Island Empire - Strategy

This is what strategy in android should look like. Clean, simple and yet challenging enough to keep playing. I had a blast playing through the whole game and even it encourages map creation from players. Bought the full version and it is totally worth it. Hours and hours of gameplay. Totally recommended!

Fun game to wile away some time.

One of the very best strategy games IMHO. Very simple yet challenging, very diverse levels, and now with map editor, weekly challenges and PvP. I keep going back to it and spending hours on it

great mechanics and simple game play but the next chapter is behind a pay wall in general very good

AI rush you hard and have a massive boost to income (at least 3x what you get). You can't compete after level 20, don't bother. Same problems years later. NPCs start with more money and larger territory.

it has a slow movement animation that kinda draws the action out

Very similar but slower mechanics to Antiyoy. Could almost be viewed as a mesh of both Antiyoy and a very old pc game from the 80's, The art of war. Prefer Antiyoy for a smoother experience. Worth playing. ideas: -fog of war campaign -option to turn off enemy animation (would speed up the game)

A very enjoyable way to pass the time. you can tell that the creator put a lot of good into this game and it's very fun.

too many pay walls, expectations to pay in app purchases

Slay and antiyoy but cute

Great little indie game, played for hours. Ads aren't annoying or too often, spaced just right.

there's an ad in EVERY level, even restarting one, and you can't even excuse it because they ALSO have an in-game store for perks AND dlcs

love the game - had to find the correct setting for fast movement with the new update

This is a very fun game and isn't oversaturated with ads (one between each round, which, in the early game is around 5 minutes but I'm sure will get longer. This game is similar to antiyoy, as they are both clearly inspired by slay. Just with the basis that this game respects you for playing it and isn't trying to milk you for money, this game deserves a higher rating than most mobile games Edit: just learned that you have to pay to access the full game, so it loses a star for having that & ads

Nice try dd. The game concept, gameplay and mechanics was stolen from another game (which... I forgot the name, so now will try to find it) thar I've played a year ago, they just changes style from smooth vector to pixel...

Great game. Could be more units or towers though. Needs a friend list so I can battle homies since the online mode is lacking players.

Excellent strategy game. Pick it up for a few minutes or for hours, this is how games should be made. Only one thing detracts from overall gameplay that appears to be a glitch, but isn't a game-breaker: the fast movement setting appears to be stuck on, even if I disable it. This makes it difficult to ascertain enemy moves. Evenso, I recommend everyone give it a go. You might be surprised at how much punch is in this little pocket.

One of the very few games I've paid for.

geat offline strategy game i love the simple mechanics that all come together for complex play scenarios

good game

Simple game. Hard to master, i still lose to hard bots( Good to play when waiting for something, and it saves your progress from the last game you started. I`d like to have a little button near the continue or battle mode buttons, that starts the last saved game. Anyway - game is great.

Just started the game. I enjoy the mechanics and the simplicity regarding tactics. I prefer calm strategy games like this one to help me relax. The music is enjoyable.

Just know it's still being played in the big ”26....🫡Great game!

Forced fullscreen unskippable advertisements.

Boring.

Great game!

Love this. Its like chess and risk 2 in one when is #2 coming?

worst game

bada bakwas game hai

Lowered to 3 stars after the last update. Random lockups and slowdowns when playing big maps, will probably shelve this game until it's fixed

Too much bug

SEXUALLY EXPLICIT ADS! Change your ad service and my rating will return in 5 stars. Game is 100 stars best in the app store lovingly crafted indy with simplicity and depth. Huge amount of free content and one of the few reasonably priced remove ads games. Can't say enough good things. AD SHOWED GIRL MASTERBATING! Most ads are are normal but this experience led me to uninstall all games with ads from my child's device. We all have to take responsibility for appropriate content.

worst boring scam game ever

My favourite late night strategy game! Original: Pretty good but the app has an annoying bug that puts the audio at max whenever you go back to the app. Please remember it is muted.

asked for my data. Im confused I think it said to keep game stable is that the google id? and I think game is not for me . but thank you for respond

It's easy to learn, hard to master. I rarely give reviews, but when I do, I always give honest reviews. This game is simple, doesn't take much time, can easily be played in between waiting time. It deserves 4 stars.

fun little game!

It's ahh

Levels are impossible to win without the tutorial even in easy mode

This is the kind of strategy game I've been looking for! Great game!

Island Empire is the only game that makes me feel like a military genius one minute and completely betrayed by my own decisions the next. It looks all cute and pixelated, but don’t let that fool you—this game will humble you fast if you don’t think three moves ahead. No annoying pay-to-win nonsense, just pure strategy and the occasional “why did I do that?” moment. If you enjoy conquering tiny islands and questioning your life choices at the same time, this game is absolutely worth it.

forced ads between levels

The only game I keep coming back to. The game design is extremely elegant and offers really intricate puzzle-like maps to solve. A perfect treat to my brain while not preying on addictive patterns, which is exactly what I'm looking for.

decent game, but ai makes silly mistakes

Very well done mate! Maybe proactively ask people to review the app if they use it a lot. An app like this deserves a 4.8 rating average.

I love this game but it seems my friends on island x map get to do levels involving cards instead of the buy pieces way the game normally plays how can I get this kind of play?!

modernized version of the old PC game Slay I love it. In app purchases are perfectly fair. small fee for no ads and new maps and then cosmetics you can dump into if you want.

