When my colleague Kyle Orland submitted Tetrisweeper for a list of Ars' favorite 2024 games not from 2024 , I told him, essentially: "Good for you, not for me." I'm a pedestrian Tetris player, at best, so the idea of managing a whole different game mechanic, while trying to clear lines and prevent stack-ups, sounded like taking a standardized test while baking a three-layer cake.

And yet, here I am, sneaking rounds of Drop Duchy ( Steam , Epic , for Windows/Linux via Proton) into lunch breaks, weekend mornings, and other bits of downtime. Drop Duchy is similarly not just a Tetris -esque block-dropper. It also has you:

• Aligning terrain types for resources
• Placing both your troops and the enemy's
• Choosing which cards to upgrade, sell, and bring into battle
• Picking between terrain types to leave behind
• Upgrading a tech tree with achievements
• Picking the sequence of battles for maximum effectiveness

Drop Duchy is a quirky game, one that hasn't entirely fused together its various influences without some seams showing. But I keep returning to it, even as it beats me to a pulp on Normal mode, based on decisions I made five rounds ago. It feels like a medium-deep board game, played at triple speed, with someone across the table timing you on how fast you arrange your tiles.

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When my colleague Kyle Orland submitted Tetrisweeper for a list of Ars' favorite 2024 games not from 2024 , I told him, essentially: "Good for you, not for me." I'm a pedestrian Tetris player, at best, so the idea of managing a whole different game mechanic, while trying to clear lines and prevent stack-ups, sounded like taking a standardized test while baking a three-layer cake.

And yet, here I am, sneaking rounds of Drop Duchy ( Steam , Epic , for Windows/Linux via Proton) into lunch breaks, weekend mornings, and other bits of downtime. Drop Duchy is similarly not just a Tetris -esque block-dropper. It also has you:

• Aligning terrain types for resources
• Placing both your troops and the enemy's
• Choosing which cards to upgrade, sell, and bring into battle
• Picking between terrain types to leave behind
• Upgrading a tech tree with achievements
• Picking the sequence of battles for maximum effectiveness

Drop Duchy is a quirky game, one that hasn't entirely fused together its various influences without some seams showing. But I keep returning to it, even as it beats me to a pulp on Normal mode, based on decisions I made five rounds ago. It feels like a medium-deep board game, played at triple speed, with someone across the table timing you on how fast you arrange your tiles.

Read full article

Comments

When my colleague Kyle Orland submitted Tetrisweeper for a list of Ars' favorite 2024 games not from 2024 , I told him, essentially: "Good for you, not for me." I'm a pedestrian Tetris player, at best, so the idea of managing a whole different game mechanic, while trying to clear lines and prevent stack-ups, sounded like taking a standardized test while baking a three-layer cake.

And yet, here I am, sneaking rounds of Drop Duchy ( Steam , Epic , for Windows/Linux via Proton) into lunch breaks, weekend mornings, and other bits of downtime. Drop Duchy is similarly not just a Tetris -esque block-dropper. It also has you:

• Aligning terrain types for resources
• Placing both your troops and the enemy's
• Choosing which cards to upgrade, sell, and bring into battle
• Picking between terrain types to leave behind
• Upgrading a tech tree with achievements
• Picking the sequence of battles for maximum effectiveness

Drop Duchy is a quirky game, one that hasn't entirely fused together its various influences without some seams showing. But I keep returning to it, even as it beats me to a pulp on Normal mode, based on decisions I made five rounds ago. It feels like a medium-deep board game, played at triple speed, with someone across the table timing you on how fast you arrange your tiles.

Read full article

Comments