About Critical Moves Podcast - Strategy Videogames
Critical Moves is a strategy games podcast that takes RTS, 4X, and tactics seriously. Most gaming podcasts don’t even bother with strategy games. We do. Each week we cover real-time strategy, turn-based tactics, 4X empire builders and indie experiments, plus shining a new light on old classics.
These aren't quick reviews or recycled talking points. It’s sharp criticism and honest discussion about strategy game design. If a game is shallow or broken, we’ll say so. If it does something clever, we’ll explain why it works. We talk to developers and key industry figures, getting into the mechanics and design choices that shape the games we love.
We're an RTS podcast, a 4X podcast, a place for smarter conversations about tactics and strategy gaming. Critical Moves is made for players who think about systems, mechanics, and design.
New episodes every Friday.
https://criticalmovespodcast.com (https://criticalmovespodcast.com)
Everyone has an origin story. In episode 106, Al is joined by Jack and Joe to talk about the games that first drew them into strategy, from Populous on the Mega Drive and Lords of the Realm II to Red Alert 2, Civilization II and Age of Empires II. With a gap of around twenty-five years between the youngest and oldest of us, the starting points are very different. We also look at which games ate the most hours, what we would hand to a child first (Spore, City Skylines and Red Alert Remastered all get a mention), what older strategy games had that modern ones have lost, and what today’s games do better. Along the way there are school computer lab loans, shareware memories, and a bridge nobody could build in SimCity. If you have a game that started it all for you, we would like to hear about it in the Discord.
More from Critical Moves Podcast:
Web: https://criticalmovespodcast.com (https://criticalmovespodcast.com)
Forum: https://criticalmovesforum.com (https://criticalmovesforum.com)
Newsletter: https://criticalmoves.beehiiv.com (https://criticalmoves.beehiiv.com)
Spotify: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/spotify (https://criticalmovespodcast.com/spotify)
Apple: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/apple (https://criticalmovespodcast.com/apple)
Amazon: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/amazon (https://criticalmovespodcast.com/amazon)
Discord: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/discord (https://criticalmovespodcast.com/discord)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/criticalmovespodcast (https://www.facebook.com/criticalmovespodcast)
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CriticalMoves_ (https://twitter.com/CriticalMoves_)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/criticalmovespodcast (https://www.instagram.com/criticalmovespodcast)
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/CriticalMoves (https://www.reddit.com/r/CriticalMoves)
Critical Moves examines strategy games through weekly Friday episodes and Monday news updates. Six hosts across multiple continents analyze recent releases, forgotten classics, and industry developments without the typical podcast theatrics. We cover real-time strategy, 4X civilization builders, turn-based tactics, and hybrid games that blur genre boundaries.
30 Oct 2026
Does Balance Kill Fun in Strategy Games? (Ep. 105)
Does balance kill fun in strategy games? Al, Drexy and new co-host Rob, the former founder of eXplorminate, try to settle it. It starts with William Harms, who wrote the story for Supreme Commander and Forged Alliance, explaining why the factions’ lore differences never made it into the gameplay. From there the conversation takes in single player versus multiplayer, patch culture, comeback mechanics, why tanks can’t kill infantry in Command & Conquer, and whether a game needs asymmetry at all. Drexy and Rob say yes. Al isn’t so sure.
The Final Level: https://www.youtube.com/@TheFinalLevelPodcast (https://www.youtube.com/@TheFinalLevelPodcast)
More from Critical Moves Podcast:
Web: https://criticalmovespodcast.com (https://criticalmovespodcast.com)
Forum: https://criticalmovesforum.com (https://criticalmovesforum.com)
Newsletter: https://criticalmoves.beehiiv.com (https://criticalmoves.beehiiv.com)
Spotify: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/spotify (https://criticalmovespodcast.com/spotify)
Apple: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/apple (https://criticalmovespodcast.com/apple)
Amazon: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/amazon (https://criticalmovespodcast.com/amazon)
Discord: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/discord (https://criticalmovespodcast.com/discord)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/criticalmovespodcast (https://www.facebook.com/criticalmovespodcast)
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CriticalMoves_ (https://twitter.com/CriticalMoves_)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/criticalmovespodcast (https://www.instagram.com/criticalmovespodcast)
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/CriticalMoves (https://www.reddit.com/r/CriticalMoves)
Critical Moves examines strategy games through weekly Friday episodes and the occasional video essay. Six hosts across multiple continents analyze recent releases, forgotten classics, and industry developments without the typical podcast theatrics. We cover real-time strategy, 4X civilization builders, turn-based tactics, and hybrid games that blur genre boundaries.
23 Oct 2026
Steam SlopFest: Has Next Fest Lost the Plot? (Ep.104)
For our two year anniversary and 104th episode, Nuno, Adam, Drexy and Al look at Steam NextFest and ask whether it has become Steam SlopFest. With over seven thousand demos, unreliable tags and a lot of obviously AI generated filler, we ask whether last week’s democratisation verdict still holds. We talk about Greenlight, entry fees, verification and Valve’s AI disclosure rules, and why they are so hard to enforce. We also cover the Shogun 2 remaster row, the games we did enjoy, and a few worth putting on your wishlist, including Steel Company, Steel Wolverines, Arch Rebel, Red Recon 1944 and Stronghold 4.
More from Critical Moves Podcast:
Web: https://criticalmovespodcast.com (https://criticalmovespodcast.com)
Forum: https://criticalmovesforum.com (https://criticalmovesforum.com)
Newsletter: https://criticalmoves.beehiiv.com (https://criticalmoves.beehiiv.com)
Spotify: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/spotify (https://criticalmovespodcast.com/spotify)
Apple: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/apple (https://criticalmovespodcast.com/apple)
Amazon: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/amazon (https://criticalmovespodcast.com/amazon)
Discord: https://criticalmovespodcast.com/discord (https://criticalmovespodcast.com/discord)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/criticalmovespodcast (https://www.facebook.com/criticalmovespodcast)
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CriticalMoves_ (https://twitter.com/CriticalMoves_)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/criticalmovespodcast (https://www.instagram.com/criticalmovespodcast)
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/CriticalMoves (https://www.reddit.com/r/CriticalMoves)
Critical Moves examines strategy games through weekly Friday episodes and the occasional video essay. Six hosts across multiple continents analyze recent releases, forgotten classics, and industry developments without the typical podcast theatrics. We cover real-time strategy, 4X civilization builders, turn-based tactics, and hybrid games that blur genre boundaries.
Who has been a guest on Critical Moves Podcast - Strategy Videogames
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Dr Ben Angell
Timothy
Thomas van den Berg
Sid
PtaQ
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
235,031
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Spotify
4.8 / 5
27 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 54 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
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