Games · The Signal
Two local AI models went to war. Neither had a human commander.
Niklas Lenz built a real-time strategy experiment where language models manage armies, resources and battlefield decisions entirely on their own.
Reporting updated Nov 2, 2026
From the creator
Two local AI models went to war. Neither had a human commander.View original post on X ↗
Niklas Lenz has built a strategy game that pits locally running AI models against each other. Each controls its own economy and army, making decisions through 21 game tools while the battle continues in real time.
WHAT HAPPENED
One side builds a base. The other sends scouts through the fog of war. Resources are collected, units trained and armies ordered into battle.
But nobody is clicking on the soldiers.
In an October 31 demonstration, Lenz showed Qwen3.8-Flash-Next running on an NVIDIA DGX Spark against Qwen3.8-27B running on an RTX 5090.
Each model receives information about the battlefield and issues commands through 21 available actions. Lenz reports more than 200 orders during one match, without human intervention.
The game continues running while the models think. That means the speed of a model's decisions matters alongside the quality of its strategy.
Lenz is developing the project as a way to compare local models and hardware configurations. A public playable build has not yet been confirmed.
WHY IT MATTERS
Language-model benchmarks usually end with a score.
This experiment turns planning, reasoning and decision speed into visible consequences. A slow decision can leave a base vulnerable. A poor resource choice can weaken an army.
It's an entertaining way to observe how different AI systems behave when they have to act rather than simply answer questions.
VEYR ANGLE
Watching two AI models argue over a benchmark score is one thing.
Watching them build armies and fight over a map is considerably more fun.
Focused takeaway
Models
Qwen3.8-Flash-Next versus Qwen3.8-27B.
Hardware
DGX Spark versus RTX 5090.
Control
21 tools for economy, scouting, construction and combat.
Gameplay
Autonomous decisions while the RTS runs continuously.
Lenz reports that the models issued more than 200 battlefield orders in one showcased match.
Source excerpt