Post
Hidden information on the map, turning strategy into a fight over what you know and what you only suspect.
Fog of war hides areas outside player vision, usually revealing terrain once scouted but concealing current enemy movement unless vision is maintained. It turns information into a resource. Players must decide where to scout, when to risk moving into darkness, and how to exploit what the opponent cannot see. The mechanic creates tension because danger exists before it is confirmed.
Example
StarCraft's fog of war is the backbone of scouting, proxy builds, drops, and surprise tech switches. League of Legends layers fog with wards and brush, making vision control a team objective. Advance Wars uses fog maps to turn simple unit movement into ambush-heavy positional warfare.
Why it matters
Fog of war is why strategy games are not just math puzzles played on open boards. It creates bluffing, scouting, map control, and paranoia, which are the emotional core of competitive strategy.
Related concepts