Hero Academy Hits The App Store, Brings iOS Strategy Board Game To The Mac

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Hero Academy Splash Screen

Hero Academy is a pretty fantastic iOS strategy game that plays out like a cross between chess and a tactical role playing game (RPG), played against a single opponent in asynchronous turns. Developer Robot Entertainment has created an experience that’s equal parts dead easy to learn and super fun to play, with a depth of tactics and strategy gameplay that hits the sweet spot for a fun on the go game.

Well, Hero Academy is now available on the Mac App Store, and it’s free to download and play.

Once you log into the game, you can opt for the tutorial, which is a pleasant introduction to the basic systems of Hero Academy, including placing units, attacking, and using spells and other power ups. If you’ve played the game on iOS, you can also skip the tutorial, which is a nice touch.

The game allows you to login with an email and password, or create a new account, but not via Game Center that I could tell. Though, once I started playing, I did get the Welcome Back message via Game Center, which was kind of odd.

Each turn gives you a certain number of action points, which you can spend on placing or moving units, which include mages, archers, and warriors, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. To win a game of Hero Academy, you’ll need to either break all of your opponents crystal towers, or completely wipe the board clean of all of their units. You’ll make your moves, then hit Submit, which will then allow your opponent to make her moves. When it’s your turn again, you’ll watch the moves they made, crying if need be, and then taking your turn.

Having several games going at once is the way to go, so you’re not waiting too long between turns in any one game or another. You can invite folks via Twitter, friends who are playing the game on their Mac, or just engage a random opponent at will. You can purchase new teams, like Dark Elves, Dwarves, and others, as well as custom avatars, uniform colors, all of which will cost you anything from $0.99 to $4.99 in real money.

It’s all great fun, though, and it requires a certain level of strategic thinking and an understanding of all the different tactical rules and potential opponent moves along the way. You’ll not need to purchase anything if you just enjoy playing the game, but having the options of the different teams and units will keep playing Hero Academy fresh for the near future.

Hero Academy is available now for free in the Mac App Store, so get a move on and challenge me already.

Source: App Store

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