Instead of introducing two new, separate social networks with Game Center for gaming and Ping for music, should Apple instead have combined them into one unified social network for users?
Normally, to get a game of Tichu going, you need to round up three friends. If you don't have any card-playing friends who know Tichu, then maybe you have to tell them you're going to have a Bridge party, then *bam!* you bust out the 56-card Tichu deck at the last minute. This sort of gamer subterfuge is a thing of the past, thanks to the brand-new Tichu app from Steve Blanding.
Chuck Gnome was chosen as our Daily App here on the site about a month ago, and now Movable Sprites has offered us a few copies to give away to you readers. Since we last posted about it, the game has updated to version 1.1 and added in a new episode, a new mini game, new music, and lots more. Plus, the price was lowered to 99 cents (and there's still a lite version available for you to check out).
Photo from The Torch Online
Summertime is almost over, and you know what that means. The weather is going to get grim pretty soon, and with all of those rainy days you'll definitely want to stay inside and enjoy a rousing game of--wait for it--Dungeons and Dragons! Or perhaps there's another tabletop game out there that you find engaging, like the Pokemon card game. We were once on a quest to catch 'em all, too. And boy, do we wish we had our Mac, iPhone and iPad along to help us sort things out. Fewer nerd fights would have been had.
RPTools
Let's say that rain turns into snow and you find yourself stuck inside your house, but not really interested in trolling through Azeroth on World of Warcraft. Well, good, because these applications are free and they allow you and your friends to play table top games together using your own custom map and tokens. These bits of software, like MapTools, enable you to create a fully customizable digital table top game, and use Photoshop or GIMP to create your own textures and landscapes. Then, use the TokenTool to make your own characters and place them around the map. If your friends decide to finally muster up the courage to drive through the grueling snow storm, you guys can sit around with your MacBooks and have a table top game via LAN. It's like the LAN party the PC guys wish they could have.
Tabletop Initiative Tracker
Ever get into an argument about keeping score? If you have your iPad with you, and this app installed, you can avoid these silly spats and make sure that your party is all on par.
RPG Dice Bag
Are pen and paper RPGs more your style? Or perhaps one of your friends left the dice at home? Well, one of you have got to have your iPhone on hand, so just download the RPG Dice Bag for a simplistic dice-rolling application that can infinitely roll eight different kind of dice for your table top RPG game.
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Crokinole is a beautiful, simple game with a long history. In the tradition of pool and Carrom, Crokinole is a dexterity game that pits two (or four) people against each other around a circular wooden board. Players try to flick little wooden discs towards the center, knocking out opponent's discs if they're in the target area. It takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to get frustrated at because you're just not good enough.
