Slashdot Mirror
Has Apple Created the Perfect Board Game Platform?
andylim writes "recombu.com is running an interesting piece about how Apple has created a 'Jumanji (board game) platform.' The 9.7-inch multi-touch screen is perfect for playing board games at home, and you could use Wi-Fi or 3G to play against other people when you're on your own. What would be really interesting is if you could pair the iPad with iPhones, 'Imagine a Scrabble iPad game that used iPhones as letter holders. You could hold up your iPhone so that no one else could see your letters and when you were ready to make a word on the Scrabble iPad board, you could slide them on to the board by flicking the word tiles off your iPhone.' Now that would be cool."
The perfect board game platform is cardboard.
Living With a Nerd
So for only $499 + $299/phone, you can play a $75 board game electronically! No messy setup, and you don't have to worry about where to put that almost $1000 in cash you would still have!
You better watch out, there may be dogs about . .
TOO SMALL!
Nerd rage is the funniest rage.
How is less than 10 inches perfect?
I don't think I play a single board game with a board that small. Zoom in and out? Scroll around? Everything smaller? No thanks. A lot of my board game time is great just because I'm unplugged anyway.
If I were alone, maybe then I could see it. The less than ideal experience would be o.k. compared to not being able to play at all. But to sit around with phones out to 'hold' tiles and play the game on a little screen doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
It's hard to believe that's how Micronians are made. Why don't we see it right now by having you both kiss one another?
yup. This is just an attempt by apple to make this appealing. The answer is: it's not. There are other apple products more compelling at this price, iphone namely.
...to "Ramming home the news that Apple have released a new product this week, Part 234".
Thanks.
Gentoo Linux - another day, another USE flag.
Or I could play a board game. I could buy all sorts of board games before I would come close to the price of the iPad + digital board game purchases.
Problem is most "cardboard" games are getting nutty pricey. I have seen many new ones retailing for $100 or more.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
No... the "big ass table" that apple fans made fun of Microsoft for is the perfect board game platform.
The iPad would maybe make a nice "private" board for keeping player information hidden. But a big ass table would be a lot better for a group to gather around to play a board game.
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
For $1600, I'd better be able to use words like "zoquou" and "ushnuu".
Cardboard with OLED.
The World Wide Web is dying. Soon, we shall have only the Internet.
The most expensive "board" game (i.e. NOT a tabletop game) that I have bought was Hero Quest. It was worth every penny.
I dunno...I mean, i could see how SOME board games might work ok on an iPad, and I could definitely see board games made specifically for it...but, much like reading digital comics isn't quite teh same as the real thing...
Living With a Nerd
I can see people having fun with board games on the iPad but I'm not sure it really trumps a real board game. Most board games aren't overly expensive as it is.
But what I do think the iPad could be really good at is custom audio controller interfaces. More and more of these interfaces are starting to show up on computers, but much of the mouse/keyboard input doesn't really match the real life use of tweaking knobs and levers. Multi-touch on a larger screen is a much better translation of this, and given how much physical audio controllers can cost, a few software reproductions of them could end up being a cost benefit for users.
but we didn't know the problem. Thanks for providing the problem
Or you could read a book. You could buy all sorts of books before you would come close to the price of the iPad + e-book purchases.
Or you could listen to a CD. You could buy all sorts of CDs before you would come close to the price of the iPad + .MP3/AAC/whatever purchases.
Or you could watch a movie. You could buy all sorts of DVDs before you would come close to the price of the iPad + digital video purchases.
Funny thing is, a large and growing number of us have small music players, e-book readers, watch movies/TV on our laptops, play assorted multi-player games, etc. - all on hardware comparable in price to the iPad.
Between a convenient play-everything device and some bulk storage to off-load under-used content, those of us realizing it's 2010 already LIKE the idea of replacing boxfulls of atoms with a few cubic inches of bits.
Always amazes me how many /.ers exhibit Luddite tendencies.
Can we get a "-1 Wrong" moderation option?
But, seriously, implementing board games well on a computer demands a lot more than a small touch-sensitive display. Simple non-social games are easier, but they work just fine on a traditional PC.
Lets say you save 5$ a game. You would have to purchase 100 board games to cover your costs, not to mention power and the fact that your iPad wont last 30 years. I have Risk, Monopoly, Scrabble, and Trivial persuit that are almost that old.
My addiction: Arguing with idiots. AKA Slashdot!
So I have the choice of a buying a 10 dollar board game or spending thousands in on iPads and iPhones. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out.
