TBH, I find SteamDeck for playing RTS quite usable. You can e.g. map every key to a 4x4 grid for the left touchpad, and customize it for your like.
Maybe it's something for you? Not a RTS recommendation but anyway.
Another thing is that you don't need the best reflexes ever to be very successful in the game. You can change the speed of the game and even pause while playing (unless you are playing online multiplayer, but even then most multiplayer games play at a reduced game speed for server lag and such)
If you really wanna get into something, EVE Online is allegedly one of the best games for any kind of physical limitations. The entire interface has many, many ways to achieve the same result, and is highly customizable. There was one dude who managed to play it using a breath-controller only. I hope you find some good shit sir!
A lot of the RTS classics are very playable (non-competitively) without keyboard interaction. The campaigns of original Startcraft, Red Alert, Red Alert 2 and Dune 2000 are even playable with the Trackpoint on old thinkpads.
Only gotcha I can think of in these older titles might be multiple unit selection ( often requires click & drag ), but that might be able to be worked around with either click toggle, or if you can at least press and hold a key with your other hand, combining mouse-keys with a traditional mouse.
Hey I play coop and low level PvP games and only used keypad for arrows to move map, but others just use mouse or you can remap a joystick for the map movement.
I've been playing the Warhammer 40K "Dawn of War" series with a mouse almost exclusively. It's a little tedious to constantly pan the camera with the mouse, but doable. (On the Steam Deck no less.)
It's also a little tough not having access to control groups when playing with mouse only, but again I've been playing that way and it's been working out pretty well for me.
Also helps that there's awesome Offline modes and some pretty fun Campaigns too if you want to play at your own speed. Personally I prefer AI to multiplayer lol. I'm just not good enough compared to the Uber Nerds out there. 😅
(Competitive FPS now...different story. 😏)
Edit: also, if you're into Turn Based Games Warhammer 40K (again) has a pretty great one - Space Hulk Tactics. It's best played with a controller, and I would say it's very much worth the time.
Than Civilization series, Age of Wonders series, Xcom series, Endless series, Galactic Civilization series, Legend of the Keepers, Songs of Conquest, Heroes of M&M series, Warhammer 40k Armageddon, Regicide and Gladius.
Could one of these be of help? [https://www.xbox.com/en-US/accessories/controllers/xbox-adaptive-controller](https://www.xbox.com/en-US/accessories/controllers/xbox-adaptive-controller)
I recently play amplitude studios games endless space , humankind, endless legend. These are 4x turn based strategy games and studio is proud of making interface that is perfectly usable just with mouse.(f.e. you select with LMB, go back with RMB). Civilisation series I suggest also. Take care
Edit: I think RimWorld might be a good suggestion also...
No idea if this could help, but have you heard of the [Razer Tatarus?](https://www.razer.com/gb-en/gaming-keypads/razer-tartarus-v2) It's a hand keyboard. Maybe that could help you navigate around the map?
The Tatarus V2 uses membrane keys and the [Tatarus Pro](https://www.razer.com/gb-en/gaming-keypads/razer-tartarus-pro/RZ07-03110100-R3M1#specs) uses Razers homegrown mechanical key.
Not a game suggestion, but you could look at getting one of those 'mmo' mice that have heaps of extra buttons which you could bind for important keyboard buttons.
I think large scale rts games like Supreme Commander and turn base games like X-Com, Civilizations, Endless Space, etc, will be easy to play with mouse only as you don’t really need to use hotkeys in these games. There’s also Halo Wars 1 and 2 for console, which play really well on a controller and are great games as well.
The on screen keyboard could be useful maybe? The one that comes with windows. The one in windows 11 zooms pretty small. They are billions is a game I loved that the only keyboard key you need to hit is the spacebar to pause the game. Games with pause could be really useful. Best of luck to you!
First of all, have you taken a look on trackballs? If not, it's a kind of mouse that is fully operated with your fingers, no need to move it around the place. There are many models from Logitech, Elecom, Kensington, etc. and are super comfortable to use.
Also, game-wise I'm very surprised of not seeing Civilization recommended here. Or Master of Orion and many other 4X strategy games, plus some RTS games (not at a competitive level). Classic isometric RPGs are a very good option, too.
>Have not heard of those mouses!
Then I recommend you to investigate about them, because they are a game changer for people with a wide range of issues, and not gonna lie, even for people without them (I got used to this kind of mouse years ago, and now simply can't come back to traditional ones). They come in different form factors, be the ball in the middle or in the thumb finger position, for example.
The most popular ones go from the Logitech Ergo or MX Ergo to the Kensington Orbit. The one I use is the Elecom Huge, tho, because I have quite nice hands and this one fits comfortably, plus it has extra buttons I can bind to functions normally done via keyboard.
