Well - seeing as how the folks who wrote the app seem unable to spell the word Population I am not hopeful.

I also play board games to get away from electronic gizmos - I was excited to see this announced but will not buy it unless there are alternatives.

Well - seeing as how the folks who wrote the app seem unable to spell the word Population I am not hopeful.

I also play board games to get away from electronic gizmos - I was excited to see this announced but will not buy it unless there are alternatives.

I totally see where you're coming from.....when my friends come over the first thing I say is 'I need to get away from all these electrionics.....so we're playing a board game.....but only if it doesn't have ANY electronic component....even if it's just from the setting itself. Flying cars in Android? TOO much technology! But Catan is still good."

I love X-Com (played it since the first computer game).

I love board games.

It just so happens that I also have an advanced degree in Computer Science.

Yet, I have no interest in playing a board game that forces me to play some silly computer game app. as part of the play experience.

I play board games to interact with actual living breathing humans. The whole forced tablet app. thing totally kills that for me. I would have gladly bought this game if the app. were not present, but as it stands, I will not be purchasing it.

I love X-Com (played it since the first computer game).

I love board games.

It just so happens that I also have an advanced degree in Computer Science.

Yet, I have no interest in playing a board game that forces me to play some silly computer game app. as part of the play experience.

I play board games to interact with actual living breathing humans. The whole forced tablet app. thing totally kills that for me. I would have gladly bought this game if the app. were not present, but as it stands, I will not be purchasing it.

You do know that only one person phsycially touches the device the app is on, right? They then have to interact with the other players so they know when to take their turns and such....also they have to also interact with the game board when placing aliens and whatnot.

There appears to be plenty of human interaction in this game. It's a shame you can't see the forest for the one tree you dislike.

I love X-Com (played it since the first computer game).

I love board games.

It just so happens that I also have an advanced degree in Computer Science.

Yet, I have no interest in playing a board game that forces me to play some silly computer game app. as part of the play experience.

I play board games to interact with actual living breathing humans. The whole forced tablet app. thing totally kills that for me. I would have gladly bought this game if the app. were not present, but as it stands, I will not be purchasing it.

Yeah, I really don't get this attitude. How is the app stopping you from interacting with the other players? In fact, the role of the app seems to *force* interaction with other players.

It seems that many people have this automatic association of either:

- Apps are the evil things that normally distract the other players from paying attention to the game, and are therefore, without exception, bad.

Or:

- If one player has an app then it is like they are playing a computer game on their own while the others play the board game.

Both of these points are very obviously and categorically wrong, so I don't see where this whole "the app will make the game an anti-social experience" viewpoint is coming from.

In the end, we are mostly just discussing what we do, or don't, like about board games and expect from our board gaming experience. It is clear there are many people who have an anti-tech view point, which honestly isn't all that surprising to me. Though the number of people who've voiced concerns does surprise me, it's still just a matter of opinion. While I do disagree with brushing this game aside simply because it has a tech related component, those people are entitled to their opinions.

I will agree with Bleached Lizard when they say that the required tech component of this game will not cause a 'non-human' experience for any of the players. From the demo I got and thinking about the constructs of the game, it seems very fitting and "authentic" to have an app component. It is the scanner/data stream that you, as a team, utilize to understand what is going on in the world and what problems have arisen. It didn't feel intrusive or distracting at all, personally.

Basically, I would suggest trying the game out before you disregard it with no more merits than it has a required tech interface. But lets face it, if you go into something thinking you will hate it, odds are good that you will hate it regardless. So try to keep an open mind and experience the game without judging it first. I think that will convert many of the naysayers .

dark tower had a required electronic component (and maybe through rose tinted glasses) was a great game.

dismissing the game because of an app is of course your choice, but by no means does this suggest the game is bad for choosing this method.

It could still be bad of course, but I have faith in FFG, and I can't think I have had a bad FFG game experience.

IMO I think that this app idea is exciting, and hope it works well. I think it is something that could innovate BGs, but of course it has to be done right.

App Schmap! I love XCOM and I will play the hell out of this game. I would throw chicken bones in the middle of my table and scry the results for alien tactics as long as the game FEELS like XCOM!

Here's my take on it.

I'd prefer the game not to have an app. I mean honestly, the actual Xcom game can be played on the same devices used to run this app. It's kind of sad.

That being said, I plan to give it a chance.

If the app is used to increase the depth of the game, then more power to them. I'll consider it a success. But this would mean doing things that can't be easily accomplished by cards, etc.

If someone can create a card based version that is just as easy to play, then I'll consider the FFG version, and the intro of Apps into boardgaming a failure.

Thats the real test. Is the app something new that can't be emulated in another way, or is it just a new way to do the same old stuff.

It sounds to me when I read about it that the app is bringing something new to the table that we haven't seen before. I think the only other way to do this properly would either be way to complicated OR would require a player to be the aliens.