Lost Cities is based on a board game of the same name by a leading name in the board game industry, one Reiner Knizia. I’ll be honest, I’d never heard of him either but after a little research I found that unbeknownst to me I had played one of his games before, a board game based on The Lord of the Rings.
I’d enjoyed that game many times and another good thing going for this iPhone app was the fact that it’s made by TheCodingMonkeys that made one of my favorite iOS games, Carcassonne. With that said, Lost Cities has a lot to live up to for me.
Lost Cities is part board game, part card game where you play either against a computer or GameCenter opponent to score as many points as you can by discarding your cards along 5 color coded lanes.
You start with 8 cards of various colors and you can place any of them down on a corresponding colored lane and then it’s your opponents turn to do the same on their side of the table. On your next turn you can either add to your existing card or start a new lane.
You earn points for every card you play based on it’s face value but before you start any lane you can play a coin card which will double the value of any cards that you play after it. The dilemma though is that starting each lane reduces your score by 20 points and playing a coin card on it will double that 20 point deduction to 40 points. You can do this up to 3 times on any lane and so the decision to be made is do you have the cards to make up for the negative points.
Make sense? It’s ok if it doesn’t as there is an in game tutorial where one of the AI opponents will talk you through the rules and gameplay. But once you get the basics whether you are playing against the AI, a friend or a random GameCenter opponent the challenge keeps on coming and it’s easy to play multiple games at once as you are notified both in game and via the iPhone Notification Center whenever it’s your next turn.
I was initially concerned due to the fact that my color blindness caused problems when attempting to differentiate between the five sets of cards, however the latest update took care of this and now High Contrast Mode can be enabled from the settings menu to make the cards more distinctive for people like me.
The controls are straightforward and intuitive and there are plenty of stats to keep track of your progress, from leveling up my completing certain achievements to the Game Center integration that includes Leaderboards and a little under 100 achievements.
If you are a card game fan then Lost Cities is a must have title for you iPhone, and if you love quality games too then that’s another reason to grab it. At $3.99 it’s not the cheapest card in the App Store but quality sometimes cost money and in the case of Lost Cities it’s worth every penny.
[rating: 5/5]
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Even in this electronic age board games have never gone out of fashion, the only difference being that where as many of these games were once played on literal boards they are now often being played on virtual boards on iPhones, iPads and other such devices.
And that is certainly the case of the award winning Whoowasit? HD which is now available on the iPad for $4.99 from the App Store.
Whoowasit? HD is like a cross between the classic board games of Clue and Guess Who and is a team based where instead of players competing against each the players are encouraged to work together to solve the puzzles and find the thief who has stolen the ring.
Set in medieval times the game is set in the rooms of a castle and by rolling the dice players take it in turns to move their character from room to room looking for clues to who could have stolen the ring.
The board is beautifully drawn with lots of detail and small animations. Each room contains a different animal and they will have clues to help you finger the thief. However, they won’t give up they’re information for nothing and need to be encouraged to spill the beans by giving them food which can also be found in the rooms.
As it’s a team game everyone gets to see the clues that are presented and can use them themselves. You may think that as everyone is working together that catching the thief would be easy. However, you are up against the clock and failure to find the thief in the allotted time will result in the game being over.
You will also have to avoid the ghost that moves from room to room as being in the same room will see you banished back to the nursery to start your hunt again.
The thief, clues and food that the animals require are changed each time that you play the game too ensuring that no too games are ever the same which makes repeat plays of the game more attractive.
The game also provides additional features for those players that own the board game version of Whoowasit? HD as it includes an interactive chest that becomes part of the board game.
Whoowasit? HD provides is an enjoyable experience and provides a more relaxed gaming experience compared to some of the other titles that are available on the iPad. While some people may be put off by the $4.99 price tag they should remember that this is a game that the whole family can play together and is considerably cheaper than purchasing a board game in a store.
[rating: 4.5/5]What we like
What to know
If as they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the people over at Zynga must be very flattered indeed and must be doing something right. The latest company to be inspired by the success of Zynga’s ‘…with Friends’ series is Stofle Designs with their version of Yahtzee called ‘Dice with Buddies’.
