iOS spending spree

There were a number of games on sale for the iPad this week – Medici, Ra, Le Havre, Tigris & Euprates and Tikal all at 99 cents!  I picked these up and free versions of Zombie Dice and Summoner Wars.  I also picked up Ticket to Ride with the US, Europe, Swiss and Asia maps along with the 1910 expansion.  I have not played them all yet but here are my initial impressions of the ones I have played:

Ra – the first play was quite annoying.  Every time a player had to bid a screen appeared that you either had to wait a few seconds for it to disappear or x out of the screen.  Fixed that issue in the settings.  From then on the interface works well!  Looking forward to see how well the AI works and maybe play some online games.  I don’t like pass and play – for that I would use the board game.  iOS games are best for solitaire or online play.

Tikal – the interface works okay and the graphics are good but I feel this game may be a bit too fiddly for a smooth and fun game play.  However, next time I am on a plane I am sure I will be happy with the interface and the fiddlyness of the game.

Zombie Dice – a pretty awful game and a terrible graphic interface.  Rather be rolling dice than watching a big zombie hand ‘roll’ them for me.  I think I need a copy of Martian Dice and pack that in a back pack.

Tigris and Euphrates – I played this for the first time as a board game yesterday afternoon as was underwhelmed.  However, as an iOS app it is very good.  Playing this game on the iPad will help me have a greater understanding of the strategies used when playing next time as a board game.  I really enjoyed the interface for T&E!

Summoner Wars – I have never played this game before and thoroughly enjoyed my first game on the iPad.  The walkthrough is quick and easy and the game play looks inviting.  I am looking to learning this game and maybe picking up some of the InApp extra decks.  For me, this is the perfect kind of game for the iPad.  I like many two player games but get little chance to play them as my board game group usually is 3+.  The two player games I get to play are often with my wife – and I don’t think she will like Summoner Wars – of they get played too infrequently to qualify purchasing.

Ticket to Ride – I have played the US map and estimated 100+ times.  I downloaded the iPhone app when it was free.  My wife loves this game.  Getting the iPad version along with the InApp extra maps and expansions opens up a whole new plethora of options.  WOW that Swiss map is hard!  Great game with a great transfer to iOS.

Escape from Colditz Castle – game idea

I recently acquired a copy of Mord Im Arosa. This clever game is fun to play and has a unique cube tower.  The tower represents a hotel in which two murders have been committed.  The murder victims and unwanted clues (left by players) are represented by coloured cubes.  By listening to how the cubes fall in the tower, players deduce where players may have left clues and where they may have left clues which they want to clear from the building.  The tower is 7 stacked boxes that can be moved to reveal each floor.  For a video on how to play this unique game click here.

Expanding on this tower mechanism, I have come up with a game idea where players are trying to escape from Colditz Castle, an infamous WWII prisoner of war camp in Germany.

Players take on the role of Prisoners of War (PoW) from Ally countries.  Each player will get x number of small meeples in a colour that represents their nationality.  Using a cube tower that allows players to reveal the different levels while also acting like a dice tower, each player drops meeples into the tower and listens to where they stop and tries do deduce on what floor of the tower their meeples might have landed (and the meeples of other players).  Each level would represent a room or area in the Castle…the kitchen, the gymnasium, the sleeping quarters, the guard house etc…

Each level would have an outcome if meeples are found there – depending on who found them at a specific location would lead to either a positive or negative outcome.  Players may collect resources (cards) that allow them to meet certain that are needed for a successful escape.  If meeples of different nationalities are deduced to be on the same level then trading of goods may take place.  Meeples are always re-seeded into the tower after a reveal.  It is possible that a choice of outcomes may exist – if the British player correctly deduces that one or more of his meeples are on a floor then he might take a resource or decide to re-seed and extra PoW from his supply.  The more meeples the more chances of getting resources, the more meeples that may escape, but also the greater chance of being caught by guards.

Either a player or an AI mechanism would play the German guards.  They would also reveal floors trying to deduce who might be there.  If correct there would be a punishment for those caught or a reward for the guard – special effect cards or re-seeding more guards.

The game would end when either x number of PoWs had escaped or the guards meet some criteria.

What ya all think?

iOS games

My wife got an iPad from Santa last Christmas.  I downloaded Ticket to Ride for Pam and then some abstracts like Pentago, Hippos and Crocs, and Army of Frogs (because they were free).  Now I am going to take a step forward and am going to pick up some other games for the iPad.  Why the iPad and not breaking out board games to play solitaire?  Well…

1. Allow me to try new games at a fraction of the cost
2. No pieces to set up and put away
3. Can save a game and come back to it
4. Something to do almost anywhere when travelling
5. and I am sure some more stuff…

Games on my iPad wishlist…

• Le Havre
• Caylus
• Tigris and Euphrates
• Tichu
• Ra
• Samurai
• Carcassonne
• Tikal
• Puerto Rico
• Haggis
• Hive
• Ticket to Ride (other maps)
• Hive
• San Juan
• Disc Drivin’ (pitchcar)
• Medici
• Ascension
• Mu and More
• High Society
• Keltis
• Keltis Oracle
• Zombie Dice
• A Fistful of Penguins
• Summoner Wars
• Dominion

Quite the list……..

