STRATEGY GUIDES · ENGLISH

A Colonist alternative for players who also want combat

Compare the experience you want from a Colonist alternative with Hex Empires: resource planning, direct combat, four-player ranked games and replays.

Hex Empires · Published November 1, 2026

Begin with your reason for switching

Searching for a Colonist alternative is easier when you identify what you want to change. You might want a new ruleset, more direct conflict, a different multiplayer format or a browser game your friends have not mastered already. Those are different needs. Trying a different game makes sense when the decisions themselves interest you, rather than because another site promises to be a universal replacement.

What to check on Colonist itself

Colonist presents browser play with bot, casual and ranked choices. Its official blog also covers strategy and product updates. If you want to stay close to its experience, inspect the current mode selection first: a different mode may answer your need without switching games. This article is not a price comparison, and it does not assume that every mode or feature has the same availability over time.

Where Hex Empires takes a different direction

Hex Empires adds a military layer to resource development. Towns, cities, roads and trading support expansion, while armies, defenses and ships create threats that can change the value of that expansion. You can build toward the point target or fight for survival. The result rewards reading both the economy and the map. A player with a strong resource position still has to decide how much to invest in protecting it.

Getting into a game

For a first look, open local practice and learn the setup sequence with bots. For a social game, create a casual room and share its invite link. For competition, sign in with a registered account and choose either the duel queue or the four-player queue. Matching seeks opponents around your rating and widens its search as time passes. Once enough compatible players are available, the match starts automatically. Keep the searching page open; waiting time depends on the active population.

Use replays to learn the new rules

After a completed ranked game, review your own match through game history. Pause around your opening and the first costly decision. Ask whether you misunderstood a rule, overlooked a threat or knowingly accepted a risk. Those explanations lead to different improvements. A replay helps you examine the sequence, but it should not be treated as permission to see another player’s hidden information during an unfinished game.

Who is this alternative for?

Try Hex Empires if you enjoy economic planning and want that planning to interact with direct combat. If you primarily want the same settling rules you already know, compare the specific modes on your existing platform or an official CATAN option. Hex Empires is an independent game and is not affiliated with Colonist or CATAN.