Mystic Vale would be one for me, they've put a lot of development into the digital game and it's a hell of a lot easier to play digitally than irl due to the sleeves and cleanup.
David Gillam yes! And keeping track of all the resources is significantly easier when digitized as well as all the timing of ‘when played’ versus ‘harvest’ versus ‘discard’ effects. Much easier to play digitally. Now, if they’d only implement all of the expansions...
I first started playing Ticket to Ride board game, but I got hooked on the app few years ago mainly because the online games are fast and with micropayments you can have every map you want so there's a lot variety. I still like playing the tabletop version though the same reasons you mentioned: people, undo option and tactile feel. On the other hand I've played Onirim only digitally and I love that it shuffles for me. The quick shuffle animation is even fun to watch. I think there's one more negative side with digital games that they can crash or have bugs. That's like a cat jumping to the table and messing everything up. :)
I've been enjoying digital Wingspan, all the bookkeeping and end of game scoring done for you makes for a more streamlined game, one of my favorites right now Plus you can hear all the bird calls as you tap the cards
Scythe: Digital Edition, esp. for easily seeing where you _can_ move and for automatically giving you the bottom row bonus when someone else takes that action. Through the Ages, Mystic Vale, Star Realms / Cthulhu Realms, and Lord of Waterdeep are all on my list too.
Agreed with Scythe to automate all the little things you could forget, but I also like the "tactility" of the physical version, especially with metal coins and painted mechs!
I just got Sagrada for my phone. Never Played the tabletop version, but this one is great. Plays in under 10 minutes, where I can see the tabletop version taking much longer. I'll still get it once my game store restocks, because I want those dice and components :)
Pandemic, for several reasons you mentioned: ease of setup, tracking effects and character abilities (especially with the expansions), and accessible information (seeing all cards in each discard deck at a glance). I would add the in-app soundtrack, which for me increases immersion since it responds to epidemics and cures. And while I prefer the physical version of Scythe, with the digital one I can play against my brothers in two separate states.
Sagrada is my favorite app by far! But I will say I love playing wingspan on staying with my friends who live far away. And I 100% agree that not being able to get key information by just looking at the table is sorely missed by digital versions and will never replace being together in person :)
But, but, but rolling dice! I enjoy Elder Sign a lot and part of that enjoyment is rolling the dice. I just don't get the same enjoyment digitally "rolling" dice.
I second Twilight Struggle because app makes it much easy to resolve actions. Also, I would add 7 Wonders Duel here as well because it is way easier to see & calculate purchase costs and victory points.
I love TTR digitally. The real highlight for me is that the game lights up your destination cities so no more checking and rechecking that you’re going to the right place. Maps are much cheaper too.
Great video, I’d love to see a vice versa for this! I’m generally a solo player and certainly play far more digital, but always prefer tabletop when available.
I understand why Charterstone is on this list for you, but for me, I prefer this one on tabletop for the FIRST playthrough. I think this is probably true for me for all legacy games. As a legacy game, that in person, multiplayer experience, with all the oohs and aahs as new rules or components are revealed, just cannot be replicated digitally. Now that I've played the whole campaign with friends on tabletop, I am enjoying playing through it digitally on my own. Trying new things, etc., however, if I'd never played the tabletop version, not sure the digital version would grab me as much.
Charterstone has an advantage both ways. Physical lets you create a custom board that is yours. Digital lets you play the campaign over and over. Both are good things about their medium.
Joe Robertson - Really? I thought it was only slightly different. I have the digital version, so I don’t know full comparison. I know they did some things for the digital version, but “not even close” you say?? It can’t be that different?!
Agricola. It's been out for a while, but it works so well despite its age. It's faster than the board game, takes care of some of the rules that are sometimes difficult to understand, reminds you of actions and things that may or may not be what you would like to see happen, and has an undo button! The online multiplayer works so well too: both live games and asynchronous ones. One of the first digital apps I purchased and one that I still compare newer apps to.
I’m surprised Mystic Vale isn’t here. I’ve only ever played it in the app, and I’ve seen the physical version played, and shuffling those slick sleeve/cards seems like a bit of a pain-especially for someone like me with bad dexterity. Anyway, I adore the digital version. The relaxing, ambient sound effects and music, the way the illustrations move or even glow with magic, are also wonderful, as well.
