Tag: Board games »

Today is the start of PAX Unplugged, the only PAX focused entirely around board games. In commemoration of its third year, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on some of the best mobile board games out there. Check out the list below.

Shards of Infinity

Shards of Infinity is hands-down the best deck-building game you can get on mobile. If you’re into Dominion or Ascension, you’ll be familiar with the gameplay of Shards of Infinity, but this game stands apart in how directly competitive it is. Check this game out if you want a great asynchronous multiplayer game or want to hone your deck-building skills against AI opponents.

This month, we're looking back at the first half of 2018, looking at the good, the bad, and everything in between. In this piece we're having a think about the big changes that have happened in mobile gaming over the past six months, and what they might mean for mobile gamers moving forwards.

It's our job to keep an eye on the trends, new ideas, and new concepts that are happening in mobile, and we've had a good long think and decided that these five were the biggest changes in 2018. If you've spotted any that you think are worth mentining, then make sure you toss them in the comments section at the bottom of the article.

Small World 2, based on the fantastically fun Small World board game from Days Of Wonder, Inc., will be releasing a new update that brings players the thrill of an Online Arena. Have an iPad and want to challenge your friend on their Android? No worries! Small World 2 will support cross-platform multiplayer. The Online Arena connects players in real time and manages their experience with adjustable turn clocks to lengthen or shorten a game to your preferred duration, and AI subs for if/when a player rage-quits. This protects players from the behavior of sore-losers and bad player habits.

Small World 2 is available in the App Store for $9.99.

- Ranking, private games, karma filtering, starting player selection when creating a game
- Persistent in-game chat
- Chat at the final score screen, with possibility to add the other players as Buddies right away
- An improved invitation system for "games with friends"
- A detailed statistics screen at the end of each game to analyze how each player performed with the various race/power combinations

When people think of multiplayer gaming experiences nowadays most envision players sitting alone, staring at a screen, and maybe (just maybe) communicating with other players from across the world using a microphone or chat window.

Of course this isn't how it's always been. In the days before multitudes of multiplayer games took advantage of the internet, playing games with other people was social experience. People would gather around a TV or game board and interact with each other; both in the game world as well as reality. This layered interaction - with its ability to have player actions outside of the game create meaningful consequences on the world inside the game - adds a richness and complexity that is unmatched in most online games. Of course, this isn't to say that the ability to hop into matches with anyone that is immediately ready, willing, and able to throw down through the power of the internet doesn't have its own set of advantages, but rather that there is still inherent value in local multiplayer.

Luckily, there seem to be a number of game developers out there who agree with that sentiment. 2013 was a surprisingly good year for me in terms of enjoying local multiplayer experiences on iOS. With a slew of great board game ports, as well as more unique experiences best enjoyed with good game-playing company, I spent most of this year either scoping out the latest Playdek releases or digging into the back catalogue of overlooked awesomeness from years' past. Because of this, I decided to make a list of my favorite titles that scratched my local multiplayer itch the best. Although all these games may not be from 2013, here's what I had the most local fun with throughout the year:

10. Kingdom Builder

Kingdom Builder is a quick-and-dirty worker-placement game, at least in its iOS form. Players have to build their kingdoms based on terrain cards, and random elements like scoring cards and the modular board design can help keep it feeling fresh. Kingdom Builder is good for local play mainly because it is a port of a board game, and it is a relatively quick play. I know its a bit of an older game, but it's has been made more playable within the past year and is worth revisiting.