Among the best things in life is playing printed games in person with family and close friends. When those are not convenient we like iOS Board Games.
News, reviews, previews, and opinions about board gaming on iPhones, iPads, iPods and even Android devices. (iPhone board games, iPad board games, iPod board games, Android board games)
Note: Sadly, no column this week. I felt like it was important to release this video review of Neuroshima Hex in its stead. I hope you enjoy.
The Stats: Compatibility: Universal Current Price: $2.99 Developer/Publisher: Big Daddy's Creations Version: 2.0.1 Size: 163 MB Multiplayer: Yes. Local and Online. AI: Yes. Itunes link: Neuroshima Hex Read more »
Teaser Video for Magic: The Gathering Duel of the Planeswalkers 2013 Wizards of the Coast has released a teaser video for Magic: The Gathering Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013. It should be noted that the graphics in the video are probably from the PC or console version and the iPad version could very well look different. Still, we like the direction this is taking.
Magnifico and Inkognito Coming to iOS As reported by Eric on BGG News, designer Spartaco Albertarelli has announced that he's working on an iPad version of Magnifico. Another effort from Italy has Dario de Toffoli announcing that Studiogiochi and iNigma are working on an iPad version of Inkognito as well.
Think - Mindpath and San Juan Coming from Ravensburger Digital In a short interview with Thomas at Ravensburger Digital (to be posted soon), we learned that their next app will be Reiner Knizia Think - Mindpath in June and followed a few weeks later by Andreas Seyfarth's San Juan.
Le Havre Info Update Chris from Codito dropped by BGG to let everyone know that testing on Le Havre for iOS Universal has been going very well and they are honing in a release date which could be late June for the much anticipated app.
App Releases
Sword and Poker Back in the App Store With Sequel We're not sure if we remember why the original Sword & Poker disappeared from the App Store, but now it's back and with its sequel to boot. Sword & Poker 2(WW) is a fusion of Poker and an RPG. You play cards from your hand to grid of cards to make poker hands to defeat monsters. You can check out the new app ($3.99) or the original ($2.99) on the app store. There's even a lite version you can check out for free.
Empire of the Eclipse Released ZarkSoft has released Empire of the Eclipse, an MMO 4X space game app three years in the making. In this app you will compete against up to 1,369 other players to establishing an interstellar empire and use diplomacy, economic acumen and conquest to thrive and win. The game is free to play, but ZarkSoft insists that the game is "play to win" not "pay to win" like other freemium apps. In our last post, we did determine that there victory conditions, three different ways to win (military, economic, exploration) so games do end with a winner. It could be you. You can check it out on the App Store where it can be downloaded for free.
LostStar Tactics Released James Pawliuk has released LostStar Tactics, the follow-up to 2011's Tactical Warrior. LostStar Tactics is a strategy RPG in which your small band of warriors have crash landed on a dangerous planet and must use tactics to explore and survive. The app featurs quick turn-based battles, card deck-building, custom party building and skill assignment and more. You can pick it up in the App Store for $1.99.
Autumn Dynasty Released Bulkypix and Touch Dimensions have released Autumn Dynasty. It is a real time strategy war game, but we wanted to mention it here because the art and style of the game really caught our eye. It is like a traditional Chinese painting come to life. And perhaps that somehow seemed "table-toppy" enough to us. Gameplay features a very elegant selection and command of troops by touch and swipe gestures that were built with the iPad in mind, therefore the app is available for iPad only. You can pick it up on the App Store for $4.99.
App Updates
Legion of the Damned Updated Offworld Games has updated Legion of the Damned to version 1.1. The update brings Retina graphics and an ingame hex inspector. You can check out the details on the App Store.
Neuroshima Hex Updated Big Daddy's Creations has updated Neuroshima Hex to version 2.0.1. The update is a quick-turnaround fix to improve push-notifications and server stability. We've learned in a recent BGG post that Big Daddy's plans to add a Game Center friend list with the next update. The update could could be completed in two week plus Apple review time. You can check it out on the App Store.
Just Say It! – Taboo like party game Updated AlterMind has updated Just Say It! – Taboo like party game to version 1.3. The update includes new settings for round times, sound toggle, a new How To Play view and more. You can check out the details on the App Store.
