Formation Tactics: Line Breaker by wdebowicz
Find optimal formation to battle your opponent, and control his whole base area to win.
- Every not used unit in reserve can be used during next wave.
- Units can attack top, left and right
- If your unit is attacking enemy in front while having friendly unit behind, attack damage increases
- Units that reach the enemy base, are occupying the space and blocking it
- To remove red enemy tile from your base, click on it paying 2 resources
Controls:
mouse - create formation (can click or just hold the LMB)
space - send signal to attack

| Link | https://wdebowicz.itch.io/formation-tactics |
| Post-jam version. AI can unblock tiles similar like player. | https://wdebowicz.itch.io/formation-tactics-line-breaker |
| Original URL | https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/59/formation-tactics-line-breaker |
Ratings
| Overall | 452th | 3.545⭐ | 35🧑⚖️ |
| Fun | 196th | 3.727⭐ | 35🧑⚖️ |
| Innovation | 117th | 3.894⭐ | 35🧑⚖️ |
| Theme | 815th | 2.288⭐ | 35🧑⚖️ |
| Audio | 507th | 2.906⭐ | 34🧑⚖️ |
| Mood | 789th | 2.734⭐ | 34🧑⚖️ |
| Given | 21🗳️ | 24🗨️ |
Yay ! Really sceptic at first since I didnt really understand the mechanics of the second row and storing units but once I got the hang of it it actually got really fun ! (Discovered the tile unblocking at the end, it was not really clear what tile unlocking for 2 units meant in the tutorial). but well played, super simple graphics but very cool game.
@tyrannas what browser/os are you using? I can hear the sounds on all devices I tested (win/mac/android)
Having the scoring units shape the battlefield for the future rounds is an interesting mechanic, but I wish there was a bit more strategy to this. Maybe there could be more bonuses depending on the formation? (e.g. synergies across multiple columns, special shapes with special effects, or some passive use for the 3rd row.)
I played for quite a bit, probably 10 tries or something over 30 minutes, but I was not able to create a strategy that seemed satisfying. I always ended up grinding over two columns until I won because the opponent cannot clear tiles.
Not sure how to improve my issue without doing some testing, maybe if the blocks from behind could move up and merge with the first block so they can help with the damage on the sides.
I will keep thinking about it, I like the general idea and concept, but something is missing for me to enjoy it. I will let you know if I come up with something 😁
Other than that, polished entry, no bugs encountered, audio could be improved, I think the sound effects stack up and get louder if multiple get triggered.
I felt a bit soft lock early in the game, with no way to unlock the situation, and every turn were the same. Also, you should be careful when playing the same sound multiple times, as it does not sound good when it happens. You can easily fix that by adding a random pitch when playing a sound effect.

Surprisingly addictive gameplay! The strategy is fun and feels original, although the endgame tended to get quite "grindy" in the games I played.
Also, I don't know if it's a bug or not, but you can kinda cheese the early turns by attacking before the opponent has had time to place all their units.

Multiplayer. Different shapes portals. You can turn this concept into a full game !
At first, we thought we were losing badly, but the game allowed us to turn that around quickly, which was very satisfying! A bit more variety in enemy pieces might have been nice. We didn't quite understand the "more attack with piece behind" rule.