How to play Any War

The fastest way to learn is the guided training battle in the game. It is a short fight against a village held by the enemy, and it walks you through every one of these steps with the real controls.

1. Select a squad

   Tap one of your squads to take command of it. Drag with one finger to move the map and pinch to zoom. Tap Units to see your whole force.

2. Move to cover

   Tap the ground to send the squad there. Hedges, woods and walls stop bullets, so always move from cover to cover. Open ground is where squads get cut down. Use Fast to run, but it tires your men.

3. Sneak

   Tap Sneak on the order bar at the bottom, then tap the ground. Sneaking squads crawl and are hard to spot: slow, but the best way to get close.

4. Fire

   Your men shoot on their own at any enemy they can see. To take control, tap Fire, then tap an enemy soldier to make the squad concentrate on him, or tap open ground to pin down whoever is there. Most shots miss; what wins is keeping the enemy's heads down while someone else moves.

5. Take the flag

   Move squads into the ring around the flag and drive the enemy out. Hold it until the timer at the top runs out and the battle is yours.

Tips from the front

• Pause to thinkTap pause whenever you need to. You can still give orders while paused. Tap 1x to speed up a long approach.
• Nothing moves unless you say soSquads and tanks only move when you order them. Keep the whole force working, not just one squad.
• Fire and movementOne squad fires to pin the enemy, another moves. Then swap. It is the oldest rule in infantry tactics.
• Use the rest of the order barDefend and Ambush to hold ground, Smoke to blind the enemy before you cross open ground, Charge when it's time to close.
• Read the after-action reportWhen the fight ends, see how it was won or lost, then try it again.