15 Must-Play Games Like Clash of Clans

The history of modern mobile gaming has been quite short, with the first Android and iOS-equipped phones coming out in just 2007 and 2008, respectively. Although it has been less than two decades since those operating systems were released, a game or two has bulldozed and sped through its way to worldwide acclaim. One of these games is Clash of Clans, which spawned its own era of clones, derivatives, and lookalikes to flood both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store with. To help sort through them all, we present to you a list of the 15 must-play games like Clash of Clans!

What Is Clash of Clans?

So, what is Clash of Clans? It is a freemium game with a unique gameplay style since it is a hybrid of several strategy sub-genres rolled into one. A base-builder, tactical real-time strategy (RTS), and tower defense game, Clash of Clans took the mobile gaming world by storm in the mid-2010s. Even though it is celebrating its ninth release anniversary in 2021, Clash of Clans continues to have a strong player base with more than 20 million players daily.

Clash of Clans is actually part of our list of the best mobile games as one of the two seminal games of 2012, along with Candy Crush Sage.

Our List of Games Like Clash of Clans

For this list, we’ll give you only the best freemium base-building games like Clash of Clans. Due to the myriad of strategy sub-genres Clash of Clans has, we’ve specifically used two terms to help you pick the games out. For this reason, you’ll see us use the terms tower defense and RTS in the genre section of each game. We feel that the genre chosen is the strong point of that game and is where most of the gameplay is centered on.

1. Boom Beach

Publisher: Supercell
Genre: Strategy, Tower Defense
Platforms: Android and iOS

Boom Beach is the first on our list and the closest game you can get to Clash of Clans. This similarity isn’t a coincidence since Boom Beach was developed by Supercell, the same group behind the success of Clash of Clans. While they share gameplay features like base building and unit production, Boom Beach has a stronger emphasis on tower defense and tactical gameplay compared to Clash of Clans.

Despite the similarities, Boom Beach’s standout feature is its long campaign mode, where you defend a beach against an almost never-ending onslaught of enemies. This campaign mode also lets you learn about the game while playing it. If you want a game like Clash of Clans, this is going to be the closest you can get.

Get Boom Beach on the Google Play Store

Get Boom Beach on the Apple App Store

2. DomiNations

Publisher: Big Huge Games, Inc. for Android; NEXON M Inc. for iOS
Genre: Strategy, RTS
Platforms: Android and iOS

This game is from a studio with a long history of creating complex RTS games like the Rise of Nations series. DomiNations follows after Big Huge Games’ other PC titles. It has similar gameplay mechanics to Clash of Clans, especially for its tactical gameplay and base construction elements.

Some of the unique features of DomiNations include its progression through historical eras, a feature reminiscent of Sid Meier’s Civilization games. This, combined with the base building and tactical RTS battles, really forces you to use your brain while defending and attacking other players.

Get DomiNations on the Google Play Store

Get DomiNations on the Apple App Store

3. Dawn of Titans: War Strategy RPG

Publisher: NaturalMotion Ltd.
Genre: Strategy, RTS
Platforms: Android and iOS

Dawn of Titans is NaturalMotion’s kingdom-building game that has graphics quality comparable to some modern console games. Aside from that, the game also has an extensive campaign mode with a decent story. Some of the more avid RTS gamers reading this could happily compare this game to the “The Battle for Middle Earth” game series with improved graphics and an active multiplayer lobby.

The main difference between Dawn of Titans and other games like Clash of Clans has to be in how it uses its impressive graphics to simulate thousands of units on the unit map instead of the usual dozen or so for games like these.

This game is one of the more technologically challenging games to play since it requires your phone to have a little bit more beef to it than other titles on this list. If you think you need to get an upgrade, we have a list of the best gaming phones you can take a look through.

Get Dawn of Titans on the Google Play Store

Get Dawn of Titans on the Apple App Store

4. Clash of Lords 2

Publisher: IGG.COM
Genre: Strategy, Tower Defense
Platforms: Android and iOS

Clash of Lords 2 is, quite accurately, a Clash of Clans clone — even the name is quite similar. While the original Clash of Lords was a decent attempt to capture the essence of Clash of Clans, the second game did the job better.