They're just desperate to find SOMETHING it'd good for.
The perfect board game platform is cardboard.
And cardboard games don't come with DRM or restrictive rights where you don't actaully 'own' it, rather rent it and rebuy it when you magically lose the rights to the game. No thanks.
If it ain't broke, DON'T fix it.
So what do you do with your cardboard monopoly or chess board when you are half way through a game and the captain says to return to your seats, place the tray tables in the upright locked position and prepare for landing? I guess it's game over.
With an iPad, you could save the game, put it back in your hand luggage, then get it out and resume the game in the taxi to the hotel.
I agree with the article. I think the iPad presents a great opportunity to play board games with friends in a more convenient way.
i just bought stratego and monopoly from target. they came in a wood box. all quality parts. $19.99.
I'm already at +5 Insightful! I can't wait to tell my wife, ACTION FOR SURE!
You better watch out, there may be dogs about . .
But how does that compare to paying $9.99 each from the app store (and probably 99 cents for each player) and about $700 for the board and $200 for each player...
but have MULTI-TOUCH!!!
Ummm, yeah. That's my take on it too.
The iPad just isn't selling itself to me yet. Maybe the iPad 3Gs Pro.
An operating system should be like a light switch... simple, effective, easy to use, and designed for everyone.
This reminds me of the horrifying carnage of the train wreck that was the GameCube + GBA link cable.
Remember Metroid Prime - you could get some bonus by just connecting Metroid Fusion. And Animal Crossing - just some minigame (again with a bonus incentive) that could easily be presented on the TV instead of on the GBA. Wind Waker - useless except for the ultra-die-hard 100% complete players. Four Swords Adventures or Crystal Chronicles? Yeah, go buy four GBAs, four GameCube link cables, plus the game itself. I bet like Nintendo Apple can't imagine how out of a set of four people one of them could not use an iPhone.
Forgive me for being skeptical.
NO
I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.
yup. This is just an attempt by apple to make this appealing.
I didn't realize recombu.com was owned by Apple.
The answer is: it's not.
Oh, I disagree. I find it very compelling, and I suspect most people will as well, after using one for only a few moments. Whether that will translate into a sale ($499 is cheap for this type of product, but still a good chunk of cash) is yet to be determined.
The problem right now is the geeks are looking at specs and keywords (multitasking? iPhone OS? No stylus? No e-ink?) and disliking the iPad that they imagine based on that. The trick with Apple is that their products are rarely what a geek-mind would imagine based on the specs. Apple doesn't look at making a product to meet some technological specs, they design them to end-user goals.
That may not be your cup of tea. You, as a geek-type end-user definitely have different needs and wants than the standard person. So sure, this may not be compelling to you, and just like with the iPhone, since most people haven't used an iPad, they are listening to the geek-minded criticism (valid criticisms, to be sure, but not valid in relation to how most people will feel about this product), causing their imaginations are leading them astray.
There are other apple products more compelling at this price, iphone namely.
This isn't an iPhone. It's won't directly compete against the iPhone. The iPhone is a phone. The iPad isn't. You won't automatically exclude buying one because you bought the other.
As for a direct comparison between it and the iPhone (or more reasonably, an imaginary 3G data iPod touch), I think the iPad offers a lot in terms of the much larger display. This won't just be a "big iPhone". Unlike a PC or Mac where larger screen and higher resolution simply means you can have larger windows, or more windows side-by-side, or whatever, software for the iPad will not simply be iPhone software scaled up (although that is one of the ways to use it), but will have software written with the larger screen in mind. Just look at the difference between the included apps on the iPad and the iPhone. Also, imagine doing something like the iWork apps on an iPhone! On the iPhone it would be something that, technically you could do, in a pinch, if needed. But on the iPad, the process looks actually enjoyable.
In a lot of ways, the iPad isn't a big iPhone so much as the iPhone is a small iPad. Specifically in the sense that iPhone apps are pared down iPad apps more than iPad apps will just be zoomed in iPhone apps.
Disclaimer: I am not questioning your opinion, nor am I discrediting it. You are completely entitled to your own thoughts.
No matter what you do, say, or show me, you will never convince me that buying a device as expensive as a full computer but with only half the functionality is a good thing. Paying more and getting less is not a good thing, even if it comes wrapped up in a pretty package.
Living With a Nerd
Sorry-- the iPad is a netbook wanna be with a business plan that aids Apple. It has a nice touchscreen, it's flat, and it connects to stuff. It's incapable of multi-task, multi-thread and uses nifty little programlettes from the iPhone. Well, iPhoey.
iSorry. iThe iPad iS iSimply iNot iThe iUltimate iGame iPlaying iPlatform.
