Boardgame News
Matt Carlson: Another iGaming Roundup
You probably haven’t missed me, but you’ve seen very little written by me here at BGN since I’ve been absent from my local gaming groups for several months now. While I’ve been away, I’ve had to settle for gaming on the go in whatever I had to bring along. For nearly the entire time I’ve been out of the country, I’ve relied primarily on my iPod Touch (ie. an iPhone for those too cheap to pay for an AT&T subscription). Thankfully, there are more and more boardgames being ported over to the platform. While I prefer playing boardgames face to face, playing against a computer opponent can be a nice stopgap option, since then I know there are no hard feelings to be had. Several boardgames also have the ability to play hotseat games, allowing me to bring several different boardgames along with me, all fitting into my pocket! Here are my thoughts on a few of the games I’ve been playing the most.
Roll Through the Ages
The recent release of Roll Through the Ages inspired me to write this entire article. I’m a big fan of the game, as it somehow manages to blend a bit of economic production and multiple victory paths with some dice-based luck and a very short playing time. I knew I’d be missing the feel of rolling the nifty wooden dice, but thought the game would still be fun to have on my iPod. In the graphics department, the game doesn’t disappoint. I love the graphic look and feel – full of wood grains and rich colors, very reminiscent of the high production quality of the original game. The game allows you to play a solitaire game or with human opponents using both the standard and the late bronze age rule set. Multiplayer games are played via “hotseat” by passing around the computer for each player to take a turn. I’m not sure the maximum number of players, as I got bored after adding 30 players to my created game. (Not sure who would want to play a game with that many players anyway…) There isn’t a computer AI opponent, which is a disappointment, but it isn’t a deal breaker since the game rules work so well for a solitaire game. There isn’t any networked (local WiFi nor Internet) multiplayer either, but a networked boardgame is always more of a bonus to me rather than a required feature.
There are a few achievements to be won (with more likely on the way, I’m told) which I always appreciate. My dream version would also include some sort of campaign version, as well. I’m a sucker for a chance to explore playing games like this in a simpler or handicapped manner, just to be challenged to play in different ways. My largest concern about the game was my inept understanding of the interface. The interface seemed very non-intuitive at first, requiring many jumps through menus or buttons just to flow smoothly through the game. Eventually, I discovered the context-sensitive buttons in the top right of the screen which helped me keep games moving along at a much smoother pace. I still feel that the interface isn’t as smooth as I would like it to be (I’d love more information on the screen when I make my rolling decisions, and easier access to what I’ve built or bought at all times), but it no longer “gets in my way” of playing the game.
Priced at $5 (Disclosure: I was given a complimentary review copy .) it might seem a bit steep when compared to all those $0.99 games flying around. However, most $0.99 games don’t have any brand-name intellectual property issues and typically don’t have quite the nice presentation, polish, and “meat” of this boardgame. Rather than compare the price to other app store games, I think it is fairer to remember the standard price models of other game systems ($5-$20 for game downloads) as well as other brand-name apps in the app store (which typically run $3-$10 or so). If nothing else, I could probably justify the price to even my tendencies to be cheap by telling myself it will allow me to bring along a copy Roll Through the Ages in my pocket, anywhere I go. As far as ultra-portable games go, a $5 copy of Roll Through the Ages starts to look pretty good.
Carcassonne
Eric posted an announcement of Carcassonne here on BGN just days after I had finished evaluating Roll Through the Ages. Despite my ultra-frugal nature, I figured I had to break down purchase a copy of the app to give it a look-see so that I could share my thoughts. The comments posted to the announcement here on BGN were very positive, and even though I’ve only been able to play around with the game for a few days, I have to agree wholeheartedly. This is one of the best-made games I’ve played on my iPod. (OK, just to be fair, I spend a lot of time slogging through the dregs of the “free for a day” games, which could be affecting my judgment… ) The game looks and plays just great with an intuitive and easy to use interface. Games can be played locally (over WiFi , Bluetooth, or hotseat) or over the internet against up to four computer or human opponents (ie. up to 5 player games). There is also a solo mode where you go through a set of tiles trying to build a road and a city of successively larger sizes. (First 2, then 3, then 4, etc… up to a size 5 city and a size 5 road). Points are deducted for each tile you lay down as well as for moves that continue to spread out the play area. There is even a a solitaire “Game of the Week” where the tiles are set in order and players vie to find the highest score with that set.