A very fun and challenging strategy game. I was wondering if you can change your team color or am i stuck with blue?

very original. seems too basic at first but by the time you hit level 15 tactics start to click in. epic game and the ads are okay, games last so long that it really doesnt bother

So can you provide an estimate time of when the sequel is going to release and also can you add a feature where you can remove mountains or trees at the cost of high money and also can you add data base of player kind of thingy so that we can play their old maps ?

Fantastic game!

simple game.

It's a really good pocket strategy game, and arguably id normally give it 5 stars. However I paid for the Ad free version a couple of years ago... now the ads have returned. I'll amend the review once my ads go away 😊

im a big chess fan and to me this game delivers! the rules are simple once you figure them out... i love everything about this game! all the different terrain and walls features that can be used strategicly...its sort of like the Civilization games but simpler and easier for a phone... the graphics would be fun to play with maybe

not bad it's just extremely hard your always at a disadvantage one of you vs 6 of everyone else can't add soldiers or barricades where you want just where they say you can the early levels were much better it just gets to hard to quickly probably my own skill issue I'll admit that but dang man idle back a hair

good stratgy

I've been playing this game for years. I bought the full version pretty early on. I love this game. The developer keeps expanding the content in the game. there's a community of people releasing their own maps every week to have constant playability. I crave this quality of game but I dont know how to sift the through the p2w trash to find more like it.

one of the best game

this game is way better than it has any business being! great mechanics, fun gameplay, excellent work dev!

pretty basic rules probably worth paying for the total app UPDATED REVIEW: 2yrs after downloading the game they have added so much. they added some great objectives that have improved the game alot for me

i guess its ok, i did encounter a small bug tho. when watching the 2nd Ad it doesnt give u the +2. only the first Ad does

I've come back repeatedly to this game, it has earned the 5 star rating in my book. Worth the download and the install. I wish the dev would make a sequel or spinoff or something, I'm very interested in seeing what else they come up with. Anyway, loved this game from the start! Slight learning curve on how things work, but we'll worth it. 😁 Get. This. Game. 😁

amazing gameplay, the second the developer makes another app Im buying it. they earned my trust

I'm enjoying Easy mode and looking forward to when I complete the challenges, going back on the next mode, then the hardest after.

I love this game. I have bought all the extra levels but even without the purchase, you get great value with a whole island for free. The mechanics are fun and the hard mode challenges are hard without being unfair (in almost all levels). The one issue with a level I had I left a review mentioning it here and fairly quickly it was fixed by the developer to feel much more fair and nowhere near as grindy to beat. I am very appreciative of this update so thank you so much and you should play this!

One of the most thought-provoking single player games I have played in a long time. I return to it over and over, and put money into it for cosmetics only I will see to further support the devs.

fun game, and excellent support 🙂

My favourite game 😊 Its an effective tactical game with puzzle elements. The rules are simple but the complications are many. Its short play too. The indy developer is heavily involved in the community on Discord. You can even create your own maps and upload them for others to play, I've rolled out one a week and am glad to have created some very few could beat. In-app purchases are not required, but are worth it for the extra features.

The difficulty spikes to a ridiculous level from tutorial onwards with no hints or strategies to combat them. I played a match that lasted 3 mins before I lost

I hope the ability to create clans and have clan wars added to the game.

game gets boring too fast thay need to add new content

Honestly one of my favourite games of all time! I have been playing for years and love it. Thank you to the person who runs the app you smash it!!!

really fun little game, perfect for when you have some time to kill, I just wish there were some more units or buildings, other than that I think it's great👍

I've had this game for a few years. I play it every so often and it is challenging w/o being too difficult. I purchased the extras, completed the whole game, built some maps and now I'm waiting for the expansion or 2nd edition.

too much tutorial

So boring. I uninstalled the game after the tutorial.

good

The AI in this app doesn't play according to the rules. Though I had the same land as AI it could have so much money to buy many soldiers at a time with a high level, whereas players wouldn't get so much money to buy soldiers. The AI is also facilitated by farms. Please correct the AI and I would like to play the game fairly. Please provide equal resources to AI and the player.

one of the best game I found in 2025

this is a very well thought-out strategy game and no forced ads

cool

I have so many games, including AAA ones, on my phone, but this is the only one that really sucks me in. Such a perfect simple game with endless variety. Please add the ability to change the player colour! I'm constantly confused by me playing as blue instead of red. That's my only gripe. Thank you!

Good game, price point too high for additional content. I really like the game and would like to purchase the additional content, however £8.99 is too much for this game. If it was £3 - £4 I would seriously consider buying it. Do you do any offers?

Best game I've ever played on mobile. Today I finished last level on X island on 3 starts, and while it was a good feeling, I wish there were more islands to play. BTW great choice of removing the cards choice thing. This game must not be based on luck! (I also really like how you programmed each AI differently). wont go into detail to not spoil for others ;)

I first downloaded this game several years back, and I'd enjoyed it so much then that I had bought all the island packs. This game is a classic example of having good building blocks and repeatedly putting them together into compelling new puzzles. I'd burned out originally once I'd figured out how to handle the "even match" and "end game" patterns. When I finally came back, the remaining content kept me going as it presented new twists on the "starting out" and "establishment" phases.

1st review was March of 2023 and I absolutely enjoyed the game then. Now May of 2025 and I still enjoy the game. Ads are very few and very challenging game. I ended up buying ad free just to support the development of what is hopefully Island Empire 2. I'll be waiting on that game!

OK

A unique game with nothing i could compare it to on here. Its incredibly fun and the community keeps it fresh with their player made maps that keep you playing after the islands are through. GREAT NEWS the card mode is gone so it's no longer a 3* game. Incredibly great game devs!