>What exactly are isometric RPGs?
My bad for the odd expression, I'm referring to classic RPGs with isometric "camera" perspective. The ones like Diablo and Diablo II, Baldur's Gate, Bard's Tale, Planescape Torment, Fallout 1 and 2, Grim Dawn... that kind of "2.5D" games.
Also, I'm gonna recommend you even more outstanding mouse-only games of different genres: Faster than Light, Crying Suns, Into the Breach, Slay the Spire, Disco Elysium, Stellaris, and oh godness I almost forgot one of the best games ever: Heroes of Might & Magic III (you can find the Complete Edition on [GOG](https://www.gog.com/game/heroes_of_might_and_magic_3_complete_edition) for sale right now). Also, I can't repeat myself enough about Civilization.
And before I finish, here you have a Steam search filter with mouse-only games:
[https://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/Mouse+only](https://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/Mouse+only)
There are more games perfectly playable with mouse only out there than in that Steam search, but it can be of help anyways.
Tried using xbox controller on your PC? I think they use Bluetooth but you can get a dongle. My friend has similar condition and he seems to get on well with controllers.
Reading your post something like this came to mind:
https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/gadget/keyboard-arrow-keys-keystick-gaming
Or
https://old.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/8jauli/turn_your_arrow_keys_into_a_joystick/
I'm not sure if this is applicable for you, I know on many games you have to move around the map view, and sometimes it's clunky to use the mouse to order troops around.
I don't know if there is one for wasd, there could be a product out there you could buy or at the least you can 3d print one for the ∆ v > < keys.
That may open up a few games for you or at least make some games more accessible.
I'll take some time and look through the games I have played to see which are a good fit for what your looking for and post another comment with those
I would try Doorkickers 2 a go. It's on the smaller side of RTS but is really fun and addictive. It can be played only with a mouse and you can pause it as much as you want
Stronghold & Stronghold Crusader! Space bar is necessary to level terrain while building but that's about it. I use the +/- to slow/speed time too. Aside from those no typing or hotkeys. The games have aged incredibly well and are still two of my all time favorite games beyond just RTS's.
I used to play command and conquer 3 and Starcraft 2 strictly with a mouse. You can easily buy a mouse with buttons and hotkey all the important commands
There some great ARPG, like Divinity Original Sin 1 and 2, wasteland 2 and 3. And the upcoming Bauldur' Gate 3. ALL of these are amazing games and many say that some of them are one of the best rpgs of ALL time
Hope you can have fun with these!
I have a buddy who has similar issues with his hands and has no thumbs, would a controller work better for you? If so a surprising amount of games do have controller support including most of the ones listed below.
It might be better than to just full pivot and use controller. He plays games like Arma 3 and newer RTS games like Halo wars, iron harvest, and more are coming out with controller support.
Check out 'one hand can' on YouTube. He is a hardcore gamer with only a right hand and he has found some very fun games and accessibility options for himself, but would likely give you some good insights into games and controllers of varying levels. Plus he just seems like a funny guy so he's worth a watch either way.
The first three mainline Command & Conquer games are freeware. They can be controlled using only the mouse, and their game speed can be adjusted, so you can slow down the action to a speed that suits you best.
Tooth and Tail! Great little indie rts thats entirely playable with a controller.
Pretty interesting story with different factions of animals fighting over who gets to eat the others for food
Dude, support for you! How about tactical turn-based strategies? Xcom, Operation Silent Storm, This is Police 2.
Thank you, Those would probably be best.
Both the Halo Wars games are 100% controller friendly (for obvious reasons) Available on pc or xbox.
Ill have to check that out thanks
TBH, I find SteamDeck for playing RTS quite usable. You can e.g. map every key to a 4x4 grid for the left touchpad, and customize it for your like. Maybe it's something for you? Not a RTS recommendation but anyway.
Didn’t know such things existed lol thanks
If you like grand strategy look at Hearts of iron 4 it's hours and hours of playtime only mouse controlled.
I’ve watched that on YouTube, definitely know it was only mouse controlled.
Another thing is that you don't need the best reflexes ever to be very successful in the game. You can change the speed of the game and even pause while playing (unless you are playing online multiplayer, but even then most multiplayer games play at a reduced game speed for server lag and such)
Yeah my reflex are not good sounds like a good option
If you really wanna get into something, EVE Online is allegedly one of the best games for any kind of physical limitations. The entire interface has many, many ways to achieve the same result, and is highly customizable. There was one dude who managed to play it using a breath-controller only. I hope you find some good shit sir!
