The two kinds
Territory games on mobile
"Territory game" means two different things on a phone. Most people mean a strategy game played on the screen — conquer the map from the sofa. A smaller group means the map is real: places in your own city that you walk to and hold. We make one of the second kind, so here is the honest answer to both.
If you want to play on the screen
This is what most people are after, and these are the well-known ones. None of them needs you to go anywhere.
Swipe the table sideways →
| Game | What it is | Last update |
|---|---|---|
| Territorial.io | Fast online matches claiming land on a map against players worldwide — up to 500 in a game, solo or in teams. | Sept 2025 |
| State.io | Abstract real-time strategy: command troops to capture states and take over the map, level by level. | Sept 2026 |
| The Battle of Polytopia | Turn-based strategy about controlling the map with your tribe — and it plays offline. | Sept 2026 |
| RISK: Global Domination | The official digital version of the Hasbro board game, with solo and multiplayer games. | Apr 2026 |
Descriptions from each game's App Store listing; last update checked 2026-09-15.
If you want the map to be your city
Location-based territory games put the fight on the real map. You physically go to a place to claim it, and other players can take it back — so what you hold depends on where you walk.
Ingress turns landmarks and public art into portals that two factions fight over. Turf uses zones placed in cities and nature, in rounds of about a month. BloodRivals uses the real building you are standing at: you claim the address, build it up so it earns in-game income, and hold it against players who want it — nothing resets on a date.
The catch with ours: it is small, and the players are concentrated in Norway, mainly Trondheim and Oslo. Anywhere else you would be starting a board rather than joining one. The real-world ones compared →
Common questions
- What is a good territory game for mobile?
- For a game played on the screen: Territorial.io for quick online matches, State.io for real-time strategy levels, The Battle of Polytopia for turn-based strategy, or RISK: Global Domination for the board game. For territory on the real map — places in your own city — Ingress, Turf or BloodRivals.
- Is there a territory game where you capture real places?
- Yes — location-based territory games. You go to a real place and claim it in the app. Ingress uses landmarks, Turf uses placed zones, and BloodRivals uses the real building you are standing at, which other players can take from you.
- Can you play a territory game offline on mobile?
- The Battle of Polytopia can be played offline. Real-world territory games need a connection, because the map and the other players come from a server.
Free on iOS and Android. No ads. Optional in-app purchases.
More comparisons
- Location-based gamesThe genre, and what is still active in it
- Property gamesBoard, idle and location — three kinds that play nothing alike
- Territory gamesHow claiming and holding real ground works
- Best territory games 2026Which one to play, and for what
- GPS gamesBattery, rural coverage and how much walking is really needed
- Pokémon GO alternativesFor catching-game players wanting stakes
- Ingress alternativesTerritory without the coordination overhead
- Turf alternativesGPS capture without the monthly reset
- Atlas Earth alternativesVirtual land other people can take
- Landlord GO alternativesProperty games you have to walk to
- Orna alternativesGPS games with real-world stakes
- Geocaching alternativesWhen you want the ground to be at stake
- GPS running gamesTerritory capture without a pace requirement
- Walking gamesA reason to go out — without a step counter
- Mafia gamesCrime empires from the sofa vs turf you walk to
- Games that shut downMinecraft Earth, Wizards Unite and more — and what's left
Pokémon GO, Ingress, Niantic, Scopely, Turf, Andrimon, Atlas Earth, Landlord GO, Get Rent, Reality Games, Monopoly GO!, Monster Hunter Now, Pikmin Bloom, Jurassic World Alive, Orna, Northern Forge, Geocaching, Adventure Lab®, Groundspeak, Munzee, RunStrict, Claim of Zones, Capture, KYRO, Movements Lab, Territory Run, Minecraft Earth, Mojang, Microsoft, Catan, Nerd Ninjas, Ghostbusters, Sony Pictures, FourThirtyThree, The Walking Dead, AMC, Next Games, Draconius GO, Harry Potter, Wizards Unite, WB Games, The Witcher, Spokko, CD Projekt, Maguss, Parallel Kingdom, Run An Empire, Location Games Limited, Father.io, Proxy42, Mafia City, YottaGames, Mob Wars: LCN, Underworld Empire, The Grand Mafia, Territorial.io, State.io, AI Games, The Battle of Polytopia, Midjiwan, RISK, Hasbro, SMG Studio, Turf Wars and MeanFreePath are trademarks of their respective owners. Named across this site only to compare them; no affiliation or endorsement is implied, and nothing on this site is a statement about their earnings, payouts or business practices.