Draw Something by OMGPOP Updated OMGPOP has updated Draw Something to version 1.6.8. The updated includes new high resolution graphics, better password recovery, new loading screen and more. You can check out the details on the App Store.
Words With Friends Updated Zynga has updated Words With Friends to version 4.13. The update includes better notifications, opponent nudging, performance and stability improvements and more. You can check out the details on the App Store.
Guess the Person? HD Updated Richard Buckingham has updated Guess the Person? HD to version 1.1. The update includes online 2 player mode using Game Center, easy, normal and hard difficulty settings, added compatibility for older devices including iPhone 3G and iPod 2nd Gen, and other minor tweaks and improvements. Guess the Person is based on the children's mystery face board game Guess Who? You check out the full details on the App Store.
Hot Deals
Dungeon Crawlers Price Dropped to Free Ayopa games has dropped the price on their Ghostbuster-joke-cracking turn-based dungeon crawler app known simply as Dungeon Crawlers. The app is now simply free for the first time ever. You can get it on the App Store right now!
New World Colony Updated and Free Erik Asmussen was able to apply a quick fix to version 4.27 of new World Colony. The Issue with Social Zone that had been prompting for login on each app launch, and becoming non-responsive was fixed. Additionally, the app was made free as well. So go get it on the App Store now.
Interesting Links
Sentinels Sidekick Released Sentinels Sidekick has just released by Handelabra Studio. Sentinels Sidekick is a helper app for Sentinels of the Multiverse, a cooperative fixed-deck card game in which your comic book heroes protect the multiverse. The app helps you keep track of the hitpoints of all targets in the game, including Heroes, Villains, Minions, Environment cards, and more. You can get it on the App Store for $0.99.
The Stats: Compatibility: Universal Current Price: $4.99 Developer/Publisher: Ravensburger Digital Version: 1.01 Size: 65.3 MB Multiplayer: Yes. Local and Online. AI: Yes. Itunes link: Scotland Yard Read more »
The Stats: Compatibility: Universal Current Price: $2.99 Developer/Publisher: Easy, Inc. Version: 1.0.1 Size: 78.6 MB Multiplayer: Pass and Play. AI: Yes Itunes link:European War 3 Read more »
Neuroshima Hex Updated With Async and More By now you probably know that Big Daddy's Creations has released version 2.0, the much anticipated update to it's flagship app Neuroshima Hex!. And of course the big news is that this update features asynchronous online multiplayer or async as we like to call it. The app has been redesigned from the ground up with new game engine. Also included in the update is new iPad Retina support, chat, profiles and avatars, better tutorial, fast forwards, better undo and quite a bit more. And to celebrate the monumental release Big Daddy's has dropped prices on all BDC apps across the board.
Army of Frogs: Free Caylus: $2.99 Neuroshima Hex: $2.99 Neuroshima Hex - every army (IAP): $0.99 Neuroshima Hex Puzzle: $0.99
King of Dragon Pass Info Update David Dunham, lead developer at A Sharp, LLC working on King of Dragon Pass for iOS reported last week that there isn’t a lot of progress to report on the Universal build of King of Dragon Pass. Apparently their artist wasn’t able to complete the work and they have arranged for another artist. They are still making a Universal build for the app as a free update.
App Releases
The Bluecoats: North vs South Released French publisher Anuman Interactive and developer released The Bluecoats: North vs South for iOS Universal a couple of weeks back and we failed to mention it. The app is a turn-based strategy title covering the the US Civil War. It is described as a "remastered version of the North & South game released in 1989 by Infogames." As you command either the North or the South you capture states, assault enemy forts, and defend ports that bring in reinforcements. As you move across the US in a strategic turn-based fashion you are then presented with one of three mini-games along the way like armed battles in real time, shoot-outs, and horseback train chases. These mini-games appear to be more "video-gamey" and action oriented, but the app does promise the presentation of strategic choices within. The app offers multiplayer locally on one iPad or online on two with matchmaking. The app is priced at $3.99 on the App Store.
Party Doodles Released Cerebral Gardens has released Party Doodles. The app attempts to bring a drawing and guessing parlor game to your iPad and Apple TV. You get rid of the chalkboards and easels and ultimately replace them with your finger, and iPad or perhaps even your big screen HD TV with its AirPlay mirroring feature. The app supports two teams with up to 10 players on each team. Answers are provided in 3 difficulty levels. You can then share your masterpieces online through Facebook and Twitter so that those drunken scrawls will be remembered and giggled about for some time to come. You can pick it up on the App Store for free.
