Economic strategies. Best Free PC games without micropayments

OpenTTD

OpenTTD is the first of several titles of this type to be found in this compilation. Their authors take classic productions, create free editions tailored to contemporary operating systems, and then make the code available in open source form.

In the case of OpenTTD, such treatment was applied to Transport Tycoon Deluxe, considered by most gamers to be the absolute best title about organizing transport networks. We start with a small company and modest means, then slowly build our position – until we reach a dominant role in the market. The game is very elaborate and allows you to create rail, car, water and air connections, and each of these categories offers a lot of elements and opportunities for investment. Plus, the whole thing is very difficult because the economic model can be ruthless.

It has been 22 years since the release of Transport Tycoon Deluxe, but nothing in this category has come close to this classic, and OpenTTD is now the best way to discover it.

1. OpenTTD - download

Widelands

Widelands is an elaborate RTS oriented towards economic aspects, but offering plenty of opportunity to wage wars. The whole expands on ideas from the iconic The Settlers II. During the game, we take charge of a small settlement, and our job is to transform it into a real powerhouse. To this end, we stockpile resources, build buildings, organize a healthy economy and of course train an army.

Virtually all of Blue Byte's classic mechanics were recreated here, but the authors did not stop there. The proven mechanisms were treated only as a foundation which was used to develop a more extensive production than the original. All of these can be played alone against surprisingly competent artificial intelligence or try their hand in battles with other players in multiplayer.

1. Widelands – download game

Dwarf Fortress

The ugliest strategy yet the most complex.

Our next title is one of the biggest free-to-play classics and a game that many are obsessed about. Dwarf Fortress combines elements of strategy and roguelike, casting us as the chief of a clan of dwarves. The world is generated randomly, but this is not limited to a map only. Instead, the entire history of the land is also created, affecting the starting situation and subsequent events.

The production charms with its complexity. What we have here is the same as in typical economic strategies, but each element is more and more elaborate. Plus, subordinates are not anonymous drones. Each has its own personality, which significantly shapes its behavior and role in the group. The gameplay is completely nonlinear, and the systems that govern it and the developed artificial intelligence make it possible to surprise even after many years. There is also an RPG-like Adventure Mode in which a single protagonist is guided.

Dwarf Fortress offers symbolic graphics in pure ASCII (i.e. using letters), but for those who are bothered by this, fans have developed a so-called. visualizers such as isometric Stonesee and three-dimensional Visual Overseer.

1. More about Dwarf Fortress
2. Dwarf Fortress – download game