Your Jedi Knight drivel changes nothing.
---- Teach Peace. It's Cheaper Than War.
Most people who play board games really don't sit around and play Scrabble and Monopoly all the time.
They play games like:
Settlers of Catan
Power Grid
Runewars
Puerto Rico
Dominion
etc
All of those are not cheap at all.
The troll with karma.
Ugg, I'm getting tired of hearing this misunderstanding. The iPhone OS is completely, 100% capable of full multitasking and uses multithreading extensively. Apple has chosen to restrict most of its own and all 3rd party applications to run only 1 at a time. Several built-in applications run in the background instead of exiting, such as Safari, Mail and the Phone applications. I do not agree with their decision to do this, however, but understand why they did. In a way, though, I should be thankful that so many people are complaining about this, even not entirely accurately, since I think the negative publicity might be enough to push Apple to change this. Apple isn't completely immune to consumer pressure.
In fact, everything YOU mentioned are things that Apple may or may not approve.
My point was just that looking at it as a "board game player" is silly and unrealistic.
Particularly with the whole "ooooh then you can link the iPhones to it!" line of reasoning - now everyone who comes over to my place to play games needs some sort of smart phone? Lots of my friends are broke mofos.
I wouldn't trust any closed device as my content repository; too much about copyright is nebulous right now to trust any company to "look out for my interests" which is where Apple leaves you - Trust Me, Steve says.
You better watch out, there may be dogs about . .
> The perfect board game platform is cardboard.
No, it isn't. Not for all situations. The iPad is a bit pricey at the moment but in the future when they're cheaper (and/or used) I could see this actually being quite good for the kids to play checkers in the backseat of the car or on a flight.
1) No pieces to lose
2) Bored of checkers? It can hold a few hundred other games.
3) Related to #1: also no pencils/pens/crayons floating around/getting lost/poking people in tender places
Honestly, I'd rather have the kids in the backseat playing games instead of watching movies the whole time.
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
From my perspective, owning an iPhone, the iPad is just 'meh' for me. I like the bigger display, but I work from home (telecommute), so I've already got a 27" screen for big stuff, and my iPhone for mobile work. No real need for anything in between.
That said, pop an extra $250 bucks, and you get kindle capabilities + everything that the iPhone offers (sans the voice cell capabilities), meaning music, video, games, apps, location tools/utilities, etc. To my mind, that at least makes for an interesting combination. I think it's largest market will be in games, and books, and maybe a smattering of video and movies for those folks on the go (travelers or mobile babysitters to keep occupied on long trips). If board games become a common app for this, instead of paying $20-$99 bucks for them, you could easily end up with a $5-$10 dollar app store equivalent. Buy more than a few, and you've paid for your investment.
It's just a more versatile than a piece of cardboard.
Will I buy one? No (see above for 'meh' factor). I just don't have a need for it, but I can see the appeal.
I haven't been able to let go of it since puberty
You better watch out, there may be dogs about . .
"and because the iPad is a computer it can store thousands of games and add a variety of interactive features."
No mention of flash in that sentence, or the entire article.
No mention of emulators in the article.
No mention of playing NES, Amiga, MAME games AT ALL in the article.
Wild assumptions that the games have to be flash, or have to come from NES, Amiga, MAME emulators. You're assumptions are just as weird as this article. Yes I think the article is dumb too.
Which means that *functionally* it is not capable of multitasking. Apple is selling a device that is hardware+firmware+software. I couldn't care less what the hardware is capable of if the firmware does not allow me to make use of it.
Analogy time: You can raise the tastiest pigs in the world, and cure the awesomest bacon ever known to man, but if I keep kosher, I can't eat it. See, Apple is rabbinical law, and the i~Device hardware is the bacon. Apple only wants you to eat Apple-cured bacon, which isn't made from pigs at all. It's made from hipsters in Apple's secret Cupertino rent-controlled hipster abbatoir. You can't have the regular bacon, which is unfettered hardware.
"Trolls they were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race..." -- J.R.R. Tolkien on Olog-hai
Flash is awful. HTML5 will do all flash can do and more, without sucking my CPU cycles and battery life. My browser blocks flash. Whenever I open flash component, my browser with flash eventually goes to the top of my thread list in terms of processor usage. My CPU fan eventually whirs on.
I think we should boycott flash. If enough people start blocking it, ad producers will be forced to change over to HTML5, which is an open standard.
