21/09/10
UPDATED
I love Reiner Knizia. I'm not planning to leave my wife for him, but he does make great games.
The prolific king of the Euro/German Game genre has become something of a brand on the iTunes store recently. Many of his clever card/board games have been remade as iPhone Apps by a number of different developers.
The most recent (to me) is a little gem called Robot Master. At $0.99, it's a steal of a game that will make you want to play dozens of times over. I'll leave the game's premise to the App Store description but suffice it to say fans of number-based puzzles such as Sudoku will feel right at home.
The reason why I bring up this App before a number of his better known games is, Robot Master is so App-like! The playful art belies the sophisticated strategy at work. The user experience is exactly right for the touch interface (although the Recycle button is a touch small) and doesn't get in the way of what you really want to do, which is to get a higher score!
Another reason why Knizia's games are fantastic on the iPhone is, all the math is taken care of. As a PhD of Mathematics, almost all of Dr.Knizia's games hinge on carefully structured probabilities or geometric possibilities. None of the math in his games is too challenging mind you. It's equal to or easier than scoring a Cribbage game in most cases.
I say Robot Master is great as an App but it's not better than the card game. The App version only covers the solitaire form of the game (high scores can be submitted to a leaderboard). Do pick up the 1-4 player physical game where you can find it (only on French and German for now).
Do yourself a favor and get a copy of Robot Master in either form. It's a guaranteed fun time.
UPDATE: It turns out that there IS a versus mode to Robot Master! To access to Versus Mode, just go to the main menu and swipe to the third and last pane.
There is a pass-and-play mode as well as Vs. AI. No online mode from what I can see.
Well, I must have been blind to not see it until now, or you could call that a failing of the UI. Regardless, the extra mode that's a bit hard to find adds a great deal of value to the $0.99 game. What are you waiting for? Get it!
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I love Reiner Knizia. I'm not planning to leave my wife for him, but he does make great games.
The prolific king of the Euro/German Game genre has become something of a brand on the iTunes store recently. Many of his clever card/board games have been remade as iPhone Apps by a number of different developers.
The most recent (to me) is a little gem called Robot Master. At $0.99, it's a steal of a game that will make you want to play dozens of times over. I'll leave the game's premise to the App Store description but suffice it to say fans of number-based puzzles such as Sudoku will feel right at home.
The reason why I bring up this App before a number of his better known games is, Robot Master is so App-like! The playful art belies the sophisticated strategy at work. The user experience is exactly right for the touch interface (although the Recycle button is a touch small) and doesn't get in the way of what you really want to do, which is to get a higher score!
Another reason why Knizia's games are fantastic on the iPhone is, all the math is taken care of. As a PhD of Mathematics, almost all of Dr.Knizia's games hinge on carefully structured probabilities or geometric possibilities. None of the math in his games is too challenging mind you. It's equal to or easier than scoring a Cribbage game in most cases.
I say Robot Master is great as an App but it's not better than the card game. The App version only covers the solitaire form of the game (high scores can be submitted to a leaderboard). Do pick up the 1-4 player physical game where you can find it (only on French and German for now).
Do yourself a favor and get a copy of Robot Master in either form. It's a guaranteed fun time.
UPDATE: It turns out that there IS a versus mode to Robot Master! To access to Versus Mode, just go to the main menu and swipe to the third and last pane.
There is a pass-and-play mode as well as Vs. AI. No online mode from what I can see.
Well, I must have been blind to not see it until now, or you could call that a failing of the UI. Regardless, the extra mode that's a bit hard to find adds a great deal of value to the $0.99 game. What are you waiting for? Get it!
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I love Reiner Knizia. I'm not planning to leave my wife for him, but he does make great games.
The prolific king of the Euro/German Game genre has become something of a brand on the iTunes store recently. Many of his clever card/board games have been remade as iPhone Apps by a number of different developers.
The most recent (to me) is a little gem called Robot Master. At $0.99, it's a steal of a game that will make you want to play dozens of times over. I'll leave the game's premise to the App Store description but suffice it to say fans of number-based puzzles such as Sudoku will feel right at home.
The reason why I bring up this App before a number of his better known games is, Robot Master is so App-like! The playful art belies the sophisticated strategy at work. The user experience is exactly right for the touch interface (although the Recycle button is a touch small) and doesn't get in the way of what you really want to do, which is to get a higher score!
Another reason why Knizia's games are fantastic on the iPhone is, all the math is taken care of. As a PhD of Mathematics, almost all of Dr.Knizia's games hinge on carefully structured probabilities or geometric possibilities. None of the math in his games is too challenging mind you. It's equal to or easier than scoring a Cribbage game in most cases.
I say Robot Master is great as an App but it's not better than the card game. The App version only covers the solitaire form of the game (high scores can be submitted to a leaderboard). Do pick up the 1-4 player physical game where you can find it (only on French and German for now).
Do yourself a favor and get a copy of Robot Master in either form. It's a guaranteed fun time.
UPDATE: It turns out that there IS a versus mode to Robot Master! To access to Versus Mode, just go to the main menu and swipe to the third and last pane.
There is a pass-and-play mode as well as Vs. AI. No online mode from what I can see.
Well, I must have been blind to not see it until now, or you could call that a failing of the UI. Regardless, the extra mode that's a bit hard to find adds a great deal of value to the $0.99 game. What are you waiting for? Get it!
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I love Reiner Knizia. I'm not planning to leave my wife for him, but he does make great games.
The prolific king of the Euro/German Game genre has become something of a brand on the iTunes store recently. Many of his clever card/board games have been remade as iPhone Apps by a number of different developers.
The most recent (to me) is a little gem called Robot Master. At $0.99, it's a steal of a game that will make you want to play dozens of times over. I'll leave the game's premise to the App Store description but suffice it to say fans of number-based puzzles such as Sudoku will feel right at home.
The reason why I bring up this App before a number of his better known games is, Robot Master is so App-like! The playful art belies the sophisticated strategy at work. The user experience is exactly right for the touch interface (although the Recycle button is a touch small) and doesn't get in the way of what you really want to do, which is to get a higher score!
Another reason why Knizia's games are fantastic on the iPhone is, all the math is taken care of. As a PhD of Mathematics, almost all of Dr.Knizia's games hinge on carefully structured probabilities or geometric possibilities. None of the math in his games is too challenging mind you. It's equal to or easier than scoring a Cribbage game in most cases.
I say Robot Master is great as an App but it's not better than the card game. The App version only covers the solitaire form of the game (high scores can be submitted to a leaderboard). Do pick up the 1-4 player physical game where you can find it (only on French and German for now).
Do yourself a favor and get a copy of Robot Master in either form. It's a guaranteed fun time.
UPDATE: It turns out that there IS a versus mode to Robot Master! To access to Versus Mode, just go to the main menu and swipe to the third and last pane.
There is a pass-and-play mode as well as Vs. AI. No online mode from what I can see.
Well, I must have been blind to not see it until now, or you could call that a failing of the UI. Regardless, the extra mode that's a bit hard to find adds a great deal of value to the $0.99 game. What are you waiting for? Get it!
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