Thanks for the good video. For me, That's Pretty Clever (Ganz Schon Clever) is high up there. Star Realms, Elder Signs and Magic The Gathering Arena are also good in their digital version. I've also played a lot of dead Man's Draw. It's part of a Humble Bundle deal until April 20, 2020, for 1$.
Paperback is one that I'd rather play digitally, first of all it simplifies set-up, it has the built-in checker for whether a word you want to play is valid or not, which is really great, especially for us non-natives. I also like how you can customise the games by changing how many scoring cards there are of each type. Patchwork I much prefer to play digitally since it simplifies the whole tile choice aspect of it, plus all the tiles fit each other perfectly, you don't have to force the cardboard to co-operate like you would the physical game. It also helps you keep track of how you and your opponents fare at any given point, which is vital when deciding your moves.
Ganz schon clever for the same reason as carcassonne. Highlights all your available choices with each roll. EDIT: I've heard Tokaido is a great digital version in how it brings the setting to life. Have it downloaded but haven't played it yet.
The drawback I have for Ganz Schon Clever (I own both the digital app and the actual game) is when I pick a die and use it, then see a better option; there’s no way to undo my pick. It would be nice if they added an undo feature into the app. As for Tokaido, I own both the app and the board game. The app does have beautiful animations. However, I still prefer the board game because it’s quite easy to set up and play (whereas some games can take 5-15 minutes to set up), and I like the tactile feel as well as the personal interaction with the other players at the table.
Super happy about the nod to the excellent digital version of Sentinel of the Multiverse. Not only does it help further push the comic book aesthetic, but like you mentioned it keeps track of all the fiddly stat buffs and triggered effects. Funny enough, I believe the digital version is supposed to be the definitive ruling on edge case rules interactions. They also do the challenges like you mentioned on Jaipur. I love that game on paper and I'm interested in seeing what the digital version brings.
I'd agree with your list. Through the ages is fantastic as digital app. And they just added the option to do tournaments online. Haven't tried it yet but looking forward to it.
I would assume that you can prefer playing the following kind of games as digital version. 1.) Deckbuilders with a lot of shuffling. 2.) Games with ressource management with a decisive part being "just" bookkeeping. 3.) Games for which the digital version can highlight possible/relevant options. Most of those games mostly do save you time of irrelevant stuff so you can focus on the decision. Nevertheless, I would in most cases prefer the analog version when playing multiplayer so the digital version to me is mostly a solo issue....with the current situation of social distancing being an exceptional time.
More of a hybrid than a port, but Mansions of Madness 2nd Edition does an amazing job of combining the rule management and AI of the digital world with the real-world presence and tactility of an IRL board game. I’d love to see a Stonemaier take on this kind of digital/analog integration.
In that vein: I know it’s not a Stonemaier product, but ScytheKick makes my solo plays of Scythe so much more enjoyable! I will still occasionally break out my Automa deck and track things manually, but having Neighborhoods figured out for me is so nice. :)
One thing I love about digital boardgames is their portable nature. It's nice to be able to play games while traveling. My favorite is Onitama because it can be played on the same device without an internet connection (car trip!).
I am really enjoying Tabletop Simulator atm because I can try out a lot of different board games that would otherwise be hard to get or I am not willing to pay for. For example, I have played Mechs vs Minions and Mage Knight on TTS and enjoyed them a lot although I would have never considered buying them physically because the price point is way too high for a game that I'm not sure how often I could play it with my friends. Having played those games on TTS I now know what they are like and am more interested in picking up a physical copy
In general I agree with all your points Jamey. One thing I'm a little undecided about is a digital version showing you all your options. Certainly it's convenient but I kind of feel like being aware of your options is part of the skill at playing the game. I've kicked myself a number of times because I saw the move I should have made AFTER having made another because I didn't notice that I had that option at the time. Maybe if it's a feature you can turn on or off. Certainly when playing with a beginner you'd want it turned on so that they quickly get accustomed to all the options they have for each turn.
