Battle for Wesnoth
Hacker ApprovedThe most recommended of 24 strategy games
Free, open-source turn-based hex strategy game with deep tactics and long campaigns; critics say combat luck and XP rules can frustrate.
Free, open-source turn-based hex strategy game with deep tactics and long campaigns; critics say combat luck and XP rules can frustrate.
43 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 39
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 91%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Owned for 10 years
Median of the 5 owners who said how long they have had it.
Each square is one year.
Why it carries the badge
- 39 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 9.8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Long-lived, well-loved open-source project
“I still think it's the best Open Source game I've ever played.”
Comment from 7 Apr 2026 in “Battle for Wesnoth: open-source, turn-based strategy game” “it's one of my favorite OSS projects”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Battle for Wesnoth: open-source, turn-based strategy game” “how long-living the project has been”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Battle for Wesnoth: open-source, turn-based strategy game” - Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Battle for Wesnoth: open-source, turn-based strategy game”
Runs well on modest, cross-platform hardware
“I loved this game playing on an Arch Thinkpad in university with budget graphics capability.”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Battle for Wesnoth: open-source, turn-based strategy game” “It's worked on Linux, Mac and Windows and has never stopped working.”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Battle for Wesnoth: open-source, turn-based strategy game” “Battle for Wesnoth can run on <4 GB.”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “I turned a $80 RK3562 Android tablet into a Debian Linux workstation” Tactical depth and situational strategy
“There's a whole short-term pain/long-term gain tradeoff to risking healers that adds more strategy to the campaign.”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Battle for Wesnoth: open-source, turn-based strategy game” “Wesnoth is great if you like games where you have to create and exploit situational advantages.”
Comment from 25 Oct 2026 in “fheroes2: A recreation of Heroes of Might and Magic II game engine” “I personally found this to be a big part of the tactical and strategic challenge”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Battle for Wesnoth: open-source, turn-based strategy game” Strong campaigns and scenario maps
“The campaigns are excellent though and as long as the true randomness of attacks/defense doesn't drive you crazy it is a lot of fun.”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Battle for Wesnoth: open-source, turn-based strategy game” “I always thought the "single map" or "scenario maps" of Wesnoth were excellent”
Comment from 7 Apr 2026 in “Battle for Wesnoth: open-source, turn-based strategy game”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Combat luck can decide outcomes
“At the more difficult levels it is really easy to get to a point where your strategy relies on a high probability event”
Comment from 7 Apr 2026 in “Battle for Wesnoth: open-source, turn-based strategy game” “i want to have fun, not some pseudo random roll the bones simulator”
Comment from 7 Apr 2026 in “Battle for Wesnoth: open-source, turn-based strategy game” XP-per-kill and healing rules
“This is a problem with the XP-per-kill system.”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Battle for Wesnoth: open-source, turn-based strategy game” “healing doesn't give XP to the healing units”
Comment from 6 Apr 2026 in “Battle for Wesnoth: open-source, turn-based strategy game”
Other strategy games people recommend
The four most recommended other strategy games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battle for WesnothThis page | 39 | 4 | 91% | 4 | 10 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| Sid Meier's Civilization | 25 | 9 | 74% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Sid Meier's Civilization III | 20 | 10 | 67% | 3 | — | — |
| Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri | 16 | 0 | 100% | 7 | — | Approved |
| Heroes of Might and Magic III | 16 | 2 | 89% | 5 | — | Approved |
What people said
40 of the 45 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Wesnoth is great if you like games where you have to create and exploit situational advantages.”
“I've heard good things about it”
“Could The Battle for Wesnoth fit into that description?”
“Battle for Wesnoth can run on <4 GB.”
“online Nethack/Wesnoth/FreeCiv gameplays over it”
“The game is a platform, not a product.”
“I spent many hours playing back in the day”
“At the more difficult levels it is really easy to get to a point where your strategy relies on a high probability event”
“campaigns become a bit of a grind with the whole”
“ranged weapons are not ranged. It just feels wrong and stops you trying some interesting tactics.”
“I always thought the "single map" or "scenario maps" of Wesnoth were excellent”
“i want to have fun, not some pseudo random roll the bones simulator”
“troops in Wesnoth don't require fuel or ammo”
“I still think it's the best Open Source game I've ever played.”
“The touchscreen input needs a lot of work”
“This is a problem with the XP-per-kill system.”
“how long-living the project has been”
“It is the only game I’ve ever played other than chess.”
“I loved this game playing on an Arch Thinkpad in university with budget graphics capability.”
“I remember playing this a lot back in the Ubuntu 6 days.”
“It's worked on Linux, Mac and Windows and has never stopped working.”
“Fond memories, playing this throughout my youth”
“The campaigns are excellent though and as long as the true randomness of attacks/defense doesn't drive you crazy it is a lot of fun.”
“it's one of my favorite OSS projects”
“It's more like Sid Meier's Civilization, but with a drastically simplified economy and a strong focus on battles.”
“Same, i think It was on my first Linux OS. The good old days hehe”
“Its enjoyable to play through due to the upgrading mechanics and wanting to see all the potential evolutions”
“I personally found this to be a big part of the tactical and strategic challenge”
“it's one awesome game and the details for sprites and art direction is sweet”
“Wesnoth is an incredible project”
“In high school I kept a USB drive full of portable apps.”
“There's a whole short-term pain/long-term gain tradeoff to risking healers that adds more strategy to the campaign.”
“healing doesn't give XP to the healing units”
“only missing point about this game is some of the real word parameters like moral,flanking etc.”
“It's an amazing game, and I'd love to return to it and see what has changed.”
“Just a stellar labor of love, worth giving it a shot to play!”
“An absolute gem I came across randomly many years ago.”
“It is also fairly easy to tinker with the units if you are like me, that is a big win.”
“Was good because it identified a personal mental flaw.”
“Those who like this game may also want to try open-source The Battle for Wesnoth, which is a turn-based hexgrid war game.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.