Raid Heroes: Sword and Magic

Raid Heroes: Sword and Magic is a squad RPG against the Dark Lord's army — orcs, goblins and warlocks, with pirates, rogues and assassins turning up later.

Fights resolve on their own once they begin. Your heroes advance, pick the nearest target and trade blows until one side is gone, with a clock running underneath the whole time, so simply outlasting the enemy is never the plan.

The real work happens before any of that: who you bring, which weapon they carry — knives, swords or a bow — and which artifacts you turned up while exploring. A band that kept losing often turns around on equipment alone.

There are three places to put it to use. The story runs across three episodes. The arena sets your band against other players' squads. And your township is yours to strengthen and defend, with other players' castles open to raid in turn.

Everything runs through the mouse — recruiting, equipping, and levelling heroes up after a win. There is no execution to practise here; the preparation is the game.