Lock's Quest is a game that builds on you. It takes a while to break ground and get past the tutorial. You are then given very rudimentary materials/mechanics. But the game slowly pushes you to use them in ways other tower defense games are scared of. You need to leave your creation behind to go claim new territory, then build up defenses for both. You need to pick up your base and carry it to a new but less defensible position. By the end of the game the writing has gone from 2/10 to 5/10, you are given hoards of money, and the waves of enemies will consistently put your back to the walls you just built.

I don't feel like I should be as positive about this game as I am. But it was just the simple toy I was looking for after playing a super artsy and emotionally involved game. And it was a pretty dang good toy.