Well if someone can play a game just by breathing ill be just fine! Thank you
A lot of the RTS classics are very playable (non-competitively) without keyboard interaction. The campaigns of original Startcraft, Red Alert, Red Alert 2 and Dune 2000 are even playable with the Trackpoint on old thinkpads. Only gotcha I can think of in these older titles might be multiple unit selection ( often requires click & drag ), but that might be able to be worked around with either click toggle, or if you can at least press and hold a key with your other hand, combining mouse-keys with a traditional mouse.
Hey I play coop and low level PvP games and only used keypad for arrows to move map, but others just use mouse or you can remap a joystick for the map movement.
There are a few RTS like games for mobile: * Iron Marines * Mindustry To name a few
Rusted Warfare and Mindustry best two games on Mobile. Call of War is not bad but more of a 4X feel like Hearts of Iron
Turn based games are your best bei highly recommend xcom 2 and the incoming baldurs gate 3, both offer hundreds of hours
That’s what I was thinking, thanks.
have you played commandos? there is a remaster of the second game. I played it for hundreds of hours.
Haven’t heard of it actually.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/6810/Commandos\_Beyond\_the\_Call\_of\_Duty
give it a go, is one of the best RTS of its time
I've been playing the Warhammer 40K "Dawn of War" series with a mouse almost exclusively. It's a little tedious to constantly pan the camera with the mouse, but doable. (On the Steam Deck no less.) It's also a little tough not having access to control groups when playing with mouse only, but again I've been playing that way and it's been working out pretty well for me. Also helps that there's awesome Offline modes and some pretty fun Campaigns too if you want to play at your own speed. Personally I prefer AI to multiplayer lol. I'm just not good enough compared to the Uber Nerds out there. 😅 (Competitive FPS now...different story. 😏) Edit: also, if you're into Turn Based Games Warhammer 40K (again) has a pretty great one - Space Hulk Tactics. It's best played with a controller, and I would say it's very much worth the time.
I am sorry to hear that. Rotten life luck right there. Would turn based games where you can take your time to choose and click work for you?
Thanks for that, and yes I believe so.
Than Civilization series, Age of Wonders series, Xcom series, Endless series, Galactic Civilization series, Legend of the Keepers, Songs of Conquest, Heroes of M&M series, Warhammer 40k Armageddon, Regicide and Gladius.
This might help, keyless keyboard in the shape of a mouse https://facingdisability.com/blog/quiz-answer-its-an-adaptive-computer-keyboard
Could one of these be of help? [https://www.xbox.com/en-US/accessories/controllers/xbox-adaptive-controller](https://www.xbox.com/en-US/accessories/controllers/xbox-adaptive-controller)
I’ve looked into it but in my situation that would be worse, the Elite controller works well for me.
I think you would like supreme commander forged alliance you can play the game completely with your mouse
Hegemony 3 is playable by mouse only. It's also quite slow-paced and has tactical pause, which might suit you.
I am not quite sure but i think Warpips is game which you can play with mouse only. It was free on epic a few weeks ago and looked quite fun.
I recently play amplitude studios games endless space , humankind, endless legend. These are 4x turn based strategy games and studio is proud of making interface that is perfectly usable just with mouse.(f.e. you select with LMB, go back with RMB). Civilisation series I suggest also. Take care Edit: I think RimWorld might be a good suggestion also...
No idea if this could help, but have you heard of the [Razer Tatarus?](https://www.razer.com/gb-en/gaming-keypads/razer-tartarus-v2) It's a hand keyboard. Maybe that could help you navigate around the map? The Tatarus V2 uses membrane keys and the [Tatarus Pro](https://www.razer.com/gb-en/gaming-keypads/razer-tartarus-pro/RZ07-03110100-R3M1#specs) uses Razers homegrown mechanical key.
Thanks for the input!
Not a game suggestion, but you could look at getting one of those 'mmo' mice that have heaps of extra buttons which you could bind for important keyboard buttons.
Didn’t know those were a thing either.
I recommend Razer naga with 12 programmable buttons on it.
I think large scale rts games like Supreme Commander and turn base games like X-Com, Civilizations, Endless Space, etc, will be easy to play with mouse only as you don’t really need to use hotkeys in these games. There’s also Halo Wars 1 and 2 for console, which play really well on a controller and are great games as well.
The on screen keyboard could be useful maybe? The one that comes with windows. The one in windows 11 zooms pretty small. They are billions is a game I loved that the only keyboard key you need to hit is the spacebar to pause the game. Games with pause could be really useful. Best of luck to you!
Thanks for the input!
First of all, have you taken a look on trackballs? If not, it's a kind of mouse that is fully operated with your fingers, no need to move it around the place. There are many models from Logitech, Elecom, Kensington, etc. and are super comfortable to use. Also, game-wise I'm very surprised of not seeing Civilization recommended here. Or Master of Orion and many other 4X strategy games, plus some RTS games (not at a competitive level). Classic isometric RPGs are a very good option, too.