Despite the obvious influences Stofle haven’t rested on their laurels, instead they have produced a highly polished and playable game with both turn based online and local game-play for two-people.
If you have ever played Yahtzee before then you will feel perfectly at home in Dice with Buddies. The game consists of rolling 5 dice to complete different sets. From 3, 4 and 5 of a kind and groups of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6’s to straights, full house and the always useful chance option if you’ve not played Yahtzee before a basic understanding of the hands in Poker will also see you through.
The game is nicely laid out, you can see all your available combinations listed down the page and your opponents alongside them too. This allows you to easily see what combinations you have remaining and how you are doing compared to your opponents. While the layout is usable yet compact on the iPhone on the iPad with its larger real estate is even better with no scrolling required.
The updates come thick and fast with push notifications working well to inform you when it’s your turn to play and you can have multiple games running at the same time. In game notifications are all well managed meaning that you don’t have to navigate away from the game screen to play multiple games.
The game integrates with Facebook allowing you to easily play with your Facebook friends and brag about your success to your wall. There is no Twitter or GameCenter integration though which is a shame as achievements, if not leaderboards, would be a nice addition. There are in-game stats though so you can see how well you are doing including such as your highest score, average score, wins and wins percentage.
Of course no game would be where it is without in app purchases and Dice with Buddies is no different. You can buy bonus rolls from 99c to $100 (seriously!) and these will enable you to have extra rolls of your dice to get the combinations you need, however, these are certainly not required and not buying them certainly doesn’t make the game any poorer.
Dice with Buddies is a universal game which is a great feature if you have both devices, and the game comes in both paid and free versions. If you’re a fan of these types of social games and prefer numbers to letters then Dice with Buddies is a must.
[rating: 4.5/5]What to know
The award winning marble board game Pentago, is now available on your iPhone and iPod Touch. If you have never played the game before, the game rules are simple. The game consists of 6×6 square board, this is divided into four and these fours squares are 3×3. All you have to do is get a row of 5 with your colored marbles. This can be in any direction you want.
There are two moves to the game though. Every time you place a marble on a peg then you also have to move a 3×3 game block. To do this you must move it either clockwise or anti-clockwise by one notch. Then it is the next players turn. You do this until one of you gets a row of 5 colored marbles.
If you manage to fill the board with out either playing winning it counts as a draw. There are different ways to play the game, the first is Quick Play where you play one game at a time. This mode is great if you just want to improve on your skills and practice your tactic moves before you move on to the career mode.
With Career mode, you start off as a beginner and work your way up to becoming a champion. When you become higher in the ranks the game gets harder and a lot more challenging.You can unlock different themes as you go. You can also play what is called Pass and Play, a mode that you can use to play with your friends.
It is all about tactics anfd figuring out where you can place a marble and turn a block to your benefit. The game is very challenging, infact it is quite hard at times to beat it! I did do a few times but it took quite a many games to just win one. The game is easy to pick up and play, you just tap on the hole where you want your marble to go and then swipe you finger over the square you want to move and in the direction you want it to go. It is all a good size on your screen.
I had never played this game before so I was new to the game play. I therefore relied on the game help section to fill me in. I have to say though that part needs a little tweaking. I tried to read the ‘how to play’ but it just wouldn’t scroll correctly, it either showed the top or the bottom of the details. It got me fustrated before I had even started the game!
There is music playing, along with the sounds from placing marbles, within the game that can be turned off. I liked the graphics and color choice and the all touch controls make it an easy game to play. Pentago for iPhone is a very challenging game and one that will keep you busy. With the option to play with your friends via pass and play it opens the game up to offering lots of replay value.
Price: $1.99 (App Store)
Category: Games
Released:Sep 08, 2010
Reviewed Version:1.1.38
Size: 6.2 MB
Language:English
Seller:IGFUN LLC
© (c) 2010 Indiagames Ltd. (c) 2010 MindTwister Games
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iPhone OS 2.2 or later.
