David Neumann

Asmodee focuses on the littlest gamers with Ticket to Ride: First Journey

September 28, 2017 David Neumann 9

iOS, Android, PC/Mac • Not sure how relevant Asmodee Digital‘s latest title will be for most of the Stately Players out there, but I’m guessing at least a few of you have kids. Little kids. I’m talking preschool, kindergarten, maybe 1st-2nd grade. You know, little kids. Their latest release is a digital version of Ticket to Ride: First Journey and if you’re thinking it’s basically Ticket to Ride for kids you’d be right, especially if you’re thinking it’s for little kids.

Strategy 101: Through the Ages, Corruption Edition

September 26, 2017 David Neumann 5

iOS Universal, Android • After posting yesterday’s mammoth strategy guide for Czech Games‘ awesome port of Through the Ages, I was asked by several people to go over one of the game’s most frustrating mechanisms, Corruption. Let’s do this!

Pathfinder Adventures expands, slashes prices

September 26, 2017 David Neumann 15

iOS, Android, PC/Mac • Last night an update arrived for our beloved, yet seemingly beleaguered, Pathfinder Adventures. The update brought more content, which is good, but also completely changed prices for IAP in the mobile version, which is good news too, I think? I don’t know, the future of Pathfinder has seemed foggy since Obsidian wrapped up the Rise of the Runelords campaign, and changing their pricing and whatnot at this point seems like a bad sign that, maybe, Pathfinder isn’t doing as good as Obsidian or their new overlord, Asmodee, had hoped. Or maybe I’m full of crap. It’s happened in the past, and I definitely have no insight into what’s going on in the darkened back rooms of Obsidian. With that in mind, let’s focus on what we do know about, the latest Pathfinder Adventures update.

Strategy 101: Through the Ages, Resource Edition

September 25, 2017 David Neumann 9

iOS Universal, Android • I’m pretty sure I’ve stated my incompetence when it comes to winning games of Vlaada Chvátil’s masterpiece, Through the Ages. Now that it’s out on the App Store, many of you have been witness to said incompetence. For those who have yet to see it, t’s truly a wonder to behold. While I may suck at TtA, I have played the game, hundreds of times, actually. While my win percentage doesn’t back up that claim, I attribute my woeful performance far more to my adult ADD and less to understanding how the game operates. I cannot resist building a Wonder, even if everything in my current “strategy” screams against it. I like shiny things. While Through the Ages can seem complex, the rules are actually rather simple. The complexity comes from trying to juggle all of TtA’s parts so they work together. Let’s take a look at how this thing ticks.

XCOM: Enemy Within joins the ranks of 64-bit apps

September 22, 2017 David Neumann 10

iOS Universal, Android, PC/Mac/Linux • The past couple of weeks have been tough ones for me, but this hardship has been completely of my own devising. Instead of going to sleep at a remotely decent time, I’ve been staying up well past 2am nearly every night playing War of the Chosen, the new expansion for XCOM 2. While we’re unlikely to ever see the XCOM sequel on our tablets, there is good news in mobile-land for XCOM fans: XCOM: Enemy Within was just updated to comply with iOS 11’s 64-bit requirement.

The Witness puzzles its way onto the App Store

September 21, 2017 David Neumann 6

iOS Universal, PC/Mac • It’s been a long time since we’ve had a pure puzzle game worth talking about land on the App Store. The Witness, Jonathan Blow‘s puzzle opus, almost fits. It’s definitely a puzzle game, but it’s also big, beautiful, and mysterious. It feels like there’s much more to do than just solving the maze-like puzzles, but when you get down to it, there really isn’t. It’s kind of weird, but I keep loading it up and exploring the world so there must be something there.

Cardboard Critique: Nemo’s War (Second Edition)

September 20, 2017 David Neumann 19

Tabletop • I’ve never played a solo game quite like Nemo’s War from Victory Point Games. I went into it prepared for the usual solo/cooperative game tropes–turns divided by a “bad” phase, more fires to put out than you have hoses, a general sense of being completely screwed–but found none of those. Instead, Nemo’s War felt more like one of those open-world video games like the Elder Scrolls series. Do whatever the hell you want, when you want, and have fun doing it. There’s never that moment, as in other cooperatives, where you “beat the game”. It’s strange, yet mesmerizing.

Fantastic point-and-click adventure, Thimbleweed Park, arrives on iOS

September 19, 2017 David Neumann 0

iOS Universal, PC/Mac/Linux • You’re probably sick and tired of me talking about Thimbleweed Park around these parts, but I know a lot of our readers are mobile gamers first and foremost, so I also know many of you have probably ignored my earlier praises of the game. You’re probably also aware that the previous sentence is an abomination of word structure and nearly, but not quite, a run-on sentence. That sentence wasn’t much better. Shorter, but not better. What I’m trying to say is, mobile gamers can now experience the joy I’ve had playing Thimbleweed Park because it’s currently on the App Store.

Spiderweb set to explore Avernum one last time

September 18, 2017 David Neumann 0

iPad, PC/Mac • There was a time–well before anyone had coined the phrase App-ocalypse–that Spiderweb Software had their fill with Apple and vowed to never produce another RPG for our tablets. Remember that? Spiderweb guru Jeff Vogel was lamenting the fact that iOS 8.3 broke their engine, and they were taking their ball and going home. They eventually relented, with the reveal that Jeff’s initial rage was caused by some underlying medical issues and things happening outside the wonderful world of coding. That circus revolved around the release of Avernum 2 and, thanks to Pocket Gamer, we learned that we can expect the final chapter in the saga, Avernum 3, next year.

Here we come, hat in hand

September 15, 2017 David Neumann 79

We’re nearing the one year anniversary of launching Stately Play and while we haven’t reached the heights of our old living quarters, it’s been a lot of fun being able to write again about topics that I love. Of course, I could write all I want but without you guys reading it, I would just be another mad man bellowing into the wind. Therefore, I have to thank each and every one of you, whether you stop by every day, once a week, or only when you spy a story you might like via our Facebook or Twitter feed. None of this would exist without you reading, contributing in the forums, playing in tournaments, and all the other stuff you do that doesn’t deal directly with what appears on the front page.