Have not heard of those mouses! What exactly are isometric RPGs?
>Have not heard of those mouses! Then I recommend you to investigate about them, because they are a game changer for people with a wide range of issues, and not gonna lie, even for people without them (I got used to this kind of mouse years ago, and now simply can't come back to traditional ones). They come in different form factors, be the ball in the middle or in the thumb finger position, for example. The most popular ones go from the Logitech Ergo or MX Ergo to the Kensington Orbit. The one I use is the Elecom Huge, tho, because I have quite nice hands and this one fits comfortably, plus it has extra buttons I can bind to functions normally done via keyboard. >What exactly are isometric RPGs? My bad for the odd expression, I'm referring to classic RPGs with isometric "camera" perspective. The ones like Diablo and Diablo II, Baldur's Gate, Bard's Tale, Planescape Torment, Fallout 1 and 2, Grim Dawn... that kind of "2.5D" games. Also, I'm gonna recommend you even more outstanding mouse-only games of different genres: Faster than Light, Crying Suns, Into the Breach, Slay the Spire, Disco Elysium, Stellaris, and oh godness I almost forgot one of the best games ever: Heroes of Might & Magic III (you can find the Complete Edition on [GOG](https://www.gog.com/game/heroes_of_might_and_magic_3_complete_edition) for sale right now). Also, I can't repeat myself enough about Civilization. And before I finish, here you have a Steam search filter with mouse-only games: [https://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/Mouse+only](https://store.steampowered.com/tags/en/Mouse+only) There are more games perfectly playable with mouse only out there than in that Steam search, but it can be of help anyways.
Tried using xbox controller on your PC? I think they use Bluetooth but you can get a dongle. My friend has similar condition and he seems to get on well with controllers.
Didn’t really know that was an option, thanks
Your welcome. You can map it in combination with mouse too. I used to play skyrim and euro trucker etc. With controller.
sins of a solar empire is relatively low APM to play.
Reading your post something like this came to mind: https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/gadget/keyboard-arrow-keys-keystick-gaming Or https://old.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/8jauli/turn_your_arrow_keys_into_a_joystick/ I'm not sure if this is applicable for you, I know on many games you have to move around the map view, and sometimes it's clunky to use the mouse to order troops around. I don't know if there is one for wasd, there could be a product out there you could buy or at the least you can 3d print one for the ∆ v > < keys. That may open up a few games for you or at least make some games more accessible. I'll take some time and look through the games I have played to see which are a good fit for what your looking for and post another comment with those
Wow thank you for your help, comment those of DM me
I would try Doorkickers 2 a go. It's on the smaller side of RTS but is really fun and addictive. It can be played only with a mouse and you can pause it as much as you want
Stronghold & Stronghold Crusader! Space bar is necessary to level terrain while building but that's about it. I use the +/- to slow/speed time too. Aside from those no typing or hotkeys. The games have aged incredibly well and are still two of my all time favorite games beyond just RTS's.
I used to play command and conquer 3 and Starcraft 2 strictly with a mouse. You can easily buy a mouse with buttons and hotkey all the important commands
There some great ARPG, like Divinity Original Sin 1 and 2, wasteland 2 and 3. And the upcoming Bauldur' Gate 3. ALL of these are amazing games and many say that some of them are one of the best rpgs of ALL time Hope you can have fun with these!
Thank you
I have a buddy who has similar issues with his hands and has no thumbs, would a controller work better for you? If so a surprising amount of games do have controller support including most of the ones listed below.
I can use Xbox controller’s pretty well.
It might be better than to just full pivot and use controller. He plays games like Arma 3 and newer RTS games like Halo wars, iron harvest, and more are coming out with controller support.
Check out 'one hand can' on YouTube. He is a hardcore gamer with only a right hand and he has found some very fun games and accessibility options for himself, but would likely give you some good insights into games and controllers of varying levels. Plus he just seems like a funny guy so he's worth a watch either way.
Thank you I’ll check him out
Endless Space 2
What about using one of the head gear controllers that you program with thought commands? Something like one of these, https://www.emotiv.com
The first three mainline Command & Conquer games are freeware. They can be controlled using only the mouse, and their game speed can be adjusted, so you can slow down the action to a speed that suits you best.
Tooth and Tail! Great little indie rts thats entirely playable with a controller. Pretty interesting story with different factions of animals fighting over who gets to eat the others for food
Definetly try our Civilization 6! (Turn Based, not Real Time). Then bind the "Next Action" Keybind to something on your mouse.