Strategic assault game

Once I figured out all the controls, I was pleased with the options available to me. Creating groups and adding units to them was fairly easy, and getting around the map to issue commands was actually doable. I ended up using my left thumb to navigate using the minimap and my right index finger to issue commands to units. This worked well enough that I could play without feeling too constrained by the small screen or visible area. The Bad: Lots of little things detracted from the experience here.

I have to start off with the lack of instructions, which is a big pet peeve of mine. It only serves to frustrate people and turn them off from playing.

A big limitation to the gameplay was the inability to build structures outside of a certain radius around the starting point. Got mail? Subscribe to AppSafari by Email. Watch funny and interesting iPhone Videos gathered from around the web.

Strategic Assault review. Browse the full list of all AppStore apps filed under the AppStore category. Developer: Website. Page viewed times, 1 so far today. To understand strategy board games, though, it's important to realize what they aren't: They aren't about bluffing, speed, persuasion -- and most importantly, they aren't about luck.

That doesn't mean they can't involve those elements: diplomacy is often an important element in asymmetric wargames; subtle forms of bluffing can dramatically change the outcomes of card-playing games; understanding or even controlling the pace of a game can be crucial to winning victory points when it matters most. But in all of these instances, strategic understanding and optimization of the game's central mechanics come first. Some great strategy games can come down to a die roll, but if they do, it probably means you haven't played as well as you could've.

In short, it is possible to win strategy games through pure strategy; it is not so through full dependence on the social or chance-based elements of the game. The games I've chosen to focus on in this article are board games as opposed to war or card games , and they tend to center strategy.

That means narrative-heavy legacy games like Gloomhaven don't make the cut. Like chess or Go, these are games you can play a hundred times and always enjoy, even though the mechanics stay the same each time. They also aren't cooperative, as playing against an automated foe almost never will develop strategy like human opponents co-op games, like Pandemic or Dead of Winter , usually have an "ideal" way to play them, and the strategy largely drops off once you've gained more experience with them.

In Gaia Project, players seek to expand their alien race's control over a galaxy, making planets habitable to their race, building structures on them, gaining knowledge and furthering research. This strategic board game has a fairly steep learning curve for those unfamiliar with Eurogames, but once you get into your first game, you'll understand the basics within a round or two.

But the strategy is deep: you can play as a dozen different races, with unique abilities and research bonuses; the modular board means the galaxy you're colonizing never looks the same; and many of the scoring and construction bonuses are randomized each game, so the same strategy won't win every time.

Gaia Project is a masterclass in game design, and a complete joy to play. Conquest games have come a long way since Risk, and one of the best is Rising Sun -- a game in which players vie for control over the various regions of feudal Japan, using their samurai and other miniatures to spread.

What makes the game interesting is the untraditional means and ends of conflict: alliances lend opponents more power, but betrayals can damage your honor; points can be won by winning in battle, but committing ritual suicide, taking hostages and employing historians to write of your warrior's honor can actually net you a larger victory.

What could be a straightforward game about conquering regions becomes about development of your clan, preservation of their honor and strategic partnerships with your enemies.

If you want a game with tons of conflict -- but where that conflict is rarely straightforward or obvious -- Rising Sun is a perfect game for you. Small World is one of my favorites, simply because this conquest game feels so different every time you play it.

Essentially, players are vying for control of a Risk-like board with too few spaces to accommodate everyone: hence the name. You bid for one of dozens of fantastical creatures, each randomly paired with an additional special ability -- which can lead to hilarious combinations like Were-Will-o'-the-Wisps or Peace-loving Homunculi. Then you spread using your special abilities, collect coins based on the territory you control and leave that race behind for a new one.

It's an addictive gameplay loop, often equal parts funny and competitive, and you can learn and play it in under two hours. Twilight Struggle, set during the Cold War, balances the strategic complexity of a "big" game with the simple mechanics of a traditional conquest game like Risk. All other capitals and cities are neutral and up for grabs. The period between when the war begins and first contact with the enemy is called the opening game.

This is of high strategic importance as it is in this time that each Faction's Officers and Generals manoeuvre into offensive and defensive positions, gaining as much territory as possible in the process. Additionally, the map consists of 23 capital cities which other than the starting capitals listed above, are all neutral at the start of each war.

Taking control of these capitals enables the officers and generals to deploy their assault teams closer to the frontline. During the war, player-controlled armies fight over cities and capitals and try to accomplish one of the conditions that wins the war. To win the war, one faction must capture 15 capital cities or hold the most capital cities when one faction loses all of its capitals.

To advance and have a chance at winning the war, Assault Teams advance city to city until they come into contact with hostile Assault Teams triggering a battle. The battle will either be a skirmish battle if the opposing forces meet between two cities or an assault battle if they meet at a city.