This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when first he appears as a protector - Plato (423 to 327 BC)
You're missing the point. No one is trying to convince you that it's a good thing. You have made up your mind, and that's cool
Oh, plenty of people on here have tried, lol.
The point is, your opinion isn't necessarily all that meaningful in the context of the use cases of this device.
That is not true at all. I was actually really excited about this thing, because I've been wanting a straight tablet with no keyboard for a while now. It would be quite handy for diagnostics in the garage, great for gaming/browsing the net while watching TV, double as an e-comic reader...pretty much everything I want in a tablet, the iPad offers.
That being said, I'm not paying $500 or more for a locked down device with no expansion, no external ports, and no multitasking. I'll just wait for some other similarly priced (or cheaper!) tablet that doesn't require permission from the company that built it just so I can use whatever program I want.
Am I the target demographic for the iPad? Not since it's details have been released, I'm not. I certainly was, but I'm not now.
Living With a Nerd
>And yet you correctly state that the iPhone OS (and the iPad version is the same) don't do multi-task/threading.
Actually, I stated the exact opposite, that the iPhone OS is capable of and almost always has more than one application running at once. Additionally, almost every single app made for the iPhone is multi-threaded.
>And it's one more reason why the iPad isn't even close any kind of ultimate game machine.
Actually, I disagree with this. What benefit does it bring to a game to be running in an OS along-side other applications? Off the top of my head, I can't think of a purpose-built gaming machine that allows you to switch between multiple running applications.
To be a perfect board game, it needs to have holographic pieces that project out of the screen.
Analogy time: You can raise the tastiest pigs in the world, and cure the awesomest bacon ever known to man, but if I keep kosher, I can't eat it. See, Apple is rabbinical law, and the i~Device hardware is the bacon. Apple only wants you to eat Apple-cured bacon, which isn't made from pigs at all. It's made from hipsters in Apple's secret Cupertino rent-controlled hipster abbatoir. You can't have the regular bacon, which is unfettered hardware.
Wait... The iPad hardware is bacon, and the bacon isn't bacon, but bacon is hardware, and Apple wants you to eat kosher and...
I think you lost me. Could you try this as a car analogy?
Bow-ties are cool.
I think he meant to say, dedicated board gamers. The kind of people who go to boardgamegeek.com or hang out in the Fantasy Flight forums. People who know the difference between German style boardgames and American style board games.
These are people for whom the board game is the first resort, not the last. People who will deliberately make time for board games. (Think John Locke on Lost.)
Monopoly is a dreadful board game, and I don't understand why anyone ever plays it. Scrabble seems good though.
But seriously, next time you are thinking of playing Monopoly, go out and buy a game of Cosmic Encounter. Then throw your copy of Monopoly in the garbage or the nearest compost heap.
"MIT betrayed all of its basic principles."
My god would you fucking let it go, not everyone gives a shit or at least point out someone who has 'lost rights' to something from iTunes.
Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
What you're saying is: you're not a board gamer, you're not familiar with modern board games, the only board games you do know are old and tired, and you only play those as a last resort.
Maybe you should have a look at BoardGameGeek. Several of the games he mentioned are in the top-10, and deservedly so.
Oh man, I didn't realize anyone else knew about Hero Quest. I just got incredible nostalgia from your post. I used to make all my non-nerd friends come over and play Hero Quest for my birthdays when I was a kid. Either that or the board game version of Civilization.
Eventually the computer version of Civilization came out, but I still prefer the board game format to be honest. I'm not sure how well Hero Quest would survive the transition to an iPad, given that the plastic figurines were half the visual/tactile appeal of the game.
The Rise and Fall of Online Community
What board games are you buying and where are you shopping? Last time I checked Scrabble and Monopoly were still in the sub-20 dollar range. Even Axis and Allies is 40-50 bucks.
Those are some pretty old games. True, there are also many recent boardgames are also in the $20-$30 price bracket, but there are also a lot that cost $50+ even for just the basic game. With expansions, many games can easily cost more than $100. Even good old Settlers of Catan can get close to $200 if you buy all the expansions.
The basic ASL rulebook costs $100, and that's without any boards. Get Beyond Valor as well, and you're close to $200. I'm sure there are people who've spent more than $1000 on that game. (Hm... porting VASL to the iPad could be a very good idea.)
Speaking of games that people spend $1000s on, what about Magic the Gathering? Playing that on a couple of automated boards so you don't have to buy all the cards, could save you a fortune.
I know its processor capabilities well.
