Aerena: Masters Edition

Are you ready for love?

£3.99 Developer Cliffhanger Productions, cliffhanger-productions.com

Works with iPhone, iPad, iOS 7 or later

Aerena is steampunk speed chess with bells and whistles on. But also a rich take on turn-based tactics.

Matches take place in small arenas, pitting your team of three units against other players (or AI in practice and survival modes). The aim is to take out your foe’s ship, either by attacking it directly or defeating enemy units.

It sounds simple, but there’s lots of variation. Aerena’s 16 units are appreciably distinct, especially in their special moves. The hammer wielding dwarf may seem slow and sturdy, but wait until he jets off to deal huge kamikaze damage. Those gamechanging moves are tied to ‘aether’ – energy you gain both by attacking and being attacked. It’s a clever mechanic, ensuring matches feel unpredictable yet fair.

The developer has wisely tied in-app purchases to cosmetic skins only and removed ads. Sinan Kubba