Review: Race for the Galaxy

When it came out, Race for the Galaxy didn't look like my ideal card game. Whatever good stuff it had, even fans freely admitted that it didn't have a lot of interaction. And what I wanted most back then, and still put a premium on now, was interactive games. But back then we didn't know the iPad was coming, or that mobile board games would become a huge thing. And if there's one thing that makes a __game suitable for a mobile adaptation it's lack of interaction.

Someone did manage to persuade me to play Race for the Galaxy. And to my surprise, I enjoyed it far more than I expected. Each turn, each player picks an action such as settling a planet or developing a technology. All players then get to do all the chosen actions but the one who picked it gets a bonus. Most actions let you play a card from your hand: settle, for example, is just an excuse to play a planet card. You pay for your played card by discarding a number of other cards equal to its cost.

This straightforward system veils quite a potent economic engine. Having to pay for things with cards means you run out quite fast. To refill your hand you either have to take the weak explore action or generate goods on your planets and trade them. This takes two actions and, of course, lets other players do the same thing. Plus victory points are a separate pool which you need to fill as well as keeping your economy afloat. It's all about efficiency, and the __game can be punishing on those who fail to make the best of their cards.

What makes Race stand out from all the other, tiresome economic engine games in the world is its theme. One could turn this into an abstract point salad, but that would be a waste. The card art and effects and the turn by turn play generate a tangible sense of building, of developing an interstellar empire. The fact you're always working from a new, random hand of cards keeps the game forever fresh. And the design uses every available opportunity to tweak effects into interesting combos.

So we'll forgive it its relative lack of interaction. Especially now you can play it in this cracking mobile version.

At first, it might not seem all that cracking. On a phone-sized screen the cards are not easy to see. So a new hand means a tiresome tap by tap examination of each. The app hides most of other player's tableaus unless you tap to inspect them. And if you're new to the game the tutorial won't take you the whole way. It covers off all the basics, but to understand the game you'll need to go through the rules which, usefully, are available through the app.

With time, though, these minor irritations fade into the black vacuum of the cosmos. Race for the Galaxy also attracted some criticism for its heavy use of detailed iconography, which took some getting used to. Here, the decision comes into its own: once you learn the lexicon, those icons let you understand cards at a glance, without the need to examine each. And of course a couple of plays will be enough fix the mechanics in your mind.

Good job too, because everything else about this adaptation is stellar. You can play against AI players in up to three levels of difficulty. I am not particularly good at or experienced with this game. But after getting to grips with this version, I found Medium capable of giving me a run for my money. Hard should challenge more competent players although it won't be up to beating the best human opponents.

No worries if that's you, though, since there's a smooth online gateway for asynchronous games against other humans. There are even in-device notifications to tell you when it's your turn.

As if that were not enough, three of the game's expansions are also available. These add additional worlds and card drafting and one of them improves the lack of interaction with takeover rules. It's easy to flip them on and off for each new game as you desire.

If you wanted to pick fault with this, it would be a lack of any kind of single-player campaign. But that's a nice to have, an extra feather in the hats of the creme de la creme of mobile adaptations like Galaxy Trucker. It isn't necessary in an economic game like this. And however you feel about economic games - and player interaction - this version of Race of the Galaxy is good enough to be worth your cosmic dollars.

Out Now: Living Boards and Gelatinous Cubes Edition

A feast of interesting games are out now for iOS users, but sadly a famine for Android fans. The obvious headliner is Faeria, a promising CCG that's out of beta and released for iPads and where much of my time this week has gone! That's not all; we've got puzzles, platformers with gelatinous cubes, post-apocalyptic adventures, old-school RPGs, a tower defense __game in disguise, and more Ascension.

Faeria (iOS)

Let's start with what is undoubtedly the biggest game-launch news of the week, and one of the games in our 2017 guide, the collectible-card __game Faeria. The CCG market is huge and, at present, dominated by Hearthstone. Every year contenders rise and fall and it has become clear that to take on the top dog your CCG better have something unique, a gameplay twist that'll give you a chance. Faeria is one of three CCGs coming to mobile this year that I believe have that chance to attract a sizable player base, survive, and even thrive. Its twist is what the game's creators call a "living board."

