Except for some really casual games for Linux and the best of paid games for Linux collection, games for Linux and Ubuntu is a category we haven't yet really covered here at all. That is going to change from now on. Here is a quick list of 10 real time strategy(RTS) games for Linux(mostly open-source) in no particular order. Please keep in mind that, I haven't tried them all by myself and many of the games are in the list because of the good reviews they received from users elsewhere. So here they are, read on.
Tribal Trouble is a realtime strategy game designed to be easy to grasp, yet difficult to master. While the game mechanics only take a few minutes to learn, it can still be quite a challenge to beat your opponents: To win, you are going to need some skills in planning strategies and utilizing the varying terrain for successful tactics. Download Tribal Trouble for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
0 A.D. is an open source historical real time strategy game from Wildfire Games. It is comparatively a new comer even though the original project started way back in 2003. The game focuses on the years between 500 BC and 500 AD. The game is still in development though you can install and play the alpha version of the game which itself is pretty good. Download 0 A.D. for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
Warzone 2100 is an open source real-time strategy and real-time tactics hybrid computer game, originally released in 1999 for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation. Warzone 2100 is now available for Mac OS X, Linux, FreeBSD among others. Warzone 2100 is available in default Ubuntu repositories. Click here to install Warzone 2100 in Ubuntu. Those using other flavors of Linux, visit Warzone 2100 download page.
Spring is a free open source RTS game engine which was originally intended to bring the gameplay experience of old, extremely popular Total Annihilation(TA) RTS game into three dimensions. Games are played using one of a number of mods. Spring is available in Ubuntu repositories. Click here to install Spring in Ubuntu. The package includes only the game engine and the default AI, with no maps, mods or rich user interface. Spring RTS Engine homepage.
Globulation 2 as a whole is an on-going project to create an innovative high quality gameplay by minimizing micro-management and assigning automatically the tasks to the units. The player just has to order the number of units he wants for a selected task and the units will do their best to satisfy his requirements. Click here to install Globulation 2 in Ubuntu. Those using other Linux distros could find more packages in Globulation 2 download page.
The Battle for Wesnoth is a turn-based strategy game with a fantasy setting. In Wesnoth, the player attempts to build a powerful army by controlling villages and defeating enemies for experience. The Battle for Wesnoth is licensed under GPL and is available for all major platforms. Click here to install The Battle for Wesnoth in Ubuntu. If you want the latest development version of the game instead, you can compile it from source, see instructions. Also visit Wesnoth homepage for more download options.
Bos Wars, formerly known as Battle of Survival, is an open source, cross-platform real-time strategy video game. The game map initially starts with a fog of war covering all area which is not covered by the player's units range of view. As the units explore the map, the darkness is removed. Revealed areas which are not in view range are again darkened to hide enemy unit movement on those areas. Click here to install Bos Wars in Ubuntu. More download options for other flavors of Linux and Windows can be found at Bos Wars downloads page.
Widelands is a slow-paced open source real-time strategy game. It is built upon the SDL and other open source libraries and is undergoing heavy development. Widelands is cross platform and runs on almost all popular platforms like GNU/Linux, BSD, Mac OS X and Windows. Click here to install Widelands in Ubuntu. More download options here.
Zero-K is an open source and multi-platform real time strategy game powered by the Spring engine we discussed before. Among the games powered by the Spring game engine, Zero-K is particularly notable for its extensive use of Lua scripting for interface changes and other gameplay enhancements. Download Zero-K for Windows, Linux.
UFO: Alien Invasion is yet another open source real time strategy game in which the player fights aliens that are trying to take control of the Earth. UFO:AI has been nominated for "Best project for Gamers" in the Sourceforge 2007 and 2008 Community Choice Awards. The game aims to combine military realism with hard science-fiction and the weirdness of an alien invasion and the turn-based system is supposed to give the player pin-point control of his/her squad while maintaining a sense of pace and danger. Download UFO: Alien Invasion for Windows, Mac and Linux. There is even a version of UFO:AI for Android platform which you can download and install from Android Market.