iOS, Android, PC/Mac • With all the negative news surrounding Playdek these days, it’s sometimes hard to remember they’re still one of the best digital board game developers out there. That’s going to become obvious later this month when the all-new version of Lords of Waterdeep hits the App Store, Google Play, and Steam.
iOS Universal, Android, PC/Mac • Back in April, Czech Games unleashed the online beta for Through the Ages, the app that we’ve all been waiting for since before iPads were even a thing. Several Stately Players were in the beta and it was all very fun for a time, but then other games arrived, and, with the beta remaining somewhat stagnant, most of us moved on. A few weeks ago, the beta added the ability for AI bots to join multiplayer games if someone dropped, which had been the biggest advancement we’d seen. The latest beta update, however, pushes TtA into a whole new realm of awesome.
iOS Universal, Android • It’s a pretty big week on the App Store for board game designer Tim Fowers. Earlier this week his fantastic word game, Paperback, was updated with online multiplayer and, today, a brand new board game arrived for iOS Universal and Android. That board game is Burgle Bros., a cooperative (or solo) game in which you’re attempting an Oceans Eleven style heist.
iOS, Android, PC/Mac • A few years ago, Upper Deck leaped onto the board game scene with a deck-builder set in the Marvel universe. It was called Legendary, and since then has taken on so many different IPs that it’s nearly impossible to name them all. Luckily, we don’t have to name them because the digital version of Legendary is right around the corner and instead of using one of the existing IPs, the digital version will have a new fantasy theme tacked on. Considering how much everyone seems to love Marvel everything, I might be the only person on Earth excited by this change of scenery.
PC/Mac/Linux, iOS (coming in 2017) • As a kid I had no use for the Old West. Immersed in things like D&D, Tolkien, and Dragonlance, the Old West seemed like a boring, dusty place filled with images and stories that just didn’t push my buttons. As an adult, I stumbled onto the Deadlands RPG, and all the possibilities and adventure of the Old West suddenly made sense to me. These days, my favorite TV show of all time is Deadwood and I didn’t miss an episode of last year’s Westworld. Thus, when I heard about West of Loathing, I was excited. An RPG set in the untamed West that would, eventually, be coming to iOS? Sign me up! Then I saw the screenshots, and had to wonder what the hell was going on.
iPad, PC/Mac/Linux • It’s official. Darkest Dungeon is officially coming to our iPads, and it’s happening in only a couple weeks. We’ve been asking about Darkest Dungeon on our iPads before the PC/Mac version was out of Early Access, but were always given answers that neither confirmed or denied a mobile port. Makes sense, as developer Red Hook is up to their eyeballs with supporting and expanding the PC/Mac version. Turns out Red Hook had an accomplice in getting the iPad version up and running, Blitworks, which I’d never heard of before, but have instantly become one of my favorite devs. If you can’t tell, I kind of like Darkest Dungeon.
iOS Universal, Android • Paperback is one of the better board game apps released in the last couple years, but not because of the app. I mean, the app is fine and works great if all you want to do is build words against the AI, but it falls short in one area that Stately Players demand in their board game conversions: multiplayer. Originally released with only pass-and-play capabilities, last night the app was hit with a stealthy update that adds what we all wanted, asynchronous multiplayer.
Tabletop • I’ve been on a quest of late to find the best two-player tabletop games the world has to offer. Card games, board games, dice games…it doesn’t matter, I just want fun games to play with my wife around home or with a friend now and then. I may have stumbled onto something with my latest conquest, The Fox in the Forest.
iPad, Android, PC/Mac/Linux • Faeria is one of the many games on my “must play” list that I never seem to get around to actually playing. The combined CCG and tactical board game elements would seem to be my chocolate and peanut butter but, alas, Race for the Galaxy came out and pretty much ruined me for card games until some time in 2019 when I might get a little bored with it. Still, Abrakam, is trying to get me to put RftG aside early by unleashing new expansion content for Faeria. Looking at what’s in the expansion, they might just succeed.
iOS, Android, PC/Mac • Last week Kelsey compared HexWar to Lucy van Pelt with the rest of us taking on the role of Charlie Brown running at the football. Well, let’s just say that the ball has been teed up again, and it’s up to us if we’re going to take the bait. Unfortunately, the football in this case is a pretty great board game from Academy called 1812: The Invasion of Canada, which means I’ll probably end up charging toward the App Store. I’m really hoping I don’t end up on my back this time.