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.
Today Nomad announced that they will be making digital ports of Mystic Vale, Cat Lady, and Space Base, bringing them to PC and mobile as well as Switch and PS4. Now, I’ve heard and seen Mystic Vale but have to admit an ignorance of both Cat Lady and Space Base. A quick perusal of the AEG site tells me they’re on the lighter side, but both look like great candidates for a digital version.
Let’s tackle the one I’m familiar with first, Mystic Vale. This one was at Gen Con a couple years ago and looked intriguing if only because I’m a huge sucker for plastic/transparent cards. It’s what drew me to Gloom so many years ago, and is a mechanism that hasn’t been done to death over the years. Basically, there are transparent sleeves with icons and whatnot, and you build your own cards by adding them to said sleeves or something. Did I mention I haven’t played it yet, even though it’s been out for a couple years now and has spawned a bevy of expansions? Well, I haven’t, mainly because I don’t think I’d have anyone to play a game like this with. No trains means it’s a tough sell when it comes to my group. Anyway, it’s a game with a lot of fans and I’m excited to finally get a chance to play it when it arrives on my iPad.
Cat Lady is a 30 minute filler game for “cat lovers and gamers alike”. Well, I’m the opposite of a cat lover. I don’t want to say cat hater, but for honesty’s sake let’s stick with that. It’s less to do with the fact that cats are boring than the fact that I’m deathly allergic to them and they’ve done nothing but make me miserable since I was a kid. Luckily, Cat Lady contains no cat dander, so my allergies should remain in check while playing. The theme revolves around collecting cats with the caveat that you’ll need to feed them all. Okay.
Space Base is a dice game where you draft ships and then use your dice to power certain things and keep your base running. It seems a little bit more gamey than Cat Lady, but keeps the whimsical feel going with silly artwork and, let’s face it, a title that rhymes. Again, this looks like another good pick for a digital version.
No word on when these games might be going live, only that they’re currently in the works and we can expect them on Steam, mobile, PS4, and Switch. Nomad also reiterates that this won’t put a halt on going forward with more content for their existing franchises, so we can gleefully expect another 7-10 thousand* Talisman expansions before Labor Day.
*Numbers are general estimates only. Dave is too lazy, and stupid, to actually count real numbers.
Mystic Vale is he type of game that works well on the table but could be even better digital. I wouldn’t say it’s too fiddly, but quick and easy card creating will certainly be better in my phone.
Is it unfair to be thinking ‘Yay more board game ports! Nuts, they went to Nomad…
’?
Possibly. I think they did a great job with Talisman, less so with Smash Up. The big problem is asynchronous multiplayer, which they haven’t shown a willingness to include in their games. Both Talisman and Smash Up, however, don’t lend themselves very neatly to asynchronous play, either. I haven’t played any of these three to know if they’d be good fits for async play but, if so, if the app will have it remains to be seen.
I’ll be bugging them about this over the next few months and see what I can find out.
Space Base would be easy to do async. While you can get stuff on other people’s turns, none of your decisions on how to use the dice rolled have any impact on the other players.
It could easily be “when it’s your turn, you see what the others rolled and make your choices, then do your turn.”