I have 17 digital versions of games on apps on my phone. I would say the only drawback to playing digital and I think about Castles of Burgundy. When playing the AI they tend to make the same moves. Then it becomes a race to get it first rather than with players it might not be their strategy. So you can sometimes just learn how to beat the computer which uses the same algorithm in games rather than the variety of playing against a human player. Another issue I run into is I play the digital versions of games too much and then when playing the tabletop version with friends I have to tone it back a little or I just destroy them and they don’t have fun playing the game with me because I have 100 plays under my belt. Digital versions I recommend though are Sagrada, Brass, Through the ages and Tokaido.
The Terraforming Mars app is pretty good. It's nice to play against the AI when human players aren't available. It keeps track of some of the upkeep stuff and tags and it highlights the cards you can afford to play but I'd probably still rather play the tabletop version if/ when there's the option of both.
The two that I really agree with here are Through the Ages and Sentinels of the Multiverse. Through the Ages in tabletop form is really tedious. I haven't played Sentinels on the table, but I can tell how awful the bookkeeping would be. Both games are absolutely fantastic. Two of my favorites actually. But only on the app. I would also add Race for the Galaxy and Terra Mystica. Race is a lot of bookkeeping, like sentinels, and it's a much more interesting puzzle on an app than on the table. Same with Terra Mystica. The app tells you exactly how many of each resource you're going to get at the end of the round at all times. Which makes everything so much easier, so you can focus just on the puzzle. I'd definitely be interested in a "I'd like to see a digital adaptation of this game" list as well. Because I have a few. Now that Charterstone has been adapted that opens the door to legacy games. I'd love to see Pandemic Legacy seasons 1 and 2 as apps. I'd really like to see a Root app. There was a commercial for an adaptation a year ago but nothing since then. I'd be extremely interested in a Spirit Island app. I like the game a lot, and I'd love to carry it with me on my phone.
Potion Explosion and Elder Sign, for the set-up/ pack-up experience, although I own both tabletop versions, too. Mostly, I play digital games on my (large) phone, though, so big games are hard to see. Most played are probably Ticket To Ride and Potion Explosion,
For me: Onirim, Shards of Infinity as well, Tokaido and actually really loving Charterstone digital and because of the legacy nature I can easily restart a game digitally and wouldn’t be able to do it with the physical game.
As much as I love digital games, and the easy of it...there's just nothing that compares to table presence, punching tokens, and all that! We played Sleeping Gods yesterday, and despite me having played through that digitally a good 60 hours, it's just so awesome doing it paper/tabletop! Same for Scythe, great app, but nothing beats seeing the gameboard & pieces.
Yay shards of infinity! since you got the physical version I recommend getting both/either expansions for it. It Will give different abilities and cards compared to the app. Helps change up the overall experience a bit from app to table top. The relics in the first expansion adds special cards you get for reaching specific mastery and they are very powerful.
This was a good review. I prefer to play board games on the table as opposed to in apps because for me it is about getting together with friends and enjoying their company more than just playing the game. I don't fault anyone for playing games as they can or want because we all are different
Some digital games have woefully inadequate tutorial and online help. A good example is Agricola. If like me you have never played the tabletop version, the learning curve for the digital version is steep with many things unexplained. The tabletop version which I later bought, of course has that nice full rulebook and now when I go back to the digital version, everything is clear and it's great for a quick game.
Id love to see many more digital board games, especially on console. Most games that are SOLO playable would be best, as i do prefer multiplayer games in person. Marvel Legendary Arkham Horror; The card game
I share your opinion overall on tabletop not being threatened in the long term by digital adaptations, but individually it's very hard to resist the temptation to wait to play the tabletop version of one of your favorite games rather than playing its digital adaptation. Because it's way easier to play games the latter way, you don't have to gather your friends, or set up or calculate score and so on. For example, there was a period I wanted to play Terraforming mars all the time but friends would only agree to play it from time to time. So I purchased the Steam version and I've played a ton with it, but part of me regrets it because some of the magic has gone. I didn't do the same for Scythe and when I feel the urge to play the game, I play the good solo version (which emulates a multiplayer game whereas TFM solo, while great, is almost a different game than the multiplayer version).
With Star Realms, the issues you mention I don't feel are much issues with the physical game, at least not if you use an alternative counter for life, like I do. I have the type with two numbered wheels on it, so you lower or increase your health fairly easily. What I think the digital version does really well is keep track of all the different modules and expansions, and you can just toggle it on and off at will, while you'd have a hard time doing the same with the physical version.
