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CaldremereOnline strategy games, played with a plan

Field manual · part 1Back to the war table

Play well and support

Free UK help, a private self-check, planning the ceasefire, the one-more-turn habit, turn alerts, breaks, sleep, spending, chat safety, PEGI labels and family controls.

21 sectionsAbout 8 min to read

§01Why this page exists

Strategy games are some of the most rewarding games there are, and some of the hardest to put down. A turn always ends with the next one half set up, a campaign never quite reaches a natural end and a match with friends can carry on across days. That pull is part of what makes them wonderful, and it is why a site that recommends them should be honest about the downside and about how to keep play a pleasure rather than a habit that runs the evening.

§02Free, confidential help

Paid random items such as card packs, loot boxes and prize wheels share features with gambling: you pay before you know what you will get, and that uncertainty is what makes them easy to keep buying. If the time or money going into games feels out of control, for you or someone you care about, these organisations help for free and in confidence:

  • GamCare

    Free, confidential support for anyone whose play or spending feels out of control, and for the people around them. The National Gambling Helpline, 0808 8020 133, and live chat are open day and night.

    Visit GamCare

  • Gambling Therapy

    Free online support from trained advisers, with peer groups and self-help tools, available worldwide and in many languages.

    Visit Gambling Therapy

§03Blocking and treatment

If gaming or spending starts to drift towards gambling, or you worry that it might, these UK services can block access, offer treatment and support families:

  • GAMSTOP

    Free UK self-exclusion. If play has drifted towards gambling websites, it blocks every UK-licensed gambling site and app for six months, one year or five years.

    Visit GAMSTOP

  • Gordon Moody

    A UK charity offering residential treatment, online recovery programmes and support for families when gambling has become harmful.

    Visit Gordon Moody

  • NHS gambling support

    NHS advice on warning signs and self-help, and how to refer yourself to a specialist NHS clinic in England.

    Visit NHS gambling support

§04Urgent help and young people

Free and confidential, for anything that is worrying you, not only games:

  • Childline

    For anyone under 19, about anything at all: call 0800 1111 free, or talk to a counsellor online.

    Visit Childline

  • Samaritans

    Someone to listen at any hour, without judging: call 116 123 free from any phone.

    Visit Samaritans

  • YoungMinds

    Mental health support for young people, and a helpline for parents and carers worried about a child.

    Visit YoungMinds

In an emergency, call 999. For urgent medical advice that is not an emergency, call NHS 111 or visit nhs.uk. You can also text SHOUT to 85258 for free, confidential support at any hour.

§05A private self-check

Thinking about the last three months, how often is each of these true for you?

  1. I play for much longer than I planned to, one turn after another.
  2. Gaming pushes out sleep, meals, school, work or time with people.
  3. I feel irritable, restless or low when I cannot play.
  4. I spend more on games, add-ons or extras than I meant to, or keep it to myself.
  5. I play mostly to get away from how I feel, not because it is fun.
  6. Turn alerts, events or rewards bring me back when I did not plan to play.
  7. I think about my campaign or match for much of the day when I am not playing.
  8. I have tried to play less and found it hard.
  9. Someone close to me has said they are worried about how much I play.

This is a prompt to reflect, not a diagnosis. Your answers stay on this page and are never sent anywhere.

§06Plan the ceasefire before the first move

  • Before you start, decide how long tonight is and which turn, map, season or Age ends it. Every dossier in our roster names a hold point.
  • Deploy tonight on the war table: a start, screens off, a rest between games and nothing bought during play.
  • Switch on the play-time limits on your console, computer or phone as well; they hold when willpower does not.
  • Stop at a hold point, never in the middle of a battle, so stopping never feels like losing.
  • Keep some evenings completely game-free.

§07The one-more-turn habit

Turn-based games hide the clock: ten turns feel like ten minutes when they took an hour. Count in minutes, not turns, put a clock where you can see it and set an alarm on a device across the room. When you hear yourself say “one more turn” for the second time, save and stop.

§08Turn alerts and shared matches

  • Matches where turns are sent between players can buzz your phone at any hour. Turn the alerts off and take your turns in a window you choose.
  • Agree when a live match ends before anyone joins, not when someone wants to leave.
  • Nobody should feel bad for logging off at the agreed time, or for leaving a match that has stopped being fun.
  • Playing with people you know makes stopping easier: strangers will never remind you it is late.

