And the Mac hasn't been left out of the equation — some popular MOBAs run natively on the Mac. Here's a roundup of the best ones you can get right now. What's more, all of them are free to play, so it won't cost you a dime to try them out.
Oct 9, 2018 - Macs have never had the best reputation for gaming. Whether because Apple preferred to market them as creative computing powerhouses.
First, for the uninitiated, let's answer the obvious question: What, precisely, is a MOBA?
MOBAs are real=time strategy games that involve multiple players divided into teams. Each player typically controls a single champion or hero character that leads others — computer-controlled minions — into combat. Teams square off and try to destroy or control each other's in-game structures in order to win.
MOBAs combine elements of action games and strategy games together, and have become a popular pastime for gamers looking for fun, challenging ways to team up with friends (and sometimes complete strangers) online.
Blizzard Entertainment's seminal strategy game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos is often pointed to as the seed for the current MOBA craze. An active community of modders — hobbyists and programmers interested in expanding the capabilities of the game — took to Warcraft III, and one in particular, a fellow who went by the nom de mod of Eul, created Defense of the Ancients, a specialized map for the game modeled after another popular map for another Blizzard strategy game, StarCraft. Since then MOBAs have existed both as mods for other game and as entirely standalone projects. So without further ado:
League of Legends
Riot Games' League of Legends is nothing short of a phenomenon. Since it debuted in 2009 it's garnered millions of fans worldwide. For a long time Mac gamers were left out of the loop but the developer finally graced the Mac with a client in 2013. (Don't be scared off by the seemingly permanent 'beta' status of the Mac client.)
League comprised well more than 100 different champions, each with different strengths, strategies and weaknesses. Players fight each other to gain experience and to win gold, which they can use to buy items to strengthen their champions. A variety of game modes exist and Riot is constantly improving and tweaking both gameplay and the in-game characters, which leads to constant new challenges. And it's paid off: At peak times, more than 7 million players can be playing simultaneously. League is the focus of professional gaming tournaments, too.
League is free to download and play. Riot makes money from the sale of Riot Points (RP), which help players get ahead in the game.
- Free - Download now
Dota 2
I mentioned Defense of the Ancients at the outset. Dota 2 is its proper sequel, developed by Valve Corp. As a result, it's available for download from Valve's popular Steam online game matching and download service.
The classic elements of MOBA gameplay are here: Two teams of five players each, each of which occupy a base at a corner of the map. Teams are divided into The Radiant and The Dire. The Ancient is a building inside each base that must be protected or you lose the game. Players have over 100 different Heroes to choose from, each with different strengths and weaknesses. Combat provides experience, which levels the character up, enabling players to imbue their Hero with better statistics and new skills.
Dota 2 has been criticized for having a steeper learning curve that League does, and my experience has been that the Mac client doesn't run very well on systems that are on the lower side of its system requirements, but that hasn't stopped it from being very popular: Dota 2 gets close to a million players at peak times.
- Free - Download now
Heroes of Newerth
S2 Games' Heroes of Newerth squares players off into two factions: The Legion and the Hellbourne. Each team has to either destroy the World Tree or Sacrificial Shrine (depending on which faction you're fighting), or force the other team to concede defeat. There are different game modes, more than 120 heroes to master, and more.
Newerth was heavily influenced by the original Defense of the Ancients, though S2 Games developed it independently of DotA. The game remains fiercely independent. While Riot is the 800 pound gorilla and Dota 2 gets lots of attention because of Valve's involvement, S2 has done very well over the years, but its player base is much smaller. That's not a bad thing; the game continues to do well and get new players all the time.
- Free - Download now
SmashMuck Champions
A relative new entry to the MOBA market, SmashMuck Champions lets you play as absolutely weird heroes like a robot shark and a platypus unicorn. It's got a great sense of humor and some truly wacky design, and its creators cite its 'community driven development process' as a plus as well. Classic team-based play is here, though SmashMuck looks and plays a bit differently than the other MOBAs listed above, with five different game modes that include a capture the flag mode, tower defense mode, control point capture and more.
There's a more limited selection of champions to choose from, but more than 600 customizable items keep it interesting, along with daily challenge and alliance-based achievements.
- Free - Download now
Happy gaming
Hopefully these will get some of you started down the road of MOBA play. Are you already an avid MOBA fan? I'm sure I've left out a few that play well on the Mac without relying on a Windows partition. If I've left off your favorite or if you have any comments or suggestions, lay 'em on me.
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Mac gaming can be frustrating at times. The problem is finding games that are available on the platform. Even today, after Steam’s adoption of the Mac, finding games to play can be difficult.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t some excellent games. You just have to do a little extra work to find them. Let’s have a look at ten strategy game titles that are sure to please any fan of the genre.
Criteria
Mac games are relatively rare, and their scarcity increases as they age. The production runs are smaller, which results in fewer used copies, which results in higher prices.
I’m capping the price for games at $60. This leaves out games like Rise of Nations. It’s an excellent title, but the few new copies I could find are priced at over $100. All of the games found here are affordable, which means they are relatively recent releases and many of them are sold on Steam.
AI War: Fleet Command
If you’re a fan of the space-strategy genre and you don’t mind a steep learning curve you’ll love AI War.
