounty: Armored Princess

 

6th gen i5

8GB RAM

960m 4GB

[BusbyBerkeley]

Xcom: Enemy Within should play fine for you. I also love Frozen Synapse and Frozen Cortex for quick strategizing while I'm doing other stuff.

[valambrian]

If you'll decide to play the original X-Com, check out http://www.openxcom.com/. It looks like the original game with its warts removed. And modding added.

[Procyon Lotor]

How powerful is your laptop?  You can't go wrong with Civ V if your computer can handle it.  On my older laptops it is too much of a hog.  

I'd nix Wargame because I personally hate playing RTS's on a laptop.

So I'd probably go with Unity of Command. 

[Gaizokubanou]

Wargame series is mostly RTS with some turn based strategy element for single player campaign.

 

Endless Legend is another nifty 4X.

[Michael]

Sports sims are my go-to for this, most notably Out of the Park Baseball or Franchise Hockey Manager.

[RedSwirl]

Forgot about Frozen Synapse. I think I'm wavering between Civ and Unity. I guess I could just install them and see which one I gravitate more towards. When it comes out Disgaea PC might be another good choice. It sucks we don't have a PC version of Final Fantasy Tactics yet. That game Arcadian Atlas looks pretty cool, whenever it comes out.

[riadsala]

Civ IV is also a very good game in its own right (especially when you consider the wonderful mods).

 

Xenonauts is a very good modern (more more faithful than XCOM) remake of X-COM.

 

Endless Space is a not too complicated space 4x that I quite like. It's not as flashy as Endless Legend, but has a tight rule set and shouldn't be too taxing for a laptop.

 

Conquest of Elysium is a little ugly, but it's a small rougelikelikelike strategy game crossover set in the Dominions Universe and is worth playing if you can get past the lo-fi graphics.

[osmosisch]

My pick-up/put-down at any moment game is Tales of Maj'Eyal, one of the most imaginative and fun roguelikes out there. Maybe not quite what was asked, but I find it's much easier to do intermittent gaming if I only need to consider tactics, not strategy.

[Sorbicol]

There is a game from about 10 years ago called Silent Storm. It's a turn based tactical game (no really strategic layer) ah la XCOM set post WW2 with a Sci-if elements to it. Nothing too taxing, you can just play a mission and leave it. Available of steam for probably not a lot of money.

Worth a punt I reckon.

[osmosisch]

Silent Storm is absolutely amazing, plus the AI turns take forever so then you can go do something else. Good call.

[ulot]

Would suggest Ravenmark: Scourge of Estellion in addition to some of the other options already listed.  Enough there to be interesting, but not so complex that you have to keep a bunch of stuff memorized to pick it back up.

[jaxleemoon]

Crusader Kings. Its not turn based, but if you set the speed slow enough...

Civ is good for that... but the odds are high you'll get sucked in.

[singlespace]

Darkest Dungeon