§09Breaks, eyes, ears and body

  • Every twenty minutes, look at something about six metres away for twenty seconds.
  • Every half hour, drink some water; every 45 minutes or so, stand up and stretch.
  • Rest your hands between turns: lots of small clicks and thumb movements add up.
  • Keep headphones at around 60% volume or lower, and turn on the headphone safety alerts your phone or console offers.
  • If your hands, wrists, neck or eyes hurt, stop, and see a GP if it keeps happening.

§10Sleep

Switch screens off at least an hour before bed. A tense final turn and a bright screen keep the brain planning long after the game is closed. Teenagers usually need eight to ten hours of sleep, adults seven to nine. Consoles and phones keep bedtime and downtime settings in their family controls.

§11Losing, tension and permadeath

Losing a long campaign, a favourite unit or a close match can sting for hours. Many strategy games offer gentler difficulty, more save points or modes without permanent loss: use them if losing would spoil the evening. If a game leaves anyone tense or unable to sleep, it is fine to put it away for a while.

§12Flashing light and photosensitivity

A small number of people can have seizures triggered by flashing lights or patterns, sometimes for the first time and without any history of epilepsy. Read each game’s warning, play in a well-lit room, sit well back from the screen and stop at once if you feel dizzy or notice altered vision or twitching. If anyone in the family has epilepsy, talk to a doctor before playing.

§13Spending, add-ons and paid random items

  • Agree a monthly amount before playing, never during a session.
  • Finish the base game before buying expansions, factions or tribes, and buy them one at a time.
  • Work out what any in-game currency costs in pounds before spending it.
  • Avoid paid random items: not knowing what you will get is exactly what makes them hard to stop buying.
  • UK industry principles say under-18s should not be able to buy paid random items without a parent or carer knowing; platform spending limits are how that works at home.
  • Keep purchase approval switched on and remove saved cards from children’s accounts.

§14Rewards, events and drops

Login rewards, season events, achievements and items handed out for watching streams are designed to bring you back on the game’s timetable, not yours. Turn off game notifications, let an event pass without guilt and come back when you actually want to play. None of the games we review needs you to log in every day.

§15Who can talk to you online

  • Keep lobbies private or friends only, and set text and voice chat to friends only, or off, in each game and on the platform.
  • Never share passwords, your address, school, phone number or photos.
  • Be careful with anyone who wants to move to another app, offers gifts, asks for pictures or asks you to keep a secret.
  • If an adult’s contact with a child feels wrong, report it to CEOP. Internet Matters has step-by-step setup guides for consoles and apps.

§16Age labels

Games sold in the UK carry PEGI age labels: 3, 7, 12, 16 and 18, with notices for in-game purchases and in-game purchases (includes random items). PEGI 12, 16 and 18 are legally enforced for games sold in UK shops, overseen by the Games Rating Authority. The PEGI label guide explains every symbol. A label rates the game, not the other players in it.

§17Family controls

Every console, computer and phone can set daily play time, a bedtime, spending approval and who can chat: Steam Families, Microsoft Family Safety and Xbox Family Settings, PlayStation Family Management, Nintendo Switch Parental Controls, Apple Screen Time and Google Family Link. The ranks on the box section of our home page says where each one lives.

§18Accessibility is not cheating

Easier difficulty, slower game speed, undo and rewind options, subtitles, colour-blind modes, larger text and remapped controls are all part of playing comfortably. Using them is never cheating, and they often make the difference between a good evening and a stressful one.

§19When gaming becomes a problem

The World Health Organization describes “gaming disorder” when gaming takes priority over other interests and daily life despite the harm it causes, usually for a year or more. Signs to watch for:

  • regularly playing far longer than planned;
  • losing sleep, or missing meals, school, work or friends;
  • irritability, low mood or anxiety when not playing;
  • spending more than intended, or hiding it;
  • dropping other hobbies and people.

The NHS National Centre for Gaming Disorders treats people aged 13 and over in England and Wales, and a GP can point you to support anywhere in the UK.

§20Helping someone else

Start by asking what they enjoy about the game and who they play with, and ask them to show you their campaign. Agree small steps together, such as a hold point to stop at or alerts switched off at night, rather than a sudden ban, and plan things away from screens that are genuinely fun: a walk, a meal or a board game at the kitchen table all count.

§21How this site is built

Caldremere has no accounts, notifications, streaks, countdown offers or rewards for coming back. Questions about this page are welcome through hello@caldremere.co.uk.