We are having entirely too much fun making Not The Flog.
This week, I’ll discuss some smartphone and tablet app versions of games we’ve played on Tabletop, forgetting to mention one of the very best, Forbidden Island.
Oh, and the intro that Sean Becker made is maybe the best thing on the Internet today.
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Man, if I had known this video would show me how to play with myself, I wouldn’t have watched it at work.
In other news, I should probably be working.
Bonus, I think I know what I’m getting my friend for his birthday if I have the funds. Most excellent, very helpful video !
My wife and I will usually take the iPad with us when we are out to throw down a Carcassonne or Catan game or any of the below:
Zombie Dice (iPad version)
Plague Inc (Single Player, Kind of a Reverse Pandemic)
Assassin’s Creed Recollection (Deck building, single player)
Space Team (Shout at your friends! Annoy your neighbors!)
Artemis (But you already knew about Artemis, didn’t you….Captain Wheaton)
And don’t forget about Supplemental Apps like the Munchkin Life Counter and a great one on iOS called Scorekeeper.
There’s also Lost Cities and Puerto Rico for the iPad. (And Risk (by EA Games) – does that count?)
And if you search for “Reiner Knizia” on either platform, there are a good half dozen of his games, including Through the Desert, Tigris&Euphrates, Ra and Medici.
I love the whole “not the flog” idea and I found myself laughing out loud at the re-done opening sequence. Felicia answered a question of mine on an episode of the Flog, I think it would be funny if you could work in a rebuttal and possible state that my dog is the cutest dog in the universe. (more than Marlowe? maybe!)
The intro is fantastic! Thanks for taking the time to promo some of the app versions of the games you have featured. We’re running out of storage (thanks to the show!) so very useful.
Definitely need a rating system based on how good a game is when taking a dump…
The mobile version of Ticket To Ride (that I bought during the promotion offered when the TableTop episode aired, THANKS! *thumbs up* ) is my family’s go-to when we’re waiting someplace, like at a sit-down restaurant, or in our seats at an event waiting for it to start. May end up looking up the others you mention. These are brilliant not only for fans of the games looking to take it with them but for a lower-cost trial of the game to see whether we want to buy the Tabletop version. Also interesting to see how your interpretation of the rules match up…I know with TTR we realized we interpreted a couple rules differently…Anyway, thanks for this and yes, LOVE the intro.
Forbidden Isle exists on iPad, as does a game called pathology which is essentially Tsuro.
I was getting quite worried that I was going to already own everything you showed, but might have to go buy carcasonne…
It is my #1 goto game for my commute into work (subway/bus). Its great. I don’t play the solitaire version much, but the AI is solid.
Dear Mr. Wheaton,
In response to your question near the end of the video, I am able to enjoy fine table-top style gaming on my N-Gage hand-held gaming system.
Why. I can play none other than Settlers of Catan, which you failed to mention was available for that fine system long before its contemporary counterparts. It even supports playing with up to 4 of your friends (who will, of course, also own N-Gage gaming systems and copies of the game.)
Please see linked photo for reference: Catan for N-Gage
Yours sincerely,
Mr. Gray
My god man!
Days of Wonder ran a successful Kickstarter for Small World 2 for iOS, Android and Steam that is due out late in 2013. One of their key promises was accommodating 3, 4 and 5 players on maps with each configuration having it’s own map. Also Pass’N’Play, Local Play and Turn by Turn asychronous online play are in the features list. Kickstarter details are here. I fully agree with your interpretation of iOS and will be checking out Ascension as I missed that one totally. And why do I look at all those plushies on your table looking for Pokemon? I am so lame.
Argh, didn’t close my html link and can’t edit. Sorry.
I fixed it 🙂
I absolutely LOOOOVE TTR (the Switzerland version is my fave), however, Zombie Dice app gets used a lot. I think I will try outthe Catan or perhaps Small World app next.
BTW, is there a reason why the number “4” (screen transitions) was used twice in the list?
Keep on keepin’ on…
I play Ticket to Ride and Elder Signs on my Kindle on a regular basis, although I prefer the boardgame versions together with friends.
But as it lately was difficult to meet them, and not to forget my son, who actually enjoys those games, but who just has entered an age (aka adolescence) where it becomes uncool to play boardgames with his dad, those apps lately became my only chance to play those boardgames.
I hope that will change in the near future.
Hey, Wil!
Great job on these “Not-The-Flogs”! Keep ’em comin’!
For the record, “Descent: Second Edition” is definitely lot less protracted then its First Edition counterpart. http://yetanotherfriggingamingblog.blogspot.ca/2012/09/epic-adventuring-without-epic-playtime.html
I’ll add to the list: Neuroshima Hex. It gets a 3.5 out of 5 on the taking a dump index. Le Havre: 4 out of 5 (and this game would work on TableTop!).
Cheers.
BTW – I LOVE this post. Thanks.
This is great, I’ve been wanting to try Ticket to Ride and Catan for a while but playing a game with small pieces with a 2-year-old in the house doesn’t work too well. Now I can play without worrying about the baby losing and/or eating the pieces!
I don’t have an ipad but as soon as I get one (or steal my husband’s), I’m getting Ticket to Ride. It’s the one game that Tabletop inspired me to get a boxed edition – which is difficult to do in Australia without paying an obscene amount of money, though I did find it at ComicCon in Melbourne… but I was disappointed that I didn’t get Anne in the box because seriously, Mrs Wheaton was too cute in that episode.
Anyway, Wil, LOVE the NtF vlogs. They’re just as fabulous as Felicia’s offerings and I hope your version continues apace and Felicia eventually returns to do more Flogs.
I could say something about there never being too much flogging but I’m too classy for that.
Some excellent iPad games for you:
Stone Age is one of my favorite iPad games — the AI is challenging but beatable.
Samurai by Reiner Knizia also has a good AI — it’s my one token Knizia game.
Dominant Species (the GMT boardgame) is also good, not least because it takes care of all the pieces and numbers for you, but the AI is pretty easy.
Alien Frontiers is good if you don’t mind a game that relies heavily on dice.
The plant in the background keeps moving. I think it might be alive. Hopefully it’s not a flesh eating plant. That would be bad. Of course, a vegan plant would be bad too because that would make it a cannibal. I have no idea how got to that. Oh yeah, the plant is moving!