Bad North, Kingdom Two Crowns, and Battle of Polytopia are all on sale for under $10 right now

Steam's Games Made in Sweden sale is running now, and three of the best microstrategy games you can buy are currently dirt cheap — Bad North, Kingdom Two Crowns, and The Battle of Polytopia together come in at just over $10 total.

Bad North is $2.99 / £2.55 — a deceptively simple real-time tactics game where you defend gorgeous diorama islands from an encroaching Viking invasion, hopping between locations while upgrading units and unlocking abilities. Kingdom Two Crowns is $3.99 / £3.35 — a sidescrolling kingdom-builder with stunning pixel art, a brilliantly chill soundtrack by Amos Roddy, and a satisfying coin-purse mechanic where overfilling your wallet literally spills gold on the ground. It supports split-screen and online co-op, and lets you play across settings including Vikings, ancient Greece, and feudal Japan. The Battle of Polytopia rounds out the trio at $4.49 / £3.41 — a full 4X strategy game compressed into 30-minute sessions, with 16 civilizations, three game modes, and diplomacy mechanics that punch well above the price tag.

The broader Games Made in Sweden sale is a good reminder of how much the country punches above its weight in gaming — Vermintide 2 is down to $3, and Oskar Stålberg's island-builder Townscaper is also discounted alongside Bad North. Stålberg, who made both games, confirmed in a previous interview that Bad North wasn't directly inspired by hnefatafl (Viking chess), despite the obvious thematic overlap.

If you've been bouncing off bloated 4X campaigns or just want something you can finish in a sitting, all three of these are easy recommendations at these prices. The sale is live on Steam now.