The Magnificent Pixel Dynasty

The Magnificent Pixel Dynasty is a sequel of sorts to the ambitious but flawed All Glory to the Pixel King.

Again you're building 2D castles to house your monarch, and again you're scrapping against other players' creations to try and earn gold to spend on more materials to increase your defences.

But there are some interesting twists this time around. You're aiming to build a castle that will last for generations, and the generations that will endure inside those walls.

You need to marry off your citizens, equip them with the weapons you find when you're raiding other castles, and hope their offspring don't get horribly slaughtered in any battles.

Those battles are simple turn-based affairs. You get a bunch of warriors each time you start a new dynasty, and you move them around the grid-based battlefield with a few taps.

Once you've moved a character, you can attack with them, so long as there's anything in range. You'll have a mix of archers, magicians, and short-range combatants at your disposal.

When you manage to kill the opposing side's king, or they manage to kill yours, it's game over. If you've won you count the spoils, if you've lost you start again from scratch.

Tower defence

The game certainly builds on the ideas of its predecessor, and the scratchy visuals are just as cute as they were the first time around. But it has some of the Pixel King's problems too.

Fights can sometimes get frustrating, and on a couple of occasions it's come down to a king-off that meant traipsing across the battlefield to an obvious defeat.

But all in all it's a more interesting prospect. It's not afraid to hide some of its ideas, so you'll need to poke around the menus to find out what's what.

If you're willing to put a bit of time in, and don't mind the odd lump of frustration, then there's a lot here to like.