Android – Page 24 – Stately Play

Race for the Galaxy heading to mobile. This time, for real.

April 10, 2017 David Neumann 88

iOS Universal, Android • If you’re one of our seven readers (and, if you’re reading this, you are! Thanks!), you might have noticed that we announced a mobile version of celebrated card game, Race for the Galaxy, last week and then promptly removed said story. No, it wasn’t an April Fool’s joke or a prank on our part. Instead, it was me being an idiot. I received a press release for RftG last week and promptly posted the story only later realizing that the press release contained an embargo and I shouldn’t have spilled the beans until today. Now, after doing this for over six years I still haven’t grokked the purpose of embargoes on press releases but we also don’t want to be dicks, so we’ll try to abide by them as much as possible. My inner voice just told me that none of you give a rat’s ass about any of this backstage nonsense and just want to know if RftG is coming to mobile or not. Yes, it is, and you’ll have it on iOS and Android on May 3.

Asmodee won’t stop, releases Onirim today

April 6, 2017 David Neumann 11

iOS Universal, Android • At the end of last November, Asmodee Digital started their deluge of board game ports with Colt Express and haven’t let up yet. In fact, if my counting is correct, Onirim will be their sixth release in just over four months. One constant of the Asmodee releases has been their failure to adhere to the tenets of our multiplayer manifesto, creating multiplayer experiences that have been less than stellar. Onirim manages to dodge that bullet by being a completely solitaire experience and it just happens to be available right now for iOS and Android.

Nomad Games bringing Fighting Fantasy to digital, but not what you’re thinking

April 3, 2017 David Neumann 0

iOS, Android, PC/Mac • When you think of Fighting Fantasy books, you probably remember solitary dungeon romps with your trusty d6s in tow and pining for the love of another human being. Good times. Gamebooks like The Warlock of Firetop Mountain, City of Thieves, and the Sorcery! books replaced my parents for a good chunk of my adolescence and it seems these books can’t stop being brought back to life on our phones and tablets. Heck, we just had a new version of Warlock of Firetop Mountain land a month or two ago, and the Sorcery! saga was brought to life in ways my pimply-faced self couldn’t have imagined thirty years ago. Nomad Games, creators of digital Talisman, have joined forces with Fighting Fantasy to bring some of these old titles back to life. They’re not doing it with stodgy pages and, you know, reading. Blech! Instead, they’ve added dice and cards and are turning the whole thing into a boardgame-esque romp.

Battle of Polytopia expands yet again

March 31, 2017 David Neumann 1

iOS Universal, Android • The Battle of Polytopia is one of the best pick-up-and-play time wasters on the App Store. In minutes you can build an empire, quash your enemies, and then realize your score is tens of thousands lower than everyone else who’s ever played the game. Hooray! Battle of Polytopia is one of only two things you can be terrible at and still have a good time. You can guess what the other one is and, yes, I’m terrible at that, too. Yesterday, Midjiwan released a major expansion for Polytopia ensuring my futility will continue for all time.

Review: Tokaido

March 30, 2017 Kelsey Rinella 2

iOS Universal, Android • Shortly after this review was published, Funforge updated Tokaido, notably adding the previously missing two-player option. Because two-player local play was my ideal use case for the game, this pleased me greatly, and it deserved special mention. My thanks to forum-goer “Misguided” for directing my attention to the improvement. Tokaido crystallizes thinking about the merits and challenges of digital translations of tabletop games. The cardboard version features lovely art, evocative of stylized watercolors, which sets the mood for a pleasant walk along a scenic road in ancient Japan. Not content to simply replicate these static images, developers Funforge created a 3-D, animated version which captures the artistic impact of the original–given the extent to which this is the game’s greatest asset, that’s genuinely impressive. Unfortunately, the very quality of the presentation highlights limitations of both the app and the underlying game.

Yep, it’s Planescape: Torment

March 29, 2017 David Neumann 1

iPad, Android, PC/Mac/Linux • On Monday we wondered about the timer that Beamdog was winding down on a site that just happened to be named “Planescape”. When the timer went off yesterday revealing that, yes, it does indicate a new, enhanced version of the Infinity Engine classic, we were right there to post all about it. We were, our site was not. Turns out we had some issues on the backend that were preventing posts from appearing on the front page and, although he had absolutely nothing to do with it, I blame Kelsey. We’re back now–the issue self-corrected, which doesn’t inspire much hope for a problem-free future–and we’re ready to talk about the only digital RPG to feature the Lady of Pain.

BrainGoodGames’ Militia makes its way to mobile

March 24, 2017 David Neumann 9

iOS Universal, Android, PC/Mac • While it arrived on Steam way back in 2015, Militia escaped our attention mainly due to the fact that no mobile version was on the horizon. Turns out developer BrainGoodGames always had a mobile version planned, they just didn’t let us know about it until yesterday which is a good thing, because that’s when it landed on the App Store.

4X sci-fi board game, Exodus: Proxima Centauri, headed to digital

March 22, 2017 David Neumann 9

iOS, Android, PC/Mac • Although there are many 4X games with a sci-fi bent in the tabletop world, only one has made a big splash on mobile, Eclipse: New Dawn for the Galaxy, and that was released way back in 2013. We’ve been told by GMT that Space Empires 4X is in the works and have secretly been hoping that Fantasy Flight would, someday, grace us with a digital version of Twilight Imperium. As of now, though, it’s Eclipse or nothing. That’s set to change this summer when Offworld Games launches Exodus: Proxima Centauri for iOS, Android, and PC/Mac.

Age of Rivals mashes the CCG and civilization building genres

March 22, 2017 David Neumann 5

PC/Mac (available now), iOS/Android (coming soon) • Just a hint to developers out there who want Stately Play to cover their titles: include “Through the Ages” in your subject line and it’s sure to make it to the front page. Age of Rivals developer, Roboto Games, did one better. They told me their latest title, Age of Rivals, is a cross between Through the Ages and 7 Wonders. Insert “Shut Up and Take My Money” meme here.

Warhammer Quest goes Electric Boogaloo with sequel, The End Times

March 22, 2017 David Neumann 7

iOS, Android • Last year we learned that several members of the Rodeo Games crew had gone and started another game company, Perchang. Their first, eponymous title was a fairly light twitch/puzzle game that was incredibly successful and seemed to close the door on any chance Rodeo might get the band back together and give us more classic mobile fare like Warhammer Quest or Deathwatch: Tyranid Invasion. Turns out a Rodeo reunion wasn’t necessary, as Perchang has announced a sequel to Rodeo’s Warhammer Quest, Warhammer Quest 2: The End Times.