Various adaptations of the real-time and turn-based systems have been implemented to address common or perceived shortcomings of these systems (though they often introduce new issues that did not exist before). These include:
Timed turns and time compression Timed turns are designed to prevent one player from using more time to complete turns than another. In
chess, for instance, a pair of
stop clocks may be used in order to place an upper limit on turn length. In
exchange chess, four players on two teams play on two boards with each team taking one white and one black side. A taken piece can be given to a teammate and placed on their board. A player can abuse this
game mechanic by taking an opponent's piece, giving it to a teammate, then waiting unusually long to play a turn on their own board—thereby allowing the teammate to use the advantage for many future moves on their board. To avoid this, players are often limited to ten seconds per move—with their opponent being allowed to remove one of the player's pawns from the board for each additional ten seconds consumed. The
turn-based strategy game
Utopia (1982) featured an early example of timed turns. The early
Ultima role-playing video games were strictly turn-based, but starting with
Ultima III: Exodus (1983), if the player waited too long to issue a command, the game would issue a "pass" command automatically, thereby allowing enemies to take their turns while the
player character did nothing.
Time compression is a feature commonly found in real-time games such as
flight simulators. It allows the player to speed up the game time by some (usually adjustable) factor. This permits the player to shorten the subjective duration of long and relatively uneventful periods of gameplay.
Ticks Many browser-based
MMORPGs allocate a number of turns that can be played within a certain period of time, called a
tick. A tick can be any measurement of real time. Players are allocated a certain number of turns per tick, which are refreshed at the beginning of each new tick. Tick-based games differ from other turn-based games in that ticks always occur after the same amount of time has expired.
Rounds In some real-time games, game actions are timed according to a common interval that is longer than the duration of play in the real world. For instance,
non-player characters might only begin actions at the beginning or end of a
round. Some video games such as the ''
Baldur's Gate series use a rounds system based on tabletop role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons.
Fighting games use a limited number of rounds to determine the winner (usually best of three). These include Tekken, Street Fighter, and Super Smash Bros.''
Active Time Battle The "
Active Time Battle" (ATB) system was introduced by
Hiroyuki Ito in
Final Fantasy IV (1991). ATB combines menu-based combat with a continuous flow of actions and variable wait times. Enemies can attack or be attacked at any time. The ATB system was further developed in
Final Fantasy V (1992), which introducing a time gauge showing which character's turn is next. The ATB system has since been used in
VI (1994),
VII (1997),
VIII (1999),
IX (2000), and
X-2 (2003). Both
Final Fantasy XII (2006) and
XIII (2009) used heavily modified versions of the system. The ATB system was also used in
Chrono Trigger (1995).
Simultaneously executed and clock-based turns In
simultaneously executed games (also called "phase-based", "We-Go" or "Turn-based WeGo"), turns are separated into two distinct phases:
decision and
execution. In the decision phase, each player simultaneously plans and determines their units' actions. In the execution phase, all players' chosen actions occur automatically and at the same time. One early example is the 1959 board game
Diplomacy. Video game examples include
Laser Squad Nemesis (2003), the
Combat Mission series,
Master of Orion series,
Star Hammer: The Vanguard Prophecy (2015) and
Battlestar Galactica Deadlock (2017).
Clock-based games tie all unit actions directly to the game clock. Turns begin and end depending on the duration specified for each action, resulting in a sequence of turns that is highly variable and has no set order. It is also possible for different players' actions to occur at the same time with respect to the game clock, as in real-time or simultaneously executed games. Examples of video games that use a clock-based system include
Typhoon of Steel (1988) and
MechForce (1991), both originally for the
Amiga.
Unit initiative In some games, the sequence of turns depends on the
initiative statistic of each unit, no matter which side the unit belongs to. Games of this type are still technically sequential, as only one unit can perform an action at a time, and the duration of actions is not tied to the game clock. Examples include the video games
The Temple of Elemental Evil (2003) and
Final Fantasy Tactics (1997).
