David Neumann

Review: Antihero

July 21, 2017 David Neumann 7

PC/Mac (mobile version coming soon) • When Antihero launched for PC/Mac last week I assumed that, like any board game, I would get 3-5 plays in and be ready to put quill to parchment and regale you with opinions so clear and well thought out that they’d bring a tear to your eye. While Antihero is definitely a board game, I found that 3-5 plays simply wasn’t enough to see everything it has to offer. I’ve worked my way up through the campaign and several skirmish games, and even an online game or two and I think that I finally have Antihero’s nuances all sorted out. I can’t promise that my florid prose will bring a tear to your eyes, but I can promise you that Antihero doesn’t disappoint and is a well designed and intriguing board game.

Talisman has a bone to pick with you this weekend

July 21, 2017 David Neumann 5

iOS, Android, PC/Mac • All the big news coming out of the Nomad Games‘ camp the last few months has revolved around their gamebook/RPG mashup, Fighting Fantasy Legends. We’re so jacked for the FFL release next week, that it’s hard to remember that Nomad makes a few other pretty great games for your touchscreen or desktop, namely that old standby, Talisman. This weekend Games Workshop is having a “Skulls for the Skull Throne” feature on Steam which features all of GW’s titles on sale from 25-90% off. You can find those here, but we’re going to focus on what this means for our favorite roll-and-move board games, Talisman and Talisman: Horus Heresy.

New content for Pathfinder Adventures coming next week

July 21, 2017 David Neumann 11

iOS, Android, PC/Mac • Earlier this year, 2016’s best mobile title made its way to our desktops and laptops when Pathfinder Adventures was launched on Steam. While more platforms isn’t a terrible thing, most of us were far more interested in what was going on content-wise with Pathfinder, which hadn’t seen any major content additions since the Rise of the Runelords campaign came to an end last year. We had heard, from Pathfinder’s new publisher, Asmodee, that more content was coming, but what and when was in left up in the air. That all changed this morning.

Burgle Bros. beta be banging

July 19, 2017 David Neumann 13

iOS, Android • Over the weekend I was invited to partake in designer Tim Fowers‘ next foray into the mobile gamespace, Burgle Bros. His previous board game port was the absolutely fantastic, Paperback, so I was immediately on board for checking out whatever Tim was working on. The only difference is that I’d played the cardboard version of Paperback before the app landed whereas Burgle Bros. was a completely new entity for me. Let’s take a look.

A Planet of Mine putting the pi in empire

July 18, 2017 David Neumann 9

iOS Universal, Android • Last week an observant reader pointed me toward a Touch Arcade story in which they praise the game, A Planet of Mine, to the high heavens. Having not heard of this apparently hidden gem, I immediately went and downloaded it and…well, I’m not sure. Is it worth downloading? Absolutely. Is it the bee’s knees? Depends on how smart the bee is.

The tide turns for Gettysburg: The Tide Turns

July 18, 2017 David Neumann 0

PC • A long, long time ago there was a brand new developer that wanted to make high quality, complex war games for iPad called Shenandoah Studios. Sounds crazy, I know, but it really happened! You could say they succeeded, with fairly amazing releases such as Battle of the Bulge and Drive on Moscow proving that complex strategy on iPad wasn’t just a pipe dream. In 2013 they ran a Kickstarter for their magnum opus, Gettysburg: The Tide Turns, an American Civil War title for iOS as well as a cardboard version. Nearly 1000 folks gave them close to $30K to develop it. As of July 18, 2017 those backers haven’t seen hide nor hair of Gettyburg on their touchscreens, nor their tabletops. Instead, last week a version for PC arrived on Steam.

Lordz and HexWar combine forces on the just released Lightning: D-Day

July 14, 2017 David Neumann 4

iOS, Android, PC/Mac • We’ve known that the wargame developers Lordz Games Studio and HexWar are working on bringing the classic GMT title, Commands & Colors: Ancients, to our iPads for a bit. What we didn’t know is that C&C: Ancients isn’t the only project they’ve been teaming up on. This morning they launched another board game (well, card game) conversion on iOS, Android, and PC/Mac based on a 2004 Dan Verssen design, Lightning: D-Day.

It just got easier to not starve in Don’t Starve

July 13, 2017 David Neumann 3

iOS Universal, Android, PC/Mac • I’m a huge fan of Klei Entertainment, who have managed to port several of their very polished PC titles into very polished mobile apps. Their latest was the turn-based spy thriller Invisible Inc., which I really need to spend some quality time with, one of these days. I really, really enjoyed it when it was released but…well, it seems I never have the chance to sink that much time into one single game these days. Back when I could sink a lot of time into one game, I did just that with Klei’s other fantastic mobile port, Don’t Starve. If there was one complaint I had about this survival gem, however, it would be about just how damn hard it is. I mean, I get that a steep difficulty is kind of the point of surviving in a hostile world with nothing buy your brains to get by, but playing for hours and getting killed by a spider because you weren’t paying attention and having to start over was a huge pain in the ass. For those of you who felt the same way, Klei has just updated the app with a new mode promising a simpler adventure for the simple among us (me…I’m really talking about me).

Classic puzzler, 868-HACK gets an update, expansion

July 13, 2017 David Neumann 0

iOS Universal, PC/Mac • It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from genius developer Michael Brough, creator of such gems as Imbroglio and 868-HACK, but he resurfaced last week with an unexpected addition to his classic hacking roguelike. The update fixes some bugs and makes some balance changes to 868-HACK, but the biggest addition is that of a new expansion: PLAN.B.

Pocket Tactics is wondering what we’re thinking, let’s help them out

July 11, 2017 David Neumann 5

If you haven’t read my Antihero piece from earlier today, you might have missed my descent into warm fuzzies for the good old days. I wasn’t sure what had caused me to slip into darkness until it dawned on me that I received a missive from my counterpart at our old digs, Pocket Tactics. Why would that send me into a state of depression? Well, it’s been just over a year now since I picked up my ball and went home and, yes, there are days I miss it. I love it over here at Stately Play, don’t get me wrong, but getting paid didn’t suck.