Games Like Advance Wars

What Made Advance Wars Work

Advance Wars is turn-based tactics with the maths visible. No hidden rolls you cannot reason about, small maps, unit counters you learn in an hour and spend a hundred hours mastering, and COs that bend the rules. What people want next is the same legibility, not more complexity.

Advance Wars was made by Intelligent Systems, the studio behind Fire Emblem, and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance in 2001 — the first game in the long-running Famicom Wars series to be released in the West. Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising (2003), Dual Strike (DS, 2005) and Days of Ruin (DS, 2008) followed, and the first two were remade for Switch in 2023.

Also written as Advanced Wars — same game, same list.

9 Games Like Advance Wars

1. Wa

   1.Wargroove(2019)

   The most direct successor — same grid, same capture-and-build loop, fantasy setting.

   Why it fits: Chucklefish, 2019, on PC, Switch and Xbox One, then PS4 later that year. You capture buildings to fund units on a grid, and each commander has a Groove meter that plays the part of a CO Power.

   What is different: Commanders fight on the map themselves, and there is a critical-hit condition for every unit to learn.

   Where to play it: PC, Switch, PS4 and Xbox One.

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2. In

   2.Into the Breach(2018)

   Perfect information tactics on an 8x8 grid; every enemy move is shown before you commit.

   Why it fits: Subset Games, the makers of FTL, 2018 on PC and Switch. Mechs on an 8x8 grid, and every enemy attack is shown before you move, so each turn is a solvable puzzle.

   What is different: Tiny maps and no base-building or economy — every battle is a short puzzle.

   Where to play it: PC, Switch and mobile.

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3. Ti

   3.Tiny Metal(2017)

   Openly modelled on Advance Wars, down to the unit roster.

   Why it fits: Area 35, 2017, on Switch, PS4 and PC. Built openly in Advance Wars' image, with a familiar infantry, tank and artillery roster and cartoon commanders.

   What is different: Lower production values and a weaker campaign; the rules are the reason to play.

   Where to play it: PC, Switch and PS4.

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4. Fi

   4.Fire Emblem: Three Houses(2019)

   Same studio's other tactics series, with permanent units and a school between battles.

   Why it fits: Intelligent Systems — the studio behind Advance Wars — with Koei Tecmo, Switch, 2019. Grid tactics where units level up, carry over between battles and can be lost.

   What is different: Named characters rather than disposable units, no production, and half the game is school life.

   Where to play it: Switch.

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5. Fi

   5.Final Fantasy Tactics(1997)

   Deeper class system, isometric grid, far darker story.

   Why it fits: Square, PlayStation, 1997. An isometric grid where height matters, with a job system and a war story far darker than Advance Wars.

   What is different: Height, facing and job classes add layers Advance Wars never had, and the story is long and political.

   Where to play it: PS1; The War of the Lions on PSP and mobile; remastered in 2025 as The Ivalice Chronicles.

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6. Ba

   6.Battle Brothers(2017)

   For when you want the tactics harsh and the campaign unforgiving.

   Why it fits: Overhype Studios, PC, 2017. A mercenary company on a hex grid where the wounded stay wounded and the dead stay dead.

   What is different: Permadeath mercenaries and a harsh open campaign — nothing is bright or forgiving.

   Where to play it: PC.

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7. Ad

   7.Advance Wars: Days of Ruin(2008)

   The series' own bleak entry — same rules, no cartoon tone.

   Why it fits: Intelligent Systems, Nintendo DS, 2008 (Dark Conflict in Europe). The series' own reboot: the same rules in a ruined, post-apocalyptic world.

   What is different: Grim post-apocalyptic tone and fewer CO powers; mechanically it is still Advance Wars.

   Where to play it: Nintendo DS.

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8. Un

   8.Unicorn Overlord(2024)

   Real-time auto-battles built on tactical positioning, with the same unit-counter thinking.

   Why it fits: Vanillaware, published by Atlus, 2024. Squads you assemble beforehand fight automatically on a strategy map, so the thinking happens before the battle.

   What is different: Battles play out automatically once you commit a squad, so the skill is in the setup rather than each move.

   Where to play it: Switch, PS4, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

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9. Ma

   9.Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle(2017)

   Grid tactics with genuine puzzle-box map design.

   Why it fits: Ubisoft Milan and Paris, Switch, 2017. Turn-based cover tactics with team jumps and dash attacks that make movement part of the attack.

   What is different: Three heroes rather than an army, with cover and dash moves; no production.

   Where to play it: Switch.

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Where to Start

If you want the same game in new clothes, Wargroove. If you want the puzzle of a single turn done perfectly, Into the Breach. And if you have not played it, Advance Wars: Days of Ruin is the series' own best-kept secret.

How We Picked These Games

Each pick had to share Advance Wars' legibility: units with clear counters, outcomes you can predict before you commit, and maps short enough to replay. Bigger strategy games made the list only where they keep that clarity.

Which One to Play, by What You Liked

If you liked Advance Wars for capturing cities and the CO Powers, try Wargroove and Tiny Metal. The two games built most directly on the Advance Wars ruleset: build units from captured buildings, then turn a battle with your commander's special.

If you liked Advance Wars for being able to see everything, try Into the Breach. No hidden numbers at all. Every enemy telegraphs its next move, which is Advance Wars' legibility pushed to its limit.

If you liked Advance Wars for the characters and the story, try Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Final Fantasy Tactics and Unicorn Overlord. Tactics games where you get attached to named units across a long campaign.

If you liked Advance Wars for the hard missions, try Battle Brothers and Advance Wars: Days of Ruin. Days of Ruin is the series' toughest tone; Battle Brothers is unforgiving in a way Advance Wars never was.