As I mentioned, I’m nearly overwhelmed with the polish on this game. It reminds me of titles put out by Nintendo – known for going an extra mile to add longevity to with their high-profile titles. Sure, you could pick your favorite color to play the game, but here you also get to choose a photo from your album to add to player profiles. Your player profile is also given an ability rating for local play as well as online. The computer AI modes included with the game range from 988 up to 1700 (I’m still working my way up.) High score lists are kept for local play, online solitaire scores (via game of the week) as well as your friends played against on the internet and a world-wide high score list that lists the top 100 ranked players. (Unfortunately, I haven’t given the online ranking a thorough try-out so can’t address what procedures might be in place to prevent inflated rankings via poor sportsmanship.)
About the only thing I can complain about the game is a lack of frilly “extras” such as unlockable achievements or a campaign mode (the campaign mode in the Nintendo DS version of Carcassonne is actually pretty good.) That is faint criticism indeed. OK, there are also no expansions included in the program, but the creators have stated they hope to include expansions accessible through in-app purchases in the future. Currently priced at $5, this is a good value for this high quality of a game. There isn’t a native iPad version out yet, but it is expected out soon, after which the price will rise to $10 for the version that will play on both (iPhones and iPads). Even then, it should be seen as a competitive price point. This version of the game has been designed from the ground up to take advantage of the platform and make the user experience as pleasant as possible.
Slay
I picked this strategy game up when it was free for a day awhile back, and it quickly became the most played game in my roster. While one might consider it a sort of Risk clone on a hexagonal grid, the game is better classified as an abstract wargame, lacking any element of chance. The game starts (solo player vs computer AI only) with players scattered over a large island of hexagons. Each hexagon is associated with a player color, and any joined hexagons of 2 or more will have a village occupying one space and will earn an income. The income is based on the number of contiguous hexagons of a player’s color. On your turn, you use income to support existing units and any leftover can be saved or used to purchase units or a castle for defense. There are four levels of units, with each unit able to defeat the previous level unit. Units also have a one-hex range of area control. Thus, the cheapest pawns can only take over a completely open hexagon that isn’t adjacent to any enemy unit. Villages are rated the same as a pawn, so even the second-level spearmen can march adjacent, and then take over a village. However, any time a country is lacking a village (by dividing it in two for example – very effective strategy) a new village springs up in any areas of two or more adjoining hexagons of the same color. Castles can be built (they cost only slightly more than pawns) which are the equivalent of spearmen (level 2 units) and are an effective deterrent for much of the early game, especially useful since they take no upkeep. What makes the game really interesting is managing one’s borders while simultaneously dealing with unit upkeep. The lowest level units have less upkeep and it gets progressively more expensive (2, 6, 18, 54 respectively) so you need a pretty huge country to support several level 3 knights or a level 4 baron. Trying to cut off a player’s army is extremely effective, since any time a country can’t support the forces within its borders, the armies die off and the country has no income for that turn. This can be a huge mistake mid-game as then most of the opponents can quickly take advantage of a turn of weakness and decimate your nice, plump country. A final element of the game comes in the appearance of forests. Trees can grow in an unoccupied hexagon, causing it to cease to produce any income. Any unit can be used to clear off the tree in a single turn, but then that unit isn’t protecting or advancing your borders. Trees shouldn’t be ignored, however, as it is increasingly likely for hexagons adjacent to a tree to gain a tree themselves and a country overrun by forest will quickly lack the funds to support enough troops to keep ahead of the oncoming vegetation. There isn’t any multiplayer support or fancy graphics, but the interface does its job well and the whole package ends up as a very fun, tactical area control/wargame. The game has bounced around in price from $2 to $5. It’s currently at $4 which is a fair, if slightly high price to someone of my cheapness scale. I highly recommend you check out the free Slay Lite application and then go on and get the full version if you find it’s your cup of tea.
