One of the better indie games out there; it’s a combination between RTT and Action-Strategy. The battles play out with ships composed of sections, which each break off individually, meaning you must strategically place your ships and position them such that they can deal as much damage as possible while taking as little damage and protecting their vulnerable parts. Combine this with a great shipbuilder and a thriving community, and you’ve got quite a mix for a great game.
This is more of a personal taste; Dwarf Fortress. The name speaks for itself; you make a fortress of dwarves. If you can scale the learning wall and bypass the daunting ASCII interface minefields, then you’ll find yourself wondering why exactly big corporations with multimillion dollar budgets can’t put out pure gameplay of this quality.
One of the greatest BBG’s out there. Compared to the banner ad crap we’re bombarded with, this game actually merits playing – something that many other BBGs don’t exactly do. It’s a very humorous game, with humor on all levels, ranging from slapstick humor to black humor and metaphors you barely recognize. It’s one of those truly unique games that can be played by anyone, and enjoyed.
This is definitely a personal taste; but there’s just something uniquely… Zen and peaceful and satisfying about Falling sand, even if all you’re doing is exploding TNT.
Really, just see this game for yourself. A minute or two to learn the controls, and five or so minutes to pick up some of the great community mods, hours upon hours of simple enjoyment.