Here is the ultimate mixture of real-time action and quick strategic thinking. The broadest definition of Real-time Strategy Games (RTS) would probably include titles which are more oriented toward city building or have tycoon-type of management over expanding economic empires. However, the true spirit of any strategy game is warfare.

RTS give the possibility to influence the outcome of any battle by giving direct orders on the battlefield. These orders can be simple and general ones: attack, hold position, retreat. Or they could be special orders like heal or annihilate-with-a-fireball. But before we talk about battle tactics, let's discuss the strategic side of things. Virtually all RTS involve some type of resource gathering and management. Different resources are needed for different types of buildings, units, and upgrades. Usually, but not always, the upgrades in these games take some time and can be canceled at any point before completion. Not all flash-based Real-time Strategy Games include extensive building of a base, but they inevitably feature resource-gathering, upgrades, and diverse units. Depending on the size of the game, the player can control armies of different magnitude; from a few units, as in the Stick War series, to a few hundred as is in Strategic Defense 4. However, in all fairness, the latter is more of a strategy defense game and not so much a RTS. The player can not control the units beyond the point of their deployment.

The same could be said about Battle for Darkness, but there the player's control is much greater. Tactical decisions on the field of battle do make huge difference, especially when backed up by the adequate strategic upgrades in the base. To certain extent, it breaks away from the classic RTS, because of the map. Most of the representatives of the genre offer aerial view from the battlefield but this is not always feasible with the resources Flash offers. That's why many maps are 2D, but the action remains intense and bloody. Civilizations Wars series, though, sport the aerial view alongside full command of a sizable army.

In the majority of classical RTS the economy plays an absolutely central role. It can help the player bounce back from a defeat. More importantly, it secures victory in the long term. With ample income of resources, the player can produce more troops and purchase better upgrades, overpowering the opponent eventually. Many Real-time Strategy Games offer stern challenges and mistakes in the early phases of development are severely punished. Mixing the right troops, upgrades, and economical advances is essential, because the enemy can deal an early blow and make any future clashes obsolete. Lose a worker or two in Stick War 1 and you will be too far behind the AI to have any realistic chance to catch up before it is too late. Make a couple of errors in the beginning of Relic of War and see your fate sealed.
This title calls for a very good map control, which brings another dimension of strategic decisions to the genre.