Eight-Minute Empire tournament sets sail in January

December 6, 2019 David Neumann 0

iOS, Android, PC/Mac/Linux, Switch We love Acram Digital here at Stately Play manor and not only because our forums were the cornerstone of their massive Istanbul tournament from last December. Okay, that’s part of it, but bottom line is they make some damn fine board game ports and even manage to pull off online multiplayer better than some of the bigger fish in the digital board game pond (cough**Asmodee**cough). They’re on the cusp of running another massive tournament–this time for Eight-Minute Empire–and it would be a shame if the Stately Players [you leave for 2 months and then pull this? You son of a bitch. -ed.] weren’t a big part of it. Jump past the break for details and signup info.

Yes, Acram’s new game is Charterstone

April 25, 2019 David Neumann 8

iOS, Android, Steam, Switch Not since the removal of the headphone jack from iPhone 7 has there been a worse kept secret than Acram‘s attempt at obfuscation. What am I talking about? A couple days ago they posted a mysterious tweet about their new upcoming project showing nothing more than a gif of clouds. It didn’t take long for someone to look at the image directories over at the Acram site and, lo and behold, find they’re all labeled with ‘charterstone’ in the title. I’d like to poke fun at Acram for this, but I have to admit that I wouldn’t have thought of locking that stuff down either. I wouldn’t know how to do it, either, so <shrug>. Anyway, Acram’s next board game port is Charterstone! (Act surprised, dammit!)

All the news we missed last week (and maybe even before that)

March 25, 2019 David Neumann 8

It’s been a crazy few months at Stately Play HQ. Work, family, and life in general have been putting up huge detour signs whenever I’d sit down to pen a poorly written screed about the latest Big Thing. You may have noticed. I’m on vacation this week (my kids are on spring break, which seemed as good of an excuse as any) so I’m hoping to have a little more time. I’m hoping this extra time stretches into the future even when I’m not sitting outside in 72 degree weather with a lovely ocean breeze to keep me cool. Work should be dying down a bit and the end of club volleyball is in sight. We’ll see, but I’m hoping for a more energetic front page in the coming weeks and months. A lot of stuff in Gameland has been happening and, instead of forcing you to read one dreck filled post of mine after another, I thought I’d pile all the dreck into one easy-to-digest morsel. See what’s been happening after the break.

Like Istanbul? Sign-up for Acram’s Istanbul tourney and win real stuff

December 21, 2018 David Neumann 0

iOS, Android, PC/Mac/Linux • A few weeks ago, the folks at Acram Digital noticed that our forums had a knack for running tournaments of digital board games which sparked an idea. How about we run a big Istanbul tournament and post about it on the Stately Play forums? How about we contact the publisher of the physical version and get actual board games to give away as prizes to the winners? [How about you stop asking question after question instead of, you know, actually writing something readable? -ed.] Ahem. Anyway, there’s a big Istanbul tournament in the works and you can sign-up right now to join. Real prizes are on the line, such at the Istanbul Big Box as well as just regular old Istanbul (which is great even without the expansions). Check out all the details in our forums or over at Acram’s site, where they have the official rules and legalese. Sign up, have fun, and maybe win something! In other news, all of Acram’s apps–yes, even Istanbul–are currently on sale. Links to the appropriate app stores after the jump.

Is that Istanbul on a Switch? Yes, yes it is.

October 30, 2018 David Neumann 3

I really have nothing to add here other than I’m wondering if I need an iPad anymore. That answer is looking more and more like a big, fat “no”. Then again, those new iPad Pros they announced today do look mighty shiny… [Dave was unable to finish this post due to a head wound inflicted by his wife who walked in while he was salivating over the new iPads on the Apple Store. He’ll get better. Can’t get much worse, can he? -ed.]

Review: Istanbul

June 27, 2018 David Neumann 15

iOS Universal, Android • If you deep dive into the unpublished drafts currently chained up in the Stately Play dungeons, you’ll find a screed titled, “Board Games Suck”. It was started as a rant against the current state of the hobby which, as anyone will tell you, is going gangbusters. Unfortunately, while we’re getting thousands (literally) of new game releases each year, I’m finding my interest in about 98% of them is close to zero. This is mostly in the euro game category where every new game I hear about sounds like an excuse to rehash overdone mechanisms, paste a popular yet loose-fitting theme on it, and get it into the hands of the usual suspects so the hype train can start rolling. So, why haven’t I published the article? Well, my heart is telling me that an article with that headline isn’t a great idea on a site that covers board games. Also, #notalleuros. There are still a few new games here and there that get my blood flowing. Most of them are designed by Vital Lacerda, but one that wasn’t came out back in 2014, won the Kennerspiel des Jahres, and still gets table time. That would be Rüdiger Dorn’s Istanbul.

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.

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.

It appears Acram heading to Istanbul, not Constantinople

January 30, 2018 David Neumann 16

IOS, Android • Right after 2018 was ushered in, the fine folks at Acram Digital decided to tease us about a new game coming in 2018. Which board game it might be was completely up in the air, but my guess was another Martin Wallace title to follow-up the rather wonderful Steam: Rails to Riches. Turns out I was wrong, and Acram is instead working on a different euro, this one from Rüdiger Dorn. It’s 2014’s Kennerspiel des Jahres winner, Istanbul.

Acram Digital teases a new digital board game for 2018

January 3, 2018 David Neumann 1

iOS, Android • The holidays are over, it’s 2018 and we’re all probably going to die in a nuclear apocalypse but, on the bright side, digital board gaming just wrapped up its best year ever. Will 2018 come close to 2017’s grandeur? Unless we get a surprise release of Through the Ages 2: Electric Boogaloo, probably not, but there are reasons to be optimistic about digital board gaming this year beginning with Acram Digital.

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