April 2017 – Page 2 – Stately Play

Card Thief caught breaking and entering Google Play this weekend

April 20, 2017 David Neumann 2

iOS Universal, Android • One of the best titles of 2017 is by the little powerhouse developer, Tinytouchtales. Of course, I’m referring to Card Thief, which was released for iOS back in March and stole more than just gold and trash-filled treasure chests…it also stole our hearts. Zing, pow! I threw myself a fastball and hit it out of the park. I’m going to sit here and congratulate myself for a bit more, but if you don’t want to hear it you can head past the jump and hear all about Card Thief showing up for Android.

It’s Spring Break, so thank goodness for the Through the Ages beta

April 19, 2017 David Neumann 19

iOS, Android • If you’ve been wondering where we’ve been the last few days, you’re not alone. I’ve been trapped with my family in a minivan for the past 24 hours and I’m not sure where I am, either. I think we ended up in Florida, but I feel like I asked to see Saw Garrera and have been transported across the country with a bag over my head. I could be anywhere, but considering that I’m looking at palm trees and the Indian River, Florida is a good bet. Spending this much time with my kids in a vehicle would drive most adults insane, but I had a secret weapon to help through the rough times. Czech Games Edition has started the online beta for Through the Ages and it’s so good, it almost prevented me from going completely bonkers.

Review- Erin: The Last Aos Sí

April 13, 2017 Nick Vigdahl 3

iOS Universal, Android • It is difficult to call something, anything, unique these days and be confident it is true. No one person can play all the games, listen to all the music, read all the books, and watch all the things to feel sure about such an assessment. Most things are derivative of something, often clearly so. When I play Erin: The Last Aos Sí, however, I am drawn to that description: unique, rare, different.

Want to see Terra Mystica in action? We’ve got the trailer.

April 12, 2017 David Neumann 24

iOS, Android • Terra Mystica is a tabletop behemoth and, even though it sits at #4 on BGG’s list of the best board games ever made, my group likes it about as much as a fart in an elevator. As such, my pimped out copy with acrylic everything lies dormant in my basement, silently waiting for me to man up and get a new game group. Sorry, cardboard monstrosity, but you’re going to be waiting a long time. First of all, I kind of like my game group and, secondly, in a week I’ll be able to play as much Terra Mystica as I want without any eyes rolling or noses turned up in disgust. Actually, I’ve received a pre-release copy, so I’m playing TM right now, you damned old box filled with wood and plastic. Take that! Don’t worry, I talk to my games quite a bit. It’s a combination of being alone all day and staggering levels of mental illness. I’ve taken my pills, and I think it’s time to share a bit of how the digital version of Terra Mystica is shaping up. That, and we have the trailer just on the other side of the jump.

The patches are coming! 1775: Rebellion updated to version 2.0

April 12, 2017 David Neumann 0

iOS Universal, Android, PC/Mac • As a huge fan of the tabletop version, 1775: Rebellion was one of my most anticipated board game ports in 2016. When it launched in November, it managed to capture the light brilliance of its forebear, but as Matt mentioned in his review, was a bit subpar in terms of AI and other glitches here and there. Fear not, fellow gamers, for HexWar has been on the case and has just released a massive update to the PC/Mac version that will soon also be coming to the App Store.

Planescape: Torment opens a portal to the App Store

April 11, 2017 David Neumann 0

iOS Universal, Android, PC/Mac • One of the most beloved (if not THE most beloved) CRPGs of all time was released back in 1999 and used the greatest RPG engine ever created, the Infinity Engine [don’t argue with him about this…he locked Alex in the cellar just for suggesting that the Gold Box games were better -ed.]. Even without the title of the post screaming what game I’m talking about, most of you would instantly know I’m referring to the fantastic Planescape: Torment. Nearly 20 years after its initial release, Beamdog has polished it up and reissued it in a new Enhanced Edition which has gone live for iOS, Android, and PC/Mac.

Rubicon opens beta signups for Epic Little War Game

April 11, 2017 David Neumann 0

iOS, Android, PC • The original Great Little War Game made its way to our phones way back in 2011 and was one of the first must-have titles for strategy gamers. It was followed up by Great Big War Game and Great Little War Game 2, both of which were also strong entries for strategy gamers looking for anything with a some bite on their touchscreens. Announced back in 2014 was the next iteration of the series, Epic Little War Game, and nearly three years later Rubicon Development is announcing the beta is starting and they need help.

North Star’s Evolution is…evolving?

April 11, 2017 David Neumann 1

iOS, Android, PC/Mac • Before we begin, I need to tell you that, yes, I’m ashamed of that title but low-hanging fruit and all that. Ok, now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about Evolution and how you can sign up for the alpha.

Review: Onirim

April 11, 2017 Kelsey Rinella 8

iOS, Android • Onirim is a highly-regarded, fast-playing solo card game by Shadi Torbey and Z-Man Games, and is now a highly-regarded, even faster-playing ideal phone game by Asmodee Digital. Perhaps the easiest single-sentence summary for Stately Play readers is this: Card Crawl is more like Onirim than Card Thief, and this stands as a strong compliment to all three games. Card Crawl gave about as much satisfaction as a turn-based game could offer in such a brief playing time, and Onirim gives us decisions with a similar tactical feel and memory element. Card Thief has much in common with Card Crawl, but Tinytouchtales innovated with it enough that a third game could be more similar to their first outing without being redundant. In other words, Onirim fills the same niche as Card Crawl while still being sufficiently distinct to justify itself.

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.