Rampart (Nintendo, 1992)

Within Rampart each element of the game interacts with the others in subtle ways. It is generally easier to capture an unowned castle than repair the wall around a starting castle, but without the benefit of the home castle’s cannons the player will have a tough time. Building close to the water will allow the player better aim, and to get more shots off during battle (each cannon may only have one cannonball in the air at once), but enemy ships will also get more shots and castles close to the water are more vulnerable to grunts. Building more cannons gives the player more shots in battle, but once placed cannons cannot be removed, and too many cannons can make it almost impossible to survive a repair phase. These trade-offs give Rampart its charm but also make the game difficult to master.