Category Archives: iOS

iOS

Ticket to Ride App Update

iOS, news

A new release of the Ticket to Ride app has just been released on the App Store. There is little point me listing all the changes when I can show you them using the developers own words.

Love the cross-platform addition along with addition of being able to play multiple games at the same time. About time I say. In this day and age, I should be able to start a game on one platform and continue it on another. The excellent Star Realms app does this. So app developers have no excuse for not doing this.

Some of the changes by the looks of it are cosmetic, and will make it hopefully easier for the developer to add new content in the future. Having a universal version of the app “should” also make the developers life easier.

A nice looking update.

Oh and if you fancy a game of Ticket to Ride my username is whitespider1066

 

Lords of Waterdeep the app Initial Thoughts

iOS, lords of waterdeep

So remember from yesterday's post about the weekend I said I liked Lords of Waterdeep after getting to play it for the first time?

Well I've added the game to my BGG wishlist so I don't forget it (fat chance of that). But then I discovered there was an app version of the game.

So for the sum of £4.99 I was able to purchase the app and have it installed on my iPad in minutes.

My initial impression is very positive.

What eased the decision in buying the iOS version of the game was that it supported online play. Specifically asynchronous play. So after playing a game against the AI that I lost (well it was only my second game) I decided to try the online side of things.

This meant I needed to set up “yet another account” to be able to play using this mode. The system at the developer once you have entered your details for the new account is meant to send you an email. An email it claims is your account information, but I suspect also has a link in it to confirm the activation.

Guess what I haven't received yet almost twenty four hours after entering my details? Yep that email.

Every time I try and use the online mode, it simple tells me to check the email and kicks me back to the main menu.

So I have now raised a support call to get this sorted so I can play online.

As for the game I played, well it does a pretty good job of reproducing the game. The interface is pretty good, and it has the nice feature of being able to zoom in and out of the board.

As I said in the title this is an initial impression of the app. It is infuriating that I can't try the online mode against real people. But this will test the developers support I suppose.

Right I'm off to play against an AI.

 

Krosmaster Arena the App coming Soon

iOS, krosmaster arena, tabletop

I came across Krosmaster Arena on last years International Table Day when on the live feed that was being done by Felicia Day and Wil Wheaton they played the game.

The instant I saw the game being played it struck me as a table top version of Final Fantasy Tactics. Wow how cool was that? I love Final Fantasy Tactics. I have the game on the PSP and Gameboy Advance. Only being a cheapskate has stopped me getting it on the iPad.

Despite loving Final Fantasy Tactics and finding a table top that I was sure I’d love, and that I thought Nath would enjoy playing too. I never bought it.

The thing that stopped me jumping on the Krosmaster Arena bandwagon was I was already at the time spread pretty thin across three or four games that had lots of expansions. And I really can’t afford to add another of those games to the collection where I knew I’d want to buy the expansions for.

At regular intervals I’d drift back to looking at the game, and nearly caving in and buying it. I’m so weak when it comes to this sort of thing usually.

Recently I found out that Krosmaster Arena is based around a French Anime called Wakfu (now on Netflix, so you can guess what I’m working through at the moment).

So why am I bringing this up now?

This morning on the Boardgame Geek Youtube channel they had the following video from Pax East.

UPDATE! For some reason the app I use on the iPad to write posts decided to go all foobar on this post. Putting multiple copies of the YouTube video in the post instead of just one, and deleting my final words.

Basically my final words went something like the following, and I can only say like because I can’t remember them exactly but I can remember the point I was making. So the sentiment is the same!

Anyway I thought that it was a mark of share evil genius, and cunning planning my the Krosmaster Arena folks to hook me in. I know I’ll but the app, and from the app crumble and want to get the board game. Finally they would have me in their evil gaming clutches.

I also made comment that it was ironic that a game so similar to the video game Final Fantasy Tactics but in the meat space was now becoming a video game which obviously will be compared by some if not most reviewers to Final Fantasy Tactics.

One aspect I also liked about the app is that figures bought in the meat space for the physical game have code numbers that can be entered into the app which would then allow you to use the characters in app. It sounds like a simple way to give the app Skylanders/Disney Infinity/Nintendo Amiibo like functionality And collectibility. Will we see app players also collecting the figures to use in game?

So I think that about sums up everything that this ipad app managed to trash. Hope you thought it was worth adding back in to the post.

iOS Boardgames

iOS, tabletop

 

I think it's obvious from my more recent posts I kind of enjoy playing the odd board game or two. However not as often as I'd like.

So I find myself playing some of my game collection as solo games (yes some games can be played solo), or like Dice Masters online using a webcam (the subject of another post). Or I play the iOS version of a game which allows me to play against an AI controlled opponent(s) or remotely against other people. The apps also allow me to learn a game so when I see Nath I can teach him the game.

Over the last four years I've been playing Carcassonne against an opponent who most of the time wins, but the odd time I get a victory. The Carcassonne app is a really great version of the tile laying classic. It really does a great job of capturing the original, great interface. I never play its solo modes, I just play remotely against friends. I love it, it scratches my itch to play this great game. It has my favourite expansions too for the game (traders and builders, inns and cathedrals, the princess and the dragon, and the river) that cost extra but totally worth having.

Against the same opponent I have been playing Lost Cities. This is the iOS version of the classic two player card game. Another great interface, love that it keeps stats of games played against an opponent. I'm also doing much better in the wins at this game, having won 56% of the games played.

One of the best games released this year is the two player card game Star Realms. The iOS app does not disappoint. I'm playing a lot of this at the moment. I haven't played it online yet, but the AI opponent is challenging, and I love the campaign mode.

Another classic board game is Ticket to Ride. And this has been captured wonderfully in this app. A great interface again. I've not played this online against people yet, but I believe it also hooks into other versions of the game on different platforms. I enjoy playing this a lot. There are a few expansions to buy for the game, I've only bought the Europe one so far.

The classic Settlers of Catan has been captured really well in the iOS app. I've not beat the AI opponents yet. But I think that's down to the fact I'm not that skilled at the game yet. I was disappointed with the online play of this game because unless you are online at same time you can't play. Ideally it needs to allow me to send an invite and allow the games to be more remote turn based like Carcassonne and Lost Cities. This too has expansions to buy.

Small World 2 I like, the interface works well, but I've not played much of it. It does capture the board game well.

What can I say about Alhambra? I love the game. However the iOS version although it has challenging AI opponents the game for me is hampered by a poor interface. I really want to like the app, but the whole experience is ruined by the interface.

The collaborative board game Forbidden Island I just haven't played after an initial look. It's local play and if I need to be in a room with people I might as well get the actual board game out to play.

I'll write about Space Hulk some other time. I've only just got it.

You would think being able to play games remotely it would be easier to play games with friends. However all of these games cost money, anything from a couple of pounds upwards. So even though the prices are a lot cheaper than buying a copy of the board game, still this is a hurdle for most that stops them getting the game. So a good challenging AI opponent is important to me. Most of the games allow you to select the level of opponent you play against, which I like. It allows you to start off easy as you learn the game and tactics, then up the difficulty when you are more confident.

I think from the brief bits above its obvious which games are my favourites and that I play regularly. If there is interest I'll post more in depth looks at them.