Subterfuge

Subterfuge is a real-time multiplayer strategy game about diplomacy and betrayal. A game lasts a week or more, while each session takes minutes: you read sonar, schedule orders and negotiate with other players, then let your plans run while you get on with your day.

Plan ahead

Use the Time Machine to move forward and see where every visible submarine will be, how battles resolve and what your factories will produce. Schedule orders to execute hours or days later, including an invasion at a specific time. There is no randomness, so battles can be forecast down to the last driller. Recruit specialists who can shift the calculations and bend the rules; human intentions remain unpredictable.

Negotiate and deceive

Alliances, border pacts, joint strikes and deception happen in chat, and the game does not enforce agreements. A treaty depends on the person who signed it, while intelligence depends on its source. A player sharing sonar reports with you may also be sharing them with your rival, so success depends on reading other players as well as the map.

A week of play

A typical game can unfold over a week or more. Players may introduce themselves and propose alliances on the first day, agree to demilitarize a border while counting each other's drillers on the second, and plan joint strikes that put allies against one another by the fourth. Later, you might drill a mine, detect a fleet approaching it and schedule a counterattack; a trap can then spring at its planned time, with the mine captured and a victory on day eight.

Cross-platform play

Subterfuge supports cross-play between PC and mobile, with players sharing the same game. Its cross-platform player pool has been active since 2015.