Archon

Archon

Games like Archon
Archon screenshots There have been many variations on the chess theme with the checkered board and the colored pieces on each side. At first glance Archon looks a lot like chess but as soon as you start playing it you will find that it's quite different. Archon involves strategy as well as action as you must use your pieces to fight for control of certain places on the board. There are five places on the board in the shape of a cross where there is a resonating crystal, if you are to win then you must take over each of these and hold them with one of your units.

At the start of the game each unit walks onto the board and it will show the name of the unit, the type of movement and the maximum number of steps they can take. At the front of the pack are the pawns and they have limited power, no ranged attack and can only walk 3 steps each turn. In the back are all manner of more powerful creatures like genies and a phoenix which have powerful attacks and can move through other units. One of the most unique characters is the shapeshifter which will turn into any unit it is fighting so obviously it would be better to attack him using a less powerful unit. There is also the matter of strategic placing of your units as the board can help you win fights as well. Both dark and light side have an advantage when standing on a tile which is the same color as them as you will receive extra health during combat. There are also tiles which will change color each turn so you can decide which units is the most vulnerable to attack. Once you attack a unit the screen will change to a closeup of the tile and the two units must battle it out until one has lost all it's energy and that unit is removed from play. Units don't regenerate fully after a battle so when you attack the same target twice you will have more chances to win.

Archon is a fun game and it involves quite some strategy with the movement of your units on the changing board. The action sequences might put off some people who like pure strategy games but I found that they give a nice break from the strategy. There are some points to be made as the graphics and sounds are quite horrible on most of the versions and some units like the shapeshifter make fights really annoying and drawnout. If you do not no how to play this game, find the Archon guides here.