In Faeria, the battlefield is more than a place to hold creatures; it is a hexagonal battle map. You play land each turn to build a path toward your opponent's orb on the other side of the map, protect your orb, or to accomplish other strategic objectives. Your use of land to manipulate the living board and control the battlefield ties directly to the type of deck you opt to play and your overall strategy in the game. An aggressive deck, for example, would be best supported by a plan to build directly toward your opponent. You can only summon creatures on lands you've played and most creatures do their damage up close and personal. Control decks, on the other hand, will want to play defense by cutting off access to their orb and secure lands adjacent to the board's four Faeria wells. Faeria is used to cast spells, much like mana in Magic. If you have a creature adjacent to one of the wells at the start of your turn you get one extra Faeria. Multiple wells is a great way to ramp up for more powerful creatures.

Faeria looks great and plays pretty well on my iPad Pro, though some of the UI is finnicky and could use some tweaks. The game does require an iPad 3 or newer and won't work on an iPhone, which I feel is the right call given the importance of the living board (I didn't even like Hearthstone on my iPhone 6S Plus). Unfortunately it is not yet on Android, though it should be coming soon, though you can get a head start on your Mac or PC. The game is free with the usual CCG in-app purchases (chests instead of packs) and if you are a fan of the genre it is well worth investing some time and seeing what you think, especially if you're burnt out on or otherwise uninterested in Hearthstone. The living board ads a very compelling dimension to the usual deck building and spell slinging aspects of a CCG and ads quite a lot to the game. We'll have a full review soon, including analysis on the value of chests.

Float (iOS)

If you're looking for a lighter game with a relaxing soundtrack and challenging yet laid back gameplay look no further than Float. In Float you maneuver a flower along a stream by tapping near it to propel it forward. You must dodge obstacles that become increasingly difficult as you advance through the game's eight stages. The music and graphics are both simple but appealing and Float is well worth the price of admission if you're into zen-like games.

Kingdom: New Lands (iOS)

Kingdom: New Lands is a side-scrolling strategy game that is ultimately a tower-defense game that also has the trappings of RTS, simulation, and puzzle games that make you think you're playing something much different. In it, you play as a constantly mounted monarch—there's a lot of riding—who must gather gold, grow a cadre of loyalists, build a city, and defend it from monstrous threats. Failure is expected and learning from that failure so you can try something new is at the heart of the game. Tof gave Kingdom: New Lands four stars when reviewing the Nvidia Shield version and while I haven't played enough to know whether I agree, I can say I like the simple but attractive graphics and fitting soundtrack and audio effects. It's easy to make mistakes in prioritizing your resources, especially the first few tries, but eventually a stronger strategy will emerge. Check it out if you don't mind some failure as you ascend this kingdom's learning curve.

Mushroom 11 (iOS and Android)

Mushroom 11 is a platformer with a unique movement style that is instantly understandable but also very complex. You push an amorphous ooze thing through a harsh landscape of rugged hills and underground tunnels, lava, dangerous creatures, and other hazards. You can squish the blob into tight spots and sacrifice bits to the surroundings because it replicates quickly and will regrow whatever is lost. There are a bunch of chapters of this ooze's story with increasingly challenging obstacles to get past. It feels a lot like controlling a super nimble gelatinous cube and I'm sure glad none of my D&D characters ever ran into this particular strain! Mushroom 11 is a fun and different take on a platformer and worth a look if you dig that genre.

Shardlight (iOS)

The world ended 20 years ago. That's when a disease called Green Lung started killing people and it hasn't stopped. There's a vaccine, but not enough of it and doses are given out via lottery. That's the setting for Shardlight, a third-person point-and-click adventure game that just released for iOS. The story starts strong and the puzzles aren't too terribly difficult, which I like better because nothing makes me swear off this type of game like getting stuck within ten minutes. The game's pretty dark, because post-apocalyptic, but there's quite a lot to explore and do and the art style and voice acting are good.