The digital version allows you to play much more games, though. All the shuffling and management of the game in the paper version slows down this very fast paced game.
@@Mahler1988 true, but there's something about that tactical thing of sitting opposite your opponent. Whenever I play on the app it's always against AI
@@mkitten13 I've gotten much better at this game, which has a very big learning curve despite the easy rules, by playing online. To the point I no longer lose a single game to an intermediate player. I recommend it.
For me, apps are mainly to fill the need to play much more often than you can have friends over for the tabletop versions. Lately that's meant a lot of Scythe actually. Interesting to hear about the animations in Charterstone, I guess the extreme version of that (that I've seen) is Tokaido, where they went all in with 3D and animations, yet still kept the feel of the original, in my opinion at least.
Tsuro is another one people may not think about trying. The app has a longest path option, which I enjoy. You could theoretically go out of the game early, but still win if your path is the longest.
Tsuro is a fantastic app! Iirc there's a couple different game modes that are great and add interest to the game. One that I enjoy allows you to actually score points based on the number of times your path crosses over itself, very fun.
Seasons is a game with so much fiddling with the crystals score counter that it takes the fun out of the tabletop game. The online version is quick and because the scoring is done for you the focus is on the fun engine building.
Totally agree about suburbia, purchased it recently, it's so much smoother than tabletop... And you can play against the AI, and there is a campain mode. Another game I love to play digitally is Race for the Galaxy, especially against the AI. No setup time, no analysis paralysis lead to very fast games. The AI is very challenging too (I won about 1/3 of my 500 1v1 games against it). The only downside is you can't see what your opponent is doing exactly, you have to click on his board to see all the cards.
Great video Mr. Stegmaier! Since we're going with picks we think would we be good digitally, I can share a few thoughts! I'm having my first online game day tomorrow so I'll be playing digitally for the first time. I think Seasons is a game that would be great digitally, my only complaint of the game is later on it gets harder to keep track of every card that triggers every turn and make sure everyone is doing it. Gloomhaven is the one that comes to mind that the setup and tear down would be drastically reduced and would be very nice.
I think the games that work best are the ones that require the least amount of player interaction. Small World is fantastic for playing with friends over the course of a week, so that each of you can take as much time as you want on your turn, without worrying about everyone else waiting on you. I doubt I'd ever want to play PIT digitally (though maybe it's magic that way).
My short list: Sentinels of the Multiverse, LotR Card Game (it's a different experience but similar in spirit), Patchwork, Pandemic, Xenoshyft, and Ticket to Ride.
I purchased Charterstone digital last week after owning the physical board game for over a year. My girlfriend and I played a single game of our physical copy, but we haven't had the chance to get back to it (I think she fears the finality of everything....especially naming her characters). After purchasing the digital one, I played the first game and quickly realized I can't continue until we finish our play throughs with the physical one. The digital one is fantastic (especially the animations as you bring up), but the "reveal" of unlocked crates isn't as exciting as it was in our single table top game. I think any legacy game will feel less impactful digitally, but I haven't played others to compare.
The other reason about Suburbia as an app, they have special play modes for solo play that are really awesome to play that way. I love Suburbia and would rather play it real world, but the app is amazing. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Charterstone on the App. I have a hard time playing 7 Wonders real world, because I get an app play in in less than 10 minutes with no clean up .
