Catchup: abstract strategy game

A look at the new realities of boardgame distribution: the game company Days of Wonder sells more than 75% of the copies of "Ticket to Ride" as an iPad app compared to its classic boxed set. It makes one wonder if traditional game companies shouldn't just all be reclassified as makers of videogames.

And, it changes the equation of indie game designers. Why indulge in the effort to make intricate sets with lots of pieces when one can far more readily distribute an app of your game. Naturally, that's what I faced with Pirate Ring, which kicked around for a few years in prototype version before Patrick and I set out to make it an iOS game.

I love the feel of a real game, but the economies of distribution and retail/online sales are daunting.  Which makes this an exciting time to look at the rising possibilities of abstract strategy games, which hold a special place for me as a gamer. And I've been quite interested in a new game just released for iOS called Catchup.

This is a very intriguing simple game with some deep strategy. It's only $2.99 on the AppStore, definitely worth a look. I've followed the game's designer Nick on his blog (see my sidebar) and the app is a real achievement and a bellweather for what I hope is an ever-growing interest in abstracts altogether.

I really like the elegance of the approach on Catchup. Just tap to place your pieces and to pool your claimed territory together, while navigating the subtle mechanism of having less pieces to place if you move ahead of your opponent. I like the speed of play and the casual ease of it, and I'm a fan of the slow-scaling A.I. that grows slowly harder and harder. Cheers from the Pirate Ringdom to this well-designed game, a notable addition to the world of abstracts.

And, with last week's release of the iPhone 6 and the 6-Plus (MUCH bigger screens) I'm very curious to see what this does for the smartphone as an even more potent platform for games. There's potential for even more good stuff to follow, much the way the iPad brought such a revolution in touch-boardgaming.