Not that great, really.
A couple days ago I was hit up with a press release for a new site called Tabletopia, a website that acts as a portal for playing board games online. It’s not the first of its kind, in fact there are more board gaming sites out there than I even care to investigate. Tabletopia is only in alpha now, so I went over to check it out and was stuck by a dire message stating that my OS isn’t supported, which means that Tabletopia will be a PC/Mac-only site for gaming. Not a big deal, but the more I thought about this the more I began to wonder why we aren’t talking about some of those board game sites out there that do support the iPad, allowing you to play all sorts of board games without ever having to visit the App Store.
The game I want to cover today–and I’d love to cover more, if you guys think its a good idea–is Vlaada Chvátil’s masterpiece, Through the Ages, which is getting its own native app later this year from the big brains at Czech Games Edition. Don’t think you have to wait until late 2015 to build your civilization, however. If you don’t mind going against human opponents instead of an AI, you can play Through the Ages right in iOS Safari for the cost of $0.
Through the Ages was released back in 2006 and quickly rose into the Top 10 games of all time on BGG where it’s remained ever since (it’s currently ranked 4th). I spent the next four years trying to develop a VASSAL module so that I could play TtA online with friends, and nearly succeeded. [actually, it was a buggy, stinky mess -ed.] I was in the midst of polishing the module up when a French TtA fan by the name of Nicolas d’Halluin declared that he’d created a website where TtA could be played online and my VASSAL module was immediately rendered obsolete. Thank goodness.
While this does show off a little of the game log, I really just put this here because I won.
The website in question is the awkwardly named boardgaming-online.com, and the implementation is nearly perfect. For those not familiar with the cardboard version, here’s a run down: cards from history are splayed out 13 at a time along a track. These cards represent technologies, wonders, leaders, and events that can be purchased using Civil Actions, the number you have is based on your current form of government. As you buy cards, they slide down the track and become cheaper over time. You also use Civil Actions to actual discover the technologies you’ve collected or build new buildings or increase your civ’s population. You also have Military Actions that you can use to build military units or initiate military actions against your opponents. The goal of the game is to be the one with the most culture (victory points) at the end of the game, which are gained by building and working buildings such as libraries, theaters, temples, and building wonders. If you’ve ever played any version of Sid Meier’s Civilization, you’ll know how to play the game strategically, but might need a boost in picking up how TtA handles all the rules.
Playing TtA on boardgaming-online is a great way to get over that hump. Any cards that you cannot afford in the card row are disabled, and any other actions you can take are clearly listed in a drop down box near the top of the screen. The effects of cards can be seen easily by tapping on its name, bringing up a small picture of the entire card. The game also handles all the bookkeeping and fiddliness of the cardboard version that drives many people away from a second play. Here, everything is calculated and any problems you might have with a lack of food, resources, or happiness is clearly indicated at the top of the screen.
The game even has a “Civilopedia” so you can explore every card in the game outside of the game.
The big question that we need to answer is how the game functions on an iPad or iPhone. Beautifully, but the larger real estate of the iPad makes for a better experience. The greatest advance for TtA online is combining all your possible actions into a drop-down menu. Coalescing all available options into a cut and dried menu makes the entire game move like butter. You can even take and entire turn and then reset your back to the beginning and try something completely different to see what happens. There’s a handy spot for notes at the bottom of the screen, so you won’t lose your strategic plans while waiting for your next turn to roll around. There’s also a chat log for sending inspirational messages to your opponents in the name of good sportsmanship. That’s what I use it for. Honest.
Gameplay is fully asynchronous, and you’ll receive email notifications whenever you need to make a move, whether that be for your own turn or if your opponents triggered something that needs your attention during their turns. The cardboard version of the game can easily be a four hour slog, so expect long games when you go asynchronous. I’ve had games last for weeks.
All hail the drop-down menu.
There’s really no argument here, playing TtA on boardgaming-online is currently the best and easiest way to get in a game of TtA online. Sure, the best way is still to sit around a table with your friends and throw cardstock around the table, but when you can’t make that happen, which is far too often, this online version does everything you’d hope for. On top of that, it’s completely free to play. All you need is an email account.
On a sidenote, you might be wondering how Czech Games Edition feels about their flagship product being available for free on a website that they have no control over. In my discussions about it with Vlaada, it doesn’t appear that they mind it a bit. In fact, they are going to be using boardgaming-online to playtest some of the new changes and tweaks coming to the 4th edition of Through the Ages which is due later this year.
You can find me over at boardgaming-online as David Neumann (ugh, I know, right?). Look me up and get a game going. I’d be happy to teach you how to play, or just get my ass kicked, which is the usual outcome of TtA.
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