Castle Wars

Castle Wars was one of those games you'd find on a Flash gaming site in the late 2000s. It had a simple, clear look that loaded quickly in a browser window. You would play against the computer or a friend, each trying to outbuild or outlast the other.

You control a wizard at the bottom of the screen, moving left and right on your side of a divided field. Your main goal is to either build your own tower one hundred stories high or reduce your opponent's structure to rubble. Each action, like summoning a worker to add bricks or sending a golem to attack, is done by playing a card. Playing these cards costs bricks, which you collect steadily over time. The game moves at a deliberate pace, giving you moments to think between decisions, but a sudden attack can quickly escalate the tension. It feels like a careful balancing act between growing your defenses and probing for a weakness in your opponent's wall.