Upon hearing that Dragon Coins was free-to-play game with a Pokemon-style focus on monster collection, we were tempted to run screaming from our phones with our hands clasped tightly around our wallets. After digging a little deeper, however, we discovered a tactical RPG with coin-dozer combat that offers more than enough of its touch-based fun for free.

Dragon Coins combat will be instantly familiar if you have ever visited a seaside arcade. A field of coins meets you as you start each battle, with your enemies located behind it. Coins are pushed forward by a moving shelf. Tapping anywhere on screen will release additional coins onto the back of the field, forcing coins at the front to fall onto your monsters, activating their attacks

The game's RPG element revolves around this team of monsters. These creatures all conform to one of six elemental types, each with their own archetypal strengths and weaknesses. You can fuse and evolve creatures to raise their power, letting you fine tune your squad's battle capabilities further.

The most powerful monsters are summoned using Rainbow Coins which can be earned or purchased in-app. It’s a fair economy, with everything acquirable through play, but if you are prone to bouts of frustration then you may find yourself drawn towards the virtual store.

The battle system presents an interesting balance of random events and strategy.  You find yourself trying to corral the constantly changing field of coins to the right channel to unleash the most damaging attack for a particular foe. This leads some rewarding close-fought battles, and some surprisingly heart-in-your-throat moments of excitement. The creature evolution system is handled well, too, letting you tailor your monster fighters to suit your combat preferences.

Dragon Coins is a free-to-play game that puts all of its gameplay up front, and its mixture of skill, strategy, and chance make it well worth trying out. If you're an impatient completist, however, you may want to keep an eye on your purse strings.