Ok look, there are plenty of strategy games that use squares. So many of the genre’s maps are split into neat grids for the taking. But we got bored of the square, didn’t we? And with Civilization V the hexagon rose in popularity. Plonk two more sides onto the square and voila – six-sided strategy. Where do we go from there?
You might think the obvious answer is add two more sides so we can dive straight into a new eight-sided world of octagons. Progress! Advancement! The future! But nah, Circle Empires shows us that there’s value in going the other way. It optimises strategy games to their basics, represented in totality by a one-sided shape – or a circle, as it’s more commonly known. This is not a reduction; it’s a refinement of the form.
We could (and will) tell you exactly how Circle Empires achieves that but it’d be better for you to check it out for yourself. It’s available to buy on Steam right now. But if you can’t afford it or just love the thrill of winning a prize then you should enter our Circle Empires giveaway for 15 Steam keys below.
The world of Circle Empires divided into interconnected circles. Each one contains space, resources, and a small army. You have a goal of some kind – like hunting down an enemy leader, or taking over every circle – and must figure out a path across the land to achieve it.
The tricky part is ensuring your army has enough wood and resources to take on each battalion that stands in your way. You need to send your troops over to their circle, but they’ll need to be healthy, and also the right kind of troops to take on their foe – should you send archers or swords?
What Circle Empires does, then, is to take away the huge battlefields of the real-time strategy genre, the micromanaging and the million decisions a minute. But in turn it makes the process of taking over a map simpler without losing that enormous sense of victory and fear that brings us back to those battlefields time and again.
If you want to win one of the 15 Steam keys we have for Circle Empires then you can enter the giveaway via the widget below. Every action you complete is worth one entry into the giveaway, with the more actions you complete increasing your chances of winning.
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