If you have ever played the original toy where you create beautiful patterns with pegs that light up then you will certainly enjoy Lite-Brite. Brought to you by EA Mobile the app is a great version of the old classic toy.
Lite-Brite for iPhone is an easy and fun game to play. You start with a blank, black screen and on that you can see little peg holes. The idea is you put the colored pegs into these holes. The pegs are lit to make a coloured bright pattern as you go.
There are three modes to try, animated which is where you can make an animated moving pattern. For example you could make a flashing sign and picture or even make it look like it is actual moving.
The other mode is Templates which I thought was really good. You choose a template to copy and each one shows the letter of the coloured peg you need to place. You follow the guide until all the pegs are placed and then at the end you have a picture with a few added background drawings. Some of the templates available just show you what you can actually do with this app, it was quite impressive! If you like you can also do this in a timed mode.
The last mode is free hand where you can do your own thing and create what ever pattern and picture you like. There are options to add shapes and your own animation. Choose from lots of colors and unlock others as you create.
If you make any mistakes there is an erase button or you can simply undo it. There is also an option to turn the back light off so the pegs are not as bright. It is very easy to create patters, there is a tab at the bottom that when you tap it and it brings up all of your tools.
The one thing that did become difficult sometimes was placing the pegs in the right holes. They are quite small and it is hard sometimes to tap on the exact place you want it to go. I think it was just down to the screen being dark and not being able to see where your finger is tapping at times. It wasn’t a big deal it just mean’t that sometimes you have to do a couple of taps extra to clear and place again.
Lite-Brite for iPhone is a great, fun app for all ages and one that children will definitely enjoy. There are lots of templates to use and with the section to create your own designs the options are limitless and offers many hours of play.
Price: $0.99 (App Store)
Category: Games
Released:Sep 09, 2010
Reviewed Version:1.0.0
Size: 15.7 MB
Languages:English, French, German, Italian, Spanish
Seller:Electronic Arts
LITE-BRITE © 2010 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. Game code © 2010 Electronic Arts Inc.
Requirements:Compatible with iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later.
Reversi, or as some people may know it Othello, is a board game for two players where the object is to cover the board with as many of your colored pieces as possible. It’s another game that is simple to understand yet difficult to master but has remained extremely popular all over the world.
In Hot Reversi HD the game has been brought to the iPad where you can play against the computer or utilize the app for a game between friends. The game is an accurate representation of the original game all be it with with a touch of heat that fires things up a little!
The playing board looks great on the large screen and available spots are highlighted so that even beginners will know where they can make their next move. And with each move comes the explosive animations as the pieces flip over. These explosions of lightning are definitely not something that you would get when playing the original version of the board game, but they do look and sound good and certainly spice things up a little.
Each player also has a red hot switch on their side of the board so at any time they can increase the pressure on their opponent by sending shock waves across the board to distract them. This doesn’t really affect anything, even after repeated presses and the pieces explode off of the board they will quickly reset back to their original resting place. It’s just a nice touch, although how much you would do it after the first couple of times remains to be seen!
There are options to tweak the look and style of the board including the color, perspective and effects but what is disappointing is the the fact that the game doesn’t rotate when the iPad is rotated.
It would be nice to have the option to play against other players online and also have the ability to track you game history but if you are looking for a game of Reversi on your travels with the addition of lightning and fire then this would be a good a choice as any of the other options available.
It’s not the cheapest Reversi game available at $4.99 but if you are quick you may be able to catch it at it’s current sale price of $3.99.
Price: $3.99 (iTunes Store)
Category: Games
Released: Jun 10, 2010
Version: 1.0.0
Size: 5.4 MB
Language: English
Seller: moak-1 co., Ltd.
© 2010 moak-1 Co., Ltd.
Requirements: Compatible with iPad. Requires iPhone OS 3.2 or later.
Pebble Jump HD for iPad is a solitaire style puzzle game where the object of the game is to not only clear the table of pebbles but ensure that the last pebble finishes up on a given spot.
The premise is simple enough as is the implementation. The large pebble board is clear and looks good too and the orange pebbles are large and easy to see.
