Kiko Shidan is a strategy game set during World War II, more specifically the year 1944. There are no concrete historical scenarios in the game and no allegiance to a particular faction on the player's side. All the battles take place in France, divided into smaller areas represented as icons on the overhead map. The player must prepare, customize, organize, and eventually send tanks to the battlefield. Once there, the player is given new options, which includes leaving the tank commanders to follow their own judgment, or instruct them precisely where to move. A certain amount of time passes with each turn, and the player-controlled forces may be attacked by enemy tanks, planes, etc.