Asterix and Friends is a Facebook city-building game in which you expand and defend a traditional Gaulish village. You take on the role of Pointandclix, a Gaul who has to rebuild his home with the help of Asterix, Obelix and other characters from the comic series. The game combines resource gathering and city building with raids against Roman patrols and larger Roman legions. You'll need to balance gathering materials, feeding your troops, recruiting warriors, crafting items and many other tasks.

Playing the game

If you've played other city-management games, Asterix and Friends will seem pretty familiar. The controls are simple and intuitive, and the layout is clean and relatively easy to understand. The whole thing is well-designed to mimic the art style of the original comics, with most of the major and minor characters making an appearance at one time or another. In the later game, the strategy mechanics become complex enough to be challenging -- there's a lot going on at once -- without becoming too difficult to keep track of.

A solid interpretation of a classic genre

Asterix and Friends may not bring anything particularly new to the city-building genre, but it's a well-executed example, with the added bonus of an engaging blend of history and whimsy. If you have the time to invest in a building game, this is a good option.