Other titles to check out:
If you’ve read this far, you probably have at least a passing interest in other iPhone games, so I thought I’d list some of the highlights of the games I’ve played in the past few months.
Near the top is the professionally done, Plants vs Zombies by Popcap Games. This is the same tongue in cheek tower-defense game that was so popular on the PC awhile back. Assorted Zombies (like disco-zombie or bobsled racing zombie) walk down lanes toward your house. You need to plant a garden of defensive plants to defend yourself. It currently sells for $3 and is a great deal for that price. The campaign mode is long and fun, and has plenty of little “minigame” type diversions to keep you coming back for more.
Another, more traditional tower defense game I enjoyed was The Creeps!. It is a standard pre-established path tower defense game, but has a wonderful comical theme. The basic version ($2) has a monster/ghost theme for a dozen or so levels (with multiple difficulty settings and several game play modes for each level) but it is all done in a very cartoon-esque manner. In something I found unique to this style of game, you often start with only a few open spaces and have to divert some of your time and attention to destroying objects in the layout in order to free up more spaces for your weapons. In addition to the basic guns, slowing weapons, and exploding weapons, there are a few different super-weapons which charge up over time and can have broad, global effects on the board while they’re activated. If you enjoy tower defense games and are not totally burned out by them, you should at least look into this one.
Awhile back, I came across a free wargame download for the PC by the title of The Battle for Wesnoth. This game reminds me a lot of the old Fantasy General PC game. A turn based wargame on a hexagonal grid, where the units gain experience and grow in power throughout a battle. (Other more recent titles would include the Fire Emblem series or possibly Advance Wars on the Nintendo DS.) What makes it even more interesting for me are the campaigns where you take some of your units through succeeding battles, giving them a chance to develop significantly in power and ability. When I found it in the App store selling for a mere $.99, I snapped it up. It is now back up to $5 but is still a good deal at that price. The game can be played solo through well over a dozen campaigns (200+ scenarios between them) as well as a skirmish mode that can be against the computer or against humans via hotseat or internet play. Strategy wargame fans (who are ok with a bit of fantasy theming) should definitely check this game out, as it packs an awful lot of “stuff” into a single iPhone app. If you’re sitting on the fence about it, check out the PC/Mac/or Linux download. The iPhone app is a near complete port of that game. (You can even play multiplayer games on your iPhone against someone playing on a different system!)
I’m not a huge solitaire fan, as I typically want something with a bit more “oomph” to occupy my mind while I play with cards (or the electronic equivalent). Awhile back I came across Dungeon Solitaire, which seemed to be a mix of solitaire with a bit of a collectible card game. In the game, you draw cards from a deck and place them in one of two columns – a monster column or a hero column. You try to fill up the hero column by defeating monsters without letting the monster column fill up and spill over to the top onto your castle. Each card has two values (Fight and Magic) and when two cards are placed adjacent they battle. If one card has a larger number for BOTH values, the other card is destroyed. Anything else is a tie. Of course, many cards have additional abilities and there are some cards that play a role of either adding to or subtracting from a given card’s values. Planning ahead is essential, but oftentimes the luck of the draw makes for a game that is nearly unwinnable. There are some fun special cards that have abilities that occur when ties happen, but they don’t quite interact as well as I would like. If puzzle-like games such as traditional solitaire interest you and you want a bit of variety, I could recommend the game, but someone wishing to plumb the depths of a game with complex strategies or interesting card combinations with likely be a bit disappointed. Note that there are a number of in-app purchases to acquire more cards to add variety to the deck but the game didn’t grip me strongly enough to tempt me to try out anything beyond the basic review copy I was given.
If you’re curious what other boardgame titles I’ve currently got on my iPod Touch, here’s a brief list: Zooloretto (solid implementation, cute graphics), Money (good implementation of the card game, decent AI), Bananagrams (got it cheap, plays well but I’m not a big word game fan), and Ingenious (very good implementation if you like the boardgame.)
© 2010 Matt J. Carlson
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