RTS Strategy

In an RTS, players control workers that collect resources build buildings and soldiers that fight battles-- the goal is generally to destroy the other player's base. Focusing too much on the economy means you don't have enough soldiers and focusing too much on the military means you don't have enough resources to build soldiers. As you can imagine, RTS is all about multitasking and making sure every single unit you control is doing the right thing.

It makes sense, then, that to play an RTS well, you have to be clicking and doing things basically all the time. In Starcraft, the world's most popular RTS, the best players issue up to 200 commands per minute, or 3.33 commands every second. Games generally last 20-60 minutes, depending on the RTS and strategies used.

My RTS of choice is Age of Empires II. I'm certainly not good enough to be clicking three things every second, but 40 minute games still take their toll. I just finished one such session and realized I was sweating in an air-conditioned room.

Why do I play these games? It could be that it's good mental exercise; RTS could be described as a series of fast decisions where making more than a few slip-ups spells disaster. I also like the feeling of succeeding through adversity-- the best games are the ones where I almost lose before finally coming out on top. Whatever the reason, RTS is a genre I've enjoyed for years.