Zombies and pirates versus Vikings and ninjas—whose fortress falls first? In Cards and Castles Ultimate, assemble a deck from wildly different factions, deploy units like skeletal warriors and bloodthirsty sharks onto a tactical grid, and go to war. Watch spell-slinging warlocks and druids dismantle your foe’s stronghold…or simply summon a brontosaurus and stomp their army into oblivion.

What we love: Life after death. Fallen units wind up in your castle’s graveyard, and each faction can capitalize on the deceased. Perhaps you’ll resurrect fallen berserkers to rejoin the battle, or replace a dead unit’s tombstone with a couple of hungry zombies. Life finds a way!

Quick tip: Look for cards with surge abilities. Spend a little extra gold when summoning these units to activate their game-changing powers. Why have a knight go solo when you can bring them into the fray with a pair of dragons?

Meet the creator: San Diego’s Red Team Games has been perfecting the Cards and Castles formula since the first game launched in 2014. Cards and Castles Ultimate is the series’ third entry.