Tim Fowers – Stately Play

Paperback sequel/prequel, Hardback, is in beta and coming to iOS/Android

June 6, 2018 David Neumann 3

iOS, Android • I first heard of Tim Fowers back when Wok Star was released way back in 2010. It was a cooperative game that didn’t follow the standard Pandemic formula of “take your turn then pull a card and see what terrible stuff happens”. Instead, the game used a timer and players played simultaneously, trying to keep the restaurant running smoothly. Since then, he’s become a powerhouse designer, running his own publishing digs and putting out games that don’t fit into the standard mold set by previous titles. For example, Paperback took the well-worn mechanisms of Dominion, but put them into a word game which, somehow, made deck-building fun! What really separates him, however, is that he learned a long time ago that digital board games are pretty cool and, as of now, has released both Paperback and Burgle Bros. onto mobile. Soon we’ll get their third title on our phones and tablets, a sequel of sorts to Paperback appropriately titled, Hardback.

Tim Fowers’ games, Paperback and Burgle Bros., land on Steam

December 1, 2017 David Neumann 1

iOS Universal, Android, PC • It’s a well known fact that the digital version of Tim Fowers‘ deck-building word game, Paperback, is one of the best word games available on the App Store. What’s less known–because it released at Gen Con and I didn’t have time to write a review that week–is that the digital port of his cooperative heist game, Burgle Bros., is pretty sweet as well. It takes a bit of work to wrap your head around what’s going on, but once you get it, it’s a nice solo puzzle to solve. Yesterday, Tim popped up on Twitter to let us all know that mobile isn’t the only way to enjoy these games, they’re also now on Steam.

Burgle Bros. expands with more everything

August 28, 2017 David Neumann 0

iOS Universal, Android • Tim Fowers‘ cooperative heist game, Burgle Bros., landed on the App Store in early August and we still haven’t gotten a review up. I have excuses; plenty of them, actually. Gen Con was in there, my kids are still way over-scheduled, and that damn Through the Ages beta come to mind. Now, Gen Con is over, my kids are in school, and Darkest Dungeon has managed to curb my TtA habit by at least 3%, so things are looking up. We’ll be getting more reviews up and, hopefully, actually close to each game’s release date. It’s almost like we’re trying to be a real site. Almost. Anyway, back to Burgle Bros. Less than 3 weeks after arriving on our devices, the app has received a massive update that includes new variants, new rules, and ways to play that just aren’t possible on the tabletop. Here’s a review for you: it’s expansion-rific!

Tim Fowers’ cooperative heist game, Burgle Bros., goes live

August 11, 2017 David Neumann 0

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.

Outstanding word deck-builder, Paperback, adds asynchronous multiplayer

August 8, 2017 David Neumann 17

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.

Burgle Bros. beta be banging

July 19, 2017 David Neumann 13

iOS, Android • Over the weekend I was invited to partake in designer Tim Fowers‘ next foray into the mobile gamespace, Burgle Bros. His previous board game port was the absolutely fantastic, Paperback, so I was immediately on board for checking out whatever Tim was working on. The only difference is that I’d played the cardboard version of Paperback before the app landed whereas Burgle Bros. was a completely new entity for me. Let’s take a look.

It’s cardboard Kickstarter explosion day

April 4, 2017 David Neumann 8

Tabletop • Warning: Guard your wallet. We’re about to enter into some dangerous Kickstarter territory for a couple of cardboard titles that you’re going to want to back. Just remember, it’s not my fault. I’m just the messenger. Actually, I’ve already pledged for both and this it my way of trying to spread my pain around. Blame me all you want.

Hardback, a prequel/sequel to the fabulous Paperback coming to Kickstarter

March 14, 2017 David Neumann 1

Tabletop • When it comes to word games on tabletop, there’s Paperback and then there’s everything else. Designer Tim Fowers somehow managed to take a rather stuffy genre and make it interesting by crossing it with everyone’s favorite and most overused mechanism, deckbuilding. Yes, I’m not a huge fan of either word games or deckbuilding, but put together it’s near perfection. Today, Tim Fowers announced a new game in the series: Hardback.

Review: Paperback

November 18, 2016 David Neumann 8

Everyone hates words games. It’s true. Well, almost everyone. Your grandma still loves Scrabble, and so does that one tool who’s memorized every two-letter word that begins with “Q”. Do we want to game with those people? Hell, no! (Grandma excluded. It’s fun to game with grandma!) What if I were to tell you that there was a word game that didn’t suck? What if we took one of the most popular games of the past 10 years and mixed it with word games? How would that work? Let’s take a look at Paperback.