(Answer to the developer 2) Honestly, I believe that the game has reached its peak. I'm in no position to say this. But I believe that it's time for something new. In any case, I hope that you can make it, and bring life back to the game. But realistically speaking, it's very hard. The only thing that's left to add, is a story. Maybe that could make a difference. A few words before and after each level, to add some spice, and give some meaning to the progress. edit+ "insert like"

Great simple game! love how it's strategy focused and minimal in approach. accessible to all ages and gaming experience. wish this developer would make more games like this! love the multiplayer feature

The game has improved to quite a significant more from before. yet multiplayer side needs improvement.

I find this game challenging and fun.

Great game other than the amount of ads

this is the greatest game ever made. however, I'm stuck on Island X Special 4. can you please provide a walkthrough?

Loved the strategy based nature and difficulat gameplay of the game.

Awesome game

I had this game a while ago and deleted it, but recently downloaded it to see it's gotten 10 times better, a fun and simple game to play in your free time. 100% recommend a good job to the developers.

Free, few ads, no microtransactions, play as much as you want. What's not to love?

Love this game. Simple but addictive. A turn based strategy that is always new. If you get stuck, you're not stuck on that map and can come back to it later as you do other maps. Just great.

The game keeps on freezing I can't even report it in the bugreport

I've had this game for a few years now and it's been about 80% of the mobile game play in that time from day one. you can play for a long as you want without adds or some kind of energy or stamina bar limiting your play or progression. I wish more games had this kind of approach. The gameplay it's self is a simple but fantastic strategy game that I can, and have, and will continue to, play over and over. With player created and randomly generated maps, you never get board.

A solid game for it's style. Limited in scope but what it is it does well. Play the free Island and if you enjoyed it, you'll enjoy Island 2. Supposedly an Island 3 is coming or at least teased at the end of Island 2 and I'd likely buy it as soon as it's available. Just wanted to add, years later, support has remained strong. Didn't care for the "card restriction" mechanic on Island X. But If the teased Island Empire 2 ever releases I will get it Day 1.

Update: Still a top tier game. Absolutely love the new Battle Mode with the cycle of community maps to play to keep it fresh. But, Island X is an absolute nightmare with the new card system. I appreciate trying something new, just not for me. The new mines system is a great addition to the game though. Still a 10/10 for me, even with my dislike of cards and I still play a couple games almost every day.

This is a great game! Highly recommend. New expansion is tough and not as fun as the original. It's a little frustrating that you have a lot of gold on your turn, but nothing to spend it on as you are limited to one new card. It would be nice to be able to buy from a market for additional cards. I could think of over few tweaks in the mode to make it a little more balanced.

This is a great example of the kind of games I like to see on mobile. Mechanically simple yet robust in application, like chess. It makes it easy to pick up but through practice you experience this "What if I do this? A-ha!" moment that feels so rewarding. Edit: I was wrong about unlocks being overpriced. Recently an option to unlock the full game was added to the shop and his simplification let me evaluate it's value more effectively. I purchased it immediately. Sometimes it's a mind thing!

Wonderful game, beat island 1 with medium and almost all hard difficulty. Very fun and requires a good bit of strategy. Would like to be able to have ranged characters/ towers and to move the main island screen. Other than that, it is very well made. Bought the full game, beat every level on hard. Great job on this game, well done! I I hope more is added soon, very enjoyable.

It's a very fun game, although it wears thin as it goes on. Once you know how to leverage walls and farms it's pretty easy even on harder difficulties. The later levels are very large, which makes it pretty grindy, and leads to situations where I've clearly won but need 5-10 minutes to close. I wish there were more interesting "puzzle" style maps and fewer sprawlers. The "special" levels with unique twists are always fun but I often don't feel like playing 3-4 sprawlfests to unlock the next.

Fun game....once you understand the rules. The tutorial isn't the best. I had to read the rules in the settings to understand the strategy of the game. Also wish I could scroll around on the map to see which levels I've completed, how many left, how many stars I earned etc. Currently, you have to walk the character to each level individually. I like to go back and get 3 stars on each level, but the current map navigation is frustrating. Overall fun game, just needs a few takes to make it perfect

A very nice turn-based strategy game, like a mix of chess and Age of Empires. The pixellated graphics work well, and maintaining a good balance of farms, knights, and walls can definitely be a challenge. If you have more than one province (split empire), it is not currently obvious that you need to tap on the city square to see that area's funds and buy for that location, this could use some tweaking. Overall a great effort though, especially for one programmer doing the whole shebang.

I love this simple strategy game. I remember playing something just like this as a kid, and it's just as fun today. The campaign is increasingly unbalanced against the player in order to make it more difficult, but if you dont like the challange, the battle mode lets you set things up fairly.

It's a fun game you can pick up very quickly. Sometimes the easy ai is a bit more difficult than "easy", but usually if you restart the match the ai seems to be easier. But making an easy ai that isn't super easy to beat, but not super difficult is a tough task. The normal and hard difficultly are perfect imo. It's a good game :)

Really enjoy, but the difficulty is too tough after a while. I really don't understand how "easy mode" is easy. I hate to imagine what the normal and hard modes are like. Easy mode needs to be adjusted. I'd like to be exceptionally challenged my 2nd playthrough, not the first when I'm still learning strategies and getting the hang of the levels. Reached level 32 and am stuck despite trying different approaches. I really don't want to play a level 5+ times and not beating it. It's too frustrating

Really enjoyed this game. If you are new, Give it time. Parts can be very difficult at first. If you get stuck, partice on battle mode. Then come back. Grass can recover squares you were just on. Try a line of men to clear. I didn't have to purchase anything to make it to final map.