The pebble board is not filled with pebbles, instead the pebbles are place sporadically across the board. In fact the first few levels contain only handful of them as you practice your moves but as you move through the levels the pebbles will not only get more numerous but the challenge in clearing them all will get more difficult too.
The end spot for each level will be marked with a star and as you step your pebbles over other pebbles the pebble that is leapt over will disappear so you’ll clear the table as you go.
You can undo your moves apparently limitless number of times if you feel you’ve made a mistake or you can even reset the whole level and start again. You’ll also restart again if you run out of moves and you have pebbles left over or aren’t on the star shape.
If you get really stuck you can use one of your hints and that’s just exactly what they are, they don’t tell you exactly where to make your move but the do highlight the spaces that are used to complete the level. This helpless your focus on your solution without given the game away completely.
You have to complete the levels concurrently meaning that you can only do the 1 level in front of you and until you solve at there is no chance to move on to any others. There are 120 levels in total split into three difficulty levels of easy, medium and hard and they will certainly give your brain a good workout.
There’s no multiple-player mode where two players could battle it out on a single device to see who completes the levels the quickest and no leader boards either local or online to rank the quickest players either.
Pebble Jump HD is a simple solitaire puzzle game which despite have many bells and whistles will still provide an adequate challenge to those who enjoy logical problem solving.
Pros
Cons
Price: $0.99 (iTunes Store)
Category: Games
Released: May 20, 2010
Reviewed Version: 1.0
Size: 13.8 MB
Language: English
Seller: NBTD Productions
© NBTD Productions
Requirements: Compatible with iPad. Requires iPhone OS 3.2 or later.
If you’ve ever played Battleships before then you won’t need me to tell you that in FleetMaster you and your opponent place a fleet of your ships on a 10 by 10 grid and then take it in turns to blow your opponents vessels out of the water in a battle to the death. Well there is a reason that the game of Battleships has lasted so long and that’s because it’s simple and in it’s paper form, can be played absolutely anywhere. And now that everyone, (OK not everyone but it sometimes feels that way), has an iPhone/iPod touch.
FleetMaster is a straight forward Battleship clone, solid graphics make the game look nice and while the sound effects are nothing out of this world it’s are effective when they do appear especially when you torpedo one of your opponents ships or, unfortunately, one of your ships gets torpedoed in return.
The game is easy to setup and play, although you will need to setup a free Gamedock account before you can, it’s easy to do, name, email address and password, but it should still be optional, you’ll even need to do it if you don’t want to play online.
Once you’ve setup your account you can choose to play either a solo or online game, the first task will be for you to choose how many shots you can take per go, I would advise that you choose a relatively high number otherwise the game could take a considerable amount of time. Before either your solo or online game you will be taken through a brief picture tutorial showing you how to place your fleet of ships and also how to take aim and fire.
Both the solo and online games play the same way with the solo mode using the Fleetmaster as your opponent who will also guide you through your moves. You can place your ships manually or you can use the auto placement for an even faster start. Once that is done you are under way and you and your opponents will take it in turns in your attempts to take your opponents fleet to the bottom of the ocean.
As mentioned earlier the online mode simply adds a lobby to the front of the game where you can choose an opponent by sitting down at their table or by creating a table of your own. During the numerous times I played online there were a only a limited number of opponents to choose from so how much extra value the online mode will add to the game is debatable.
If you want a pocket game of Battleships then this is will suffice but don’t expect it to take you above and beyond the call of duty.
The Good
The Not So Good
Reviewed By: Craig Willis
Price: $0.99 (iTunes Store)
Released: Feb 04, 2010
Reviewed Version: 1.1.464
Size: 8.7 MB
Languages: English
Seller: Digital Future
© Digital Future Inc.
Rated 9+ for the following:
Infrequent/Mild Realistic Violence
Requirements: Compatible with iPhone and iPod touch. Requires iPhone OS 3.0 or later.
To quote We Are Scientists, it’s a HIT, IT’S A HIT!
