Hello there gamers today’s article isn’t going to be about video games, well actually it is, but it’s about remakes of popular tabletop games, in honour of international tabletop day. An avid gamer both tabletop and laptop I often find myself unable to get a group of friends together often enough to play tabletop games which is why these android versions come in handy for polishing your skills and also at helping new players to learn the games. So without further ado here are my top ten tabletop games available for download on the android market.
10. Small world 2: Based on the small world fantasy board game, players take control of a race and combine that with a special power for example Berserk/Halflings, or Iron/Dwarves each race has it’s own advantages or disadvantages over other races. The goal of the game being to battle and out play your opponents to take control of land and rule the small world. The board game itself is a lot of fun if not a bit complicated rule wise, the android version allows you to play on 2, 3, 4 and 5 player maps against friends and strangers online or against up to 4 built in AI players. It’s well worth checking out but a quick look at the review section will show a few bug complaints on some devices, so be careful because with a six pound price tag it may not be for you.
9. Monopoly: Perhaps one of the most well known board games on this list, I’m sure many have played but for those that haven’t the aim of the game is to move around the monopoly board collecting money and buying up companies and property to build on so that you can bankrupt the other players. This is a fun and reasonably priced buy at one pound and forty nine pence it’s downfall again though are its bug issues, buyers beware.
8. Jenga: Another classic well known tabletop game brought to you in an interesting 3D style designed in consultation with the original creator of Jenga, Leslie Scott. The game is very simple its a tower building experience where the aim of the game is to remove blocks from lower levels to continuously rebuild the tower, however remove the wrong block and the whole tower falls down. Requiring a delicate hand the game stands out with a very sensitive touch screen control making it feel like the real experience. It’s a very social game too with an up to four person pass and play mode making the game all the more tense. At two pounds and twenty two pence It’s a great price and just the cure for boredom on long trips.
7. Ticket to ride: A very inventive and interesting game Ticket to ride is a cross country train adventure where players collect and play train cards to claim railway routes connecting you to your destination, the longer the routes the more points you’ll earn but watch out because if an opponent blocks your route then it can cost you dearly. Players can play solo against upto four bots, go online against opponents or use the pass n’ play mode to play against friends on one device. Complete with a fun colourful design and purchasable expansions it’s a fun buy though at just over four pound it’s quite an expense if you’re unsure whether you’ll like it.
6.Neuroshima Hex: A new find for me but it was among the best buy tabletop adaptations on the android website, and plays a bit like smallworld. It’s a fast paced tactical board game where up to four players lead their troops to victory. Players control one of four armies each with their own agendas struggling for influence and survival in a destroyed world. Ranked 100th place in the prestige BoardGameGeek ranking, this game is worth checking out if only for the fact it’s going almost four pound cheaper than similar game small world and is available to download as a free lite version if you fancy trying it before buying it.
5.Carcassonne: A relatively new game Carcassonne has players create a landscape by placing tiles with roads, cities, fields, and cloisters. And players can deploy their followers knights, monks, thieves, or farmers to earn points. The player with the most points wins the game, and with ever changing landscapes it has a lot of replayability . With multiplayer mode of up to five players and AI for solo play its a good way to spend a coach journey and good practice for if your wanting to play the board game more with friends.
4.Settlers of Catan: Got wood? Cus I sure do that’s right that innuendo can mean only one thing we’ve got some Catan to play. Catan is a strategy game competing with up to four players for the most settlements, the longest roads, and the largest army and you can trade resources with other players to make this happen. An interesting feature in this is the ability to play distinct AI characters with their own personalities and play styles, a multiplayer mode and purchasable expansions, and coming in at only two pounds and thirty nine pence means that it may find a welcome home on your device.
3. Mr Jack Pocket: Into the top three it was a hard decision between third and second place because both are great games but vastly different games, though I think for me this one is one I’d play more than the second place game. Based on the game Mr Jack it is a game of deduction much like Avalon, Resistance or the classic Werewolf. The player chooses whether to take on the role of the investigator trying to corner the mysterious Jack or to play as Jack himself trying to avoid the police. With a strong Ai the game is geared for solo play and sadly lacks a pass and play function but it has great replayability and a really nice art style, though at three pound twenty five pence it’s not the cheapest game on the list it’s definitely worth every penny.
2.Ayakashi Ghost Guild: A fantasy card collecting and battling rpg, your goal is to collect demons to be the most powerful ghost agent. It has an amazing art style and an interesting story line, plus for the amazing price of free! It’s worth downloading if even for a look, it does have purchasable content in game but it’s not needed to play the game another new one to me but definitely one I’m quickly getting addicted too.
1.Elder Sign Omens: What can I say but Elder sign is an amazing game it’s well worth the two pound forty five to buy it so buy it now! BUY IT!!! Ahem well I should probably explain Elder sign is part of the Arkham horror series of games all originating from the game Call of Cthulu a roleplaying game. In Elder sign you find yourself in a museum with some ancient evil awakening encountering Lovecraftian horrors it’s up to you and the other investigators to uncover clues, find items, and obtain the elder signs whilst keeping your sanity and health intact. Because the elder signs keep back the ancient evil and every time the clock strikes midnight the doom counters increase and with enough the old one will awaken and begin to wreak havoc on the museum. A great app and though I already own the board game the app looks better for solo play all the fun with none of the fuss over board game pieces and multiple dice, also the rules can be quite complicated and so having the android game is very handy for brushing up on your skills and understanding of the game. This combined with the low price to me makes this the best tabletop android game.