Very fun game to pick up and play. Sometimes I place a unit when I want to scroll, but there's a convenient undo button. One thing which is not explained super well in the tutorial is that each unconnected bit of land you own acts as its own province under your kingdom, with a separate money pot, and you have to switch between them. This is also true for the enemy, so if you cut off an incoming army from its main base the army will collapse from not being able to afford the support cost.

Amazing game! Played through the first island and am blown away. The games one man creator has done a brilliant job of incorporating a simple mobile platform into a "simple to play, difficult to master" masterpiece. Its a complete game in itself, and the first free island includes about 35 scenarios. The tutorial is great (pay attention) as all strategic elements are important. Old school gamers will love this one, its not a typical mobile clone of garbage, it legit. Full game is $10, gladly. GG

I actually really love this game. Its the type of mobile game I look for. Ads are sparse and not a big deal like other mobile games. I paid for the app to support further development as there are some balancing issues and thats what separated my review from 4 and 5 stars. Many levels are unbalanced and even on easy mode can be impassable. I look forward to updating my review to 5 stars as hopefully we see some balancing comes. Thanks for a great game. Absolutely I recommend.

One of the very rare diamonds in the rough when it comes to mobile games, Island Empire is a genuinely enjoyable experience that avoids all of the worst tropes in mobile gaming. There is no gacha system, no energy system limiting how much you can play, the game is a whole experience, and despite later chapters costing money to unlock, the free chapter will easily last you more than enough to leave you satisfied. For only $9.99, the full game is an absolute steal, and totally worth every penny.

It's a lot harder than I expected. The only time there's ads is when you have to restart a level. Lvl.7 and under is basically a hands on tutorial, at lvl.8 you had better of been paying attention lol. Some people complain that the Ai is too hard but really I think it's well balanced. Very entertaining and definitely makes you think! The key is pay attention to the tutorial and use the ai strategies against it. You always go first, so at that rate technically the game is always in your favor lol

I had to edit my review since it became a great game for me. In the beginning I thought it was repetitive, but when I played it for more than 10 hours and did not get tired of it, I changed my mind. So, it's a great strategy game, a mix of checkers and age of empire. I highly recommend! Persistence and comprehension of the game is essential! Easy five stars!

This is a really nice little game, good job. I don't think it is five stars, the fifth star is because the developer is a one man band AND is responding to all of the reviews, good and bad. What an absolute champ. The game is also pretty decent, I skimmed the critical reviews and I have to say anyone who is getting stuff on level 5 onwards is clearly incapable of thinking tactically. It takes time to work out the mechanics but once you do it should not be hard. BUILD FARMS!!!!

Good concept and it seems to run well, but the artificial difficulty (i.e. starting with less land, next to the only patch of grass, enemy starts with two farms ect.) is unreal. If you like playing Xcom 2 on Commander difficulty then you might like it, but otherwise it's just a frustrating slog after the first few levels. Might be better if the enemy AI was explained in some way, but it's not covered at all in any of the tutorials.

Seems like a solid game. But the UI is a little rough. Learning about buying and merging early on is more trial and error than anything else. Sometimes 50 gold isn't enough to buy a lvl1 unit. Sometimes that's enough for 3 or 4. Some levels have limits that aren't clear, i.e. you can only have 1 lvl3 knight on some levels. Maybe this is less of an issue later in the game, but I didn't make it far as there are a lot of ads for little gameplay.

Wonderful strategy game that's so simple to learn but challenging enough to master. I've played so many hours on the full game and I'm now replaying the story while I wait for the new island. This truly is a remarkable turn based strategy game and well worth the small price for the full game. Even without paying there is enough here to keep you going. Love it.

Great mechanics, it takes a little bit to figure out how to find prices for things, and I think there was confusing limitations in the tutorial, like i couldn't merge two level 2 guys at one point. It's also a bit too easy in the beginning. You need to get rid of the ads for the first 6 or 7 locations, the ratio of ad time to play time is really bad for small maps. And add a way to pay to opt out of ads. The AI probably needs some work too, they're sometimes really dumb, but other times brutal.

A very interesting game. I don't think I have seen a turn based game quite like this one. The rules are relatively simple, and man, it is fun. This is a game made by one person, so there is a little bit of jank that is inevitable with that (typos, small bugs that aren't gamebreaking but got overlooked...), but that is my only complaint. The ads aren't that intrusive either... I just paid for the game to support the dev ;) I definitely recommend this game!

This is a really incredible strategy game. The rules are fairly simple, but the AI is good enough that it will pound you if you make a mistake, as well as playing very intelligently. Battles flow quickly and micromanagement doesn't exist. You have to carefully weigh your options, as mistakes can cost you badly quickly. Ads are not excessively, just coming at the end of a level, with each level taking several minutes or more to beat. Fantastic strategy game!!

Honestly love it! Simple enough to pick up, but complexity to make it stick. Highly recommend looking up Developer Haberzeth on YouTube if you get stuck. They have a bunch of videos showing strategy. Ads for the free version wherent so bad, long sure, but only between levels. But I quickly decided it was worth paying for. Beaten the first two islands now and am working my way through the third island. Definitely recommend the expansions. Maps get much more involved and varied. With new features

Fun gameplay. It gets a tad repetitive, though, (some sort of earned upgrades would be cool) and it needs some way to skip certain levels (maybe for every 5 you beat you can skip one or watch a long ad or something). It's not that fun to do a level 10 times and just get stuck. Better to keep people playing with a way to skip.

