Strategy PC game for 12-15 years old?

Uuuuh, XCOM? Duelyst? Endless Legend? Those are the first ones to come to mind, specially Duelyst since it's card-based, free, not graphics-intensive and really really fun.

 

I'd also say XCOM, start him off with Enemy Unknown and if he likes it then you can move on to the Enemy Within expansion.

Could be worth looking into the Dawn of War games as well. First one's a traditional base builder while the second one is squad based with no bases.

There's also a demo of Europa Universalis 4 you could have a go with.

 

CIV5 is too difficult, so you suggest XCOM? You people are sadists.

I'd suggest Age of Empires 2 and Age of Mythology. They are older games, but they both have updated HD versions. I remember playing and enjoying these when I was very young.

If he's a fan of Lord of the Rings or fantasy in general, I also recommend the game with the longest title in the world, which is "Lord of the rings: Battle for Middle-Earth II--the Rise of the Witch King," sometimes abbreviated to "LotR:BfMEII--tRotWK."

 

It's a hard one tho! Asking for something easy and simple is kind of counter-intuitive to the philosophy of mots Strategy games. I guess Clash of Clans would be such an example? I dunno, I grew up playing Fire Emblem, Advance Wars and Final Fantasy Tactics; so permadeath and an overwhelming array of options are my normal lol.

I stand behind Duelyst tho, that game is the textbook definition of "accessible" while at the same time offering a huge amount of depth—for those who make it past bronze.

 

Stronghold. I played it when I was like 14 or something I liked this game so much when I was older i searched for it again and played again

There is also Warcraft 3 which is a hybrid of strategy and RPG

And less known strategy game but very fun is Age of Mythology, u can create mythological creatures



EDIT:
just for the record, starcraft and CIV are hard games

 

Age of Mythology is a real snooze fest IMO

 

At least we didn't suggest Long War or Terror From The Deep.

In my defence Enemy Unknown/Within are actually reasonably pick up and play as far as the operations and UFO intercepts go. There's the odd mission that's a bit tricky I'll grant you and your geoscape stuff can get overwhelming later on. But stick it on normal and it's pretty straight forward once you get the hang of it, even more so once you get In The Zone :icon_twis

 

If the kid has a DS you could try to find Lock's Quest for sale on Amazon or something. It's a light RTS that should be simple enough for a preteen.

 

Classic+Ironman or gtfo

Or Advance Wars: Dual Strike (Days of Ruin is too punishing even for me).

Better yet, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2. Now that's a cakewalk, but an enjoyable one.

 

Hearthstone? It's a card game but a strategy one nonetheless. League of Legends, Starcraft, or Heroes of The Storm?

 

Ah! How could I've forgotten! Chroma Squad! (for PC)

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It's a little indie game about managing your own team of Power Rangers. The gameplay is kinda bare bones for those of us looking for a bigger strategic challenge, but I would imagine that makes it perfect for beginners, no?

 

Has he tried turning down the difficulty on Civ 5? It gets to a point where that game practically plays itself.

Strategy games in general are hard, because their player base is notorious for saying "it's too easy I just wreck everything" and the devs deliver. I've not found an easier one than Civ made in the modern era.

Going a little older though, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2 and especially its expansion Yuri's Revenge. Play one on one vs. an easy enemy. If that's still too tough for him, throw in an ally on your side. It will let him fiddle around with the game mechanics while the ally takes the pressure of the enemy off. From there you can ramp it up to as hard as you want it to be, up to 7-on-1 "Brutal" enemies that are likely to steamroll you in minutes.

 

Are Graphics something that's important to him? If not, he can always try Warhammer 40K Dawn of War.

 

Rise Of Nations is good too!

 

try homeworld
it's a 3d rts with spaceships

 

Maybe I missed it but did nobody mention the Tropico series, or any theme series or tycoon? Startopia is a bit dated but reasonably simple to master.

 

What language does he speak? I'm pretty sure it can be converted, at least to one of a few romance languages and maybe German. I'm guessing you may be able to get a language mod as well if it's not in the official release.

About Homeworld, only if you want to spoil him for all other space games. The third movement axis was absolutely inspired. And maybe I am just terrible at RTS games, but I tended to get wrecked playing this.