I know this is an old video, but I must highlight Azul on Board Game Arena. The reason why I have been preferring playing this online is actually because of skill-level and opponents! I have played over 100 games of Azul online, and so I've gotten a lot better at the game, and by playing on a ranked system on BGA, I can find opponents that can challenge me and match my skill level a lot better than people in person that probably haven't played over 100 times xD This is especially important because I don't like teaching games to people where I am just going to crush them, and so if I were to teach Azul in person, I might play a lot nicer , but Azul is one of those games where if you see a much better option, it usually is better, so it's hard to play nicer without completely throwing the game, almost like chess. I don't mind playing worse for new players, but I definitely get a lot more satisfaction playing and trying my hardest :)
Great topic Jamey! Here’s my top 10 app board games. 1. Castles of Burgundy 2. Terraforming Mars 3. Raiders of the North Sea 4. Lords of Waterdeep 5. Through the Ages 6. 7 Wonders 7. Isle of Skye 8. Sentinels of the Multiverse 9. Mystic Vale 10. Evolution Honorable mentions: Ra,Splendor and Stone Age
Great subject for a video! My personal preference was for playing mtg, the original version back in the 90s which was just a virtual version of the game, like you said, having the AI keep track of lives and such, plus deal cards was awesome. I also enjoy talisman online for those same reasons, but like you say, it's difficult to try to take in the whole board at once. I also agree on the visual/tactile preference. My current fav game is Pub Battles by Command Post Games. It's a series of battles played on canvass maps with wooden blocks. Their is a paper version of each scenario, bit I'm all about the look! As an older gamer, one reason I play tabletop over digital versions is I find sitting in front of a screen for a long time is painful for my back and wrist. I always get too engrossed in the game and forget to get up and walk around. I find table top games force me to move just enough that I don't suffer so much or so soon.
I find info visibility way better in digital versions. Isle of Skye has tiny tiles and lots of details you want to see, but the bidding element means you don't want to give away what you're interested in. I also like being able to take my time making decisions against AI opponents. I make myself play more quickly in person, but appreciate being able to overthink things sometimes.
Bohnanza: The Duel! I first bought Bohnanza and enjoyed it. I then bought the app (when it was still available). Then I saw the Bohnanza:The Duel app and picked it up. I enjoyed it so much, I bought the card game. But I find managing your score (money) far easier in the app (which does it for you) than in the actual game, because of the partial points (i.e. cents) for the bonus cards. If I want a quick, relaxing game, I’ll play Bohnanza:The Duel against one of the AIs.
Suburbia is definitely a fantastic app, especially with all the solo scenarios, which kind of works like a campaign where you unlock more cities you can play. I think that is solely an app thing.
Jamey, I know you've done videos on creating board games but I was wondering what your thoughts of doing an actual class of it via the likes of something like Master Class? I would be very interested in that.
Great video! I appreciate the time you take to share your experiences & reflections. I'm curious what port you use for these games (iOS, android, TTS, game board arena...).
I am very pumped for wingspan for the Nintendo switch! Going to be preordering it when it arrives on the estore. But for tactile joy i'm purchasing scythe physically when it's back in stock at my store. I wanna stomp around in my mech! Love your videos and games. Hope you and yours are well and staying safe!
Star Realms is amazing! I don’t have to shuffle and keep count of trade, life or miss abilities that trigger. Whats missing playing face to face is the ability to trash talk....while beating your opponent.
PLAYING the two (three...) versions is probably equivalent for me, but if I have a choice when WATCHING, I much prefer Magic the Gathering: Arena to the tabletop (or MTGO) version(s). Shuffling, tracking of board state, and the general presentation in Arena is just cleaner and more streamlined, and as long as the engine cooperates there's also no rules issues (not cheating, just natural screw-ups) that can often cloud competitive play. (Mis-clicks, OTOH... )
Hi Jamey, love your games, but especially how you take delight in other designers games as well. When I was watching your youtube video on best mechanic during the expansion for 'Isle of Skye', you mentioned you play quite a bit of 'Russian Railroads' on BGA. I love BGA, but wish there were more games on there (like Viticulture, Great Western Trail, Brass Burmingham, etc). I know Viticulture was just released as an app, and I want to support the development and purchase it (after some bugs get worked out), but, I know Im not the only one that is getting tired of having many many apps on my phone that I need to open and close to make a turn (Agricola, Ticket to ride, Isle of Skye, Le Havre, Patchwork, etc). Would it not be GREAT if there was a site (BGA, or a site like it) that had many top games in it, and if it charges a fee of $5 a month, I would support it (and I know many would). It would need to have some top games in it like Brass B, Viticulture, Scythe, Wingspan, Great Western Trail, just to name a few). I think this would be huge as a moneymaker and also to support the publishers of the games (small portions of the profit would need to go to them each month I would think - not sure on the logistics). Anyhow, I am not able to play many games on my shelf these days because of the pandemic, but also because everyone is busy making a living these days and they dont have much time on their hands. Playing digital is what I (and more and more each day) are having to do. Let me know your thoughs! I appreciate your work as a designer and reviewer of games. By the way, I reached out to Alex Pfister also, and although he told me that GWT and Blackout: Hong Kong would likely not get apps made anytime soon (because of Plan B games and their tight grip on their games), he said 'Maracaibo' was likely to get one and he excited about it. I would love to see it online (in a BGA site or similar).