This massive game offers players the chance to conquer the stars with gigantic fleets. Building them requires the management of complex resource system, though with that said, this is far from the most hardcore title you can buy.
AI War is available on Steam for $9.99. There’s also a demo available.
Civilization IV and Civilization V
The Civilization titlesPlay The Civilization Game For Free With FreeCivPlay The Civilization Game For Free With FreeCivRead More have supported Mac for some time. The newest version is Civilization V, but its focus on making the series more accessible has angered some gamers while pleasing others.
Fortunately, you have a choice. Civilization IV: The Complete Edition is also available for Mac and it still feels quite modern, so gamers who prefer more complex strategy can pick it up.
Civilization IV is about $40 on Amazon, while Civilization V sells for a tad over $20.
Darwinia
This unique title is story-driven, making it different from most strategy games. It places you in charge of saving a virtual world called Darwinia. A virus has assaulted it and its virtual citizens – and only you can stop it.
Darwinia’s lo-fi graphics style is beautiful but also makes the game easy to run on almost any Mac made in the last five years. The game is relatively simple to understand, so it’s a good choice for those unfamiliar with the genre.
You can buy Darwinia for $9.99 on Steam. There is a demo available.
Frozen Synapse
One of the newest games here, Frozen Synapse is a turn-based title focusing on squad combat. It’s one of the few games of its kind to be released in the last decade and it’s probably the best of the bunch.
There are only a few units, so understanding the basics isn’t difficult. However, the complex interactions between units, terrain and fog-of-war result in a deceptively challenging game. Units die quickly to gunfire, so a single round rarely lasts more than thirty minutes.
Frozen Synapse is $24.99 on Steam. There is a demo available.
Gratuitous Space Battles
As the name implies, this strategy game is all about space battles. Fleets of 2D vessels are pitted against each other and attempt to achieve victory with beam weapons, torpedoes, missiles and rail guns. If you’ve ever found yourself re-watching the space battles in Battlestar Galactica or Babylon 5 you’ll love what this game offers.
This game sets itself apart from others by taking away direct control of battles. Players are responsible for designing ships and determining deployment. This sounds unusual, but the design lets you focus on building ships and enjoying battles instead of worrying about split-second changes in starship tactics.
Gratuitous Space Battles is $19.99 on Steam. The Complete Pack, which includes a number of DLC expansions, is $39.99.
Hearts of Iron III
Hearts of Iron has been considered the definitive World War II strategy game since the release of the original in 2002. The game has never been accessible to strategy newcomers, but that’s sort of the point.
The latest edition refines the interface and updates the graphics, but it remains a hardcore title targeted at history buffs and World War II fanatics. The huge number of possible strategies and large number of playable countries makes this a title that you can play for hundreds of hours without exploring every possibility.
Hearts of Iron III is just $9.99 on Steam.
Rome: Total War
The Total War series is one of the best strategy franchises on the market, but the latest games have not come to the Mac. The most recent title you can purchase is Rome: Total War.
That’s not to imply the game is bad, however. Rome: Total War is about eight years old, which means the graphics aren’t the best, but the battles themselves are as enjoyable as any Total War title. Anyone who wants to enjoy real-time strategy with extreme tactical depth needs to pick this one up.
Rome: Total War is available through a number of major retailers for $29.99.
The Sims 3
Yes, the Sims is a strategy game. It doesn’t involve killing or conquering – but it does require proper resource management if you want your Sims to be successful.
This is the most approachable game on our list. Strategy game fans shouldn’t write it off automatically as too simple, however. The Sims 3 is the most engaging game in the franchise from a strategy perspective. Managing day-to-day life of an entire family can become a serious challenge.
The Sims 3 is available for $27.99 on Amazon.
Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty
Blizzard’s long-awaited installment of the hugely popular Starcraft franchise was certain to make this list. It is the only strategy title on this list that was built for professional competitive play. This focus is evident in the game’s excellent balance and fast pace.
Gamers who are looking for an engaging single-player strategy game experience may need to look elsewhere. The multi-player, however, is enjoyable for both newbies and experienced gamers. Blizzard’s ladder does an excellent job of gauging skill levels and pitting players against others that are approximately as skilled.
Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty is available for $39.99 on Amazon.
Conclusion
All of the games listed here are enjoyable and affordable. Together, they represent hundreds of hours of gameplay. But if there a title that you enjoy which isn’t listed here let us know by leaving a comment.
Explore more about: Mac Game, Steam, Strategy Games.
- i kinda disagree with starcraft being a strategy game. its more about tactics and simply overwhelming the enemy with sheer numbers more than any amount of real strategy. but that isn't to say it is a bad game by any means.
- Starfront is available on the App store and is quite good, especially in multiplayer.
- empire total war is coming to mac in spring of 2013, and there is a rome total war expansion called barbarian invasion.
- Thanks for the heads up on Hearts of Iron 3. I like strategy games, but WOW is that complex! Thanks, also for researching Mac games. Their rarity calls for great lists like yours.
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- Let's not forget Warzone: 2100 ( http://www.wz2100.net ) which still has the most insane tech tree and innovative unit build system of any RTS out there.
- Civilization IV is also available on Steam for $20, $30 for the complete edition. Both are available for Mac and PC.