Social Matching - Play with your favorite social networks Released The Clash Soft has released Social Matching - Play with your favorite social networks for the iPad. It is basic Memory but with photos from your social networks. The app features four modes of play: Classic, Time Attack, Offline multiplayer (up to 4 players on the same device) and Online multiplayer (Game Center account is necessary). You can pick it up for free on the App Store.
Rage of Bahamut Released Mobage has released Rage of Bahamut for iPhone. The app is a port of an Android app that has apparently grossed quite well on Google Play. The app is a two-player TCG card battler where you control of one of three parties: men, gods, and demons, drawing powers from hundreds of unique cards you collect through play. You can play single player or against purportedly "1.5 million" online opponents on the developer's multiplayer platform. We don't have many details on game play, but the app is available on the App Store right now for free.
App Updates
Conquest! Medieval Realms Updated Slitherine Software has updated Conquest! Medieval Realms to version 1.1. The update includes memory fixes, fix on save progress in Conquest mode, improved UI, victory condition adjustment and more. You can check out the full details on the App Store.
Khet and Khet 2x Updated Schogini Systems has update both Khet and Khet 2x to version 4.0. The update includes all new graphics, a brand new interface, several bug fixes, and several new features including cross compatibility across Android, iPad, and iPhone. You can check out the details on the App Store for both Khet for iPhone and Khet 2x for iOS Universal.
Siegecraft Updated Crescent Moon Games has updated its Crossbows and Catapults-inspired Siegecraft to version 1.1.0. The update includes iPad Retina update rendering 3D at full native Retina resolution for the new iPad, bug fixes, memory tweak, and more. You can check out the details on the App Store.
New World Colony Updated But Perhaps Hold Off Erik Asmussen has updated New World Colony to version 4.26. The update includes the addition of Viximo Social Zone, allowing players to invite friends from existing social networks and send messages to each other, rule updates, and bug fixes. But Erik says users may want to hold off on this update due to a bug in the social zone login screen. A fix has been submitted. You can check out the details on the App Store.
Gobang Social Updated Kwalee has updated their five-in-row abstract strategy app to version 1.6. The update includes Facebook improvements, in-game score display, bug fixes, and usability tweaks. You can check out all the details on the App Store.
Hot Deals
Ticket To Ride Pocket Goes Free As of this writing Ticket to Ride Pocket is free in the App Store. The occasion for the price drop is that Ticket to Ride appeared on the latest episode of TableTop. TableTop is a board game playing show hosted by celebrity geek Wil Wheaton on the Youtube Geek & Sundry channel. We recommend at least scanning through the video, especially to see what happens at 23:08. You can pick up Ticket to Ride Pocket for free right now on the App Store.
Interesting Links
Autumn Dynasty Coming Soon Okay, this is real time strategy, but it looks damn interesting! Feast your eyes on Touch Dimension's upcoming Autumn Dynasty with its beautiful oriental ink-on-paper graphics and the elegant "brush stroke" paradigm of commanding thousands of soldiers at once to bravely face death. We thought it was pretty visually striking with intriguing game play. This one is set to release soon. As of Friday it was awaiting approval by Apple, so it could be out this week. You can read more about Autumn Dynasty at Touch Dimension's site.
PocketTactics Interviews Slitherine Over at PocketTactics Owen interviews Slitherine's JD McNeil as he easily defends Battle Academy's quality-inspired premium price point.
I am pleased to announce that BoardGameGeek and iOS Board Games will be attending Origins Game Fair 2012. I want to meet with you and will be filming interviews and demos of both physical board games and digital products.
BoardGameGeek has been lucky enough to be selected to participate in a pilot program at Origins 2012. We have been given a table to use as a base of operations in the Origins Game Day Live area of Hall D.
For Publishers and Game Developers:
I will be attending all day Friday and Saturday. I would love to meet with you or have you demo any of your physical games or digital games. All of these video demos will go up on BoardGameGeek.com.
I will be available to visit booths from 10am to 1pm and will be at the BGG table to film demos from 2pm to 6pm.