**Edit: After two weeks of playing, I finally beat the first island! Michael, you really did a fantastic job on this game. Level 30 kicked my butt over and over. The difficulty level really brings me back to how old 8bit games used to be. No hand holding here. Just the satisfaction of finally beating that level. I liked it so much I bought the full $10 game! Its worth it for sure. Good work on a simple yet addicting game.

Island empire is one of the greatest phone games I have played! The art style is perfect for a fun turn-based game such as this. The game play is simple yet engaging and extremely addictive. It takes games like the old warcraft games and streamlines it, into a great challenge. The in-app purchases are also reasonably priced and bring more of what makes the game great! If you like turned based combat this game is for you!

It's an iterative improvement on Antiyoy, using squares instead of hexes. The core game play loop is just as engaging as Antiyoy was, and the graphical improvement is pleasant. However, it is unfortunate that the ads between levels are very long and unskippable, as much as a minute each. I would hope that later levels include novel mechanics rather than exclusively retreading the same ground as its predecessor. If not, it will quickly get samey and repetitive.

The game itself is great and represents the old spirit of videogame making. Gameplay-side there is nothing wrong with the game, simple yet fun for a while (could be harder, AI is bad). It doesn't have many ads and is entirely f2p. There are 2x 40 levels to buy for 5$ a pack which is tbh very overpriced for the hours of gameplay you recieve but it's a far better option than current-day monetization. This game clearly has a dev that cares about the quality of their games and I absolutely love it!

One of the few game apps I actually didn't mind spending $10 for the entire game. Love the graphics, no more ads, and the game is certainly challenging but not unbeatable or a pay to win type situation. Brings back memories of when I used to play games on my old game boy advance. I hope they make more games like this one. Totally worth the money and hours I waste playing.

Beautiful strategy game. It's really challenging. I'm not a big gamer but first session took me around 3 hours straight with short breaks. Bought a full game, it's only a few cents and definitely worth it, even from the side to support the developer. Thank you and wish you to become as good in your field as you could only imagine.

Really really great game , if I could give it 6/5 stars I would. It's simple enough , nothing in it is too complicated you build and expand your territory but that might sound simple but it's got lots of statergy to it. Loved it so much I played all 40 levels within a week but can't beat the final one that seems impossible about now but can't wait till I finally crack the code. Awesome game.

It's pretty much antiyoy but with some changes to the formula to keep it fresh. Using a square grid instead of hexes makes it easier to keep track of the strategy, and having walls instead of towers means that protecting your territory takes a bit more caution. I really appreciate having the campaign map and the special challenge levels -- touches like that make me wanting to come back for more instead of feeling like I've exhausted the strategy of the game.

Really love this game! It has AMAZING potential. I really hope this continues to get worked on as I want to keep playing it for a long time! There's some hiccups that feel like it's a bit in a beta stage. The opponents seem to always have a starting advantage, an unknown sum of money that seems to grow faster than it should, their lvl 1 can take your lvl 1 but you need a lvl 2 to take their lvl 1. If their funds were posted it would feel less unfair. Awesome game. Needs work. But it rules!

Like a slow, but graphically better, version of yiotro with ads. So all in all it isn't a terrible game, better graphically than yiotro, but ultimately what killed it for me was the fact I read a review that it is ad free, and that simply isn't true... I understand that ads are crucial to income, but I don't have the patience for ads. So the game itself is well made if not a little slow, but the inclusion of ads dropped the rating for me.

Solid game, it's simple and fun. Farms are too good though. Edit: thanks for reading my review! You're right that farms aren't unfair, since everyone has access. The issue I have with them is that optimal play seems to be spending time to plop down more farms than your opponent. After all if you're each one makes the tile it's on five times more valuable.

This is my favorite game. I've purchased every thing I can in it. Sometimes I'll get really stumped on a level, and after several tries have to sleep in it, then can think of a better strategy. I love it! I do have a question though--can you reset the game but keep your purchases? I'd like to start all over but don't necessarily want to pay for everything all over again.

Gameplay is fun, simple, and interesting. Difficulty scaling, on the other hand, is very poorly implemented. There is no increase in skill or strategy, the odds just get increasingly stacked against you. There comes a point where it becomes based on rng luck instead of skill and then it's just not fun anymore. Went from enjoyable to tedious.

Great timekiller! Easy to learn, hard to master, but highly addictive. I would like to see differing units that have differing abilities someday. Also, in some of the maps, the player is at an EXTREME disadvantage and can feel unfair. But overall, I love it for the same reason people love From Software games: the feeling of accomplishment for winning.

This is an excellent game, it's very simple and straightforward tabletop style gameplay, leaving the focus on implementing strategy. I've had it for a while and just bought the full version. The only things keeping my review average is that it's incredibly annoying that i can't turn off all of the sound effects, which makes it difficult to listen to music while i play. The other annoying thing is taking turns with npc's, i just wish there were an option to skip watching them make their moves.

Having tons of fun with this game, however there's one thing which I don't quite understand and isn't explained in the game nor anywhere else on the Internet. In what direction do the kinghts move? For example, in chess the rook is like a plus, what would be the shape for each knight then? In addition, sometimes a level 1 knight can take enemy territory, sometimes it can't, what's up with that?

