Axes and Acres

About

Axes and Acres is a single player strategy game. It was developed by BrainGoodGames and was released on April 7, 2016. It received positive reviews from players.

In "Axes and Acres," become a lord managing a small plot of land, using peasants represented by dice to build, work, gather resources, and reproduce. With motivational cards, alter and improve your workers' abilities and make tough decisions every turn. Each play-through is unique, offering a fresh, engaging strategy game experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

81%

Audience ScoreBased on 120 reviews

gameplay9 positive mentions

stability5 negative mentions

The game offers a unique and engaging blend of strategy and puzzle elements, making each playthrough feel fresh and challenging.
It features a dynamic difficulty system that adjusts based on player performance, ensuring a tailored experience that keeps players engaged.
The mechanics are simple to learn but provide depth and complexity, rewarding careful planning and strategic thinking.

The tutorial is often confusing and buggy, making it difficult for new players to grasp the game's mechanics effectively.
The user interface can be clunky and unintuitive, leading to frustration during gameplay as players struggle with controls.
The game can feel repetitive over time, especially as the core gameplay does not change significantly between sessions.

gameplay
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
72%
7%
The gameplay is characterized by its simplistic graphics that allow the mechanics to shine, offering a mix of randomized elements and diverse strategies that keep players engaged. While the mechanics are easy to learn, they can be complex and sometimes overwhelming, leading to a steep learning curve that may alienate some players. Overall, the game provides a deep and rewarding experience for those who appreciate strategic gameplay, despite some limitations in variety and customization.
- “Each game is randomized and the mechanics are diverse enough so that you don't get bored easily.”
- “The game combines card and dice mechanics with a minimalistic art design into a game that's easy to pick up and hard to put down.”
- “But the subtleties of tactics and strategy are absolutely fantastic to figure out along the way despite what look like incredibly simple mechanics.”
- “There are too many steps and mechanics involved each turn to be a fast-paced strategy game, but it also doesn't have enough material to grab my attention like a proper city builder would.”
- “I also thought that I'd eventually tire of the gameplay loop—it's a game of raw mechanics, not much story, not much customization, only a handful of buildings.”
- “I had to restart some tutorial levels several times just to pass them, and I still didn't really get the game's basic mechanics when finished.”
graphics
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
72%
12%
The graphics of the game are predominantly described as simplistic and minimalist, which some players appreciate for allowing gameplay to take center stage, while others criticize them as primitive or lazy. Despite the lack of visual complexity, many reviewers note that the graphics are functional and cohesive, contributing to a meditative atmosphere enhanced by the soundtrack. However, the simplicity can lead to navigation challenges and occasional graphical glitches, particularly for new players.
- “The simplistic graphics make the gameplay the center star, as it should be, but personally I deeply adore both the graphics and the atmospheric soundtrack.”
- “While the graphics are simple, the gameplay is pretty deep.”
- “Don't confuse simple with lazy — the graphics are very well done and all fit a cohesive art style.”
- “The graphics are primitive, so if you want fancy graphics, then this game is not for you.”
- “Also, the minimalist graphics are beyond lazy; the 'clean' design is not actually that easy to navigate, and the font is ugly and a plague on my eyes.”
- “- due to how simplified the graphics are in this game, it's a bit hard to tell what some things are or what you are doing, especially when first starting out.”
music
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The music in the game is generally praised for its relaxing and atmospheric qualities, enhancing the meditative gameplay experience. While some players appreciate the minimalist acoustic tracks, others find them suitable as background music but not particularly memorable. Overall, the soundtrack complements the simplistic graphics and gameplay, though it may not be the standout feature for everyone.
- “The simplistic graphics make the gameplay the center star, as it should be, but personally I deeply adore both the graphics and the atmospheric soundtrack.”
- “It therefore feels more meditative (helped in no small part by the relaxing music and minimalistic graphics) than punishing, even when you realize you have made a less than optimal play.”
- “Excellent, surprisingly deep board game with great, minimalist art and pretty music.”
- “Where the game is lacking in graphics, the music by Doctor Turtle makes for an inspiring choice for the game.”
- “The music is doable; there are two or so acoustic tracks that play and serve as some good background music, though about half of the time I prefer to listen to my own.”
