Might and Mandibles

A single queen. A few dedicated nanitics. One goal... For the colony!
Might and Mandibles is a 2D ant colony sim and real-time strategy game where you grow a newly founded nest into a sprawling underground empire. Lay out intricate tunnel networks, build specialized chambers, command unique ant castes, and direct real-time swarms. Explore the surface world to harvest rich resources while carving through procedural subterranean depths hiding wealth and predators of their own.
Nest Design
Lay the blueprints while your builders get to work. Dig out tunnels and build specialized chambers: food storage, egg nurseries, barracks, hospitals, and research labs. Every chamber you construct unlocks new societal roles and vital upgrades to expand your colony.
Every Ant Necessary
Every ant has a defined role. Hatchlings can become Workers, Builders, Scouts, and Nurses—or specialize into Soldiers, Acid Ants, Medics, Mages, and Priests.
Scouts map the world and lay pheromone trails for workers to harvest food nodes.

Nurses care for the Queen and nurture developing eggs and brood.

Builders dig out new chambers and sculpt the nest.

Soldiers hold choke points and defend the colony against lethal threats.

Ants get hungry, tired, and gain experience. Manage their energy, protect their lives, and balance their roles to keep the colony running.
The World Above and Under
Outside the nest lies a vast, untamed ecosystem waiting under the fog of war. Hunt creatures like centipedes, spiders, mites, beetles, and worms. Destroy rival insect burrows to protect your foraging lines and suppress incoming nest attacks. Subterranean exploration brings its own hidden layers, rare resources, and underground predators. As your colony expands and amasses wealth, aggressive predators will launch coordinated raids directly into your nest entrance.
You're the Commander
Any ant can be commanded manually or set to automated routines. Select units, move them in combat formations, and guide your frontline fighters, ranged acid spitters, and healers into battle. Frontline units engage naturally while ranged units hold distance. Customize unit patrols, set compass directions for scouts and workers, or let them autonomously manage their own feeding and torpor schedules.
Key Features
Living Ant Simulation: Manage hundreds of individual ants, each governed by hunger, stamina, torpor, and experience.

Subterranean Base Building: Excavate dirt, sculpt tunnel networks, and design functional chambers.

Over a Dozen Castes: Hatch, assign, and upgrade specialized worker and combat roles as your colony evolves.

Dynamic Fog of War: Active scouting reveals hidden surface resources, environmental hazards, and rival nests.

Predator Raids & Nest Defense: Defend your Queen and brood against wandering wildlife and coordinated insect assaults.

Tactical Real-Time Combat: Position units, exploit abilities and buffs, and pause or change game speed whenever you need to strategize.