In limiting your turns and giving you a score at the end, the game also feels puzzlish, since you must figure out how to better your lot with very limited resources and time.įor more bloodthirsty players, there’s also a ‘domination’ mode, where you play until only one tribe remains standing.

In essence, then, this is Civilization in microcosm – a brilliantly conceived mobile take on 4X gaming (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) that betters actual Civ games that have appeared on iPhone. Would it be beneficial this turn to research hunting and utilise nearby (and tasty) wildlife? Or would the smart move be getting the technology to forge huge swords, subsequently enabling you to gleefully conquer rival cities? Much of the game is based around strategising, making the best use of limited resource allowances. It’s one of the finest, most premium card games on the App Store, making it a magical marvel that it’s available for free. Beyond the initial campaign, there are several modes to dig into.

But what’s increasingly apparent as you play is the sheer level of depth the game has – and the care that’s gone into it. If you end up with a doddering sheep, chances are a wolf card will appear from nowhere and devour it.įinding out how everything works is an awful lot of fun. Others blast weapons or meander across the board. That alone would make for a great card puzzler, but Cards of Terra takes things much further, by making its cards feel alive. But every move depletes your own reserves, so you must be tactical. To achieve this, you deplete each card’s energy by dragging others on to it. You must reach gold cards (your crew) by removing cards stacked on top of them – or wipe out every card if no gold ones are present.

Fortunately, she’s a magical alien princess and pragmatically decides to pit the aforementioned horrors against each other, with a view to wiping them out, rescuing her crew, and getting off the mudball forever.īattles are presented as part solitaire, part collectable card game. An alien princess has crashed into a planet full of warring factions and hideous beasts.

Solitaire JD for apple instal free