Parents' Guide to Friends & Dragons

There are some games that follow a tried and true formula. Then there are games like Friends & Dragons that take what you might expect and turn it on its head. At first glance, Friends & Dragons seems like your standard, run of the mill turn-based strategy game. Once you start playing though, you'll quickly realize it's much more like a puzzle game. Players can only move one hero each turn, though they can "flip" allies one square at a time by crossing their position and essentially pushing them out of the way. After finishing a hero's movement, all of the heroes' attacks or abilities fire off in sequence. This unique movement mechanic often feels reminiscent of those old school sliding block puzzles.

The hybrid strategy/puzzle gameplay is a lot of fun, though it requires a lot of practice to get the hang of. It's a bit frustrating to choose the wrong hero and not have a way to back out of commitment to the move, or for the timer to run out just before you've finished. Thankfully, these fumbles don't usually cost the match and can be adjusted for on subsequent turns. Following the free-to-play model, players are limited to a number of matches based on an energy level. While this recharges at a fair pace, it still frequently interrupts the flow. There are also a lot of different currencies to keep track of, everything from three different XP types, gold, gems, skill tokens, and so on and so on. This makes upgrading and expanding both your roster and your kingdom much more drawn out than either needs to be.