As a group we’ve been playing an obscene amount of Words With Friends, and while that has been fun, playing a game about words can only last so long. I decided to find a new game that had a similar turn based competitive element, but without the whole words thing. As luck may have it I found the recently released Hero Academy from Robot Entertainment, for the low low cost of free!
Hero Academy is a tactics style game where you and a friend (or random stranger if that is what you are in to. Pervert!) take turns controlling various in an attempt to destroy the others crystals or army. To accomplish this feat you start out with warriors, priests, archers, mages, and a single ninja, along with various items for upgrades and destruction.
Each minion has their own unique ability from the warriors taking damage to the priest’s healing. Robot Entertainment is planning to release more armies that will allow for different play for $1.99 each. Currently only the starter army and a dark elf army are available.
While simplistic looking, Hero Academy does require a great deal of thought and strategy. Do you take out the crystals first or do you go for the healer? The units and items you can choose from each turn are randomly selected for you and can sometimes make or break a good battle. You are also limited to the number of units and items you can use during a game so you must choose wisely or you will find yourself with only one unit left to your opponents full board.
I must give Hero Academy 12 cigars out of 8 tarnished sheriff badges. It is a fun game, but when you are on a roll it can get frustrating to wait for your opponent to finish their turn.
