Bret Devereaux

You know a game that I would play? One focused on designing, building and defending trace italienne (star-)forts. On the one hand, the basic principles are mathematically solvable (and so perhaps easier to design?), but changing terrain/budget create unique puzzles for players.

And yes, I know the Stronghold series exists and tries to do this for medieval castles, but I am also aware that the last truly good stronghold game was released in ::checks notes:: 2008 (or 2002 if you hated S:CE)