Isle Of Arrows is a turn-based tower defense game where we guard a mysterious sphere of energy from an ever-growing hoard of Viking invaders.

On each turn, we lay down new tiles that in some way alter the map, such as the arrow and ballista towers, ice traps, and other nasty surprises that improve our defenses. But we can also use flags to expand the map, place paths that change the route the attackers will have to take, or add tiles that impact the landscape and offer economic benefits.

Placing these tiles costs resources, and when we run out - or perhaps decide to save them for later – we end our turn and then get to see how our base fares against the latest wave of attackers. The waves start with a small party of standard Vikings, but as time goes on, the enemies increase both in number and strength.

If we survive 50 waves without the attackers managing to destroy our crystal, we win.

Isle Of Arrows combines typical tower defense gameplay with the turn-based tile placing elements found in many board games. While this creates an experience that is less frantic than most other TD games, the pressure is still on to build up our base efficiently and quickly.

At first, the game feels quite addictive, but it unfortunately doesn’t take long before it becomes repetitive. There are a few different game modes, but they don’t mix things up quite enough for me to stay engaged. I really like the graphics though, which are a cute homage to Bad North.

Isle Of Arrows is a $5.99 premium game. It works best when played in short sessions, and while there’s a degree of strategic planning involved, it’s ultimately less satisfying than it at first appears.