Review: Maze Machina

January 20, 2020 David Neumann 9

iOS, Android According to the wayback machine, it’s been over eight months since we’ve posted a review here at Stately Play. Despite this, I still try to convince myself that, somehow, we’re relevant [hahahahahahahahahahahaha -ed.]. It took our German friends at TiNYTOUCHTALES to put an end to our torpor. Last week the developers of such mobile classics as Card Crawl and Card Thief released their latest time waster and it’s a doozy. In fact, Maze Machina might be their best game yet.

Dire Wolf delivers Yellow & Yangtze to mobile, Steam

December 12, 2019 David Neumann 0

iOS, Android, PC/Mac Earlier this year Dire Wolf Digital surprised us with a lengthy list of board games they’re going to be bringing to digital over the next few years. The announcement was followed by the release of Raiders of the North Sea which is one of the best board game apps of 2019. Since July it’s been quiet on the Dire Wolf front, however, with nary a word about the progress on titles like Root or, my most anticipated, Mage Knight. Today, however, Dire Wolf is back in the spotlight with the second release from their burgeoning portfolio: Reiner Knizia’s Yellow & Yangtze.

Eight-Minute Empire tournament sets sail in January

December 6, 2019 David Neumann 0

iOS, Android, PC/Mac/Linux, Switch We love Acram Digital here at Stately Play manor and not only because our forums were the cornerstone of their massive Istanbul tournament from last December. Okay, that’s part of it, but bottom line is they make some damn fine board game ports and even manage to pull off online multiplayer better than some of the bigger fish in the digital board game pond (cough**Asmodee**cough). They’re on the cusp of running another massive tournament–this time for Eight-Minute Empire–and it would be a shame if the Stately Players [you leave for 2 months and then pull this? You son of a bitch. -ed.] weren’t a big part of it. Jump past the break for details and signup info.

Bad North heading to the small screen

October 3, 2019 David Neumann 1

iOS, Android, PC/Mac, Xbox The viking-themed real-time roguelite, Bad North, has been around for a bit now, having released on Switch way back in August of 2018. I’ve purchased the game on both Switch and PC and have yet to play it. I don’t know why. It looks amazing (hence the multiple purchases) but it just hasn’t been able to push aside whatever other game I’ve been sinking my time into. (This isn’t Bad North’s fault. Those other games are Slay the Spire and Factorio, so…) Now, however, I feel confident that I’ll finally give this gem the time it deserves because it can now fit in my pocket. Bad North arrives on iOS/Android on October 15.

Leaders & Wonders expansion has arrived in Through the Ages

September 12, 2019 David Neumann 31

iOS, Android, PC/Mac While I’ve been on a bit of a Through the Ages hiatus for the past few months (mainly because I realized I would never, ever beat JS619 again), it still reigns as the greatest board game port I’ve ever played. Not only is the base game Vlaada Chvatil’s magnum opus and nearly perfect, but CGE managed to add enough polish and shine to the app that, digitally, it’s even better. The base game has been around since 2006 in cardboard form and there’s never been an expansion. It really doesn’t need it. That said, today we get an expansion and I couldn’t be more excited.

Evolution coming to Switch

September 10, 2019 David Neumann 2

iOS, Android, PC/Mac, Switch If you’re starting to feel that all the cool news is coming from the direction of Nintendo’s Little Console That Could, you wouldn’t be wrong. It seems that all the cool releases are landing on Switch with other mobile being an afterthought. For example, Dead Cells has been on Switch forever but just arrived on iOS a couple of weeks ago. Divinity: Original Sin 2 arrived on Switch last week and we’ll never see anything like that on our touchscreens. Thus, it’s good to hear about a game that was originally on iOS head the other way and come to Switch. Unless you skipped the title, you’re aware I’m talking about everyone’s favorite Darwin simulator, Evolution.

Nomad moves Mystic Vale to mobile

June 6, 2019 David Neumann 11

iOS, Android, PC/Mac Right up at the top of my “digital board games that have been around a while and yet I can’t seem to find time to play but really want to and plan to someday when things aren’t so crazy and life settles down and maybe my kids move out of the house and I’m retired” list sits a little gem from Nomad and AEG called Mystic Vale. It’s been available for a bit on Steam now but today it moved to the little leagues. That is, today it released for iOS and Android.

Fort Sumter: The Secession Crisis arrives

May 21, 2019 David Neumann 33

iOS, Android, PC/Mac When we heard about the partnership between GMT Games and Playdek, it was like hearing that your two favorite people were finally tying the knot. I mean, they’re so right for each other! It was only a matter of time before this pairing started to bear fruit and, today, they have their first born! (I’m discounting Twilight Struggle as that was pre-partnership and has turned into a titillating ménage à trois with Asmodee) It’s Fort Sumter and it’s coming to mobile and Steam today. Right now, as a matter of fact.

One Deck Dungeon getting tiny on Thursday

May 21, 2019 David Neumann 30

iOS, Android, PC/Mac/Linux My top mobile game of 2018 was Handelabra‘s masterful port of the Little Card Game That Could, One Deck Dungeon. It was a perfect blend of quick, roguelike play and oodles of dice-chucking madness. Yes, bad dice rolls can nip you in the backside, but that’s the point of the game: building up your hero(es) to mitigate dicey disaster. I played the hell out of it on my iPad and even sank too much time delving on my laptop. It was nearly as perfect as could be, with one exception: it wasn’t also on my phone. This Thursday, that changes.

Feud set to release next week with asynchronous multiplayer

May 17, 2019 David Neumann 0

iOS, Android, PC/Mac/Linux The last time we talked about Feud from Bearwaves, the title of the post was, “Remember Feud?“. A year later and I guess that title would have worked quite well once again. I considered it, in fact, but then Bearwaves dropped a bombshell: async play is coming. When? When the game releases on May 21st, of course.

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