That's interesting. I'd been given to understand that this was a proprietary processor. The only explanation I can think of is that you were actually part of the A4 or iPhone OS team.
And yet you correctly state that the iPhone OS (and the iPad version is the same) don't do multi-task/threading.
Okay, you weren't on the OS team, and you have some reading comprehension difficulties, otherwise, you wouldn't have said that, given that the GP actually went to some pains to point out the OS does do multitasking/multithreading, and he's correct. So, that leaves the A4 team.
What can you tell us about the chip?
Tweet, tweet.
Actually the music will quite happily keep playing in the background.
Runewars for the Casual gamer? Give me a fucking break. I've never heard of it, and when I looked at the # of pieces that comes with the game, I thought it made Axis and Allies look like Candyland.
Runewars includes:
* 40-page instruction guide
* Nearly two hundred highly-detailed plastic miniatures
* Over two hundred tokens
* Over two hundred cards, both small and standard sized
* 13 map tiles
The contents of the box:
192 plastic figures
10 plastic mountains
12 plastic dial connectors
16 activation tokens
1 battle marker
7 city tokens
26 damage tokens
8 defeated hero markers
20 development tokens
35 exploration tokens
4 home realm setup markers
40 influence tokens
13 large map tiles
12 resource arrows
38 rune tokens
16 stronghold tokens
24 training tokens
4 faction sheets
4 reference sheets
32 order cards
23 quest cards
30 fate cards
12 hero cards
16 objective cards
25 reward cards
32 season cards
50 tactics cards
3 title cards
1 40-page rulebook
bacon is not kosher, and I am a jew who knows about keeping kosher. your argument is moot, you meshuguna.
Let me try a spin at your bacon analogy. It's more like:
you make awesome bacon, and you'd love to eat it how you want, but apple has said you may only eat tripe, and well...a lot of people don't like tripe.
It doesn't matter what functionality exists if you cannot use it. Car analogy #2 today: Maybe my car can get 100 miles to the gallon, but only if I was capable to drive 100% downhill with the engine off. etc.
Meanwhile, every other tablet AND netbook I know has a: multitasking, b: touchscreen, c: flash support and d: realistic battery usage as opposed to magic promises of 10 hrs of battery life that doesn't specify if it's under heavy usage or what. Factor in what battery life a 1.5lb device has, and it's super unlikely that it's more than 10 hours standby.
I would argue that they are cheap.
Computer games sell for 60 bucks and can only be used by one person in a household at a time.
Good board games, the Ticket to Ride, or settlers cost 60 bucks, but many people can play in your house at one time.
The reasale of popular game sis also higher.
Pay 10 bucks for a movie for 2 hours of entertainment per person. Thats 6 movies, or 12 hours. A board game can get 100's of hours.
Also, cheap ass games as some excellent games.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
I guess if you just play Chess, Go, and maybe the occasional game of Monopoly, it might be perfect for you. Maybe. I'd hate to play Chess on such a small board and I would loathe to play Go. If you're really into board games it's obviously crap for most games. The big problem: "screen" size. Most board games use a play area that is significantly larger than the 10" diagonal that the iPad offers. I can see different parts of the board in detail with the fastest, most intuitive interface ever: my eyes. Other people playing with my in person can look at other areas simultaneously. If I have a hand of cards, I can see them without needing to simultaneously obscure the board. If I need to move a piece or set of pieces, a touchscreen isn't bad, but a tactile experience is superior and has zero learning curve.
I can envision games that port reasonably well to the iPad. I can envision "board" games designed specifically for the iPad that rock. Something like Microsoft's Surface would really rock for many purposes, but the iPad has a clear portability win. (Of course, the iPhone is even more portable.) There may be merit to board gaming on the iPad. But as the "perfect" solution for playing board games it's laughable.
Search 2010 Gen Con events
Lots of people want to be able to use a computer without having to use one. They don't want to ever see the computer geek side of computer ownership. They only want the benefits. Access to the the content they consume etc. Non geek benefits are not the same as geek benefits. Geeks value multi-use, multi-configuration devices and software. Geeks may also value learning complex rituals that they have to use to get the computer to work. Non-geeks want to turn on the device and maybe change the channel. There are very many people who want an appliance not a computer. These are the people this type of device is designed for.
No dice. Less space than Monopoly. Lame.
