This is a work in progress and will be edited multiple times... (I will remind myself that this only includes game
I have played on PC. Other platforms, even if available on PC don't count, so all my Atari 800 and Apple II history don't count, so no Ultima IV, Autoduel, 7 Cites, Mail Order Monster, Telengard etc... for me )
Top
Battle Brothers - Favorite squad building TBS with a great Strategic map
Diablo II - Improved Diablo isometric addiction to the loot and improve treadmill and wasn't improved on until Torchlight II and by then it didn't feel like the same addiction
Moria - My first and favorite of the Rogue likes. I couldn't go back to it but I wish I could.
1a
Dwarf Fortress - Story tellers with light engineering that just defined what they did
1b
Rim World- differentiated enough from the what DF built that it is worthy of being its own best
Factorio - Build more better and expand. A city builder without the city and a much better economy of scale
X Wing - Tie Figher might have improved the game but X Wing was good enough that even improving it was enough to unseat it.
Don't Starve - This game really got me hooked on pre release games, which every other pre release since has paled by comparison. The game kept changing and being great. It's the best survive until you can't, reminding me of old arcade games. And everything about the development was awesome. The art style of the posters and movies. Just. Everything. I looked forward to announcements of announcements.
Slay the Spire - Just keep coming back to it. CCG without the CCG in quick bytes with scaling difficulty
Hades - the best fail better game I've ever played and a story about failing better!
Stellaris - The pinnacle of Galaxy Conquest games for me that goes all the way back to my Atari 800 and Pax. They kept changing it and I kept getting a whole new galaxy conquest game for free.
2nd tier
HoMM3 - installed on every machine since it was released. It's dated but still best in class.
Crusader Kings II - Conquor the world in a historic setting with a family tree.
Magic Duel of the Plainswalkers - If it didn't have bugs and they continued to release content, I'd still play. I debate buying an external DVD player and trying to get it run through DOSBox.
Mechwarrior - If it weren't for X Wing this would probably be top tier.
Populous - Never replicated or really improved on.
Dune - Not the first RTS for me but stuck out so much above the others (Herzog Zwie and Dogs of War for me)
Darkest Dungeon - Building a party to fixed to endure in a four tactical moves per round while strategically building a roster. The old XCom and Syndicate formula but in a whole new way.
1a
Children of the Nile - Walker City building on a great scale
1b
Tropico 2 - Walker city building loving the addition of sending them off for dicey combat and the sound track.
Kerbal Space Program - My first big dip into Let's play. I loved the game, as poorly as I could control it, but I watch over 80 hours of Scott Manly playing.
Rollercoaster Tycoon II - Who never dreamed of building their own theme park? I probably should pick up one the more modern games but they're all about the DLC.
XCom Enemy Unknown (though I feel like I'm the only one who love Apocalypse) or
Syndicate? Can't decide. All three helped to define tactical squad TBS for all time for me.
BattleTech - It would have been the tech game Nick did such brilliant AARs with or the Viscious Byte game based on the Amiga game but they did such a great job with the modern version and I rarely treat stories as drivers of a game as much as I did this one.
Oxygen Not Included - Another artsy game from Klie and it did not disappoint. Builder, survival, platform, cutesy, engineering light.
Railroad Tycoon II. Rails. Stock Market. Robber Baron. Economy building. This could have actually been topped by Railroad Empires if they hadn't made the economy and stock market absolutely useless.
Renowned Explorers - I don't know why I loved this game. It was the same thing over and over but I found myself Steam Achievement hunting, something I never do.
Mount And Blade II Warband - Something was so liberating about mowing down 100s of enemies in different ways medieval style and then building a squad and kingdom in a keyboard mouse control system I don't generally care for.
Card Hunter - So much fun for what it was. CCG and character building for quick dungeon looting. I think about going back and playing more. I'm surprised they've held my player for so long.
Dungeon Keeper 2 - Tons have tried to improve the formula. They all come up short.
Star Wars Rebellion - Just loved it. I still the get the hankering. You can make it work on 10 but not well. It's about the only physical documentation I've kept.
Jagged Alliance 2 - Punching crows again and again to build stats!
Worthy of being the best but not best of the best
1a
Civ Not sure which. Maybe II - It came after Empire but improved the game so much.
1b
SMAC - It took Civ and made it a unique experience.
Masters of Magic MtG but with an ever building TBS to conquer a world
Masters of Orion II - Did what it did well enough to earn respect all these years later.
Wolfenstein 3d - Not my first FPS but enough of an advancement that it gets to the best
Might and Magic III - Party building on a huge scale. I played way too much to not include it.
Wizardry Mad Overlord - one of the early party builders that just stuck. It was so satisfying to build a party of Ninja.
SimCity - Created a genre I that rarely satisfies but is something I always want to love.
Starcraft - The pinnacle of RTS for me.
Imperialism II - Board gaming in a way that was impractical for board gaming, with a cool economy.
1830 - Lost my copy. Had to aquire it from an abaondon ware site and then clean the virus out of it
Still enjoy it.
Lords of the Realm probably II - Most memorable of the build a castle and defend it games.
Marvel Puzzle Quest - One of the few pay to play games I paid money to. Probably $50 or more for card slots. Steam says it's the most hours I put in to a game and it was an addiction I had to walk away from. Had to get all my play time in every day.
1a
Faster Than Light - Fantastic light TBS games that played like puzzles
1b
Into the Breach
48... 50 if you include that I can't decide between Enemy Unknown, Apocalypse, and The Syndicate