Please let me know if there a time that works for you. I am also free for after hours meetings
You can PM me here or you can email me at brad@boardgamegeek.com.
For Readers and Friends:
I would love to meet you at Origins. Feel free to come visit the BGG table anytime from 2pm to 6pm on Friday or Saturday. Also after hours it would be great to meet and play games or chat either at the BGG table or in another location.
Here are some highlights and comments on some apps I have been playing this week. I had the chance to play many iOS titles this week:
Ascension: Storm of Souls It is more than likely that most of you are already enjoying Storm of Souls on your iOS devices. This recently added in-app purchase for Ascension: Chronicles of the God Slayer is a great addition and provides an alternative way to play Ascension. Along with this expansion, the latest update to the app also adds a promo pack expansion and several welcome add-ons. Some of these include a next game button in online play and fast app switching.
I think this update is a must have for any fan of Ascension. The added expansions really add a lot of variety to the game and increase the number of ways you can customize the experience. I really enjoy no longer having to load the game each time I go in to play, though the connection to Game Center does seem to take a while (this could be my device). The new cards are interesting to check out and really open up new strategies. The next game button is amazing and has done a lot to ease playing multiple games at a time. The IAP system is actually set up well and restoring purchases is fairly easy. I would check this out if you have not already. You can check the game out here.
Casino by Zeniz Casino games are not something I often try out. I had a stint of really enjoying Texas Hold Em when I was in high school, but not much since then. Casino by Zeniz is basically an online portal to play slots and poker. The poker interface is pretty well done and offers several levels of play. It is easy to hop in and out of a game. The slots, beyond the basic slot game, are somewhat beyond my understanding. It does seem like strong poker simulator and you do start out with credits, so there is no initial investment. I am not sure it is exactly my cup of tea, but if you are up for Texa Hold Em on your iPad it is a well designed option. You can check it out here.
Neuroshima Hex Online The latest update for Neuroshima Hex is just around the corner. I was able to take a look at the update this week and have been quite impressed. The online system is a large improvement over Caylus and Army of Frogs. You start by creating a simple log in and password, it is sad that it is not straight Game Center, but it is not a long process. You can login in to see games that are available to join or start one of your own. Games can be async or real time if both players are online at the same time. There are also are neat options, like the ability to fast forward through the battle scenes like in a single player game. There is also in game chat. This seems like a laundry list of features, but really it is just to show that Neuroshima Hex online appears to be full featured. It really seems like this can be a new async go to. I hope that you all will check out the app when the update launches. I am very pleased. You can check it out here.
Scotland Yard This week Scotland Yard was released from Ravensburger Digital. I have had a chance to play around with it and it is quite well done. You can play with up to six players with local and AI players. There is also online play real time through Game Center. The interface is very well done and captures the game quite well. I will be doing a full review of this next week, but for now it looks like a great game, especially for families. You can check it out here.
City of Secrets: Pipes City of Secrets seems to be becoming something of a franchise and Reiner Knizia appears to be an essential part of it. Much like the previously released Skyline, Pipes is a puzzle game. Each round a series of pipes will be given to you and your task is to connect them to sockets around the edge of a grid in the optimal way. Pipes have large and small connectors. If you connect a larger connector to the outside sockets you score double the point shown, but if you connect a small connector you only score the points shown. You can also score bonus points if you have a chain of large pipes from the center (starting point) to an outside socket. It is a game that rewards preplanning and a little luck (as you don’t which pipes will come when). If you are a fan of these Knizia puzzle games this one is well done. You can get it for $.99 right now.
Draw Something Pics of the Week One picture to post this week from user katamarimanatee, who posted his excellent Monopoly pic a few weeks ago. As always, if you want to share your drawing please submit it to iosboardgames@gmail.com, with your BGG username, and you may see them show up here.
Other
Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition Here is a video review I made this week of Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition:
It seems like more and more “old” video game and board game franchises are being redone or reprinted. A prime example is Diablo III which was released this week. Sometimes these sequels and reboots are improvements but at other times these rehashes can disappoint.
So my question of the week: Should board game and video game companies continue to reprint or sequelize old releases or should they focus on creating new content that learns from the past but is not directly connected to it?
