How to outwit your opponents: Outwitters tips, tricks, and hints

Outwitters is an all-new turn-based multiplayer strategy title for the iPhone and iPad from One Man Left - the development studio behind the popular iOS game Tilt to Live.

In the Pocket Gamer Bronze Award-winning Outwitters, you wage war against other players from around the world in asynchronous battles using a variety of colourful (but by no means friendly) characters.

The aim of the game, as you've probably already guessed, is to destroy your opposition, which is most frequently achieved by attacking its base until it's nothing more than a pile of rubble.

Because we're kind, generous, and good-looking souls here at Pocket Gamer Towers, we thought we'd provide you with a few hints and tips on how to do just that.

Introduction



There are three different game modes in Outwitters: League Play, Friendly Game, and Pass n' Play.

League Play - Battle other Game Center users from around the globe in ranked matches. In this mode, you'll automatically be placed in one of five tiers - Fluffy, Clever, Gifted, Master, and Super-Titan - based on your skill.

Just like in most sports (fighting is a sport, right?), you can be promoted or demoted to other tiers if you manage to achieve a winning streak or have your backside handed to you in every bout you enter.

Friendly Game - Compete against other budding strategists from around the planet or just teach your buddies a lesson across numerous unranked matches.

This mode is perfect for practising new strategies and getting to grips with the game.

Pass n' Play - As its name suggests, this mode involves passing your device to another player so that he can take his turn. Naturally, these matches are also unranked.

The basics



In Outwitters, fights take place on grid-like battlefields, which are generally populated by two bases (one yours, one your opponent's), a number of special titles, and, of course, your eager troops.

You can move each member of your colourful team across the battlefield and use it to attack one of your foes (or its base) once per turn. This is done by first tapping on your team member, and then your desired target.

Every move and attack that you make during a battle costs a single Wit, which is, basically, just a fancy name for energy. You receive five Wit at the beginning of every turn, so don't be afraid to spend it.

On the other hand, Wit carries over to each of your turns, so if you end a round of action early without spending it all, you'll be able to carry out additional actions when you regain control of your party.

As mentioned above, battlefields in Outwitters feature two kinds of special tiles: a spawn tile, which allows you to summon new minions into battle for varying amounts of Wit; and a bonus tile, which - providing one of your characters is around to constantly man it - hands you one additional Wit per turn.

You can use spawn tiles once per turn, but they can't be used at all if they're being stood on by a unit.

The characters



There are currently three different teams of wacky characters to take control of in Outwitters, although only one of them - a team of furious fish known as the Scallywags - is unlocked from the off.

The other two teams can be downloaded through in-app purchases for £1.49 / $1.99 a pop, or as part of a £1.99 / $2.99 "Über Pack" that grants you access to all current and future teams.

Each team comprises five common character types - Runner, Soldier, Medic, Sniper, and Heavy - and one unique character type. For example, only the Scallywags can recruit the Bombshell character type, which can deal both direct and splash damage to enemy forces.

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Here they are in a little more detail...



The Runner is extremely fast and can often traverse a whole battlefield in just a couple of turns. Unfortunately, he can can take as much damage as he can deal, which isn't very much at all.

Cost: 1 Wit



The phrase "Jack of all trades, master of none" definitely applies to your middle-of-the-road Soldier unit.

That being said, these guys will probably do most of your fighting for you, given the fact that they can travel a fair distance and pack a fair punch.

Cost: 2 Wit



Medics can't attack your foes, but they can boost the maximum HP of any character type on your party, which is pretty essential if you hope to keep Runners, Snipers, and fellow Medics on the battlefield for a significant amount of time.

Cost: 2 Wit



The Sniper unit can only move very slowly (just one tile per turn), but it can deal large amounts of damage over great distances (three tiles). That makes it the perfect unit for combating Heavy troops.

Cost: 3 Wit



Heavy units are tank-like beasts that can both take and deal vast amounts of damage. They just can't move very far per turn, though, which puts them at a disadvantage against fast and long-distance units.

Cost: 4 Wit



The Bombshell unit, which is exclusive to the Scallywags team, is a powerful recruit that takes two full turns to attack.

During its first turn, the Bombshell unit transforms itself into a hardened mortar cannon, which adds an additional two points to its overall health.

Then, during its second turn, it unleashes a deadly attack that deals three damage to any targets it hits directly, and one point of damage to any units found in surrounding spaces.

Cost: 7 Wit



The Mobi unit, which you'll gain access to once you've purchased the Adorables team, has one main selling point: it can teleport allies to its surrounding spaces.

Units that have been teleported won't be able to move until their next turn, but they can attack straight away.

Cost: 7 Wit



The Scrambler unit, which is exclusive to the Feedback team, may not boast much health, but it definitely makes up for that with its special ability, which allows it to turn enemies into team mates. Permanently.

Unfortunately, the Scrambler unit is yet to perfect the process, As such, all brainwashed units are left with just a single point of health.

Cost: 7 Wit

Tactical assault



You may only have a single goal in Outwitters (defeat your opponent), but it can be achieved in a variety of ways, thanks to the varied units that are on offer - all of which have pros and cons.

While there aren't any right or wrong ways to go about your task, some tactics are obviously better than others.

Although you should play around, experiment, and get a feel for each unit and set of tactics yourself, here are a couple of plays that we've found particularly useful so far.

The Hail Mary - The Runner unit has very little health and is one of the weakest recruits available, but it can move five tiles in a single turn. This means it can bypass your opponent's army and damage his base before he's realised what's happening.

Naturally, for this tactic to work, you'll need a whole bunch of the little blighters, but since they only cost one Wit to summon, that shouldn't be a problem.

This tactic works best when your opponent has a squad filled with slow-moving Heavy units.

The King Me - Destroying your opponent's base isn't actually the only way to defeat him.

As mentioned previously, you can't use a spawn tile if an opponent is standing on it. So, guide one of your units (we suggest a Heavy) onto your foe's spawn tile, and then wipe out the rest of his squad using any means necessary.

Without any units - and without the ability to spawn any more - your rival will be defeated. You can make life easier for yourself by using Medic units to boost the health of your spawn tile squatter.

General tips



- If you start a match (instead of joining one), skip your first turn entirely. Your opponent shouldn't be able to attack you on his first turn and you'll start your next round with 10 Wit, which gives you more tactical freedom.

- If you have two iOS-powered devices (and two Game Center accounts), don't be afraid of playing against yourself. Sure, it's a little lonely, but it'll give you the chance to practise your best strategies.

- Although some units can move much farther than others in a single turn, it's not always wise to send them into battle (or leave them out in the open) alone. Keeping your troops close together increases your chances of victory.

- Just because you can't see enemy units, it doesn't mean they aren't there. Be careful when exploring: all manner of nasties lurk in the dark.

- Turn your device's notifications on and you'll be alerted to the fact it's time to take your turn. If you don't take it within four days, you'll automatically forfeit the match. This'll count as a loss.

- If you have, say, ten active League Play games of which you're about to win five and lose five, you should get the losses out of the way first. The higher your skill ranking, the more points you lose for each defeat, you see, so your net gain will likely be greater if you complete your successful matches last.