While gameplay and story building for this game is quite similar to its source, there is a slight shift to tower defense. This leads to harder defensive actions that need a hand of tactical finesse to win.

Get Clash of Lords 2 on the Google Play Store

Get Clash of Lords 2 on the Apple App Store

5. Rise of Kingdoms

Publisher: Lilith Games
Genre: Strategy, RTS
Platforms: Android and iOS

Rise of Kingdoms is another game with echoes of Sid Meier’s Civilization game series. It has several civilizations players can choose from with different factors and unique units available to them. This game also feels similar to DomiNations due to its definite RTS tilt with its persistent open world and how commonplace player versus player (PvP) battles are.

Rise of Kingdoms continues to get updates, balance changes, and new civilizations. Ragnar Lothbrok and Bjorn Ironside are some of the significant addition as the leaders of its 12th civilization, the Vikings, in 2021.

Get Rise of Kingdoms on the Google Play Store

Get Rise of Kingdoms on the Apple App Store

6. Castle Clash

Publisher: IGG.COM
Genre: Strategy, Tower Defense
Platforms: Android and iOS

An odd game, Castle Clash has had more than a few name changes over the years, like Castle Clash: Age of Legends, Castle Clash: Heroes of the Empire, and, in 2021, Castle Clash: Guild Royale. Although the name changes make it feel as though the game doesn’t know what it wants to be, its base mechanics are similar to Clash of Clans.

Castle Clash has massive changes with each big update, but the game follows the familiar gameplay cycle of build, defend, upgrade, and expand that Clash of Clans pushed forward. That said, the game does continue to change, and it is interesting to see where it’ll lead.

Get Castle Clash on the Google Play Store

Get Castle Clash on the Apple App Store

7. Guardian Kingdoms

Publisher: Phoenix One Games Inc.
Genre: Strategy, RTS
Platforms: Android and iOS

Another Clash of Clans clone, Guardian Kingdoms has a big feature that places it above other similar games. This feature is its co-operation and multiplayer elements, which lets you and your friends jump in and out of each other’s battles when it counts. This option lets you and your friend strategize and plan for future fights together.

You can pool resources, save your strong units for the final push, and win in massive 20 vs 20 alliance fights. Aside from that, the game is pretty much the same as other games like Clash of Clans.

Get Guardian Kingdoms on the Google Play Store

Get Guardian Kingdoms on the Apple App Store

8. Gods of Olympus

Publisher: Aegis Interactive, LLC
Genre: Strategy, Tower Defense
Platforms: Android and iOS

Gods of Olympus is another base-builder game with tower defense mechanics. This time, though, it has a really good Greek Olympian God theme. The game also has a cartoonish art style which makes it more similar to Clash of Clans than other games.

Aside from a decent multiplayer scene, the largest difference in gameplay mechanics to Clash of Clans is its lack of a “build time” to its base-building. Structures and towers are built instantly after they’ve been ordered.

Get Gods of Olympus on the Google Play Store

Get Gods of Olympus on the Apple App Store

9. Plunder Pirates

Publisher: Midoki Ltd
Genre: Strategy, RTS
Platforms: Android and iOS

Have you ever wanted to sail the seven seas looking for plunder and booty? If you have and you’re also looking for games like Clash of Clans, Plunder Pirates is for you. The game has a distinctly pirate-y Caribbean theme with most gameplay mechanics and features designed to fit that.

Aside from similarities to Clash of Clans gameplay mechanics, Plunder Pirates also offers a decent exploration mode that tries to emulate the age of exploration.

Get Plunder Pirates on the Google Play Store

Get Plunder Pirates on the Apple App Store

10. Total War Battles: Kingdoms

Publisher: SEGA
Genre: Strategy, RTS
Platforms: Android and iOS

Total War Battles: Kingdoms was developed by The Creative Assembly, a group known for their much-praised Total War series. This game is their mobile spin-off with stark differences from the original series. This game series feels like a slightly dumbed-down version of their PC and console series, but don’t discount it for that. It still has more than enough complexity and intense RTS gameplay to drown out other games like Clash of Clans.

