1SRC Review: Astraware Boardgames

In this week’s “not exactly an editorial” I review Astraware’s latest game, Astraware Boardgames.

The Games

Despite its name, you won’t be board as long as you have Astraware Boardgames loaded on your Palm.  Astraware Boardgames is a collection of 8 games including: Chess, Checkers, Backgammon, Snakes & Ladders (referred to as Chutes & Ladders here in the United States), Reversi, Ludo, Tic Tac Toe, and Nine Men’s Morris.

I was excited to read that Astraware was releasing Boardgames.  The first thing that drew me in was the selection of games.  I already knew how to play some of the games, and I was looking forward to learning Ludo and Nine Men’s Morris as I had never played them before.  However it was Tic Tac Toe, Snakes & Ladders, and Reversi that I focused in on since those were the games my girls like to play also.

The Board Game Reinvented

Astraware has done a fantastic job translating some of our favorite family room board games into digital form.  Astraware’s developers took their time in adding the polish to this game to really capture the feel of the original tabletop versions.  As with other recent Astraware games, Solitaire and Hidden Expedition: Titanic, the graphics and sounds are great and game play is fluid.  Players have the option of using a stylus or the 5-way navigation on their devices to move objects around the screen.  While playing Boardgames, I never had to use my Treo 700p’s stylus.

Each of the eight games is fully configurable.  The games have three modes of play, easy (default), medium, and hard.  You can also adjust the animation speed, hints, valid move suggestions, automatic dice rolls, your preferred language (English or Spanish), and player names.  All of the games support being played against the computer or against another person sharing the same device.

Astraware Boardgames works with both Palm OS 5 and Windows Mobile 5 and 6 devices.  It also supports screen resolutions of 160x160 all the way up to 320x480 ensuring that all of the current Palm-branded devices will be able to run the game.

Buying Advice

Astraware Boardgames is a must have for any handheld or smartphone owners who have kids or is just a big kid inside.  My girls love playing Tic Tac Toe and Snakes & Ladders; which is great because it really comes in handy when I need to keep them occupied while we are out and about.  If you enjoy playing board games, Astraware Boardgames captures the spirit of the classic tabletop games.

Astraware Boardgames is available now for $19.95 directly from the Astraware online web store or your favorite online mobile software retailer.  As with all of Astraware’s titles, you can download a free game demo so you can try before you buy.