David Neumann

Looks like Acram Digital’s been a naughty, naughty boy

May 7, 2018 David Neumann 14

iOS, Android, PC/Mac/Linux • Acram Digital made their digital name with a well done port of Steam: Rails to Riches and, later, Ryan Laukat‘s Eight-Minute Empire. Both games nailed what made their cardboard cousins so much fun and presented everything polished to a glistening shine. Even better, their releases weren’t just for mobile, but the PC/Mac/Linux crowd could get in on the fun as well via Steam. Looks like those salad days are behind us, however, as all of Acram’s titles have been removed from Steam due to the folks at Acram being naughty.

Remember Feud? This time its beta is really happening

May 7, 2018 David Neumann 4

PC/Mac/Linux, Android, iOS • Another week, another post about a mobile beta. Sigh. I don’t know what’s happening, but I know that the next few months there’s going to be an explosion of goodness oozing out of the App Store’s pores. This week (and I’m sure there will be more as the week goes on…we’ve become Betas-R-Us) we have an abstract that hasn’t gotten enough coverage: Feud.

Our weekly (not actually weekly) Asmodee (Asmodee Digital, actually) update

May 4, 2018 David Neumann 10

iOS, Android, PC/Mac/Linux • It’s been a rather slow news week on the mobile front with the big releases still far in the distance and nothing new coming to light. Leave it to Asmodee Digital, keepers of the keys to the mobile board gaming vault, to break that silence and give me something to write about other than stuff that happened 70 years ago. A bunch of Asmodee news appeared this week — nothing so grand that I felt I should stop playing Factorio to mention it — so here it all is in one place.

A history lesson and glimpse into the future

May 3, 2018 David Neumann 11

You may have read that headline and wondered what the hell I could teach you about history. You’d be right. The readers of Stately Play are some of the best read history buffs I’ve ever been witness to (to the point where I’m embarrassed to admit I’m struggling to read a historical fiction novel that was recommended to me), and far be it from me to try to explain anything that’s happened in the past to any of them. That said, May is going to be a strange month and it all revolves around history. Specifically, my history. Well, my father’s history at least.

Battle Fleet: Ground Assault rumbles onto Steam

May 1, 2018 David Neumann 0

PC/Mac • It’s got tanks and it’s turn-based, so there’s no reason for us not to be excited to play the latest iteration of Battle Fleet from Mythical City Games. Whereas the old Battle Fleets centered on, well, fleets, this latest takes the combat inland and puts it on treads. Battle Fleet: Ground Assault has arrived for PC/Mac today and it’s on sale to boot.

Gem Rush wrapping up Kickstarter run, coming to Steam as well

May 1, 2018 David Neumann 9

Tabletop, PC/Mac/Linux • There’s something very cool happening over at Victory Point Games. For years they were known as a company that made interesting games with components that weren’t very interesting, but not anymore. Over the past 2-3 years they’ve started to reprint second and third editions of games and upping their component game. Thus, we’ve seen gems such as Nemo’s War, Dawn of the Zeds, Healthy Heart Hospital, and Darkest Night all reappear with shiny new versions, begging for gamers who had poo-pooed VPG in the past to love them. It’s not hard to do, they’re all fantastic. The latest reimagining is another title I hadn’t heard of called Gem Rush. Not only is the shiny new 2nd edition currently on Kickstarter, but they’ve also announced that a digital version is on its way to Steam for PC/Mac/Linux.

Stately Scrying: What we’re playing this weekend

April 27, 2018 David Neumann 11

You ever have one of those Fridays where you look at your weekend schedule and it’s so full you wish it would just be Monday already? Yep, that’s what we’re looking at. Baseball and soccer in full swing and a family gathering at our house all day Sunday? Yep, no gaming going on this weekend. That said, everyone else at Stately Play is still doing their thing. Let’s take a look at what they have planned.

XenoShyft expands into the Dreadmire

April 27, 2018 David Neumann 5

iOS, Android, PC/Mac • I may be the only person who actually kind of loves XenoShyft. I mean, there are problems both as a game and as an app, but there’s something about it that keeps bringing me back. Not every day. Hell, it’s too difficult and soul-crushing to attempt daily. That said, I’ve played dozens and dozens of games since it released back in 2015 (winning…once? Maybe twice?) and it’s become something of a guilty pleasure. Yesterday, Asmodee and Cool Mini or Not added a major expansion to XenoShyft called Dreadmire, and it looks like I’ll be suiting up for battle again real soon.

We’ll be able to travel Among the Stars on May 10

April 26, 2018 David Neumann 24

iOS, Android • Yesterday I vented a bit about the seemingly endless barrage of board game betas being thrown at us in 2018 without anything actually, you know, releasing. The folks at Cublo heard my cries and, today, announced that their 7 Wonders-like, sci-fi builder, Among the Stars, will be arriving on iOS and Android on May 10.

Another beta opportunity, this time Constan…I mean, Istanbul

April 25, 2018 David Neumann 8

iOS, Android, PC/Mac/Linux • Maybe it’s just me, but 2018 thus far has been a rather depressing year from a digital board game perspective. I’m still playing the hell out of Through the Ages, Twilight Struggle, and even Race for the Galaxy, but 2018 has been the “Year of the Beta”. It’s been a lot of talk about a bunch of great games set to release in 2018, but nothing has actually manifested into reality yet. We have Scythe, Terraforming Mars, One Deck Dungeon, Onitama, Among the Stars, XenoShyft, and probably a few more that I can’t remember offhand. I get that it’s a long slog to get a game released, but I want more goodies on my iPad and it’s all about me, me, me! Today we have another beta for an upcoming game that I really, really want to start playing, Istanbul.