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Board games – the best adaptations for iOS

A look at board games that survive the transition from physical to digital

Board gaming has undergone something of a renaissance in recent years, and with people currently spending more time at home than usual, we thought we’d revisit this roundup from a couple of years back.

Whether you’re stuck in self-isolation or just social distancing, these six games could be a great way for you to pass the time – alone or with friends. The good news is that almost every one of our picks here has dropped in price since we first drafted this roundup in late 2017.

Digital games are great: they can be played anywhere, don’t need packing away, and are easy to learn without digesting an entire rulebook. Animation and audio can build on the spirit and style of a game’s world, while AI characters and online match-ups ensure you’ll never be short of opponents.

For each title we first look at the concept of the original game, and then how well it works as an app. Let’s get rolling.

If you like… quick play sessions

Sushi Go! ($5/£5)

One of the most adorable card games we’ve seen, Sushi Go! pits its players against each other around a virtual conveyor belt of tasty snacks. Players pick from a rotating hand of sashimi, maki rolls, nigiri, and other familiar sushi dishes, before passing on their hand and picking again until all the cards are gone. Each player’s meal is then scored, based on criteria unique to each dish – tempuras only score points in pairs, for example, while every dumpling you collect is worth more than the last. It’s a fast-paced, playful affair that’s quick to learn but requires luck, skill, and good planning to excel at.

SushiGo

The iOS version of Sushi Go! adds to the super-cute artwork of the original with delightful animations and charming AI characters – who put up a good fight, by the way. Meanwhile if you want to play against some real-life friends the pass-and-play mode works a charm. Online play is present too, but it’s asynchronous and matches tend to drag on quite a bit, which is a shame for such a fast-paced game. Local games only take 5-10 minutes to complete, though, and it’s a fantastic way to kill a few spare moments… though it may leave you feeling peckish!

Sushi Go

Patchwork ($4/£4)

Patchwork is a game about sewing quilts. That may not sound terribly exciting, but mundane settings can often breed the best games. This is a two-player game, and it’s pretty fast paced. Players take turns buying up patches of fabric, stitching them onto a grid, Tetris-style. Your aim is to finish as much of the quilt as possible by the end, while amassing as many buttons as possible. Bonus points are awarded for completing a 7×7 square with no holes, which is harder than you might think! Though not a complex game, there’s just the right level of strategy here for some seriously competitive quilting.

Patchwork

Though it loses a little of the tactility of arranging the fabrics by hand, this adaptation retains Patchwork’s charm thanks to its delightfully childish aesthetic. The interface is a little crowded, but a quick tutorial hosted by a friendly owl (who else?) ensures the rules are easily absorbed. Whether competing against an AI or human opponent, the games are relatively quick, lasting around 15-20 minutes each. You can have multiple matches running simultaneously, with a choice of time limits depending on how busy you’re feeling. Who knew virtual sewing could be such a blast?

Patchwork

If you like… conquering maps

Catan Classic ($5/£5)

Settlers of Catan is a bestselling strategy game popular with avid game geeks and casual players alike. Players compete to build the best empire on the fictional island of Catan, harvesting and trading natural resources before using them to build roads, settlements, and cities. Space and resources are limited, and you’ll have to contend with your opponents for both. Catan combines the domination of Risk with the bargaining of Monopoly, while significantly reducing the playtime. It all results in a game that offers plenty of strategy without feeling too overwhelming for new players.

Catan

We’re pleased to report that the iOS version of the game looks and plays just as well as its physical counterpart. You can play online against players from around the world, or you could just gather your friends around an iPad and play locally. Additionally, the app includes a very solid single player campaign against increasingly difficult AI opponents. If you’re new to the world of board gaming, this is a great place to start – and if you’re a long time Catan fan, it’s a good way to get your fix on the go or try out the expansion packs at a decent price.

