EMPIRE: The Deck Building Strategy Game App Reviews

Its truly a shame I cant rate this a 5, as the game itself and the mechanisms included are worthy of that praise. Yet after many hours of playing this, I ultimately have to knock it way down. The game crashes. A lot. But that alone isnt the big issue. You see normally when it crashes, youre able to select "continue game" upon reloading the app and pick up right where you left off. In fact, it was because of this that I was able to continue enjoying the game and refine my strategy to get ever higher scores. But every once in a while the game will crash and LOSE your game, making you restart. Initially this wont seem like too big a deal to you, since you cant "beat" the game anyway. But later, when youre in games up over 500 points like my last was, when you lose all your work because of a stupid crash issue, it pretty much kills the fun. So with that, despite my supreme enjoyment of the gameplay, I will not play this again or recommend it to others until an update fixes the crash problem. Why should I bother? Why play only to lose my game to a bug that shouldve been addressed before launch. So be warned about this before buying - if you end up truly enjoying and immersing yourself in this game, this issue will end up haunting you.

... and it will cut you. Seriously though its a terrifically honed game focused on just a few key mechanics with surprising and terrifying depth. Get it unless you hate losing.

A slick little game that scratches civ, tactics, and rougelite itches. You will lose - the question is how long you can hold out.

Dont get me wrong; I love this game. I wished - oh, how I wished I could give it 5 stars. But theres a little polish lacking in this otherwise brilliant gem. On an iPhone 5S, it crashes. A lot. It crashes when Im starting a new game. It crashes when Im responding to a text notification. It crashes. On the plus side your game recovers nicely about half the time when you start it back up. The gameplay itself has been described as a roguelike crossed with Civilization crossed with a deck hiking game like Ascension or Dominion. And that pretty much nails it. You struggle against the increasingly unfair odds, and then you lose. But its tuned well and addictive to play and well worth the confusion youll feel even after the tutorial. Its worth reading the extensive help manual, though you should be able to figure it out during repeated gameplay. The only flaw in the actual game itself is that when the endgame nears, its quite apparent, and the actual playing out can be a little dull. Unfortunately heres no easy way to suicide and save your score, you have to abandon the game instead from the main menu. These quibbles aside, this is a shining example of innovation: embracing, refining, and extending familiar game tropes into a heady brew all its own. Highly recommended.

Most "weeks" (turns) in the game, all you do is push the "next week" button. Wow. All you can do is train more units, which when wounded in battle, never recover. They are permanently wounded. Combat has forces arranged randomly and your troops march mindlessly for the most part, past their opposing forces, with a few opportunities to move according to the cards in your deck. And the deck is populated by cards that do nothing at all except sit there and be annoying. All told, theres a lot here that just makes no sense thematically or design wise. Oh, and by the way. Your "empire" is destined to be taken over by desolation. Some empire.

No depth Bad graphics Boring gameplay Lack of strategy Do not purchase

Build up your small empire to hold back the evil hordes. You WILL FAIL but the fun is seeing how long you can last.

This game started out good and has gotten better with each new version. It offers both strategic and tactical depth, and good replay value. The combat can seem slightly puzzley and random at first, but you will soon realize that it is really a matter of skill and good heuristics. The newest version has made the out-of-combat map much more interesting with more divergent strategies to explore. And amazing amount od replay value for its price!

Fun

Ive heard this game described as the opening setup phase of a turn based game like Civilization, and I agree. I love the openings of TBS games, and thats just what this gem of a game is like!

My game seems to be stuck in an infinite loop, mid-battle, and its crashing every time. So I hit continue, the soldiers move automatically, and the game crashes. Theres no chance for me to do anything to avert the crash. Thats not even mentioning that the game itself is kind of idiotic.

At the same time, you can fit it into tiny time slots ( like waiting for an elevator). The changes in this version make it harder to lose. Your whole army can be wiped out, but the monsters are slow, giving plenty of time to build new cities and army.

Interesting twist on 4x, deck building & a "rogue-like."

I read about this on reddit, and I like the style of game. It is aesthetically pleasing and fun. Many different aspects.

This is an interesting mashup of games. On the surface, its a civ building game, but the battles are turn based and driven by cards. It has a little bit of rogue element in that its quick, brutal, and easy to start again. Good fun!

MOAR PLEASE! A ROUGELIKE 4X with cards and tactics? WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT?

I did not like it, but I like long term strategy games. If you like short fast strategy games you cant go wrong if it is a buck.

Have played this a few times, about to beat it with my third emperor. Not sure if Im going to replay it after that. Lots of interesting stuff going on gameplay wise, but it feels kind of unsatisfying to need to abandon and re-settle cities regularly to keep going.

Comprehensive. Strategic. Not over-complicated. Actual decision-making. No money involved whatsoever (cant rember if app itself was free). I buy tons of aps and delete nearly all of them. Not this one though

This game is designed by the same guy who designed Hoplite. Two completely different games, each brilliant. I would buy anything by this designer, sight unseen, for console prices. Genius.