Carcassonne
Platform: iOS, Android
Not all games are created equal, and Carcassonne is a great example of how game makers are constantly striving for innovation. For the uninitiated, Carcassonne was originally a German board game created in 2000 where players work together to build a medieval world. There are different kinds of tiles, such as roads, fields, cities and combinations of the above. During each turn the player is given a single tile, and must line it up with a tile on the board. After placing the tile, the player may optionally place a "meeple" on it, which means that points will be assigned for that tile. Players are given limited meeples, so placement must be done strategically.
This mobile adaptation of Carcassonne faithfully recreates the board game experience, which is saying quite a lot if you've ever seen a board game conversion gone wrong. The biggest advantage is having Carcassonne on the go, allowing fans to get their fix even when no one is around to get their caravan handed to them. The AI is great, and having the scoring taken care of for you is worth the price of admission all on its own, as there are a number of apps in mobile marketplaces dedicated just to Carcassonne score keeping!
For a fraction of the price, Carcassonne mobile gets you the full package you can play on the go, all by yourself, without keeping track of anything but your own moves. A great addition to any device, whether you're a fan of Carcassonne or have never touched a board game in your life!
No love for the Kindle Fire, I see. Pity, I'd've given this a try.
Uh, it appears that the iOS link has been hijacked or something. It's sending me to a website selling instructional videos about how to wwebsite.
[Link fixed. Thank you for pointing that out. -Jay]
I CANNOT BELIEVE you only reviewed this now.
This has been out for longer than I have lived (not really) and is like the best board game ever. Beats Catan hands down. (But not Salpakan. Never Salpakan.) Be conservative with your meeples. Remember to only keep 2 or 3 on the field.
SFDP: Meeples are the proper terms for "followers".
With our expanding mobile coverage, now seemed like the perfect time to feature this since it was available for all devices. :) Trust us, we've known about this for a while. Jay convinced me to play with him over iPad a while back and absolutely TROUNCED me. Guess I'm not a strategic gal. It's perfect to play with buddies, but I'll stick to zombies and adventures I think.
Link to iTunes App Store still seems to be cream crackered (end up with a blank page using either IE or Chrome).
Interestingly I can't find this app when I search the Apps Store directly.
[The link is correct. It's a US iTunes link. Are you not located in the US? Perhaps that's the problem? -Jay]
I'm having no issues at all with the iTunes link, GlixD, and I'm using Chrome and Windows 7. :) Have you tried clearing your cache or refreshing the page?
I'm in the UK so I wonder if that's what the problem is. I'll investigate further, but thanks for the response.
Update