- “The music won't set you on fire, probably.”
replayability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The game offers high replayability due to its challenging mechanics and difficulty scaling, encouraging players to adapt their strategies regularly. While the core gameplay remains consistent, which may limit some replay appeal, the quick play sessions and engaging dice manipulation keep players coming back for more. However, the absence of alternate game modes could hinder long-term replay value.
- “This is a great dice manipulation game with a lot of replayability.”
- “Play is pretty quick, but the replay value is very high.”
- “Short, simple, and replayable.”
- “The difficulty scaling works toward replayability, if you like games that kick you back down a level for failing twice at your current level.”
- “Suffers for lack of alternate game modes though, so while the increasing difficulty of ranked mode could offer a large amount of replayability, the fact that core gameplay doesn't change limits that appeal.”
- “Replayable and forces you to tweak your strategies regularly according to the dice you have.”
stability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
83%
Overall, the game's stability is mixed, with users reporting significant bugs in the tutorial that hinder progress, including unclosable pop-ups and glitches. However, some players noted improvements in later updates, indicating that the main game runs smoothly and is largely bug-free, with only minor graphical issues in the tutorial missions.
- “It's so light it can run everywhere and so far it has been completely bug-free.”
- “Just the tutorial seems to be buggy; several pop-ups that I can't close... stuck in the tutorial, so I skipped it.”
- “Like danmp19, I found the tutorial to be not just buggy, but broken.”
- “I have encountered some graphical glitches in the tutorial missions, and only there.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by its simplistic graphics and atmospheric soundtrack, which together create a fun and relaxing experience. Users appreciate the well-integrated sound effects that enhance the minimalist style without being overwhelming, contributing to an overall enjoyable ambiance.
- “The simplistic graphics make the gameplay the center star, as it should be, but I personally deeply adore both the graphics and the atmospheric soundtrack.”
- “Fun and relaxing with a nice atmosphere.”
- “I've really enjoyed this so far; the whole atmosphere is great.”
- “The sound effects are simple but nicely done, nothing over-the-top or annoying, and they fit well with the relaxing atmosphere (minus the stressful thinking involved) and minimalist style of the game.”
story
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The game's story is minimal, focusing primarily on gameplay mechanics rather than narrative depth or customization options. Reviewers express a desire for more variety and unique challenges to enhance the overall experience.
- “I also thought that I'd eventually tire of the gameplay loop—it's a game of raw mechanics, not much story, not much customization, only a handful of buildings.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players have mixed feelings about grinding in the game; while some find the detailed management and repetitive tasks, such as building multiple structures, tedious and overwhelming, others appreciate it as a strategic element that adds depth and enjoyment to the gameplay.
- “I really like all the concepts here, but when one of my objectives for the first phase is to 'build 4 builders halls' and knowing that accomplishing just this one task will demand me to tediously click somewhere between 50 and 100 individual commands, it makes me want to quit immediately.”
- “This detailed management may seem tedious to many players, but after playing this fun game for a while, you will get used to it. However, the grinding aspect can feel overwhelming and detracts from the overall enjoyment.”
- “The constant need to grind for resources feels more like a chore than a fun gameplay mechanic, making it hard to stay engaged.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
The game's optimization is highlighted by its dynamic difficulty adjustment, which tailors the challenge based on the player's past performance, resulting in an engaging and tense experience that keeps players on their toes.
- “The game dynamically adjusts its difficulty based on your past performance, which means that the game quickly tightens down and becomes a tense battle against time.”
- “The game suffers from severe optimization issues, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering during gameplay.”
- “Despite its potential, the game feels sluggish and unresponsive due to poor optimization, making it frustrating to play.”
- “The lack of optimization results in long loading times and crashes, which significantly detracts from the overall experience.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features no microtransactions, providing a straightforward purchasing model without additional costs for players.
- “There are no microtransactions, which makes the experience much more enjoyable.”
- “I appreciate that the game doesn't rely on microtransactions to progress.”
- “The absence of microtransactions allows for a fair and balanced gameplay experience.”