Good game, nice graphics, graphics are comparatively better than antiyoy. Based on squares, no hexagons, it is simple to understand movement, looks simple, but on the other side entire game is quite costly to buy. Antiyoy developer is selling his games for a lesser price, please do the same thing or atleast sell at reasonable price not too costly or not too cheap. There is no multiplayer section to play in this game, in antiyoy there is an online version.

This game is great! The ad placement isn't. The ads are intrusive and annoying. I will say they aren't as bad as some of the most toxic and terrible mobile games with ads ruining the entire experience! There are much better ways to monetize your game I would find a way around these types of ads. ( An ad after every single level) would be a 5 star game without these ads.

This game is great. It reminds me of parts of some early 90's PC strategy games, though not one actual game exactly like this. A small variety of units and structures across a small field requires strategic thinking and you can't simply build up to Uber units and win. If you try that they will all starve or their supply lines will be cut off by the enemy's cheapest units behind them. Really nice.

This is a pretty fun and fairly challenging game. I feel like some of the mechanics could do with some explaining, and some of the challenging things are a bit off balance with the things that are, imo, overly easy. But other than that nit-picking stuff, I'm very happy about my time playing Island Empire.

Really addicting turn-based strategy game. Very simple yet fun mechanics. You will have to make tough decisions split between attacking, defending, and building your resources. Combat is like checkers/chess - every move you make you must consider if and how it can be countered. Very fun!

Simple rules that create room for plenty of strategy. Bright pixel graphics that communicate effectively. It runs well, slows down slightly on the large levels when there are a lot of armies up, which is perfectly forgivable. Would have loved to see some type of new army or tile. Something like a rich land that gives extra gold. But it's quite good as it is.

The graphics are pretty, but they are also "noisy" enough that it's difficult to distinguish unit types or know the strategic situation at a glance. The inability to move diagonally is counterintuitive and frustrating. Antiyoy is a very similar game in principle, is much easier to comprehend at a glance, and seems to enable deeper strategy. I will stick with antiyoy for these reasons.

Simple, deep, fun, free. Place units on squares to conquer that square. Each captured square grants money every turn and if you run out of money your units die- but its not game over. After the tutorial the battles get more difficult, and for me at least, it has hit a good challenge level. The base mechanic is simple but feels really deep. Ads kick after a few matches and run after each match. You can pay to remove ads, for a 2nd campaign, or a map editor. No pay to win and base game is free.

It's rather fun for what it is. It gets rather dumb in the later stages though where the computers can just push out 20-30 guys or fill the map with walls in a turn to spam across the whole map. Would get a higher rating if there was more than 1 type of soldier like calvary or seige weapons or if the movement was a bit more reasonable or well defined.

Fun and Fair. It appears easier than it sometimes is and continues a fun progression of challenge. You get a good amount of content for free and the game has more for a few dollars, which is fair I think. You do get an ad after most maps, but nothing that interrupts game play. I wish that there was a full version that I could buy for one consolidated charge to get all content and no ads. $12.47 for all of that on such a small, simple mobile game is a bit steep, but I would pay maybe $8 for all.

Edit.. before I stated this might be one of the best games on Android. I have to correct myself. this game is totally epic! If quality storylines were added Multiplayer, orcs, zombies, vampires or other creatures, all with different talents. (Maybe for each $2.99 per different type), then the game wills certainly be one the greatest android game of all time! Btw, the developer is a freaking sadistic lunatic. I've spent 5 hours trying to beat the last level! I love the challenge!

For a one man show, its an excellent game. Its a bit of a puzzle game as well as strategy, and has quite a simple charm. I'm almost through the free content and considering the paid expansion. It lost just one star for a slight lack of direction in the beginning for how combat works. (what beats what) once you summize that higher number wins and max knight can indeed beat max knight, its smooth sailing. Love it so far

Highly enjoyable turn based strategy game. Good build up in difficulty, first island of 40 levels are free and the second island (also 40 levels) is paid but a fair price. Some of the later levels can be extremely challenging depending on how the fights between the ai goes but otherwise no complaints. Am wondering how to get the third pendant on the main screen as the first two come from completing the islands.

I really enjoy this game. It had some really interesting puzzles, it's challenging and entertaining. The gameplay is simple and yet allows for plenty of variations. I think this is a great idea and realization. Even more for a one person job! Congrats and happy to have contributed by paying for no ads, even though they are way less intrusive than most games.

A fun and enjoyable game. Not too heavy on the ads. A solid and challenging game. The developers clearly cared about making a good game first and money second, which in my opinion is the way it should be. The gameplay is enjoyable and challenging. I always found myself wanting to beat the next level and frustrated if I lost. Well done!

Awesome game! Simple mechanics and easy to get into, but keeps a nice challenge level as you progress. Not to easy where you get bored and not to hard where you get frustrated and want to stop playing. I have really enjoyed this game, beat island I and just started on island II. Highly recommended!

Dude this is an awesome game. For a one man project, I'm really impressed with this. I've played almost every level and am definitely considering buying the next island. (Also love that pay model; ads were minimal and unobtrusive here, and you get 40 levels to replay indefinitely for free, but get more for a really reasonable price imo). Loved this, great job 👍

I don't remember how I got to this game, but I'm in love with it! The aspect that keeps me playing is the variety of levels (40 levels per world, second world is paid), the strategic mind you gotta develop while playing this ;) and it has a lovely, kinda funny sound track! My compliments to the developer for making a simply looking, yet very fun android game without any P2W parts.

