Stately Play

Tag: Economic

Buy, sell, and manufacture your way to riches in upcoming City of the Big Shoulders

November 8, 2018 David Neumann 1

Tabletop • As someone who’s spent much of their life in Wisconsin, I’ve been taught to react with revulsion to anything that comes from south of the border, the Wisconsin/Illinois border, to be exact. It’s just not cool to show any appreciation for Cubs, Bulls, or even the pristine, toll-funded freeways that turn into potholed monstrosities as you meander north. Now, having a wife that lived for many years in Chicago (and living there myself for a period) has made me a tad more appreciative of what other Wisconsonites call FIBs. It’s with this more accepting eye that I peered at a new board game on Kickstarter set in the City of Big Shoulders called, appropriately, City of the Big Shoulders. It looks and sounds like Automobile and Arkwright had a baby, and I’m more than okay with that.

Chaotic stock-trading game, Stockpile, coming to digital via Digidiced

July 17, 2018 David Neumann 0

iOS, Android, PC/Mac/Linux • Digidiced is turning into quite the workhorse. Not only is their port of Isle of Skye currently in beta, but we learned last week that they’re also working on a digital port of the Stefan Feld classic, Castles of Burgundy. Today I was sent a missive of another game Digidiced has in their pocket, the chaotic stock trader, Stockpile. Even more surprising is that it’s already entering beta. Apparently Digidiced has been working on this one for a bit now in secret.

Cardboard Critique: London

February 2, 2018 David Neumann 2

Tabletop • Dickens famously wrote one book about two cities. Martin Wallace, on the other hand, topped that by designing two games about the same city. You know, I’d been milling that intro about in my head for days and it sounded way better there than it does when I type it out. Unfortunately, my delete key is broken so it will have to remain as-is [unfortunately, my delete key is broken too, or it would have been destroyed. -ed.]. What I’m trying to get at is that I’ve played London by Martin Wallace. I’ve played it a lot. I’ve played both the first and second editions and I’m going to talk about it after the jump.

Launch Steam and start shaking your Brass

October 11, 2017 David Neumann 2

iOS, Android, PC/Mac/Linux • If you told me Bottom of the 9th was the only board game making its way to Steam today, I’d laugh in your face, call you names, and generally just be a huge ass. Why? Because it’s Wednesday. Also, I know that Cublo Games‘ take on Martin Wallace’s classic, Brass, is making its debut on Valve’s moneymaker today as well. See how cool that makes me? That I know that thing? Yeah, I’m pretty cool, aren’t I?

Cardboard Critique: Navegador

September 15, 2017 David Neumann 0

Tabletop • I assume that board game publishers commission board game cover art to be evocative of the game’s theme while also creating some excitement for what lies inside that cardboard box. All publishers except PD Verlag, that is. Instead of promising a thrilling adventure, their box covers depict old white guys looking like they need to use the toilet. They broke new ground with Concordia, not only by having the cover focus on a woman instead of a man, but simply by depicting someone smiling and not looking like they’re waiting for the reaper to mercifully end it all. Today we’re looking back at one of Mac Gerdts’ better designs, Navegador, complete with a box cover depicting a sullen Henry the Navigator staring a map. Prepare thyselves for adventure!

Raise a glass for Codito, classiest chaps on the App Store

September 5, 2017 David Neumann 14

iOS Universal • As we draw nearer to the doom that is iOS 11, it’s becoming more and more clear which of your apps will still work in October and which won’t. Some of the apps we wouldn’t have been surprised to see go away are the catalog of board games released by Codito. After all, Codito is a one-man show that left the digital board game biz years ago when he needed to make enough money to buy luxuries like food and shelter. So, if Codito had said, “Sorry!” and let their apps die, it would have been sad, but understandable. Codito’s not doing that, however. Instead, they’ve promised that all their apps will be converted to 64-bits and that process is well underway. Ra has already been converted and, last night, Le Havre made the leap to 64-bits as well.