Eclipse on iOS

It's out. It's amazing. It's only $6.99.

click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=Smq...2526partnerId%253D30

Eclipse on IOS is the game that killed Eclipse on the tabletop.

Man, TI3 really doesn't stand a chance now!

TI:3 app on iOS

Now you can turtle in the comfort of your own home without the burden of looking at all the other terrapins in the eye.

Technology rocks!

Not about Eclipse specifically, but I worry that iOS plays will keep people from wanting to play board games the old fashioned way. Like they're either sick of playing, find the board version too slow, or have mastered it enough nobody can challenge them. Has anyone found this to be true with other games?

If it plays better on iOS, I think you have to ask whether it was worth playing in person. If being present with other people isn't actually adding to the game, isn't that an indication it isn't a great boardgame?

Gary Sax wrote: If it plays better on iOS, I think you have to ask whether it was worth playing in person. If being present with other people isn't actually adding to the game, isn't that an indication it isn't a great boardgame?

Whether it plays better on iOS or not isn't the question being asked. It's a question of convenience and price affecting the market's impression of the original product.

Say a new guy, a good guy that you'd want to play with, figures he'll spend the seven dollars on his iPad to try the game out before spending the bigger cash. He gets the impression that the game sucks, because he plays against a bunch of digit-heads that don't talk and quit the game with a "gg" three seconds after the last move. He takes away from the experience the impression that the game sucks, not because it does, but because it's not being well presented on the platform. iOS may not be able to deliver what the game has to offer.

The longer term impact -- games that don't present well on iOS don't generate as much revenue, so game designers start changing their perspective on what they should create. Hey That's My Fish is in, Viva El Presidente is out. The market spirals towards smaller boards with more detached, channeled actions to accommodate a small touch screen interface with a very limited communications channel.

S.

Depends on the game. I'll never both playing Ascension face-to-face. Nightfall maybe. Summoner Wars is about the same experience for me face-to-face or on iOS.

But if you're asking would I rather play a board game on iOS over at the table with family and friends? No. I don't think that will ever happen. I actually happen to like people.

As a data point (and I think a good one) Days of Wonder tracked Small World iOS sales vs. board game sales and saw no dip in sales of either except in certain seasons or some promotion. But board games sales have not been lost (significantly) to the iOS version. The iOS version seemed to actually create sales.

Less reliable info saw the same for Ticket to Ride (I saw less reliable, because Small World sales could be tracked from the get go since it was the first board game port on the iPad. And I think the iOS version did not come out too long after the board game premiered - compared to Ticket to Ride).

I saw the presentation by Days of Wonder and while I may have gotten some info wrong above, they seemed very happily surprised about the comparisons between iOS and board game sales of Small World for sure.

I still prefer board games. That said I also don't have an IPad.

ZMan wrote: As a data point (and I think a good one) Days of Wonder tracked Small World iOS sales vs. board game sales and saw no dip in sales of either except in certain seasons or some promotion. But board games sales have not been lost (significantly) to the iOS version. The iOS version seemed to actually create sales.

Less reliable info saw the same for Ticket to Ride (I saw less reliable, because Small World sales could be tracked from the get go since it was the first board game port on the iPad. And I think the iOS version did not come out too long after the board game premiered - compared to Ticket to Ride).

I saw the presentation by Days of Wonder and while I may have gotten some info wrong above, they seemed very happily surprised about the comparisons between iOS and board game sales of Small World for sure.

So you're saying we'll see more Z-Man games as iOS games? Prophecy and Pocket Battles, please!

Pocket Battles app on iOS

Don't really care if the game is on the table or on the iPad, if I'm having fun that's all I care about. Sometimes that requires real people and a face to face situation, sometimes it doesn't. Doesn't mean a game is "bad" if it plays better electronically. No point in shaking the cane at the newfangled technology.

Gotta go download this now, looks awesome.

Sagrilarus wrote: Pocket Battles app on iOS

Are you engaging in some sort of trickery?

I definitely prefer playing in person... Nothing is likely to ever top the experience of playing 9p Eclipse at a convention recently. But I also travel a lot, and being able to play a meaty game like Eclipse whenever I want is huge. And several people on BGG and Touch Arcade have said that while they love Eclipse, it's the kind of game that you can't always get people to play... it's long and fairly complex and not really very "wife friendly," or whatever. Having the ability to play online or on iOS/Android is a great option. I agree that for people entirely new to the game and coming at it mostly from the iOS/video game world, it might be hit-or-miss as far as whether the experience on iPad will endear them to the board game, but for existing fans of the game, it's great to have.

Btw, as far as Z-Man titles, Agricola should be out soon on iOS via Playdek. Zev, any news on the long-rumored Pandemic app? I'm still bummed that the last version didn't pan out.