Great game but I noticed it cheats. I had a stone wall that only the lvl 4 guys can break through and on my next turn my wall was gone and there was no lvl 4 guy. I mean unless you can downsize your guys, there was no possible way this could happen. I am definitely a strategist and this game was fun. Definitely grabbed my attention but this bug needs to be fixed cause I'm missing the game haha

An awesome game! Easy to learn and hard to master. I would like to see other troops like archers. For exemple a level 3 archer can be killed by a level 3 troop (the archer will have 1 level lower defence around him, except for level 1), but the archer can kill a troop from 3 or 4 tiles away. Edit: Thanks for the response! :) I know you have a YouTube channel, and you can keep us updated on this game and your other projects!

Love it. Simple game with easy to understand rules but yet still manages to be challenging. The ads got a bit annoying after a few levels so I paid to get rid of them, which was well worth it in my opinion.The first island with forty levels is free while you have to pay to unlock a second island that has another 40 levels,which I bought after having so much fun on the first one. One question dev:I can't seem to find a way to win(not through superiority)on island 2's special 2. Is that by design?

I groan when I see a large map because I know the AI will just spam walls when I'm invading making a "won" game drag out for so long. Speaking of the AI it feels like they never really take advantage of their, well, advantage. They always start out with more but never advance as if they do, it feels like the play style doesn't change much. Another thing that bothers me is the camera, on the enemy turn it will constantly jump around making it hard to focus on what they're doing. Cool game tho

Nicely done! I liked the game concept. Managing resources and the surrounding geological features makes for some good strategies. I would like to see more types of units, and maybe make the grass grow more aggressively to spice up the game? Also I think you've put a lot of work into designing the islands, if the camera could be moved freely I would be able to appreciate the beauty of the islands more.

It's really hard to find a mobile game with teeth these days. It's all microtransactions and lootboxes and limp, idle gameplay. Island empire has ads but is far from egregious with them, has no in-purchases to make things easier as far as i can tell, and no real-time gated unlocks or 7 extra currencies to obfuscate some kind of false scarcity for a skin. It is a game, and it is quite fun, and slightly challenging.

Easy to pickup and play, good and simple strategy, nice pixel art, good map generating, and lots of potential to being more indepth if needed! (would be awesome to add other types of defenses, resource producers, more troop types, etc.) The only downside I've noticed is playing a random game against 3 other ai and the game or ai freezes after 15-20 turns. Runs just fine fighting against 2 ai though. Nice work! I enjoyed my first hour of gameplay 👍

This is a wonderful little game that offers some pretty challenging and strategic gameplay in a pretty unassuming package. Ads are minimal but I don't mind since the game is developed by one guy who I am happy to support. It's a pretty simple style and the quality is very good all around too. I am only 20 or so levels in but I am looking forward to playing more.

I almost never leave reviews but this game is AMAZING. I really like it, so I'll drop a review. The combat system, even if it's simple at plain sight, it's actually complex and fun. I'm not too far in the game, but great work! (Tbh this is one of the best games out there since it's nowhere as P2W/P2P as a lot of the rest, and it does feel good when you finally manage to archieve something.) Backtracking to play the special levels is annoying tho, but it's fine. Anyway, nice game!

Fun strategy game. Fans of Slay and Antiyoy have a new game to play finally! I would like to see more levels/islands and a map creator. I feel like it would be great to play maps created by the community. I've seen many reviews requesting more units but I personally enjoy the classic gameplay. Maybe just adding a tower wall that does AOE defense like the base does would be nice. I'm looking forward to future updates, keep up the good work!

Truly inspired The UI is god awful and there are small, not game beaking bugs here and there. But that is completely negated by truly inspired game design. Like it says in the description, easy to learn but difficult to master. This game can be played in both short sessions and long time dumps. I e replayed island 1 twice because every game can go differently, and as you start to figure out the game more it's fun to try and speed run the levels Very good game Get the game it's good

Great little strategy game. Not too hard, but expect to fail and restart a couple times since you really do need the right strategy for each level. Some of them look downright unwinnable until you figure out the right strategy, then it's a satisfying crush. Make sure to play the side stages since they act as little tutorials to teach you elements of strategy.

Very enjoyable little game, which can be very challenging at times, but ultimately satisfying when you get through a level. Sometimes a winning strategy is a little luck based, but generally it's trial and error. Many levels feel unbeatable at times, but they are ... That is until the last one. I don't see how it's possible but I will likely keep trying for a bit.

Excellent little strategy game. If you're burned out on massive games with tons of units and complex upgrade paths, you'll enjoy the simplicity of this. Four unit types, 2 wall types, cities, farms, 3 usable terrain types, and that's it! Easy to learn, fun to master. There is a campaign mode with fixed maps to play against AI opponents, and a battle mode you can play with a combination of human and AI players where the maps are procedurely generated each time.

The simple nature makes it a pretty good "baby's first" turn based strategy game, especially with the more puzzle orientated stages, however I noticed a few weird difficulty spikes from the maps. Level 20 in particular is odd because I'm not sure how to not get the right side base killed off or win without it after a week of toying around with different strategies.

Very similar to Antiyoy, but the square grid makes things different enough. Instead of 6 directions, you only move along 4, making your defence lines easier to hold but putting more pressure on offence. Really enjoyable game, with some well thought out maps and campaign. Just wish there were more options in the Skirmish system and a map editor.

