iOS Universal, Android, PC/Mac •
While it arrived on Steam way back in 2015, Militia escaped our attention mainly due to the fact that no mobile version was on the horizon. Turns out developer BrainGoodGames always had a mobile version planned, they just didn’t let us know about it until yesterday which is a good thing, because that’s when it landed on the App Store.
Militia is a single-player board/puzzle game that takes inspiration from a couple games you might have heard of: 868-HACK, Hoplite, Advance Wars, and, the most obscure, Chess [I’m not linking that one -ed.]. Like those games, the presentation is sparse, but the gameplay is deep and thinky. I already mentioned that it’s a solitaire title, but there are ladders so you can compare your progress with that of your enemies friends.
Militia is a quirky/simple strategy game that you can really sink your teeth into. It features a single-player ladder system so you can hone your skills and compare progress with other players. Militia also features procedurally generated levels so the challenge stays fresh. In Militia, you are the leader of a small troop of warriors, mages and cavalry and attempt to rout the local marauding banditry by dispatching their captains. Gameplay is turn based; on your turn you can issue one command to each of your units, and then the enemies each move on their turn according to strict and transparent movement rules.
The game includes the Dark World expansion which features an advanced mode of play with different heroes, enemies, and its own ladder.
Militia is available for both iOS Universal and Android as well as PC/Mac via Steam.
The developer says this an experiment to gauge demand, so if you are interested in their other titles, like Axes & Acres, all the more reason to grab it.
Would LOVE Axes and Acres. That’s probably my fav of BrainGood’s games.
Bought this… almost immediately moved it to the folder entitled Games at Which I’m Awful
Minos Strategos is out on iPhone. Not universal.
In case anybody is on the fence for Minos Strategos I can highly recommend it. It doesn’t look like much at first but the more you play the more you get sucked in.
On the surface it’s a puzzle game but then you realize that there are tons of interesting decisions involved such as whether to attack or defend, which points to focus on holding etc.
I also really like the way he’s set it up as a beatable game, that adjusts in level as you get better. I’ve been playing a lot over the past couple of days and keep thinking I’ve hit my skill cap but then discover new strategies and go a bit higher. Currently sitting at level 16 and it’s got really tough!
It scratches the same kind of itch as Card Crawl/Card Thief but I find this more satisfying as the objective is clear - I find the ‘push your luck’ mechanism in those games a bit of a detractor.
My problem with it: isn’t universal and doesn’t support landscape. I said something to the dev about it on TA. I know he’s new to iOS development, but these things could help him sell more copies.
Yeah - the presentation is a little rough. It plays better on iPad but some of the overlay boxes don’t line up properly. I give it a pass though as it’s clearly a labor of love for one guy and so much thought has gone into the gameplay.
Picked it up for my Pixel from Google Play and I love it. Pretty much the same feelings as Feederofgoats. The art style is simple, but the mechanics and progression are solid. I generally prefer portrait games since the majority of my play time is either on smoke breaks or on public transport.
Universal update is apparently in the works after people asked for it on TA