The Deep Paths: Labyrinth of Andokost (iOS)

The Deep Paths: Labyrinth of Andokost is a first-person RPG with a throwback style. It's been out on Steam for a few months, with mostly positive reviews, and is out now on iOS. It was briefly released a couple weeks ago but then yanked back to address some bugs. In the game you assemble a party of four to delve into the Labyrinth of Andokost to battle creatures, acquire loot, and investigate an ancient myth turned reality in order to protect your city. The game is definitely old school, from the graphical feel to the grid-based movement and use of puzzles. Combat is face-to-face without any positioning of different party members. It's also pretty tough and party wipes against what seem to be easy odds are not uncommon. The game's trailer gives a good idea of the look and feel.

Ascension: War of Shadows (iOS and Android)

A new Ascension expansion has made its way to the game's digital platforms…War of Shadows is now available. Here's the blurb from Playdek:

A new darkness seeps into New Vigil from the Void, intent on restoring despair and desolation to a world that has forgotten it. The four factions recall their veteran heroes and reawaken the great war machines of the past, as they plan their first in the chaotic ebb and flow of light and dark. The War of Shadows has begun!

Sounds shadowy. The expansion features some new Heroes and Constructs that require paying both resource types to acquire, but hold huge power. Cards will also gain additional power as the balance between Light and Dark shift. The expansion is playable as a standalone game for one to four players, or can be played with the base Ascension game and other expansions. War of Shadows is $4 from the game's in-app store. Ascension is a great game and quite popular around these parts.

That's all for this week's top picks. Seen anything you think we should have included? Let us know about it in the comments below, and feel free to share your own thoughts on anything we've mentioned today!

Top 50 mobile game developers of 2016 Related Articles Comments Login to to leave a comment Or click here to register Events Games Industry Jobs Popular Stories Latest User Comments Videos PGBiz on Facebook PGbiz Staff About Us Steel Media Network

Welcome to PocketGamer.biz's Top 50 developer list for 2016.

Now in its seventh year, it continues to demonstrate just how global and dynamic the mobile __game industry is.

Of course, just like app store top grossing charts, at the top there's less movement.

It's become increasingly clear that in the west, the developers who - through a combination of luck and expertise - released a successful F2P __game in 2012 and 2013 have been the biggest winners of the western mobile games explosion.

It's now much harder to repeat that level of success with new games, although that's exactly what the best companies have done and will continue to do.

Global vision

Elsewhere in the world, the situation is different.

Funded by local success, the most profitable Japanese, Korean and Chinese developers are spending big ­- both in terms of localising their content and investing in western companies -­ to take their success global.

And, more generally, the 2016 list shows how quickly the situation can change for any mobile games company with less than $1 billion in sales.

A single hit game can spark, delivering $100 million of revenue in a year.

A single hit game can spark, delivering $100 million of revenue in a year, while failures are more expensive and less easy to predict than ever before.

Reducing risk, not upside

That's why many developers are doubling­ down on a single specialism.

For example, this year's list includes companies betting everything on wearables or mobile eSports, while many others are harnessing their operational expertise to external IP to breakthrough the marketing stalemale.

Yet even in such an environment, there are shining examples of teams -­ both experienced and not ­- who are only laser focused on their games, and getting their reward from a global audience of billions of players who are always on the look out for something new.

Behind the numbers

In terms of the methodology behind our list, many factors combine.

Certainly one of them is financial success. Players spending money is a good indication of a quality experience, and this - both headline turnover and profitability (of course, not always publicly available information) - is something that drives position rank, particularly at the top end of our list.

(But, please note, this is not a list of the top grossing mobile game companies. If you want an estimate of that, refer to App Annie's annual list.)

Instead, we are also interested in wider issues: is a company successfully operating in different global regions (or just one); across many - and/or different - platforms; running a single big title or experimenting with different genres and themes; and looking to expand?

We particularly love to reward ambitious startups who are attempting to innovate and shake up the entire market.

Soft power

We also take into account a company's soft power: how does it present itself to players and the industry at large?

And we love to reward ambitious startups who are attempting to innovate and shake up the entire market.

But, let's be clear. The lodestone running throughout our entire process is the quality of each developer's game(s).

For, not only is this list an attempt to gauge the top developers over the past 12 months, it's also the attempt to highlight those who will be making the headlines over the year.

And the quality of a company's mobile games is - in my opinion - the best (if not the only) measure of this.