Scotland Yard Released Hot off of winning the Deutscher Computerspielpreis for The aMAZEing Labyrinth, Ravensburger Digital isn't slowing down. They have just released none other than 1983's Spiel Des Jahres winner, Scotland Yard, for iOS Universal. This release marks another family-friendly modern classic board game app for Ravensburger which now has a total of five modern board game adaptations to iOS in the App Store. Early looks at the app are so far showing a quality filled approach, with this one ticking a lot of iOS board game feature boxes like good tutorial, slick and intuitive UI, various multiplayer modes including Game Center and bluetooth/WiFI, AI, chat, and even some rarely used premium features like voice chat. The app is launch priced at $4.99. You can pick it up on the App Store.
Master of Maya Released Kaasa solution has released Master of Maya, a free to play head-to-head real time card battler CCG for iOS. Of course we're not sure about this one. Apparently it has a predecessor which back in 2007 claimed to be the world's first mobile TCG and was clearly designed for mass market appeal. You can download it for free on the App Store.
The Latest News
Cities and Knights Info Update USM says that the upcoming Cities and Knights Update to Catan is in the final phase of beta. There is a lot of fine tuning of the AI going on. USM wants to make sure the AI makes use of all the new rules that C&K brings to Catan. They are also tuning the AI difficulty levels to please beginners and advanced Catan players alike. They say they will let everyone know when the testing is complete.
Empire of the Eclipse Coming Soon Empire of the Eclipse is an upcoming MMO 4X space game app being developed by Zarksoft. We'll admit that we initially looked past this for our audience. It was the first M in MMO, which stands for "massively", that scared us off. Maybe it's the board gamer in us, but we're not too keen on games without endings. My early impressions, however, were wrong. Recently, we've been in contact with Lee from Zarksoft and seen the overview video. It's at 1:56 in the video where the narrator utters some magic words:
Quote:
Your empire may achieve victory through military conquest, economic superiority, or by harnessing advanced technologies.
The music of "multiple paths to victory" chimed out for us at that point and we were ready to take EotE back in as a title we'll anticipate. Who cares if you'll be competing against 1,369 other players? Multiple games will be occurring simultaneously and games will take months to complete. We know this scares some gamers, but it sounds very intriguing and strategically rich. Take heart in the fact that the app has been three whole years in the making. You will only have to wait until May 24th to see for yourself what it is all about. Check out the overview video:
App Updates
Fealty Updated Asmadi Games has updated Fealty to version 1.1. The update includes background music, UI enhancements, and bug fixes. Asmadi says they are continuing to work on enhancing multiplayer GameCenter support, and are planning to bring a Fealty expansion pack with new pieces in the coming months. You can check out the details on the App Store.
Rune Raiders Updated Retro64 has updated their quick-playing tactical dungeon crawler to version 1.03. The update includes a new character: Idaho Smith; five new missions, three new monsters, a new boss, survival mode improvements and scoring changes, and more. It appears they even updated the app icon. You can check out the details on the App Store.
Hot Deals
Codito Drops Prices Chris dropped by to let us know that all Codito apps (except Puerto Rico) will go on sale from Thursday trough Sunday and priced at just $0.99. Check out Medici, Ra, Tikal, and Tigris & Euphrates on the App Store.
Return of the Fallen Price Drop Playdek wants you all to know that in celebration of the success of the in-app expansion, Ascension: Return of the Fallen, they are is temporarily dropping the price to $1.99. They also want you to know if Ascension is running in the background, the observed price will not get updated. They recommend players end the background process and re-launch the game. Playdek is currently working on a fix this issue. You can get Ascension on the App Store, if you haven't already.
Time of Heroes Now Free smuttlewerk interactive has dropped the price of their turn-based strategy app, Time of Heroes. For a limited time it is now free. You can pick it up on the App Store.
Wit Gomoku HD Price Drop After the iPhone version went on sale a couple of days ago, ZASoft has now dropped the price of their five-in-a-row abstract strategy iPad app to $0.99. You can pick up Wit Gomoku on the App Store.
Neuroshima Hex Online Multiplayer Update Submitted Big Daddy's Creations has finally submitted their update that will add asynchronous online multiplayer to Neuroshima Hex. The new update will also include new ipad Retina support, chat, a better tutorial, a new game engine, and much more. We estimate that the update will probably be available early next week. You can read all about it on Big Daddy's Creation's Neuroshima Hex site.
