Fun For Free – Weewar

Weewar is a multiplayer turn-based strategy game you can play right in your web browser. It uses HTML and JavaScript and super cute pixel art reminiscent of Advance Wars to create all battles great and small.

To play, you must set up an account on weewar.com and then either choose to join a game in progress or start your own. If you have friends who are also Weewar players, you can invite them to your game.

Battles start out with each player getting one base. It’s up to you to decide what kinds of units you’ll build and in what direction you’ll move to conquer the rest of the map. The more bases you control at the start of your turn, the more credits you’ll earn. Different units cost a varying amount of credits, and naturally the more expensive ones tend to be the most powerful as long as you know how to use them.

Different units have their own strengths and weaknesses, and this doesn’t just depend on which unit they’re squared off against. Different terrain will change their strength. So while you deploy a heavy artillery combat unit at your base, it can be taken out by potentially weaker units that have a terrain advantage. The key to succeeding at Weewar is knowing how and when to use the different unit types.

Turns don’t follow a preset deploy-move-attack structure as they do in some other turn-based games. Instead, you can move anywhere within your range before deploying other units (which is helpful, as you’ll want to move off your bases so you can call in reinforcements). A unit’s individual turn is up either after it moves or after it attacks. Certain units, such as the aforementioned heavy artillery unit can only either move or attack, so while they’re powerful to use, they can certainly be defended against.

After ending your turn, the next player in the game will receive an email (if he/she has configured his/her preferences to do so) and the game continues. A game is over when all factions have been defeated save for one. Games can be finished within a handful of turns or take weeks upon weeks to play out depending on the number and skill of players and the frequency of the turns.

Battles can also be rated, meaning that the winner will go up in the overall Weewar rankings while the loser’s point total will be reduced. Players who feel that they’re losing a battle too badly to recover can surrender and live to fight another day.

In addition to the free element of Weewar, there’s a Pro account option that costs as little as $24/year. Pro account users have more units available to them, can access all maps, create maps, have more than four games going at once, and can participate in larger battles.

What I like best about Weewar is that it’s perfect for playing while at the office. And speaking of which, it’s your turn, Nick.

Link: weewar.com