The return of thee classic board games of all time sails onto the iPhone and into the 21st century with two fresh gameplay modes adding to the classic hit ‘n’ miss. Starting with Salvo mode which lets you target as many points on your opponents board as you have ships in the water and Superweapons mode which lets you choose three additional weapons to the standard single shot missile which really mixes up the game dynamic with mines, cluster bombs and other unlockable weapons earned through achievements or promotion. Rounding off the package Battleship for iPhone has an excellent multiplayer mode which supports WiFi, Bluetooth and pass ‘n’ play for those friends who just don’t have an iPod touch or the game to play against.
As you’d expect from such a game, everything has a Navel Military theme albeit a bit too cartoony for my liking but no major issue. By default the game has 3D cutscenes and not just pre rendered CGI films but dynamic cutscenes that reflect the position and condition of your fleet, while they look good they also sneakily ramp up the tension as you see armaments flying through the air and always curve slightly to the left. Thankfully these can be turned off as they do add a good amount of time between turns and I personally feel they don’t add much to the gameplay.
The screen you’ll be spending the most time is the peg board, green for yours and blue for your opponents complete with traditional looking ships, pegs and nice explosions on hits along with gunshots, the sound of the ocean, it couldn’t be more fitting along with the the odd bout of rousing military band music really piles on the the atmosphere.
The only sizable issue I have with this game other than being *way* too addictive is that the lineup sight on the standard missile isn’t as clear as it could be, with the x and y axis showing as feint translucent lines on the game grid which could easily be mistaken for being in different rows or columns and cause the player frustration.
A great port of the all time classic board game with new weapons and modes, bringing interesting and new dynamic gameplay while remaining true to it’s root.
Price: $2.99 as of 15/12/09
Version reviewed 1.0.5
The Good
The Not So Good
Reviewed by: @TylerDurdan
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Monopoly [rating: 4/5]
EA and Hasbro are at it again with their porting of Monopoly to the ever growing list of board games for iPhone/iPod touch including Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, Game of Life and Connect4 and again it’s full of quality and class.
I’m not going to educate any readers on how to play Monopoly, if you’re reading this then I’m pretty sure that you know how to play Monopoly and trying to teach you in this review will bore the people who want to know how good the game is. In short however Monopoly is a capitalists dream, buy and sell property and companies and climb the ladder of greed to see off your opponents and become the richest player in the game.
The Monopoly app is a perfect representation of the American version of the Monopoly Classic, in that it’s not the Simpsons, Star Wars or Nintendo version for example. It also uses the American street names such as Broadwalk & Park Place so if your hoping to own Mayfair and Park Lane from the British version then you will be sadly disappointed.
The graphics look great, from the board and the pieces, yes, the boot, shoe, dog and top hat are all there, to the animations of the game itself the game is pitched perfectly. Even the choice of locations inc. the lounges of the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and beyond all look great. But as true as the graphics are, the sound effects are rather disappointing, the simple sounds certainly don’t add anything to the game and even if they don’t take anything away from the game they don’t add to it either.
When playing the game for the first time novices are helped along with detailed instructions and even for those who have played the game before they can be helpful and also switched off via the options menu. Talking of options they are plentiful allowing you to customize the game to your own specific requirements. For example if you grew up playing Monopoly with the rule that landing on Free Parking earned you all the taxes that everyone had paid then you can turn that on, if not you can turn if off. Your starting cash can also be controlled as well as hotel settings, property settings and what happens when you pass go. The settings really enable you to play Monopoly the way you like it.
It’ll be no surprise to find out that playing the game is as realistic on the iPhone/iPod touch as it is to playing on it in real life, while this is great there are some downsides that I think EA Mobile have missed out on. The iPhone/iPod touch lends itself perfectly to quick games of pick up and play fun and just like playing the real game there is no such thing as a quick game of Monopoly, which while that may be OK for some, an opportunity was missed by not including some mini games or first player to double their money type scenarios to add some variety to the game.
The game can be played against AI components or using local Wi-fi or Bluetooth to play against other real people and during my multi-player games I didn’t lose connection once which is a nice change compared to other multi-player games that I’ve played recently.
