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Mobile Board Games [iOS & Android]
So I know there is a thread on the (overpriced) Carcassonne app already, but check out what else is coming down the pipe.
There's a company called Sage Board Games that has gone gobblling up the mobile rights for a ton of great board games. They've hired Codito Development, Inc. to turn them into iOS and Android apps. So far, they've released Medici, Ra, and Tikal on iOS. Has anyone played these? Do who know if Sage & Codito are the real deal of if they suck?
This matters because these are their upcoming iOS games:
Puerto Rico - out May 19th
Through the Ages - August
Le Havre - June
El Grande - Fall
Tigris & Euphrates - June
Age of Industry - unknown
A Brief History of the World - unknown
Spectacle (original game that DoW's Colosseum was based off of) - unknown
They also promise Android versions of the following before the end of 2011:
- Medici
- Ra
- Tigris & Euphrates
There's a company called Sage Board Games that has gone gobblling up the mobile rights for a ton of great board games. They've hired Codito Development, Inc. to turn them into iOS and Android apps. So far, they've released Medici, Ra, and Tikal on iOS. Has anyone played these? Do who know if Sage & Codito are the real deal of if they suck?
This matters because these are their upcoming iOS games:
Puerto Rico - out May 19th
Through the Ages - August
Le Havre - June
El Grande - Fall
Tigris & Euphrates - June
Age of Industry - unknown
A Brief History of the World - unknown
Spectacle (original game that DoW's Colosseum was based off of) - unknown
They also promise Android versions of the following before the end of 2011:
- Medici
- Ra
- Tigris & Euphrates
Comments
If some quality board games could make their way to Android (and not only for Honeycomb), I would be thrilled.
Scratch that...the owner of one of the copyrights I need to do it wants nothing to do with Android, only IOS. I'm out.
Though, it doesn't help that you played the four-player version. Two-player is a little better.
I've got Carcassonne, Settlers, Samurai, Small World and Risk.
Carcassonne is excellent in all respects.
Samurai is a great game but it's not as polished in it's presentation as Carcassonne.
Settlers of Catan is pretty buggy and the graphics are poor but a good game.
Small World struggles with it's tutorials and rules explanations.
Risk is too easy.
These games only increase my desire to play them 'for real' at NERDNYC board game night.
My wishlist for new IPad games is Agricola and Ticket To Ride but the news that Puerto Rico is coming out is great.
Now I need to start coding Dune.
- Carcassonne is getting an update very soon that adds Game Center support. The next update after that will add Inns & Cathedrals and The River II expansions.
- Bohnanza is now out
- Caylus is coming out in September and is being made by Big Daddy Creations, the same people who did the great Neuroshima Hex app
- Puerto Rico is coming out this week
- A very big unannounced title is coming out for iPad this week. News embargo lifts Thursday at 9AM...
It wont be as visceral as handling physical tokens, little coffee barrels etc but if i can start a new game of Rico by pressing "start" then screw the barrels, I'll take the convenience.
I think within 2 years, if not before, it will be commonplace to see people gathered around an iPad or 2, maybe even with iPhone in hand, happily playing a variety of commonly played boardgames. As opposed to the real physical game.
As to comics, as to board games.
The mobile apps will still be popular. I love them because they allow me to get many, many more plays of a game than I would otherwise ever get. They allow me to actually develop advanced strategy and attempt at solving the game. I bring my lessons learned to the table. The apps are also great for the "play by mail" types of games like Carcassonne, which are a convenient little way to stay in touch with gamer friends by keeping a game going over a stretch of time.
I could see digital board games becoming a lot more popular in a further future than the 2 years you estimated because I am looking at an entire electronic tabletop as the challenger.
Still, it will be nice to carry around 20+ boardgames (ie iPad) with you in your backpack, you can be pretty spontaneous with that kind of setup.
Perhaps an iPad specific generation of multi player "board games" will arise alongside traditional board game models. Is it hard to imagine 4 people gathered around an iPad with iphones in hand, playing Gauntlett or any variety of game types? Like and ultra portable console I guess.
Maybe that's more the role iPad will fill, shared gaming experience wise.
T&E; is coming out in June, but the big iPad news was Ticket to Ride. Days of Wonder has set the high water mark for iPad games with Small World and Ticket to Ride now. These things are downright beautiful and work like a charm. TTR supports cross-play with the PC/Mac version as well which is very cool. If anyone has an iPad and is considering getting this, jump on it quick. It's $6.99 but you can get the Europe, Switzerland, and 1910 expansions for a buck each. They're really separate games, so you can get 4 for $10 which is a steal on iPad, where companies charge more because there is a reasonable assumption you already love spending money.
Edit: Oh and allow me to bitch-fest here about embargoed information. Days of Wonder is the only company that sends out press releases that cannot be discussed until some set date & time, then goes and puts the most heavy-handed clues out on their website and social networking accounts. They put a "cannot post before 9AM Thursday" warning on this one and then the app came out Tuesday night. Have we learned nothing about information and secrecy on the internet? Just tell people shit when you want them to know.
http://techcrunch.com/2008/12/17/death-to-the-embargo/
My advice is to just break every single embargo every time. If people stop sending you info because of it, then fuck 'em! It's their loss. One less site talking about their products.
For games, an example of this would be getting scans of a few cards that nobody has seen before, or pics of a few components. It's information that was never going to get out anyway until the game was released, but you were able to pry it out of the company so you get the initial traffic bump.
But if a journalist has information it's their job to publish that information. Most of the time when they don't it has to do with reputation more than fear of legal problems. At Anime Boston when I interviewed Funimation they let slip a bit of information that wasn't announced until last week. They asked kindly if I would keep it quiet and I agreed, because I'd like the chance to interview them again.
Speaking of Memoir '44 though, the PC version is now free to play. I downloaded it but haven't checked it out. We talked in the other thread about the whole Memoir/Command & Colors/Battlelore system crossover, and I've been dying to try the others out (I only know C&C). Doing it for free is best.
Other iOS board game updates: Ascension is out and I have major issues with its online matchmaking, but if you can get a game together it works great. Puerto Rico is still in perpetual beta testing. Maybe next month?
Timo, when I remember to I will add you on Gamecenter and send you a Carcassonne invite.