Thanks for your thoughts about this, Raymond! From what you're describing, it sounds a lot like Board Game Arena. They have a ton of great games on their platform, and you can play for free or pay $4/month for special perks (like priority seating). It's true that they don't have every major game--far from it--but due to various digital rights, that may not ever be possible. We are looking to get some of our games on their platform, though.
I hope one day you'll be able to do a hybrid games list in the same vein as this. I think its an interesting design space, but the only hybrid game I've really tried yet is chronicles of crime, and I felt that as much as I enjoy it, it could easily be just digital, and could even be just a physical game. I do think seeing all the stuff on the table in front of you is useful, and scanning qr codes is more novel than going through menus ala ace attorney games, for example. I'd like to see games that make use of both not only in such a way that it's making use of the best of both, but with experiences that couldn't happen without being a hybrid of both. I wonder what it would even take before I felt that way about a game. Even if you make use of infinite reproducability, I'd still ask myself if it really needs to be infinite. Perhaps something with motion sensors, or the kinect2 style sensor that can detect motion and heart rate and such. Not that removing tedium isn't already an excellent goal. Anything that reduces friction and adds options is a win to me. I would like to see more board games with software and/or hardware to enhance it. And I'd love to see more video games with physical components and props. I love the idea of the 'feelies' that infocom used to make. I recall being a kid and getting a video game that came with a map in the manual, it felt like a revelation at the time. Especially for solo games, the idea of physical components for a video game is enticing to me. Not to everyone though, my brother seems to hate the thought. But he's an eejit, so ...
Great topic, Jamey!! The Coffee Roaster app is easier to play than the TT version, and quicker. However, the rule book is not much better than the TT version. There is a tutorial.... it’s ok. Someone NEEDS to make a digital version of Mage Knight! Dire Wolf was doing it about a year ago, but after announcing it, no word since. But they did do a great job with Raiders of the North Sea!! And speaking of Raiders of the North Sea.... they stopped printing the Solo Variant Deck for the “Physical” game. However you can buy a Digital version of the Solo Deck on Apple App Store OR Google play. It was just released. Look up “Raiders Solo” - $1.99. 👍🏻
I love both Race for the Galaxy and Ascension on app. It's easy to add/remove the expansions you want, and of course, shufflingis automatic. I much prefer playing online against others than against the AI on any app, but both have an easy AI to help beginners learn the games without being blown out all the time. I'd love to try Small World, but I only use a phone for game apps, and I don't think it's available for that platform.
- Star Realms: I'd also add shuffling to that (or any other deckbuilding game). Shuffling is not something that's fun for me, and you do a lot of that on a deckbuilder. The fact that the app automates that means I'd never prefer playing physical Star Realms. - Carcassonne: Funny thing, I played this digitally first, and found myself very uninterested. Went back to try the physical version a couple years later, and became a fan. There's something about the large scale footprint, the aesthetics, the physicality, and the human opponents, that the app really can't replicate. I have very little fun playing digital Carcassonne, whereas the physical version is an enjoyable breezy pastime with friends.
Great video. I have LOTR on tabletop and I can see how it can be simplified with a digital app this I think would be the case for most deckbuilders. On a different note... I have played Bang on BGA lately and it is great fun. I own Bang the dice game which is faster but the card game even though it gave many options which I enjoy had it's problems with player elimination on friend gatherings. On BGA even though you lose some interaction being able only to talk through chat has actually let me experience Bang in a different light and when ever I get eliminated early I just hop on another table.
When the last turn of a game is done and everyone scores up, but the games currency is also victory points ie Scythe, Sherrif of Nottingham, and Klondike Rush. It seems strange to deal out coins or dollars to everyone and then the game is over. I usually use an app called scythe kick for end of game scoring in your game. What is the significance from a designer prospective vs a score sheet or other system. It's like "yay look at all this money yes!" Okay let's clean up just seems weird. Thoughts?