Here are some screen shots:
Scotland Yard to Release Soon Scotland Yard will soon be released by Ravensburger Digital...and by soon we mean by this Thursday! Scotland Yard is the 1983 Spield Des Jahres winning game of cat and mouse, where players try to find the elusive Mr. X by traveling around London via taxi, bus, and tube. The iOS Universal app will feature support from 1-6 players, AI, multiplayer through pass and play, WiFi/bluetooth, and online through Game Center, a tutorial, Retina support and more. Somebody from Ravensburger posted quite a bit of details on it in the Press Releases forum and you can read more there.
Here are some screen shots:
Legion of the Damned Update Submitted This past weekend Offworld Games submitted version 1.1 of their hex turn based strategy game Legion of the Damned. The update will include support for retina display graphics. Look for it in the App Store soon.
App Releases
BattleCON Released Brad Talton and Level 99 Games has released BattleCON. It's an iOS adaption of the head-to-head fighting card game BattleCON: War of Indines by the same designer and publisher. You can read all about it in our review or just download for free directly on the App Store.
Elf Ludo Released Artex Studios has released an elf-themed Ludo app appropriately called Elf Ludo. You can check it out on the App Store.
App Updates
Forbidden Island Updated Button Mash Games have updated Matt Leacock's Forbidden Island to version 1.1. The update includes a plethora of improvements including one new island shape and 10 more available through in-app-purchase, new achievements, better Facebook and Twitter integration, improved launch time to start games and more. On Monday, we did learn that there was a temporary problem with the in-app-purchase, but were assured by the developer that it should be enabled anytime now. You can check out the full details on the App Store.
Imperial Updated Javelin just keeps working at this app, with the promise of online multiplayer coming some day, but not quite yet. In the meantime the app has been updated to version 1.3. The update includes Tweeting your score, ownership change popup, funding countries from your treasury, a feedback button, and various other improvements. The app is playable at present, but the $9.99 price tag may have some waiting still for online multiplayer which is promised for the next update along with enhancements to the AI. You can check out the details of the present update on the App Store.
Hero Academy Updated Robot Entertainment has updated Hero Academy to version 1.2.2. The update includes faster initial game loading, a fix to memory crashes on the iPad and Touch, and various fixes. You can check out the full details on the App Store.
StoryLines Updated Root-One has updated StoryLines, its Eat Poop You Cat-like app, to version 4.0. The update includes in-app-purchases of colors and brush sizes. You can check out the details on the App Store.
Jungle War (Dark Chess) Updated Brisk Ideas has updated Jungle War (Dark Chess) to version 1.1. The update includes new leaderboards, new achievements, bug fixes and minor UI and graphics improvements. You can check out the full details on the App Store.
Wit Gomoku Updated ZASoft has updated their Wit Gomoku app for iPhone to version 2.0.1. The update includes the addition of Game Center. You can check it out on the App Store.
Gobang Social by Kwalee Updated Another five-in-a-row app is Kwalee's Gobang Social. This app has been updated to version 1.5. The update includes new direct feedback, better Facebook integration, and bug fixes. You can check out the details on the App Store.
Pwnz! Updated Pwnz! is another Ludo-type app. This one has online multiplayer features like async and chat. Developer Captain IT has updated it to version 1.02. The update includes new add friend by name, rematch option, new sound notifications, and minor bug fixed and improvements. You can check it out on the App Store.
Interesting Links
NECA/WizKids, Icarus Studios Announce Heroclix TabApp™ For iPad Today National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA) and WizKids announced the HeroClix TabApp™, an upcoming action-based iPad game, and the first in the TabApp™ series, integrating physical miniature toys with digital arenas. HeroClix TabApp™ is set for release this fall.
The gist is that physical miniatures are placed on the iPad device, the “digital game board.” Utilizing Icarus Studio’s xScape Platform figure recognition technology, exclusive content and game maps are unlocked based on the miniature selected. Players then move along the virtual board and take part in battle. Features will reportedly include a dozen physical super hero miniatures, 50+ virtual enemy figures, over two dozen digital maps, real-time combat.
The HeroClix TabApp™ is expected to release this October and will be free for iPad. Physical miniatures will be available at participating hobby and comic shop retailers. There's more info at the HeroClix TabApp site.
