You don’t just paint the map your colour in new WW2 RTS Battleplan, you redraw the frontline with a pencil and hope your troops do the rest
Battleplan, a new World War 2 real-time strategy game, introduces an unconventional command system where players issue military orders by drawing on a map with a pencil. Rather than directly controlling individual units, players sketch lines and shapes on a pseudo-paper map—derived from geographical survey data—to command thousands of troops, tanks, planes, and artillery units.
The game’s core mechanic challenges players to think strategically about their drawn commands, with developers emphasizing that significant nuance and skill are required despite the seemingly simple drawing-based interface. The pencil-based instruction system offers more depth than surface-level doodling, as players must conceptualize how their sketches will translate into actual conquered territory and military objectives.
This approach represents a distinctive take on the traditional RTS genre, prioritizing map-based tactical communication over granular unit control. Rather than micromanaging individual soldiers or vehicles, players focus on executing broader strategic movements by converting pencil sketches into executed battlefield operations. Battleplan aims to streamline the RTS experience while maintaining strategic depth, relying on the AI’s interpretation of drawn orders to execute complex military maneuvers.