If your going to quote someone, at least use the whole part of whatever they wrote/said that is in reference to what your trying to contradict seeing as how he wrote:
"Ugg, I'm getting tired of hearing this misunderstanding. The iPhone OS is completely, 100% capable of full multitasking and uses multithreading extensively. Apple has chosen to restrict most of its own and all 3rd party applications to run only 1 at a time. Several built-in applications run in the background instead of exiting, such as Safari, Mail and the Phone applications."
You seemed to miss the whole last line, as right there he is saying that it does have serveral built-in applications that run in the background, even naming them. Now if you had been saying that as a developer you want that capability that's one thing, but stating that it doesn't allow it at all is false.
letting an idiot know they are an idiot is not a game... it's a responsibility. - by Kristopeit, M. D. (1892582)
I may be in the minority here, but one of the reasons I play board games is specifically because they *aren't* electronic. For once everyone has to use their brains - there's no computer to tell them the rules or make sure they play correctly.
That being said, I'm not paying $500 or more for a locked down device with no expansion, no external ports, and no multitasking. I'll just wait for some other similarly priced (or cheaper!) tablet that doesn't require permission from the company that built it just so I can use whatever program I want.
Like me, you seem to be in the exact opposite demographics as the one targetted by Apple.
So let me just drop a link about Always Innovating's Touch Book that I've found the other day on the web.
It's a (non-capacitative) touchscreen tablet which can be docked into a keyboard to form a netbook.
It's got plenty of USB ports, both outside (2 free) and inside (3 free) to be used the for modules (the things comes with an USB and a Wifi dongles you can put on 2 inside ports). It's powered by an ARM (the same as the beagle board) so it has a good battery life. And it's running Linux (their own distro, but compatible with Ubuntu, Android, etc.)
On the down side : no built-in VGA out, nor webcam, nor GPS, though the USB ports are here for a reason.
The price is acceptable given the openness of the device.
It's not what I would buy for a Grandma, but if you want something hackable - this is hackable by design. It's the exact anti-iPad ("anti" in the meaning "opposite of")
"Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
Why not mail it? Because he is used to using bluetooth, because just about every other device except the Jesusphone accepts bluetooth file transfer. Why should he have to change his habits and workflow because Apple decided to only implement a subset of a standard?
Mart
"I know I will be modded down for this": where's the option '-1, Asking for it'?
Monopoly is a dreadful board game, and I don't understand why anyone ever plays it.
Monopoly isn't dreadful just because you don't understand its appeal to other people. Some games provide tense competition through skilled play, some provide social interaction through leisurely random or skill-less play. People who like the first may find the latter pointless and frustrating. So what? The reverse is probably true too.
I cannot stand most games, but will play card or mah jongg solitaire games every day. They relax me. Hunt and shoot games bore me to tears. I have tried to play them, but they don't do anything for me. The only game I liked beside card and mah jongg solitaires and some tetris derivatives was Space Quest 2, and that was because it was funny. But after playing that, I found the rest of the genre boring - just more of the same.
Different people, different games. I would probably throw all yours into the nearest compost heap.
I am anarch of all I survey.
a) The limited opportunity for players to meaningfully influence the outcome of the game through their decisions (auction bids and house purchase timing is pretty much it)
b) The very limited number of winning strategies (buy orange and build like crazy is pretty much it)
c) the outcome is clear long before the win conditions are met, which makes for a dreadfully boring endgame.
There are plenty of good economic boardgames, but Monopoly isn't one of them.
PS - nobody else here is talking about video games.
The iPhone OS is completely, 100% capable of full multitasking and uses multithreading extensively.
Yet
Apple has chosen to restrict ... applications to run only 1 at a time.
You nullify your own delusional argument with reality. I don't get why Apple fans are so into denying the fact that apple restricts, revokes, and limits the freedoms and abilities of users and developers. Particularly in the case of the iPhone it's easy to point out a myriad of instances in which Apple has done so and each case has been one which revoked the users freedoms and been inhibitive to the development or spread of new technology. Can't put a script interpreter in your code? Well we don't want you circumventing the App store! Can't use VoIP? Our carriers just wouldn't have that. Oh, you opened a terminal and now you can actually do productive things on the phone!? Update to a locked down version or we terminate your service.
I expect to be flamed by a flood of Apple zealots, but just so you all know I won't be reading replies to this post so go nuts guys.
When Jobs said it runs for 10 hours, he specifically gave an example of watching video on a flight from San Francisco to Tokyo. Like all battery numbers, I'd expect it to be a bit less than the amount stated, but he did talk about a real activity. Moreover, after making the 10 hours claim, he added that standby time is one month.
It's scary being a Flash and Flex developer on Slashdot. You guys are unnaturally rabid.