Something accomplished!

Well I did get one thing crossed off my weekend list.  I got the new cards for Tower of Doom finished and sent to the printer!  Should be play testing soon.

I did get to see The Dark Knight Rises – a phenomenal movie – and The Bourne Legacy – an okay movie.

Summer update

Just got back from a week’s vacation in beautiful Campbell River with relatives.  Watching Orcas, going fishing (nothing caught), nine holes of golf (it sucked almost as bad as my last round), and fun with family (gaming, beverages and the kids having fun) made for an excellent week.

Now back to work and hopefully some game design.

My list of games to work on this weekend:

1. Finally get the cards for Tower of Doom printed and the new rules written
2. Work on All Access Tour: North America
3. Work on idea based around Fiasco’s dice set-up mechanism and send ideas to Joel E.
4. Work on dice card drafting idea
5. Work on Escape from Castle Colditz idea – meeples meet Mord Im Arosa

Let’s see how that goes.

Summer Highs and Lows

WOW!!  Over a month since I last posted…that is ridiculous!!!  Work has been crazy!!!!!  It should calm down a little bit after this week.  Hopefully I will get the creative juices flowing again.

SUMMER HIGHS

1. More work means more cash

2. Have had the chance to play some games with friends

3. Got a minor pay raise at work with a promise of more to come in a few months

4. Got to go camping and golfing and will be heading to Vancouver Island next week

5. New game ideas

SUMMER LOWS

1. The van seems to be sucking up cash right now

2. My golf round sucked

3. No time to chat with geeks on BGG or G+ hangouts

4. No time to work on designs

 

2. Have not worked on

More ideas…sports games

In another geekchat conversation we discussed sports games and how it is difficult (if not impossible) to make a board game that actually represents and feels like you are playing the sport.  It is possible to make a coaching simulation or a baseball game because these are based on decisions that can be deliberated over and can be based on statistical outcomes.  But, a free-flowing game like soccer or basketball is very hard to simulate in a board game (unless, perhaps, it is a dexterity game like the amazing Subbuteo).

JAB: Real Time Boxing by Gavan Brown and released by Tasty Minstrel Games does a solid job of re-creating a boxing match within the parameters of a card game.

This got me thinking about Jai Alai – a fast paced ball game.  Maybe by playing cards with a timer the fast paced action of the game could be reproduced.  Cards could be placed in one of three areas on your side of the court.  The cards would have a colour – the area that the card can be played in – and a number – the power of the returned shot.  Each player’s hand would be similar in nature and a card could be played only once per game…have to study more about Jai Alai!!  There would also be a timer that beeps every 5 seconds – if a player does not play a card within that time limit then they lose a point.

Another ‘sport’ that I had an idea for is Disc Golf.  This would involve dice.  Depending on the type of shot you would roll two dice…distance and curve.  High shots would have more curve.  Power shots would have less curve the harder they are thrown.  There would be four pairs of dice for each type of shot.  Use the high shot to fly over bushed or trees.  Low power shots are used to curve around obstacles and high power shots are to go straight.

More ideas…not sure how good they are.

Silence does not equate to no progress

It seems like such a long time since I posted but I am back!

What have I been up to apart from being crazy busy at work?

1. Revisiting Tower of Doom – really need to get the cards printed so it can be playtested.  This will be done in next week when cash is on hand for printing.

2. New themes to maybe think about…Hatfield & McCoys and The Walls of Jericho…the Jericho theme is inspired by John White’s Jericho solo player game.

3. Back to All Access Tour – map still needs completing.

4. Trying to get as many G+ GameLab hangouts started as possible.

5. Stoked for my friend David Short and his successfully kickstarted game, Ground Floor.  Cannot wait for October!

Stay tuned for more news

Google Plus comments summary

Expanding the GameLab idea…

For those of you who are unaware the G+ GameLab is a forum where game designers, gamers and aspiring game designers meet and share their ideas – while getting invaluable feedback from the other participants.

I have been thinking about expanding the boundaries of the GameLab idea by creating a podcast.  This podcast would discuss and review games but from a design perspective. The discussion would be about how the games WORK and why they WORK – the GameLab would dissect the game from the design perspective.   The format would be similar to that of the wonderful Wooden Cubes & Iron Soldiers.  In Wooden Cubes three video game reviewers discuss the games they have been playing and other things gaming.  This is more like a fireside conversation than a scripted podcast – very informal and very good!

What is needed for this to work?  A game designer or two that have published…gamers who have a knowledge of many types of games…any of you game designers interested?

What would the podcast cover?  A review/dissection of a couple of games…a discussion of games that the participants are looking forward to playing and why…a discussion of mechanics…and so on….