Catan Classic

Ticket to Ride ($7/£7)

If you like the sound of racing to take over a map but aren’t so keen on trading or fighting, Ticket to Ride could be the answer. Competing to build the best rail network across America might not sound hugely compelling, but this is a really satisfying game of luck, risk, reward, and strategy. Players collect colored train cards, which can be traded in to build routes between cities. Points are earned by connecting the cities on your tickets, but conflict soon arises when players start fighting to route their trains through the same cities. Then it’s a case of assessing your options, figuring out the most efficient routes, and ultimately ignoring all logic and simply blocking your rivals’ routes out of spite.

TicketToRide

Take note, developers: this is a really good board game adaptation. In real life, the board is huge – but the app’s interface has been designed to work well even on small screens, and there’s a fantastic in-game tutorial to show you the ropes. For solo play, there’s only one game mode, but it’s hugely customizable and the AI opponents are well-rounded. Elsewhere, the local and online multiplayer components work well and provide some extra longevity. The many expansion packs aren’t cheap, but if you tire of the USA there are a host of other maps and game variants to unlock featuring India, Legendary Asia, and Europe in 1912.

Ticket to Ride

If you like… cooperative gameplay

Pandemic ($5/£5)

Many people think of board games as highly competitive argument starters, but there are a handful of games that reward teamwork and cooperation. Pandemic is possibly the best of these, forcing players to work together lest they all suffer the same grisly fate; everyone wins, or everyone dies. The game focuses on a team of everyday medical heroes trekking around the globe to combat viral outbreaks. You’ll have to keep symptoms in check, stop viruses from spreading, and ultimately try to cure the diseases entirely before its too late. There’s nothing quite like saving the world with your pals, right?

Pandemic

Pandemic for iOS has a superb user interface, and a great soundtrack that adapts to the dangers of the game as you play. It’s designed primarily for pass-and-play multiplayer with real life friends, but although it’s mostly a co-op experience you can also play solo – we won’t judge. There’s no online multiplayer, which is a shame, and the tutorial can be a little confusing if you’ve not played before. It’s worth persevering, though, because once it clicks this is a very well made port of an excellent game. For a couple bucks each, you can unlock expansion packs including extra characters, events, and a super-tough difficulty level.

Pandemic

Mysterium ($4/£4)

Mysterium is a unique, unusual game on many levels. One player takes on the role of a ghost, sending the other players otherworldly “visions” in an attempt to reveal the details of its murder. These visions come in the form of highly detailed illustrations – often full of bizarre or abstract elements – and your goal is to guess the correct suspect, location, and weapon based on these visual clues. Sort of like a supernatural version of Clue. It’s a mostly cooperative game, with plenty of communication amongst players, especially during the tense final round. Meanwhile, the ghost is forbidden from speaking for the whole game, only able to communicate via the vision cards.

Mysterium

One thing the digital adaptation lacks is the fantastic social aspect of the original, though in fairness there is a live text chat built in when playing online. It’s not quite the same as conferring with your buddies around a table, but the silence helps build the atmosphere and really focuses the game onto the vision cards. Alternatively there’s a lengthy solo campaign in which you play a rookie psychic, which doubles as a decent introduction to the game’s mechanics. The artwork is gorgeous, with a draggable magnifying glass allowing players to take in even the smallest details of the visions.

Mysterium

If you like… even more choice

The six picks above are some of our favorites, but we really are spoilt for choice when it comes to board gaming on iOS. So here are six more quick-fire recommendations, roughly listed in increasing order of complexity.

Exploding Kittens, the fast-paced card game that was the most-backed project in Kickstarter history. Download [$2/£2]

Tsuro, a beautiful and relaxing game of interconnecting pathways. Download [$4/£4]

Colt Express, the unpredictable and action-packed train robbery simulation. Download [$4/£4]

Brass, an Industrial Revolution-era entrepreneurial challenge. Download [$6/£6]

Galaxy Trucker, in which you’ll need to build, fly, and fight spaceships to win. Download [$5/£5]

Castles of Mad King Ludwig, a deep and strategic game of building castles. Download [$8/£8]