iOS Board Games

Truth be told, the most common type of board game I play are translations of traditional cardboard-and-dice games to the iOS platform.  (Some would say this doesn't make them board games any more but for the purposes of this discussion, I'm not going to worry about it.)  The reasons these get played more often are simple:

1. Often there is a computer controlled player I can play against when my wife doesn't feel up to it.
2. No time spent setting up before-hand and cleaning up afterward.
3. Can play where-ever and whenever the situation dictates; we can start a game in one location and finish it days later somewhere else.
4. iOS games are cheaper than their physical counter-parts.
5. Its easy to carry many, many games on an iOS device.
6. The computer takes care of the rules, making it easier to learn games you haven't played before.
7. The games almost always play much faster, sometimes over twice as fast.

Most of the time, we play the cardboard version of the game first and then go hunting for an implementation in the iOS App store with a few notable exceptions.  Here are the board games I tend to play on our iPad, in no particular order

• Carcassonne - Perhaps the first iOS game I tried and I must say, it is fantastic. This is a wonderful implementation and sets the standard for how board games should work on iOS devices.  The art is great, the sound design is wonderful, the game supports local and internet play.  $10 and worth it if you enjoy the game.
• Scrabble - Another early entrant onto our iPad and also a great implementation. I'm not a big Scrabble person but my wife is and she has put in some serious time with this app.
• Dominion - There's a reason there's no link for this one; it's not available on the app store any more. Unofficial implementation, something about stealing the art work from the original game without permission. They say there's a real, official version coming soon.  It needs to be sooner.
• LeHavre - I had never played this game before I purchased it on the advice of the board gamers throughout the internet.  I'm glad I did.  The game is complicated and takes some getting used to but once you get your head around the iconography and understanding the flow of the game, it is a treat.  My wife and I played in bed before going to sleep every night for about a week.  The game does an excellent job of keeping the mountain of pieces and markers understandable without making the screen too busy.  Our experience  
• Blokus - I love this board game but I have to say, the controls on the iOS version I find fiddley.  It doesn't ruin the game for me but it does frustrate me at times and make the game less enjoyable.  It's cheap, though.  I gues you get what you pay for.
• Phase 10 - This is a fun, simple little card game done almost perfect.  The only mark against it is the artwork: I don't care for it much.  It could be worse, but it could be better.
• Risk - This is a board game that I don't usually play because it often takes forever.  The iOS version solves this problem with a two player game often being completed in under twenty minutes.  The artwork is great and if it had internet play, it would get full marks from me.
• Monopoly - It looks like the version of Monopoly we have is no longer sold in the store but there are several other official versions that should be comparable.  Like Risk, the often slower pacing of the game is solved when the computer handles the money and moves the pieces. We've played this with four players, passing the iPad around and it worked just fine, mostly; the auctions were a bit scrunched. The artwork and animation are wonderful and provide a great experience.

There are other board games I've been looking at for iOS like Tigris and Euphrates, Caylus, and Small World and others.  We'll see if I get around to any of them.

Signs of Spring in Wichita

1. The weather radio starts going off on a regular basis, warning of the frequent severe thunderstorms.
2. I ride to school in the morning in long-sleeves but need shorts and a t-shirt for the ride home in the afternoon.
3. I can't decide if a hot or cold shower would feel better after said bicycle rides.
4. It can be 75'F at 3pm and below freezing eight hours later.
5. Some days we get rain, some days a thunderstorm, and some days an ice storm.
6. My wife starts watching the weather on the TV much more regularly.

All of these have happened to me in the past week.

International Graduate Students at WSU

US News and World Report confirms the reality I experience every day: there are a lot of international graduate students here at Wichita State.  As I've said before, being a white guy in my world makes me the vast minority.  According the the report, 84.4% of the graduate students in the engineering program here are international students.

That sounds about right to me.

UPDATE: Nationwide most/many engineering graduate students are international according to this New York Times "article" (its one paragraph long).

Wichita State Basketball Fame

You may have heard that the men's basketball team at Wichita State made the NCAA tournament Final Four this year, a feat they have not accomplished for decades.  I off-handedly committed to buying a Wichita State t-shirt, my first, if they made it this far in the tournament and so today I was at the bookstore, hunting through all the black and amber apparel looking for something I liked.

On my way out of the building back to my office I was blessed with a sign, though: Carl Hall, number 22 on the team was leaving the student union the same time I was.  This is the first time I have knowingly laid eyes on a member of the team, largely aided by the fact that I've actually been watching the games and know what a few of the players look like.

Carl didn't seem interested in talking so I left him in peace.  I assume he was headed back to the gym to continue practice; he had Chick-Fil-A in his hands, though so maybe he was on lunch break.

Tomorrow, back to the bookstore to see if they have any new stock in.

Update: A new design came in and it meets all my WSU t-shirt criteria: amber-colored, has the WSU mascot on it, says "Final Four".  Mission accomplished.

Anniversary Cake

Our anniversary is coming up and its near coincidence with Easter and the Easter dinner with friends inspired my wife with a great idea: buying an anniversary cake to bring to the dinner.  So we did.  The cake was delicious and it was wonderful to be able to get to share the occasion with others.