iOS, Android, PC/Mac •
We’ve known that the wargame developers Lordz Games Studio and HexWar are working on bringing the classic GMT title, Commands & Colors: Ancients, to our iPads for a bit. What we didn’t know is that C&C: Ancients isn’t the only project they’ve been teaming up on. This morning they launched another board game (well, card game) conversion on iOS, Android, and PC/Mac based on a 2004 Dan Verssen design, Lightning: D-Day.
Lightning: D-Day diverges from the usual HexWar or Lordz war game in that there are no hexes, no action points, no LOS. Instead, it’s a quick two-player card game in which the Allied and Axis player throw down cards representing divisions, support, and more until the day ends, represented by the 110-card deck running dry.
This 1 on 1 card game recreates the drama of the day Allied soldiers went ashore in occupied France, 6 June 1944. Each of the historic landing beaches – Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha and Utah – is represented by its own card, as are the defending German divisions and attacking Allied units. The Allies must marshal their resources to gain and secure control of as many beaches as they can by day’s end: a run-through of the 110-card deck.
However, the Axis has the starting advantage; the Allies need to avoid being caught dead in the water. Although most units are preassigned to a beach, each game is won or lost by the placement of cards that provide additional forces or support. Not only is the state of each beach important to consider for these decisions, but also the geography of the coastline – after a beach has been won, the victorious forces can flank adjacent beaches. Both players must always be thinking ahead, looking for ways to best utilise their cards down the line.
Each game of Lightning: D-Day takes about 30 minutes on the tabletop and I’m guessing they’re even shorter in the digital version. The app has an AI for solo play, but also features online cross-platform multiplayer and hotseat multiplayer. The PC/Mac version is also on sale right now, but only if you enter the offer code DDAYLAUNCH when buying.
- Lightning: D-Day for iOS Universal, $5
- Lightning: D-Day for Android, $6.50
- Lightning: D-Day for PC/Mac, $9 (with offer code)
Sigh…HexWar. I keep telling myself not to buy any more of their games because I will undoubtedly be disappointed by something, but they keep releasing games that make me rethink that.
Any idea how the multiplayer in this is executed? Is it the PBEM system? Or something else? Live or Async?
It’ll be PBCP.
(Play By Carrier Pigeon)
[quote=“TheDukester, post:4, topic:673, full:true”]
It’ll be PBCP.
(Play By Carrier Pigeon)
[/quote]I think you’re overestimating Hexwar’s ability to connect two players there. The actual model used is PBMIAB (play by message in a bottle).