Board games have experienced a revival over recent years and are becoming an increasingly popular digital pastime. While you would be forgiven for thinking that much of the appeal of board games comes from their physical and social nature, many translate surprisingly well to a digital format.
Here are some of the best classic board games available on your phone right now.
Monopoly Go!
Monopoly is a classic game for good reason, but playing it can be a time-consuming affair. This wouldn’t translate too well to the mobile market, so the developers adapted the rules to make it faster paced. While the bare bones of the game we all know and love remain, like sending people to jail and passing go, the board is much smaller to facilitate faster gameplay. You can play online with friends or strangers making it a brilliant pastime.
Boggle With Friends: Word Game
Boggle is another iconic game that has seen a resurgence on mobile platforms recently. The game challenges you to build words between randomly generated tiles with different scores depending on the letters involved. If you haven’t already played, the app offers you an opportunity to learn the ropes offline against a coach in three rounds. Once you’re ready for some real action, you can play online against other players. The app also offers tournaments and prizes for you to win.
Scrabble
This is another word-based game that board game enthusiasts and newcomers alike will be familiar with. The latest mobile version of scrabble, Scrabble Go, is a brilliant way to test your vocabulary on the move. You can play against a computer, link it to Facebook to play with your friends or even random opponents.
If you are looking to improve your abilities, a built-in teacher feature can show you the best available words after each go. If you are slightly more devious and are looking for a scrabble cheat, then look no further than this scrabble solver that can suggest words based on the letters available to you. For want of a better phrase, with this new help and advice, its probably worth giving Scrabble Go, a go!
Ticket to Ride
While Ticket to Ride might not have the same history as some of the other entries to this list, it has quickly cemented itself as a classic in the relatively short time it’s been around. It was initially introduced in 2004, and now its’ virtual adaptation is making waves in the digital board game market.
In this game, you can ride the rails across the US, the UK, Europe, India, Asia and more, and it offers a range of ways to play. A pass-and-play mode allows you to play with up to five others in the same room, and you can play online against others or offline against the computer. This versatility makes Ticket to Ride the perfect mobile board game for any occasion.
Pictionary Air
This game makes the most of modern technology to truly bring something new and innovative to the classic drawing board game. You will need to buy the Pictionary Air set that includes the clue cards and a special pen. The pen uses augmented reality technology to track what a player is drawing, and other players will then have to guess what they are trying to convey. This is a fun take on a classic that we all know and love that is pushing the boundaries of mobile board games.
Chess – Play & Learn
It is a testament to the timelessness of chess that it is still one of the most popular board games in the world, even digitally! The 1500-year-old game is available on mobile platforms in Chess – Play & Learn. This app is perfect for experienced and new players alike, as it allows you to improve your skills against the computer or real players. It also offers thousands of videos or interactive training sessions that will enable you to learn more about the complex strategy game and hone your skills.
The Game of Life
The Game of Life comes alive in its mobile adaptation. The fundamental aims of the game stay the same, as you are expected to win by going to college, getting the best job and deal with the other bumps in the road that come along in life. However, the digital nature of the game means that the characters come to life with fun animations as you play.
This is another versatile mobile game, as up to four players can enjoy it on a single device. The fast mode is better suited to quick sessions, where the conditions for winning are changed to speed up the game. Like the other games on the list, you can also play online with challengers from around the globe.
The New Classics
While physical board games remain popular among enthusiasts, these new iterations of the classics are inspiring new audiences to play such games. With features to speed up games that typically take hours, learn more about strategies and online multiplayer, it is little wonder that these iconic games are experiencing a resurgence in the digital market.