Hi Jamie, nice list, I'll definitely check out Dead Man's Drop at some stage. Just a suggestion, when doing lists of digital games, is there any chance you could identify what platform you played it on to make it easier for people to find (though obviously you said you hadn't even played all of the digital versions that you mentioned). My wife had abandoned Charterstone after the tutorial game (grrrrr) so I really appreciated the app to have a chance to see what the game was about and how it developed. I've also found apps great for learning how to play a game before teaching it to others, making sure that I'm not making any mistakes. Le Havre is a case in point. Additionally, some apps allow me to play games I could never get people to sink the time required in real life - I have a copy of an old game called Titan which is loooooooong and which I never thought I'd be able to play, I was shocked that there was an app out for it but delighted too. I've asked in a couple of your videos but I'm not sure if you ever go back and read comments in old videos, but have you ever tried play by mail (PBM) games? There's quite a range of them that have mechanics similar to boardgames and could easily be adapted. The main ones I played were Adventurer Kings, Lizards, Soccer Stats (based on real life football results), and Raceplan (imaginary formula 1 teams). You can see a list of them here with a list that are still active at the bottom: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_play-by-mail_games
Charterstone is one of mine. I liked the tabletop game for the physicality of placing the stickers and learning the rules but the speed of the digital and management of admin is awesome. The animations are fabulous. However, the tutorial for digital is lacking for anyone who hasn't played tabletop and the rule book doesn't address digital functions. Highlighting what you need to finish cards or goals is a great function but it doesn't default to your character so waste time trying to get back to your hand frequently. Last thing digital version is always zoomed in on player's charter, this makes it difficult to get "world" view of the village. It would be nice if before the first players turn each time there was a pull out to see the whole village but still see the actions.
Even in early access: GLOOMHAVEN. Just everything about it is easier. If they fully integrate the campaign, there will really be no reason to ever play the physical version.
Have they fixed the Dead Man's Draw app? It crashed on me twice, just as the game got enough rules to be interesting. So I gave up on it. Great game though. Worth getting the tabletop version.
Good timely topic!. I do not think there are any I prefer virtually multiplayer but several solo. This includes all the FF LCGs and Mage Knight as the admin and set up is so much easier. These are on nebulously legal platforms that you probably cannot promote! I have some issues with Sentinels. Some things it does very well but sometimes it can be very slow to resolves triggers & effects. There have been times that what can take no time in the flesh can take several minutes on the App. (Matriarch birds with Stealthbot in play was particularly grim)
Scott Brito I agree been hooked on this HOWEVER, they just did an update and I hate it! What’s your thoughts ? It seems so clunky now and I haven’t played it since the update.
The new upgrade ruined the game. Pandemic used to be one of my favorite table top digital implementation. It used to be efficient and tranquil. Now it's unplayable for me. What a shame.
@korrok What's wrong? It doesn't work well. On my Samsung Tab 4 (tablet) it won't load anymore. On my Samsung Galaxy S9 it is cumbersome and hard to get information. For each move it requires verification, which is totally unnecessary since there is an undo option. But twice when I played the move verification button would not click. So I couldn't play the app. The original version was easier to control and easier to get information stats about what was played.
leapdavid perfectly said. It was a great app and didn’t need fixed at all. I could relax on the couch and play game after game. Now it’s a chore all the button hitting and verifying and so much needless animations and buttons. Can’t stand it. Played 2 games and couldn’t do it anymore.
I was getting ready to hop on here and disagree with you for the first time, but your points about LOTR: LCG are well-taken. However, having not played the tabletop version, you wouldn’t be aware of the incredible differences in gameplay (even down to the individual cards being completely different). I greatly prefer the tabletop version of this game, but all of the digital “streamlining” you mention is certainly valid (although the tabletop version does not use a bunch of status/buff tokens).
Agree completely with you Adam, the digital version is almost a different game to me. I definitely prefer the analog version, but digital is a lot of fun as well.
I've played all of these digitally except for Dead Man's Draw, and I think the only ones I disagree with are Lord of the Rings LCG and Charterstone. I would love digital LotR if it were the same game as tabletop, but it's way dumbed down. Charterstone I only have a few plays in of so far digitally, but I don't think the game does a good enough job of presenting what actions the other players took.
