Castle Defenders (2014)

Description:
Castle Defenders combines the strategy elements of chess with a spell system like Magic: the Gathering™. It was inspired by the brilliant video game Hero Academy™ for iOS and contains similar gameplay mechanics. The combat system has been simplified to better fit the physical board game format.

Goal:
Players send units to attack enemy castles and defend their own. You win by destroying all enemy castles OR units.

Gameplay:
-The game board resembles a rectangular chess board. Players agree on a layout and arrange their castles and bonus tiles (extra attack, shields, or bonus castle damage).
-Players maintain a 6-card hand from their personal deck containing units (mage, healer, knight, etc.), spells, and equipment.
-On their turn, players choose 5 actions to perform (cast a spell, move a unit, attack, heal, etc...).
-Part of the game is trying out different moves to find the best plan, so you decide when your move is final.
-Players receive bonus spell cards when two of their units are destroyed (this balances gameplay and allows you to counter an opponent's momentum).

Strategy elements:
-Units have strengths/weaknesses and must work as a team.
-Formations help reinforce attack/defense effectiveness.
-Board location and unit placement is key (e.g. "Is my Knight far enough away to avoid being knocked out?" "Is my Archer close enough to knock out the enemy Healer?").
-Unit trading: killing enemy units can leave yours exposed...is it worth the risk?