Leaning towards the RTS side of Clash of Clans-like games, Total War Battles has a lot of high-quality graphics that lets you properly command the units you’ve raised from the ground up. This graphics quality ties it with the aforementioned Dawn of Titans as one of the more technologically taxing games on this list.

Get Total War Battles on the Google Play Store

Get Total War Battles on the Apple App Store

11. Vikings: War of Clans

Publisher: Plarium LLC
Genre: Strategy, RTS
Platforms: Android and iOS

Another unique take on the Clash of Clans game, Vikings: War of Clans has a heavy shift to the RTS side of the genre. It has two distinct battle modes, land battles, and a well-thought-out sea battle mode. The sea battle mode lets you control your own fleet of Viking warships to raid and destroy your enemies.

Although it still has base-building mechanics and a slightly cartoonish art style, it has enough differences to lift itself above other games that are similar to Clash of Clans.

Get Vikings: War of Clans on the Google Play Store

Get Vikings: War of Clans on the Apple App Store

12. Brave Conquest

Publisher: IGG.COM
Genre: Strategy, RTS
Platforms: Android and iOS

There is nothing much to say about Brave Conquest except that it plays exactly like Clash of Clans. Revolving around RTS and resource management, the game requires players to build their kingdoms while planning each strike against opponents. If you lack the resources for your kingdom, you can explore the map to find treasures you can use to upgrade your buildings, towers, and factories. Like most RTS games on this list, you should also train your troops to meet stronger opponents. Thankfully, you can do this automatically by solving challenges. However, the Brave Conquest severely turns to pay-to-play mechanics as you progress to the game.

Get Brave Conquest on the Google Play Store

Get Brave Conquest on the Apple App Store

13. Emporea: Realms of War & Magic

Publisher: Pixel Federation Games
Genre: Strategy, Tower Defense
Platforms: Android and iOS

Emporea is basically a mish-mash of different clichés and gameplay elements from different games and genres. That said, this mix was done surprisingly well even if it’s just another Clash of Clans clone. The standout feature of this game is its tower defense mechanics, which favor the defender, especially for PvP battles.

We should note, though, that this game has an odd quirk since of the four civilizations you can choose, none of them are human.

Get Emporea on the Google Play Store

Get Emporea on the Apple App Store

14. Lords Mobile: Tower Defense

Publisher: IGG.COM
Genre: Strategy, RTS
Platforms: Android and iOS

Yet another Clash of Clans clone, Lords Mobile: Tower Defense, feels like a slightly upgraded version of its inspiration. The game tries its best to have its own identity with unique events like the new Feudal War mode released with version 2.55. Other than that, though, Lords Mobile is pretty much a generic Clash of Clans clone.

Get Lords Mobile on the Google Play Store

Get Lords Mobile on the Apple App Store

15. Jungle Heat: War of Clans

Publisher: My.com B.V.
Genre: Strategy, Tower Defense
Platforms: Android and iOS

The last game on our list, Jungle Heat: War of Clans, is basically a “modern” version of Clash of Clans where swords and shields are replaced with bullets and missiles. Aside from the trove of movie-related jokes and shout-outs (the A-Team, Lara Croft, and Rambo ones being most apparent), the game is quite average and is the best game to close out our list.

Get Jungle Heat on the Google Play Store

Get Jungle Heat on the Apple App Store

Things to Consider

There you have it — our list for games like Clash of Clans. We hope you found at least one of them to try out in your spare time. We like the high graphics quality of Dawn of Titans and the gameplay style of DomiNations out of the list.

If you didn’t find enough games to satisfy you, don’t worry since we do have separate lists for the strategy sub-genres Clash of Clans is known for. You’ll find our top picks for the best building games, real-time strategy games, and tower defense games.

Before you leave, you might also want to consider upgrading your hardware to keep up with the newer games that occasionally come out. To help you out with that, we have a few lists you could look at, like the best gaming phones, best Android controllers, or one for the best gaming headsets.