Ironhold Siege

Ironhold Siege is the game I keep coming back to on this whole list. It ditches the usual endless-upgrade grind and instead makes each map a puzzle of positioning. High ground gives range, chokepoints multiply damage, and you rarely have enough gold to build everything you want. The enemy waves are readable but not predictable. Around wave twelve the game starts mixing armoured units with fast swarms, and you'll need two different tower types working together to survive. I lost a few maps before I stopped over-building at the front. It's not the flashiest game visually, but the mechanics are tight and the difficulty curve respects your intelligence. Perfect for players who like to think before they tap.

What we liked

• Genuinely tactical placement
• Fair, escalating difficulty
• No pay-to-win pressure