Turnbound

Turnbound is one of those games that sounds simple until you’re three hours deep muttering about tile placement at two in the morning. You’re trying to escape a haunted board game, and the way you do that is by building the best possible grid of weapons, armour, items and trinkets, then sending your build off to battle against the leftover creations of other real players. It’s asynchronous PvP, so you’re never fighting someone live, just their ghost, their strategy, frozen in time and waiting to be beaten.

The shop phase is where all the theorycrafting happens. Every tile you place has knock-on effects on the tiles around it, so it’s less about grabbing the shiniest item and more about working out how everything clicks together. Win battles and you’ll upgrade your hero through branching abilities, unlock new trinkets and generally get closer to a build that can actually survive the climb through the chambers.

What stands out is that your build sticks around after you’re done with it, good or bad, win or lose, and someone else will end up facing it later. Once you’ve got something you’re proud of, you can share it with a code and challenge mates directly, or throw yourself at the community’s best Feature Builds. It’s inventory management with teeth, and if you’re into Backpack Battles or Hearthstone Battlegrounds, this one’s well worth your time.