Dice Game – Stately Play

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.

One Deck Dungeon heading to the small screen

April 22, 2019 David Neumann 7

iOS, Android, PC/Mac/Linux Coming out of nowhere last year was Handelabra‘s port of the Little Card Game That Could, One Deck Dungeon. No other board game port received nearly as much playtime and, let me remind you, you could only play it on iPad or your laptop. Luckily, it’s less of an addiction now because it’s coming to phones in May which would have killed me had it happened last year.

Another quick roll-and-write has landed on the App Store: Noch Mal!

August 22, 2018 David Neumann 1

iOS Universal, Android • Remember Yahtzee, that dice rolling game you were forced to play with your grandparents because if you didn’t the only other option was helping them weed the garden? Anyone? Okay, maybe it was just me, but I grew up with Yahtzee as a gaming staple, spending long days at my grandparents’ house while they babysat my brother and I all summer. While it’s somewhat poopooed these days, I don’t really hate Yahtzee. Sure, strategy is almost nil, but there’s something about chucking dice and filling out that score sheet that hits me in the feels. Today, game designers are turning that simple roll-and-write mechanism on its head with games like the recently released Ganz Schon Clever. A similar roll-and-move game with complex rules just landed on the App Store and it too has a German title: Noch Mal!

Short cut: Ganz Schön Clever

July 31, 2018 David Neumann 14

iOS, Android • I didn’t pay much attention to the Spiel des Jahres this year, so I’m a little behind on telling my Azuls from my Die Quacksalber von Quedlinburgs. Yes, that last one is a real game and it actually won the Kennerspiel des Jahres. Thus I was unaware of another nominee vying for “complex game of the year”, Ganz Schön Clever. A quiet release of a digital version has allowed me to give the game a go, however, and I’ve determined that the English translation of Ganz Schön Clever is “what the hell have I stumbled on?”

One Deck Dungeon gets two new DLC to try: The Witch and The Cinder Plains

July 4, 2018 David Neumann 0

iPad, Android Tablet, PC/Mac/Linux • I love Handelabra as much as the next guy, but the amount of One Deck Dungeon news is starting to get annoying. I mean, I haven’t even tried a dungeon with Caliana, their last DLC hero and now they’ve gone and added another? Not just that, but I still have problem getting through the 1-star-difficulty Dragon and now they’ve added a 4-star deathtrap? Geez, it’s almost like I’m just going to have to just keep playing and playing One Deck Dungeon for the foreseeable future. Woe is me.

Nomad and AEG combine forces, bringing more board game goodness to digital

June 20, 2018 David Neumann 4

iOS, Android, PC, Switch, PS4 • We mostly know Nomad from their continuing love affair with Games Workshop’s fantasy classic, Talisman. Last week they released The Woodland expansion which, if you’re not counting, was the 7,426th* expansion released for Talisman since January. Of course they’ve done some other games as well, most notably a team up with Alderac Entertainment Group for a digital port of Smash Up. Well, they’re teaming up with AEG again, this time bringing 3 of their titles to PC, mobile, and some other platforms as well.

One Deck Dungeon gets more dungeon

June 1, 2018 David Neumann 3

If you were one of the people who loaded up Handelabra‘s One Deck Dungeon and thought, Hmmm…not enough dungeon, then today is your lucky day. Not only did the game update to add fixes and UI features, but it also brought along the game’s first DLC, The Phoenix’s Den.

Temple Gates ready to roll

August 23, 2017 David Neumann 7

iOS, Android, PC • Wrapping up our major Gen Con stories is our favorite new mobile developer of 2017, Temple Gates. They burst onto the scene this year with the game I can’t shut up about, Race for the Galaxy. We all agree it’s the bee’s knees, and is a clear contender for GOTY come December. Lucky for us, Temple Gates doesn’t plan on being a one hit wonder and have already begun development on their next App Store entry, Race for the Galaxy’s big brother, Roll for the Galaxy.

Bottom of the 9th coming to mobile from Handelabra

March 14, 2017 David Neumann 2

iOS, Android • Handelabra Games is well known around Stately Play as the creators of the always entertaining (and growing) port of Sentinels of the Multiverse. For the last couple years, that’s all Handelabra has been known for, but that’s changing. Coming soon we’ll also have them to thank for a digital version of the baseball dice game, Bottom of the 9th.