Elegant Strategy Games for Discerning Gamers

darnellsw says: I'm not a hardcore gamer; I'm a discerning gamer. I like games that are challenging, nuanced, well-constructed and elegant. I dislike games that are over-designed or under-developed. The games on this list are simple, but far from simplistic.

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darnellsw's picks

geoDefense Hands down the most smart, elegant and well-conceived game in the Tower Defense genre.
geoDefense Swarm A wonderful companion to my favorite game, geoDefense. Each app is distinct, challenging and perfectly balanced.
Strategery The best Risk-style strategy game. The concept of war is abstracted beautifully, and the game is just incredibly fun. Great for solo or multi-player.
Flood-It! PRO This is my favorite puzzle game. Simple, challenging, addicting. The free version is good as well, but the added features are worth the cost on the pro edition.
LightBike Online This Tronesque action game is simple and fun. Single player is not quite as challenging as it should be, but multi-player is excellent.

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Strategery was a hit with the TechCrunch dudes (TechCrunch)

Review of geoDefense (IGN)

darnellsw

Would love to hear your thoughts on the games above, or recommendations for other games I should add to the list!

durgadas

This is a great list. Well done. I have reviewed TD games aplenty, and I found GeDefense to be too hard for me, but I will check out some of the other apps you showed here too.

darnellsw

It's definitely challenging, and I loved that. It kept me going back for weeks. I was finally able to beat all the levels--and I'm no strategic mastermind--so have faith: mastery is within reach! :) I think you'll like Strategery a lot. Let me know. Gonna check out some of your reviews now.