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Gabe Alvaro
United States
Berkeley
California
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• Knizia Mobile Now Live
• Keg Bearer update v1.1
• Disc Drivin' Update
• Reiner Knizia's ClusterMaster Released
• GMT Games Flooded by iPad Developers
• MTV Geek Gets It
• Knizia Sues Michael Powers
• Wizards War Released
• Tikal Near Release
• Codito Adjusts Release Dates
• Knizia Mobile Now Live - Apr 4
Reiner Knizia has gone mobile in a big way. With 21 apps and counting, the doctor is pretty much the undisputed king of iOS board games. If one word could describe his approach to this new gaming space, it would be "aggressive". The Knizia folks are really going all out to work with developers to release iOS versions of their board games.
When I emailed the Knizia folks last September, I was amazed at their encouragement to work with any reasonable publisher and seeming ready willingness to license their games. That proactive and progressive spirit seems to be paying off, if 21 apps and growing is any indication. So to make known this fact the Knizia web site has a new page on their site dedicated to Reiner's presence in the mobile world. Have a look for yourself:
http://www.convivium.org.uk/kgmobile.htm
• Keg Bearer updated to v1.1, Keg Bearer Lite Released - Apr 5, Apr 7
The hex and counter barbarian beer brawl for iPad has been updated. Additionally, Snowpunch has released a free version. I finally gave it a try. The four unit types seem to vaguely reflect the now common tank, healer, striker, controller paradigm, but in this game its on hexes rather than on a grid.
Here's what's in the update:
Snowpunch wrote: What's new
V1.1 update - Movement and unit adjustments.
- added dramatized injury indicator (red smear when dragging)
- fixed unit movement area calculations. (needed for upcoming AI)
- added animated move area indicator.
- added slight pause between rounds (allows animations to finish)
- help files updated
- minor bug fixes
keg bearer unit change
- keg bearer unit now heals first (instead of attacking)
- need to explicitly drag onto opponent to attack and bypass heal.
beserker unit changes
- see updated help (basically 2 axes will berserk, 1 axe will not)
- can move 3 when injured.
- attack damage reduced when injured.
• Disc Drivin Update - Apr 6
Pixelocity Software LLC finally updated their hit PitchCar-inspired app, Disc Drivin'. The update includes 3 new tracks! Also there's an update to the iPhone version's user interface, a FAQ, and other small things. Here's some pics of the new tracks. Obviously a lot more attention has been paid to how the turbo pads connect to each other.
Zoom Zoom Hopper Canyon Jump
• Reiner Knizia's ClusterMaster Released - Apr 6
Tribeflame has released Reiner Knizia's ClusterMaster. It's not multiplayer and it's not really a board game. It's a puzzle. The main reason I mention it is because it's Reiner Knizia. And it seems it was kind of a big week for him. See below.
• GMT Games Flooded with iPad Developer Offers - Apr 6
A couple of weeks ago, we were thrilled to hear that GMT was seeking developers to port their excellent games into iOS apps. Sometimes when it rains it pours. GMT reported Wednesday that they were virtually flooded with interest by iOS developers wanting to code their apps.
GMT Games wrote: iPad and Computer Products
Just a quick update here, and an appeal for patience. Our call for iPad developers last time resulted in over 100 contacts from various companies and individual developers. To date, due to just a ton of work and only one of me, I have corresponded with around a dozen of those contacts. And several of those are already working out nicely, with a few new games already slated for iPad development and one new computer project, and a few other interesting possibilities.
To the rest of you who have written, please don't give up on us. I will get back to you as quickly as possible and hopefully we can agree on a game for iPad development that will work for both you and GMT. Thanks for all your interest in working with us!
I wish I could help GMT go through all of the proposals. After a short delay, I really hope they settle in and work with some great developers. Great games deserve it!
• MTV Geek Covers Board Games Gone Mobile - Apr 6
Matt Morgan, who covers hobby gaming at MTV Geek, has posted an article titled "Board Games Gone Mobile" on Wednesday about a topic near and dear to our hearts.
http://geek-news.mtv.com/2011/04/06/board-games-gone-mobile/
• Knizia Sues Michael Powers Over 3-Card Brigade - Apr 7
Have you had your fill of Reiner Knizia news yet? Well, save room for this sour dessert. Though his name is practically synonymous with fun and games, he is very serious about the business end of his output and evidently wants everybody to know it. It took just under a month and 10 tweets for Reiner to show his serious side on Twitter, mentioning that he will be filing a lawsuit against the developer of an iOS app, 3-Card Brigade Poker, which is inspired Reiner's game, Schotten-Totten. Here's Reiner's Tweet:
Knizia on Twitter wrote: "ReinerKnizia
Law suit against MPowers (Michael Powers) is going to the courts today."
The German version of the app has already been removed from the German app store. According to my sources, and contrary to popular belief, the German app was taken down some time ago voluntarily by the developer in an attempt to try and resolve the situation amicably. Apparently that did not assuage concern.
Apple had not lifted a finger to date regarding the issue, that is until this past weekend. It seems there was an interesting and mysterious "review" posted for 3-Card Brigade in the UK App Store by someone claiming to be Reiner Knizia. The review was taken down after a short period of time, but not after screen shots were captured, marking the first time Apple has actually done anything directly in regard to 3-Card Brigade.
It is not yet clear in which courts Knizia has filed suit, as searches in legal databases have turned up nothing so far. Expect to hear more when confirmation of the suit has been made.
• Wizard's War Released - Apr 7
Wizards war is another "born digital" board game app for iOS. It handles from 1-4 players. The developer is listed as Malvicio.com, which redirects you to the game's web site, which features a blog and some pretty cool game art. The game's site indicates that the app is designed by one Pedro "Piter" L. Morales. Anyway, here's more on the game:
The devloper wrote: Each player get the control of a powerful wizard and his objective is defeat all others wizards in game. For this, you have magic spells that you can cast in the game, to summon soldiers to fight with you or to cast magic effect to win the game.
http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/stat?id=Smq3RC8yf5I&offe...
• Tikal Nearing Release Date - Apr 8
Codito reports on BGG that Tikal will undergo some final play testing this weekend and hopes to submit to the App Store by early next week (of 4/11). The approval process will likely take approximately a week or so. With any luck you should be able to download their new Tikal app as a reward for having stayed up all night to finish your US income taxes!
• Codito Announces New Releases Dates on Anticipated Apps - Apr 8
The darlings of omnivorous iOS board game fans, Codito Development, have updated and announced new release dates for some highly anticipated upcoming apps. Behold:
• Puerto Rico is now scheduled to release on May 19, 2011
• Le Havre is now scheduled to release in June 2011
• Tigris & Euphrates is now scheduled to release in June 2011
• Though the Ages is now scheduled to release in August 2011
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