The year was 2012 and a friend of mine was visiting from England.  I-pad's were (to me) a relatively new thing and since they were so expensive and the fact that generally speaking I am not a fan of Apple products, it never occurred to me to get one.  However, my pal had one and one day in my bar he was showing me this game.

<center> http://subatomicstudios.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Fr2_Logo_1200x400-587x195.png
[source](http://subatomicstudios.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Fr2_Logo_1200x400-587x195.png) </center>

The way this game works, just like every other Tower Defense (TD) game is simple to start but difficult to master.  You choose certain "tower" units with varying abilities and places them along a track that the enemies will approach and if you place them correctly, the enemies can not make it through.  

<center>https://www.androidcentral.com/sites/androidcentral.com/files/postimages/444537/fieldrunners-2-gameplay.png
[source](https://www.androidcentral.com/sites/androidcentral.com/files/postimages/444537/fieldrunners-2-gameplay.png) </center> 

Your units include machine guns, weaponry that slows an enemy down for certain amount of time, missile launchers, mortor canons that strike multiple enemies, flamethrowers that provide constant damage in a certain direction, and magic electric towers that do massive damage but can focus on only one enemy at a time.  There are other towers available too but you get the picture.    All towers can also be upgraded 3 times and in many instances this is a better decision than making another separate tower.  

The enemies that approach you vary in their own abilities and some of the toughest ones are these very slow moving tanks that take just a massive amount of damage before going down.  

<center>https://www.mobygames.com/images/shots/l/751515-fieldrunners-2-android-screenshot-playing-a-sudden-death-level.jpg
[source](https://www.mobygames.com/images/shots/l/751515-fieldrunners-2-android-screenshot-playing-a-sudden-death-level.jpg)</center>

Some levels (like the first one i showed) have a very clear set path that the invading horde must take to reach the finish, others like the 2nd image require you to build your units to dictate a path for them walk through and this is where the real strategy begins.  You can create as long a maze as you want but the only thing you are not allowed to do is build the tower units in a way that makes it impossible for the enemy to reach the other side.  

In many of the levels the enemy comes out of just one door, but later on they come from multiple directions.  On the most difficult levels, they come from all directions and even come in planes which means they can completely bypass your "maze" you built out of your towers.  <code> important note:  Your towers can not be destroyed by the enemy </code> 

<center> https://gamesthatiplay.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/120.jpg?w=1360&h=768&crop=1
[source](https://gamesthatiplay.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/120.jpg?w=1360&h=768&crop=1)</center>

There is also an "endless mode" where you can create monstrosities such as what is pictured above.  The oncoming enemy troops just become increasingly stronger in that eventually no matter what you have built, you can't possibly cause enough damage to kill them all.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6AK8w50354

Fieldrunners began as being a Apple-only game but years ago ported to just about every available platform on the market.  It can be picked up for $3 and I gotta tell you, this might be the best $3 you ever spend as this game is absolutely fantastic.  When I saw my friend playing it I was like "what is this stupid kid's game you got there?"  An hour later him and I were shoulder-to-shoulder at the bar discussing strategy for levels and that is where we remained until it got dark.  It really is a simple, addictive, and wonderfully made touch-screen game.  

<center> <h1> 10 / 10 </h1> </center>

<center> *the best mobile game I have ever played - no micro-transactions necessary* </center>