This is a fun strategy game! It shares a LOT of mechanics with Antiyoy, which is good, because that's one of my favorites! I also don't think I saw a single ad until level 9. A suggestion: the units should be a bit easier to tell apart. I sometimes have to look closely to tell the difference between the 2 lowest ranks. Also, it should be easier to tell whether a unit is ready to move or not. The sword-bobbing animation is too subtle for me.

Not a bad game but agree with the other reviews. Needs a better tutorial. Also if the AI is playing by the same rules as the developer says there are some bugs. I just executed a strategy of cutting the enemy off from his farms. At the start of his turn his income was negative 32. He built more units expanded territory slightly and ended his turn -20. I expected next turn all his units would be dead. Didn't happen even with negative money showing.

AI needs some work. They just dont ever seem to go after each other. Especially at level 28. The difficulty just takes a HUGE jump there and its mainly because neither green or red go after each other and your forced to face not 1 but 2 AI that have better starting positions than you. Not only that but the AI doesnt seem to recognize the strongest player on the board. Whereas Green will go after you even if Red is clearly stronger. Improvements to AI are NEEDED.

Solid game! If you like the classic 'Slay', you will indeed enjoy this game. Island Empire builds on the premise for some unique situations worth strategizing over. The resource building & area defending, felt more like a race for the most cunning route. I had some serious struggles in a few later levels. I AM STILL trying to beat the final level! Not sure if there are any hidden levels or areas, still also looking. Pixel art has a SMB3 feel to it. Nostalgic joy, the right kind of simple.

Good game, nice graphics, nice gameplay, overall really good. Definitely 5/5. Only things I might recommend are a bit more of a tutorial just to get used to how it works. Also, the dialogue boxes that appear and give information through certain levels (the help boxes) like the one which compares the abilities of certain levels of troops to destroy certain buildings and the one which describes a superiority win should be accessible again. There should be some way to look at them in other levels

Could use a little work as far as the tutorial goes, but the gameplay is unique and entertaining. Outside of the lack of instructions, only thing I could suggest is more of what we already have. More units for further upgrades, more walls (possibly some that deal damage to surrounding units?) Something to make it feel more like age of empires with further/ more in depth upgrades & map exploration. Blackened map for unexplored lands would be a cool game mode. & plz add online & offline co-op.

Great strategy game with nostalgic retro graphics. Played it for hours & I liked it. But what bothered me was the inability to pan when building or buying. One time I was going to build a farm near the corner of the map but it was too late cause it was placed near the center as I tried to pan & I can't undo it anymore. One more thing that would be great to see is the pan & zoom on the overworld map. & Also to add a start button on map cause it took me few secs to realize you have to tap the unit

Probably my first five star review, left 4 on some other games but I gotta say, this simple game hits strategy pretty well. The AI isn't a cakewalk, but they do make mistakes, almost humanely which can be exploited. Each level in the later area takes much longer and requires tactics and manipulation/foresight to move and defend certain cokepoints to ensure you keep certain enemies fighting each other, however... with that being said I'm completely unsure how to finish the last boss level o,O

Great strategic game. One huge plus is that there aren't too many ads, and on top of that I was given plenty of levels worth of trying the game before I was asked to rate it. The gameplay is fantastic, and the AI is actually smart enough where there's a challenge, but not too smart to make it impossible. Keep it up!

I've seen the creator respond to these reviews and I gotta say he is an absolutely amazing guy. Very nice to every person who wrights a review. Mean or nice reviews. Theres a couple things I will say tho. I know that this is in its early stages so obviously there isnt much variety in the gameplay or units. So in the future I'd like too see maybe more units like archers, siege machines, etc... also hope the 2nd island will be free in the future. Overall great game cant wait to see more!!

Quite a nice strategy game, well worth the time and if you pay for the ad-free version. (I have not tried the other island dlc yet.) Only have some minor complaints like I wish there were more side units that have different strength and weaknesses. And the computer players can be so annoying with their strategy, but great game over all!

A charming but poorly explained game. The graphics and music are pretty good. The basic premise of the game is interesting as well. You defend a castle and send troops to conquer the surrounding land. Unfortunately, the game's tutorial is useless and many mechanics are left unexplained. After playing for awhile, I still found myself scratching my head. Redo the tutorial and explain the game a little better and this could be a great game.

By far the best Slay-like game I've played. Units cannot move diagonally, only orthogonally, which is great for the game's usage of a square grid. And forts (actually just walls in this game) don't have zone of control, making the gameplay different, fun, and strategic. I like the aesthetic of the lines of walls much more than rows of forts. I highly recommend it.

Extremely challenging once you get to the desert-y area, and really makes you think out every move. The AI is often in an advantageous position after the beginning, and trying to figure out how to come out on top is very fun! There are also a few special games matches that are very fun to play through. And there is a quick battle mode where you can set up matches against AI. Definitely recommend.

Great game and TBS (turn based strategy) Somewhat simplistic in design and unit types, but this makes it easy to understand. The game has surprising tactical depth. The tactics available are cool, cutting of units from a town can destroy the unit, but save up income. Splitting an empire in smaller towns can make it easier, because the income is split between the towns aswell. For me the Ads are not that bad, after each mission I get an add, which doensn't interrupt the gameplay. 3,09Euro=addfree

Very nice game with increasingly difficult levels. Could almost not stop playing 😂 When will the next island come? Small suggestion : would be cool to have a random game mode where you can play on a map (maybe random or out of a set of maps), choose the number of AI, and also choose who would start (that the player starts, gives an advantage in many levels). Also an alliance mode, where the AI players don't fight each other, would be cool. Otherwise it's typically easy to win maps.