Developer: Digital Worlds JSC
Genre: Strategy
Price: $0.99
Verdict: Definitely worth its price as a unique game combining turn based strategy concepts with a card based playing system.
Pros: Great to play in short intervals, online leader boards, very clean graphics and animation.
Cons: Steep learning curve, currently only one map, can’t manually launch the Nuke!!

Before you jump into your first skirmish in this deceptively simple looking turn based strategy, here’s some solid advice:  ”Take a minute and read the in-game Help section!”  Doing this will save yourself the frustration of wondering “WTF just happened” after being defeated by the computer, and no… playing on easy mode probably won’t make a difference on your first attempt.  With that said, it may take you a few battles to realize it, but Strongholds is actually surprisingly complex.

In the game, your objective is to destroy the enemy Stronghold which can be accomplish two ways;  take the enemy Stronghold down to zero hit points, or fully upgrade your own until it obtains sixty.  However, to accomplish either of these tasks, you’ll have to plan out your turns through the game’s card based playing system.  At any given point you’ll have six cards in your hand which enable you to attack, upgrade your Stronghold and improve your resource production.  Keep in mind each of these cards will require resources of a specific type and quantity in order to be played, so, this is where reading the help section before playing really pays off.  Memorizing the symbols for each building and resource is probably the most difficult aspect of the game, so here’s the basic breakdown of the game’s resource system: You have three production buildings and three resource types which are also color coded.  Your Armory produces Weapons (Orange), Factories produce Composites (Grey), and Barracks produce Mercs (Green).  Then, at the beginning of every turn, you produce additional resources based on the current level of your production buildings.  For example, a level 3 Factory will produce three additional Composite resources each turn.  In the event that you have insufficient resources or unable to play a card at all, you can choose to skip your turn by discarding a card of your choice.

The actual gameplay is relatively simple, although the game doesn’t utilize any tilt controls, you can play your cards via three different methods such as single tapping and selecting “play” or instantly playing the card by double tapping it or dragging it directly onto the map.  Because there are over 100 cards in the game there’s a moderate degree of variability between matches as you’ll have to adjust your strategy based on the cards you’re dealt.  Depending on your hand, it may be more beneficial to go with a defensive strategy and focus on upgrading your base rather than attacking or vise versa.  Either way, once you do play your desired card you’ll either see brief attack animations or various positive and negative numbers flying across the map based on that card’s description.  In case you ever miss an action that just occurred, you can refer to a small section on the right hand side which displays symbols on cards played during the three previous turns.

Visually, the art style is somewhat reminiscent of Command and Conquer, especially once you start upgrading your base and destroying enemy buildings. It’s particularly fun watching your Stronghold grow as it’s upgraded and seeing defensive walls crumble as they’re destroyed.  The sound effects are brief and somewhat limited but fit well with the game’s theme.  Music is intentionally left out so you can listen to your own while playing (I highly suggest listening to “Ride of the Valkyries” for added suspense).

Again, because of the card based system, a certain degree of luck is involved, but most battles will only last five minutes or so, making this a great game to choose when you only have a couple minutes to spare.  For those looking for more of a challenge or longer battles, the Custom Mode allows you to adjust the conditions for victory as well as your starting resources.  Overall, Strongholds is a solid purchase at $.99 and offers a replay value that definitely exceeds it’s price point.