Interrupting a turn Some games allow players to act outside of their normal turn by
interrupting an opponent's turn and executing additional actions. The number and type of actions a player may take during an
interrupt sequence is limited by the number of points remaining in the player's
action point pool carried over from the previous turn. Examples include the
X-COM series of video games, the board
wargame Advanced Squad Leader (1985), and
attacks of opportunity in
Dungeons & Dragons. Newer editions of
Dungeons & Dragons also allow a
Ready-action to prepare an action to be executed during the enemy's turn. This is also implemented in some video games, such as
Solasta: Crown of the Magister (2020). The
Silent Storm video game series includes an "Interrupt" statistic for each character, to determine the likelihood of out-of-turn action. In the video game
M.A.X. (1996), defensive units may be set to fire out of turn instead of on their own turn. In the board game
Tide of Iron, a special card interrupts an opponent's turn to perform an action. In the
Mario & Luigi series, the player often has the opportunity to "counterattack" on the enemy's turn, causing damage and often halting the attack.
Special turns and phases In some turn-based games, not all turns are alike. The board game
Imperium Romanum II (1985), for instance, features a "Taxation and Mobilization" phase in every third turn (month), which does not occur in the other turns. In the video game
King Arthur: The Role-Playing Wargame (2009), every fourth turn, the season turns to winter, the only time when buildings can be constructed. In the board game
Napoleon (1974), every third player turn is a "night turn" when combat is not allowed. Other turn-based games feature several phases dedicated to different types of activities within each turn. In the
Battle Isle series of video games, players issue movement orders for all units in one phase, and attack orders in a later phase. In the board game
Agricola (2007), turns are divided into three phases: "Upkeep", "Replenishing" and "Work." A fourth "Harvest" phase occurs every few turns.
Partially or optionally turn-based and real-time Some games that are generally real-time use turn-based play during specific sequences. For example, the
role-playing video games Fallout (1997),
Silent Storm (2003) and ''
Baldur's Gate 3'' (2023) are turn-based during the combat phase and real-time throughout the remainder of the game. This speeds up portions of the game where the careful timing of actions is not crucial to player success, such as exploration. Other video games, such as the
Total War series,
X-COM (1994) and
Jagged Alliance 2 (1999), combine a
turn-based strategic layer with
real-time tactical combat or vice versa. The video games
X-COM: Apocalypse (1997),
Fallout Tactics (2001)
Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura (2001),
Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire (2018),
Pathfinder: Kingmaker (2018, added later per patch) and
Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous (2021) offer the option of turn-based or real-time mode via a configuration setting. The 2024 JRPG
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth gives the character of
Kazuma Kiryu the unique ability to temporarily perform real-time combat using the Hype Meter, similar to the brawler gameplay from previous
Like a Dragon titles.
Pausable real-time In real-time games with an
active pause system (also called "pausable real-time" or "real-time with pause"), players can pause the game and issue orders. When the game is un-paused, the orders automatically execute. This offers additional tactical options, such as letting players issue orders to multiple units at the same time. although the mechanic was also present in earlier games such as in
Knights of Xentar (1991),
Darklands (1992),
Total Annihilation (1997) and
Homeworld (1999). In ''Baldur's Gate'', players may also let the
artificial intelligence take control during combat and press the spacebar at any time to regain control of their characters. The
grand strategy games developed by
Paradox Interactive exclusively use pausable real-time. In
Vagrant Story, this allows players to target specific body parts while the game is paused. A similar mechanic was later used in the real-time role-playing game
Last Rebellion (2010).
Jagged Alliance 2 (1999) and
Fallout (1997) allow players to target individual body parts during turn-based combat. The latter led to the creation of the V.A.T.S system in the real-time RPG
Fallout 3, where players could pause the game to target individual body parts.
Final Fantasy XII (2006) expanded on active pause combat with its "gambits" system, which allows players to collect and apply preferences to the artificial intelligence routines of partner characters, who then perform certain actions in response to certain conditions. A similar "tactics" system later appeared in
Dragon Age: Origins (2009) and
Dragon Age II (2011).
Knights of Xentar (1991) also allow an adjustable artificial intelligence to take control during combat. == Timelines ==