Franchise Wars Reviews

Franchise Wars is, at first glance, a turn-based strategy game resembling something like Advance Wars. On further inspection, it’s really a puzzle game that uses a similar layout to SRPG’s. You’re given a group a units to control at the beginning of each stage and your objective is to wipe out the enemy team. Several units are introduced over the course of 26 levels: Employees: They can attack other employees and fans, who die in one hit unless placed on top of a mountain Fans: They can push all non-aerial units back one tile. This doesn’t do any damage but it can be used tactically, like pushing units into water or off the map (both instant kills) Food trucks: Can’t be hurt by employees. Can ram three tiles in any immediate direction, but can’t attack then move. T-shirt cannons: Long-range units, can’t move then attack on the same turn and can’t attack tiles next to it (similar to the artillery in Advance Wars) Choppers: Basically flying fans, but it pulls enemies toward it instead of pushing. Can only be directly attacked by t-shirt cannons and blimps, but can be pushed off the map by fans. Blimps: Can only move one tile, but able to destroy anything surrounding it I call it a puzzle game because the gameplay is often focused on figuring out the right turn order instead of developing your own strategy. The first couple of stages are really easy and feel like a slog, but as more troops are introduced and the difficulty ramps up things get much more interesting. It still feels too simple overall, and a wider variety of terrain and units would be a welcome inclusion. The presentation is also bare bones, but it was developed in a month in a game jam sort of event so I guess it’s understandable. It’s best played in chunks, but you could easily beat it in one sitting – it clocks in at just under 2 hours (your mileage may vary depending on how clever you are). It never unlocks its full potential, but it has heart dammit. Franchise Wars is an enjoyable distraction, I could easily recommend it if it sounds like your kind of thing (it’s only $2 on Steam). There’s certainly room for improvement, and I would like to see a follow up some day that expands on its ideas.

A neat game. It's short with 26 bite-sized stages, but good for what it is. (Ignore my playtime; I played the non-Steam version.) It's a simple tactical battle game with quick puzzle-like battles. The level design takes advantage of each units unique abilities to keep things interesting and make each level feel a little different. I would love to see some bigger levels and more unit types, but part of the charm is the simplicity. Can't really complain with the sale price of sub $1. I recommend supporting the developers by checking out their other games if you like Franchise Wars. :) Keep the good games coming!