ENCIRCLEMENT
Surrounding enemy forces to cut supply, block retreat, and force surrender or annihilation — the pocket, the pincer, the siege ring.
- SOLO-DEV COST HIGH
- TIMING REAL-TIME / TURN
- COMMON IN GRAND-STRATEGY · STRATEGY · TACTICS · WARGAME
Hearts of Iron IV makes encirclement the war-winning skill, where trapped divisions lose supply and evaporate; Unity of Command built an entire acclaimed design on supply-line severing; and tactical games echo it small-scale with flanking bonuses and zone-of-control webs that trap units. Designers reward encirclement because it converts positional play into decisive outcomes: rather than grinding health bars frontally, the player wins by geometry, which feels like outsmarting rather than outspending. It requires supply or morale systems to give the surrounded state teeth — being cut off must degrade something. Key decisions: what encircled units lose (supply, morale, retreat options, reinforcement), how quickly the penalty bites (instant surrender is anticlimactic; slow starvation creates rescue drama), and how clearly the UI shows encirclement status and supply paths. Pitfall: AI that can't recognize or react to being encircled makes the tactic a solved exploit — the mechanic stays interesting only if opponents defend their flanks and attempt breakouts.
SEEN IN
- HEARTS OF IRON IV
- UNITY OF COMMAND II
- TOTAL WAR: WARHAMMER III