board games

Remember Stratego? It's the classic capture-the-flag boardgame. And it's now available for iPad.

Why just iPad? I'm not entirely sure. Granted, the board would be cramped on an iPhone or iPod Touch screen, but I've seen plenty of other games work around that. (Monopoly, anyone?)

That curiosity aside, Stratego for iPad does a fine job recreating the original while adding some welcome digital touches. For starters, you can create and save multiple board setups (i.e., troop deployments), a huge time-saver and a great way to test how various deployments work against your opponents.

And speaking … Read more

Prepare to witness one of the most expensive board games ever made.

When the Prague Mind Sports Festival kicks off December 1, gamers can play on a high-tech Scrabble setup unlike any other. The festival -- which hosts tournaments for the popular word game plus bridge, backgammon, poker, League of Legends, and Counter Strike: Global Offensive -- introduced to the world this week a carbon fiber Scrabble system with LED lighting that cost more than 20,000 pounds ($31,732) to create. … Read more

You can now find all the familiar addicting gameplay of The Settlers of Catan spiced up with music, sound effects, and game stats on Android. Catan is a turn-based game in which you play as settlers on a newly explored island.

The goal is to gather a certain amount of victory points before the other players (the standard game requires 10). You can earn points by gathering resources and building settlements, accomplishing achievements, or buying victory point cards. Gather resources by building settlements on a resource-generating tile or trading with other players or the bank. Mastering the art of trade … Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Zynga and Hasbro announce board game versions of the most annoying Facebook ones.

- Will.i.am and Simon Cowell considering X-Factor style show, for tech.

- New Ninja Turtles cartoon replaces Cowabunga with....

Bathroom break video: Longboarder attacked by a deer.… Read more

Ticket to Ride is another solid iPad adaptation of a classic board game, which has the same name, in which you race other players to build railroad routes across a map of the U.S. and southern Canada.

Fans of the board game (and its online version) will find this a satisfying reproduction of the original--but, of course, with the added bonus of not having to fumble with all the little pieces, cards, and bookkeeping. You can play a solo game in about 15 minutes, with no cleanup. If you don't know the game already, it's pretty easy … Read more

Small World for iPad is the two-player iOS adaptation of the popular European-style board game Small World, a whimsically designed, fast-playing game with a little bit of luck and a lot of strategy.

Small World for iPad looks and plays great, with the same board, artwork, and rules as the tabletop version. This exceptions-based game is relatively complex to learn: players compete to dominate the Small World map with randomly assigned combinations of races (for example, Trolls, Skeletons, or Amazons) and special powers (for example, Flying, Wealthy, or Alchemist). Each combination starts with a set number of tokens, which you … Read more

Medici is the iOS adaptation of Reiner Knizia's classic bidding game, a board-game simulation of a dockside auction over the course of three days, in which three to six merchants bid to fill the cargo holds of their ships.

As with adaptations of similarly complex, European-style board games, existing fans of this popular game will have a much easier time with this app--but thankfully, comprehensive rules (perhaps overly so) along with nine different AI choices (each with varying skill levels and tendencies) help to make the learning curve a little less steep. Gameplay is actually very simple once you'… Read more

Reiner Knizia's Ra is the universal iOS adaptation of the popular European-style board game Ra (by German game-design legend Reiner Knizia), a fast-paced game of bidding and building that's nominally about achieving fame in ancient Egypt.

Ra is a pure auction game, with simple rules and a shallow learning curve once you get its basic flow. It's always easier to learn a board game from somebody who knows how to play it, but the app does include complete rules and a good bit of in-game help for novices.

Ra is divided--and scored--in three separate stages ("epochs&… Read more