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Turn-based tactics^[1] (TBT) is a sub-genre ofstrategy video games. They areturn-based simulations ofoperational warfare andmilitary tactics in generally small-scale confrontations as opposed to more strategic considerations ofturn-based strategy (TBS) games. Turn-based tactical gameplay is characterized by the expectation of players to complete their tasks using only the combat forces provided to them in a generally realistic (or at least believable) manner.

The gameplay of turn-based tactics game is theturn-based counterpart to that found in thereal-time tactics genre. The genre has its roots intactical andminiature wargaming, the recreation of battle scenarios usingminiatures or simple paper chits. Compared to other strategy games, turn-based tactics games often have detailed and complex environments due to the tactical implications of elevation, hard cover andline of sight. Further, in most turn-based tactics games, a player's force is maintained between battles. This allows units to become more proficient as they gain more battle experience. Coupled with the often small and specialised squads used, this can encourage an affinity between players and their troops.

During the 1980s, asmicrocomputers and personal computers became more powerful and more common, game developers turned their attention to designing tactical wargames for them. Some early tactical wargames for the computer includedGary Grigsby's series of games for theCommodore 64 andApple II:Panzer Strike (1987), andTyphoon of Steel (1988), while the first time the system was properly built was withFamicom Wars, which was launched for theFamily Computer in 1988.

Battle Isle is a series of games developed starting in 1991 byBlue Byte. Set on a fictional planet, Chromos, and inspired by theJapanese gameNectaris (1989), the games feature futuristic tactical battles played on ahexagonal grid. Players control combat units, ranging frominfantry andtanks tohelicopters,fighters andbombers, as well as (especially in the later games)support units, including ammo and fuel transports, scout and radar units, and road and trench construction vehicles.Battle Isle also spawned aman-to-man wargame,Incubation: Time Is Running Out (1997), an even earlierstrategy title to use fully 3D graphics and support hardware acceleration on the3dfx Voodoo.

Steel Panthers was released in 1995 bySSI, very much resembling a board wargame translated to the computer; it gave a traditional overhead view, though numeric ratings were not visible on the screen depictions. Two sequels followed;Steel Panthers II: Modern Battles in 1996 andSteel Panthers III: Brigade Command 1939-1999 in 1997. Rights to the game and source code were later acquired byMatrix Games who developed and released as freeware an improved remake based on theSteel Panthers III engine (but limited to the timespan of World War II); this was known asSteel Panthers: World at War! (SP:WAW). Another group, SP-Camo, developed and releasedSteel Panthers: World War II, andSteel Panthers: Main Battle Tank was released in June 2005. The SP-Camo games were based on theSteel Panthers II engine. Both the Matrix Games and SP-Camo versions had many fans and resulted in several releases with enhanced graphics, program code changes, and new unit types.

Another game originally scheduled to be a computerizedSquad Leader/ASL wasCombat Mission. While not the first 3-D tactical warfare game, it set an industry standard for realism, thanks to minutely detailed armor penetration modelling. There was no first-person element to the game, which placed a realistic burden of command on the player, and unlike earlier games likeM-1 Tank Platoon orMuzzle Velocity, human intervention wasn't necessary to ensure that one's troops were capable of fighting with the same skill as the computer enemy.Combat Mission: Beyond Overlord received critical acclaim upon release in 2000. Two follow up games were released in 2002 and 2004, which improved the infantry game with better suppression and automatic fire modelling. The game featured a "WEGO" system, where orders were entered sequentially, and the turn was then executed simultaneously, with a "Tactical AI" carrying out both sets of orders. This type of system had been what the original board wargame designers ofFirefight et al. had dreamed of, but were restricted to creating manually.

Tactical wargames are a type ofwargames (board game orvideo game) that models military conflict at a tactical level, i.e. units range from individualvehicles andsquads toplatoons orcompanies. These units are rated based on types and ranges of individual weaponry.

This subgenre is principally used to refer toRPG-derived games as an alternative to the traditional turn-based system. In such titles, the system has been tailored to incorporate role-playing game characteristics. The term "tactical" was not widely used to describe such titles untilFinal Fantasy Tactics was released, where it popularized the genre in North America, although games such asShining Force were part of the genre years beforehand.

There are several turn-based tactical games with multiplayer online gameplay featuring large numbers of players, such asDofus,Gunrox, andPoxNora.Darkwind: War on Wheels, a combat-oriented auto racing simulation, is the only turn-based tactical game currently to have apersistent world. It is also one of the few games to simulate turn-based auto racing.

Somerole-playing video games, such asThe Temple of Elemental Evil and theGold Box games of the late '80s and early '90s, also feature tactical turn-based combat. Some turn-based tactics titles, such asJagged Alliance 2 and theX-COM series, feature a real-time strategic layer in addition to tactical turn-based combat.

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