Note: Our list was compiled during February 2016, with additional information added during March 2016

Click here to view the list »

Still a booming beach: Three years on, how Supercell nurtured its runt Related Articles Comments Login to to leave a comment Or click here to register Top Stories Events Games Industry Jobs Popular Stories Latest User Comments Videos PGBiz on Facebook PGbiz Staff About Us Steel Media Network

From the get-go, let’s be clear. For any developer other than Supercell, Boom Beach would be a total success.

In the three years since launch, the mobile strategy __game has generated hundreds of million dollars, and still pulls in tens of millions annually.

But Supercell isn’t any other developer.

It’s only released four games, and two of them generate over a billion dollars annually.

(Being a social farming game, Hay Day is operating on a different level, of course.)

As in the family boasting a Nobel Prize winner and an Oscar winner, getting a Ph.D remains an achievement, just not a comparative success.

Yet, Supercell remains committed to the __game you could be argue offers a cleaner, more nuanced and more enjoyable experience than Clash of Clans, which gained its success and longevity partly due its launch timing within the wider explosion of mobile gaming.

The laughing face of evil

Aside from making great games, one of Supercell’s advantages as a successful mobile game developer is its ability to spend hundreds of millions of dollars marketing its games. Typically mobile developers will spend 20% to 30% of overall revenues on marketing.

TV advertising boosted Boom Beach into the US top 10 grossing charts.

This, combined with regular updates, was key to Boom Beach’s early success.

A top 20 top grossing game in the key US market on the App Apple Store and Google Play store, it wasn’t until early 2015 and the start of TV advertising that it nailed down a lucrative top 10 position; something it held until early 2016.

Related to this was the introduction and development of personality within the game, notably the comically villainous Dr. T.

Inspired by Austin Powers’ Dr Evil and assisted by the extendable arms of his robot companion , Dr. T has underpinned key in-game events such as the four Mega Crab raids.

Other tweaks, significant if slight, include the addition of a $2.99 monthly subscription so players can upgrade two buildings simultaneously. At launch, Boom Beach’s restriction of a single upgrade was a novel design and monetisation decision.

End of the beginning

More recently, however, Boom Beach has been in marked decline.

It dropped out of the US App Store top 20 top grossing ranking in April 2016 and even spiked outside of the top 100 in early 2017.

Similarly, on Google Play, it dropped out of the top 10 top grossing position in February 2017, dropping to a low of 77 in early March 2017.

Significantly, this period coincided with the launch of Clash Royale and suggests that Supercell was focusing resources - staff and cash - on its new game.

European beachhead

But it’s not game over for Boom Beach just yet. The most recent update added the first two in a series of Hero characters, giving the game an immediate boost back up the charts.

And outside of the US, it’s important to note Boom Beach has always performed better in key markets including France (its #1 big market), Canada, the UK and Germany.

It’s also done well in some of the big Asian markets, notably South Korea, where it remains a top 100 top grossing Google Play title, although it doesn’t have the popularity of Clash of Clans, which is top 100 top grossing game in South Korea, China and Japan.

CyberAgent sales grow to $1.62 billion but profits fall sharply in H1 FY17 Related Articles Comments Login to to leave a comment Or click here to register Top Stories Events Games Industry Jobs Popular Stories Latest User Comments Videos PGBiz on Facebook PGbiz Staff About Us Steel Media Network

CyberAgent has released its financials for the first half of its FY17 for the six months ending March 31st 2017.

It posted sales of $1.62 billion for the period, up 21% year-on-year. Profits fell sharply however to $23.6 million, down 76.7% year-on-year.

Its Games Business performed well, posting sales of $634.5 for the first half of its FY17, up 22.8% year-on-year. Operating income suffered slightly, dropping to $129.3 million, a decrease of 8.9% year-on-year.

A BanG up job

CyberAgent didn't go into much detail with its games section, stating simply that it had released one "new hit" while its existing titles "remained strong" in their performance.

It's unclear what this new hit is, but it is presumably BanG Dream! Girls Band Party!. The __game is currently a top 30 grossing __game on Android in Japan and hasn't dropped out of this rank since launching in March 2017.

CyberAgent isn't particularly well-known outside of Japan, but its subsidiary Cygames is. The developer most recently launched its first North American eSports tournament for its CCG Shadowverse with a $10,000 prize for the winner.