Overall if you want a perfect representation of Monopoly Classic shrunken down and placed into your iPhone/iPod touch then you need wait no longer, however if you were hoping for a Monopoly port that was going to add some extra’s too, much like the recently released version of Connect4, then you may feel a little short changed.
Price: $4.99
The Good
The Not So Good
Reviewed By: @CraigWillis
]]> https://touchreviews.net/monopoly-iphone-game-review/feed/ 1Hasbro are the name in board games, their list of games includes Monopoly, Game of Life, Candy Land and one of my favorites Connect 4 and while they have dominated the board game market they are now looking to dominate the App Store as working with EA they have now ported Connect 4 to the iPhone.
For those of you that have never played Connect4 before, I guess there may be some of you out there, let me explain. The game is played on a vertical 6 by 7 grid and each player has a set of playing chips that they must alternately place by dropping their chips one at a time down any one of the 7 columns with the aim of getting 4 in a row. Just like all great games the premise is simple and makes it easy to pick up and play.
The controls are simple too; drag your finger across the top of the board to choose the row you want to drop your chip and release to drop it, and the navigation of the menu’s are equally as easy.
The port to an iPhone game brings everything from the classic board game and then adds a whole lot more. The classic game is a perfect representation of the real game from the unboxing of the ‘board’ at the beginning of each game to the sound effects of the chips falling into place, anyone who has played the real game before will feel perfectly at home. All of the varieties of the game, more of which later, can be played against the “computer” and against another person via the 4 different multi player methods, two of which can be played on a single iPhone/iPod touch and then via local wifi and Bluetooth and during approximately an hours worth of multi-player play connection was only lost once using Bluetooth and not at all over wifi.
But even with the quality of the classic game EA and Hasbro haven’t stopped there as for both the single player and multi-player mode they’ve added a variety of variations these include:
But while these are nice diversions the best part of Connect4 is the Challenge Mode. A mini Connect4 board sets out 16 different challenges all against the clock. They all borrow from the previous listed variations of Connect4 but add challenges like, complete a pre-prepared game with one only one chip and a limited time, spin the chip and stop it on red 3 times in a row, reach 20 points in Power Chips before your opponent and 13 others. All of these are played against the clock and provide a fun and fast challenge.
And we still haven’t mentioned the 25 achievements that add even more value to the game and will keep you coming back again and again! EA have done a great job with this port and whether you’ve played Connect4 before or not I would highly recommend this game.
Price: $2.99
The Good
The Not So Good
Reviewed By: @CraigWillis
Connect 4: iPhone Game Screenshots
After the grand success of MONOPOLY Here & Now: The World Edition the game that won the 2008 Mobile Excellence Awards, EA Mobile is all set to give us the classic version of the game which almost everyone can relate to their childhood.
Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition is a stunning 3D board game but gamers who bought the game wanted an option to be able to play the classic version too. Instead of updating Monopoly Here & Now with in-app purchase to get the classic version EA mobile is bringing the classic version as a separate title to the App Store.
Monopoly Classic will feature iPhone OS 3.0 updates which will make listening to your own iPod library possible.
Key Features:
Monopoly Classic for iPhone: Game Screenshots
Monopoly Classic iPhone Game_1
Monopoly Classic iPhone Game_2
Monopoly Classic iPhone Game_3
EA Mobile have proved their forte in redefining and transforming classic board games for iPhone with popular games like SCRABBLE and Boggle. After the glorious success high action 3D games Rock Band and NBA Live EA Mobile is ready to rule the sea with Battleship for iPhone/iPod touch.
Battleship is popularly known as the pencil and paper guessing game where you and your opponent place battleships on a grid and win by sinking the enemy ships. In Battleship for iPhone you use touch screen controls to place your ships (red/white pegs), map your co-ordinates and fire at the enemy ships. Each shot destroys certain grids of the enemy ship and it sinks when all grids are destroyed. The game will ship with fun game modes including Quick-Fire Salvo, Heavy Duty Super Weapons. Battleship for iPhone will feature Wifi and Bluetooth multiplayer options to take on friends and prove your tactical superiority.
Key features
Battleship for iPhone: iPhone Game Screenshots
