Game at my Pad

(Originally posted 4/21/11, Updated 11/3/11)

Lately I’ve been getting a lot of requests for gaming recommendations on iOS devices, specifically board games and lately the focus has shifted from the iPhone to the iPad.


While love my iPhone I’m not the biggest iPad evangelist on the planet.  I received mine as a gift, and I’m still on a quest for the ultimate killer app that will turn my iPad from a neat techno-bauble into an indispensable tool.


That said, the iPad does make a great gaming aid, entertainment device, and my search for the practical side has not totally been without success.  So without further ado, here are some of my favorite apps:

D-5 - You Dropped My Battleship's Shields!

Yes really, Hasbro!

I've been looking forward to a new board game from Hasbro for some time now.  Growing up I played games with great components such as Chopper Strike and Carrier Strike.  The idea of a new space combat game from the designer of Heroscape along with the pictures of the ships made Battleship Galaxies a must buy for me.

So picked it up on Saturday and drooled all over it, then posted a bunch of pictures on the D6G feed:

 http://twitpic.com/tag/battleshipgalaxies

Then my wife and I played Sunday night... what a fun game.    Here are my quick thoughts...

The Mean Streets of LA

My wife and I have always enjoyed detective, cop, and murder mystery shows.  From old classics like Columbo, Murder She Wrote, and Hercule Poirot to more recent fair such as In Plain Sight, Psych, and Castle.  So when a game like LA Noire gets announced, it goes to my must buy list.

What's it like?  It's not like any other video game that's been published in the last 10 years, perhaps 20.  Let me explain...

Back, Dak, and Hack

One of the many attractions of miniature war gaming is the ability to design your own army.   Sure lots of people play elves, but YOUR elf army features your favorite models, and a special combination of artillery, infantry, and cavalry that makes it your own.  Gamers who have played in a system for years have mastered just what they need for battle and enjoy coming up with new, innovative combinations that have never been seen before yet are still effective on the table top.

But what do you do when you are new to a game system, or indeed the miniature war gaming hobby as a whole?  How does one approach the daunting task of designing your first list in a system you’ve never played?

Over the years I’ve come up with a relatively simple philosophy that has served me well as I hop from one game to another.  In my experience a force needs three basic things: Back, Dak, and Hack.

Gaming with Daddy's Little Girl

Recently the school sent home a CRAZY Reuters article on how bad video games were for kids.

What's worse is that in the flyer, they only printed the first half of the article.  If you look it up, the second half of the article points out that nothing is proven.

What complete nonsense.  (My wife was really frustrated and rips the article to shreds here: link)

However, this REAL study, which was recently conducted by Brigham Young, shows that there are significant positive effects from fathers who play video games with their daughters.

While the study only focused on vid-games, I'd be willing to bet money that board games and other father-daughter activities would produce similar results.  It's common sense really: what kids want most from their parents is time and attention, share your passion with your kids, and they'll turn out better for it.

Here's an easy to digest version of the story, with links to the full study if you want the details:

http://kotaku.com/5748687/playing-video-games-with-dad-builds-better-daughters

Now if you'll excuse me I need to race home and get in a game of "Doritos Crash Course" with the girls before bed time.