Netflix has been moving forward fast with its mobile games. Netflix’s mobile games launched in late 2021 and as of March, they have more than 50 mobile games and plan to add more this year.
I have played several of these, including both of their “Stranger Things” games and “Poinpy,” which was a popular game in 2022, but the one that newly caught my interest was “Townsmen: A Kingdom Rebuilt.”
“Townsmen” is a Netflix mobile game that is a casual strategy simulation game. One reason it caught my interest is it reminded me of one of my favorite computer games, “Age of Empires.” While it is like “Age of Empires,” Lite edition. “Townsmen” is much simpler and I would rather be playing “Age of Empires,” but it was entertaining anyway.
You play as a noble and a ruler of an approximation of a medieval town. Your character was exiled from the kingdom’s court after being wrongly accused and framed for stealing money from the King’s treasury. This is a small, run-down town that you have to build up by repairing old buildings and adding new ones, and the further you go and the more research you do, the more buildings you have access to.
You also have to make sure your villagers are happy as you assign them to different jobs, have them build things they need and control the taxes they pay. If you raise the taxes, you get more money, but your people’s happiness and motivation decreases. If it is too low, villagers will start to leave: it is a balance.
In addition to building and beautifying your town, you also have to face disasters, including raiders, blackmailers and natural crises such as fires. You also repair natural wear-and-tear on your buildings, survive rough winters, and even plagues.
I did get to a point where my villagers were not very happy. The raiders devastated my town and I was too focused on providing for the villagers’ needs that I neglected their desires. As a result, they lost motivation and some started leaving, especially when the town got a plague and we did not have enough resources to build the infirmary quickly.
It is a pretty simple game, but fun. You do have to pay attention or things can quickly get out of hand. I did play most of this past midnight, though. It is a simple and fun game to play in your spare time and it is free with any Netflix account.
Just download the Netflix app on your phone and find the game in the Netflix “Games” tab.
4 out of 5 stars
