Best new board game apps of 2020

cardboard.arstechnica.com . The 2020 global pandemic might seem like an ideal time for new board game app releases, but the increasing development time for more complex games means we’re going longer between initial announcements and final releases than we have before. Below, I’ve ranked my nine best new board game apps of 2020 based on app quality, play experience, and purchase price. I’ll give a quick honorable mention to Lorenzo il Magnifico , which I tested out a year ago when it was still in beta on Steam and of which I thought highly-but which I haven’t gotten to try in its newest version. 9. Viticulture (Digidiced) The first game from designer Jamey Stegmaier ( Scythe , ) gets the app treatment from Digidiced, whose apps all have the same general look and feel. You’re running a vineyard and placing workers in spring or in winter to plant vines, build up your farm, and run tours for money. It’s a relatively complex economic game at heart, and the app works well, but the tutorial here isn’t detailed enough; it might be better if you have some familiarity with the physical game. Charterstone 8. Finished! (Eric Snider) Friedman Friese is probably best known for his complex game Power Grid , but he’s produced a number of solo games, all of which have titles that start with F, including Friday (which has a pretty great app version). Finished! is a game of a single deck of 48 numbered cards, shuffled except for card #48, that you’ll try to sort into their order before you go through the deck 7 times. The cards also have functions like letting you put cards back into the deck and drawing new ones, or letting you retrieve the last two cards you’ve discarded. They might also show candies, which you’ll need to use the actions on other cards. It’s way harder than it sounds, which gives the game good replay value, although the amateurish art and color scheme leave something to be desired. It’s only available for iOS.

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