There are many kinds of strategy games. Real time strategy is either when you build units and have them fight the enemy and control them, while the enemy controls their units at the same time. It can also be a game where you can go from city to city or planet to planet selling things in a multiplayer environment at the same time as the other person, so that you can race from planet to planet trying to get the best things for the lowest prices before the other guy. There is also turn based strategy. Turn based is when, instead of controlling your units at the same time as the other guy, you take turns moving. That even includes chess and checkers. You can also play trading games like real time. Only taking turn moving. Other games can be civilization builders, such as civilizations 3. You take turns building structures and moving units.

Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth

The Battle for Middle Earth is a real time strategy game. Its campaign is like a board game, but when you attack another part of the board, it switches to real time. One of the best parts is, if you build 20 swordsman, they transfer over to the next time you use that specific army. The 4 civilizations are Gondor, who use elite units, Rohan, who use the power of calvary to trample their opponents, Isengard, who use pure power, with strong units and a very strong bomb unit, Mordor uses cheap units and massive amounts of soldiers. Gondor and Mordor are the best at defense, but Isengard and Rohan are more for offense. Its a very good real time strategy.

Homeworld 1

Homeworld 1 is the first in a series of space real time strategy games. The single player campaign starts with the construction of the first mother ship to take the kushan back from their exile to their home planet of Hiigara. The only thing that stands in you way is a few massive encounters with the Tiidan Imperial fleet, a few other races and a couple of obstacles like ghost ships.

It also has a multiplayer and a skirmish vs. CPU modes where you can take on other people online or fight with CPU players. There are lots of different multiplayer maps. Overall this game is very good apart from the graphics (although it was made in 1995), which are a bit off in places.

Homeworld 2

Homeworld 2 is a classic example of a space real time strategy game. It has all the features including a 3D view of the game universe. It has 2 main races, the Hiigaran and the vaygr. These races battle it out throughout the campaign (total of 15 levels). You are the Hiigaran commanding the pride of Hiigara (the mother ship) and you have to race across the galaxy to find sajuuk (The great creator) and defeat any enemies that get in your way. The game starts with a surprise attack on the mother ship construction just after the hyper space core is inserted.

Apart from the quite difficult single player campaign there is multiplayer and skirmish vs. CPU modes where you go head on head against you enemies (either players and a CPU or just a CPU). Up to six players on the biggest map make this game a must play.