Best Value Grand Strategy Games Under $20

The Grand Strategy games on Steam games under $20 that deliver the most playtime per dollar: median reviewer hours divided by current price.

All Indie Action Adventure Simulation RPG Strategy Co-op Open World Story Rich Casual Funny Survival Difficult Pixel Graphics PvP Horror Anime Puzzle Rogue-like Relaxing Turn-Based Strategy Local Co-Op Psychological Horror Hack and Slash Platformer MMO RTS Immersive Sim Post-apocalyptic Action Roguelike City Builder Life Sim Zombies Sports Racing Survival Horror Stealth Bullet Hell Dungeon Crawler Visual Novel JRPG Deckbuilding Grand Strategy Cyberpunk Tower Defense Clicker Fighting Open World Survival Craft Boomer Shooter Colony Sim Farming Sim Cozy Auto Battler Cooking Twin Stick Shooter Metroidvania 4X Souls-like Dating Sim MMORPG

By price

Any priceUnder $5Under $10Under $20Under $40
Median reviewer playtime divided by price. Reviewers tend to sink more hours in than the average owner, so treat this as an optimistic estimate. Free games are excluded because there's no price to divide by.
  1. 1Hearts of Iron IV39 h/$
  2. 2X4: Foundations20 h/$
  3. 3Victoria 317 h/$
  4. 4Sid Meier's Civilization III Complete12 h/$
  5. 5Total War: EMPIRE – Definitive Edition11 h/$
  6. 6Civilization IV: Beyond the Sword9.9 h/$
  7. 7Age of History II6.7 h/$
  8. 8ENDLESS Space 26.4 h/$
  9. 9Total War: SHOGUN 26.4 h/$
  10. 10Victoria II6.4 h/$
  11. 11Terraforming Mars5.9 h/$
  12. 12Total War: NAPOLEON – Definitive Edition4.7 h/$
  13. 13HUMANKIND4.0 h/$
  14. 14Supreme Commander: Forged Alliance3.6 h/$
  15. 15Fantasy General II3.3 h/$
  16. 16ENDLESS Legend3.3 h/$
  17. 17Age of History 33.2 h/$
  18. 18Anno 1404 - History Edition3.0 h/$
  19. 19STAR WARS Empire at War - Gold Pack3.0 h/$
  20. 20Supreme Commander 23.0 h/$
  21. 21Legend of Heroes: Three Kingdoms2.6 h/$
  22. 22NEBULOUS: Fleet Command2.3 h/$
  23. 23Heart of the Machine1.5 h/$
  24. 24Ara History Untold: Anniversary Edition 1.4 h/$
  25. 25Breachway1.4 h/$
  26. 26Dummynation1.3 h/$
  27. 27Fantasy Map Simulator1.1 h/$
  28. 28Hexarchy0.6 h/$
  29. 29Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator 20.6 h/$

How the math works: we sample each game’s Steam reviewers, take the median of their total recorded playtime (lifetime hours, not hours at the time of review), and divide it by the game’s current price in your selected currency. Reviewers usually sink more hours in than the average owner, so the numbers run generous. Free games aren’t listed because there’s no price to divide by, and a game needs playtime data from at least 20 reviewers before it qualifies. All prices are Steam’s own regional prices, never exchange-rate conversions.