As a new iPad owner I was curious to know if there are any good iPad games out there that are similar in nature to Twilight Imperium?

Due to the complexity level of TI3 I doubt it. I am, however, but a lowly Android user so I might be wrong.

there are several andriod apps out there…

None that I've found that is up to par with TI3.

None so far, but from what I hear, there is an Eclipse app in the works. While it might not (not for me) scratch the itch for TI, it's still a good game.

I'm a hopeless addict. The best iPad app I've found for space strategy is Starbase Orion. It plays like other 4x games you've tried on the PC. Ascendancy isn't bad either, a bit retro but okay.

TI3 must make a showing in this arena. I think it would be huge for the community and great fun to boot. Sure, it will never replace all the elements of face-to-face TI3, but the point is that I can play TI3 on the iPad 24x7 (if I cut off work, family, sleep, etc.). Face-to-face TI3 is about 6x per year at best. An iPad app for TI3 wouldn't make me stop the face-to-face, it just would give me something to do in between sessions.

Seren said:

Holy crap! Ascendancy is out on iPod these days?! I used to love that game back in the day when I played it on PC. Still own the disk, though I'd probably have to jury rig something to make it run on Windows 7. =P

Pertaining to this thread's topic, Ascendancy is definitely something similar to TI3. Not exactly the same thing, but in a similar vein and suitably epic in proportion. Of course, the $7.00 price tag strikes me as a bit steep considering the age of the game, but if you keep an eye on it, it might go on sale.

I've tried the Eclipse app. It's a great port, but with all the shortcomings of the board game, at least to me. Luck reigns and it falls flat compared to TI3.

The multiplayer sucks (never finished a game because all the other players always quit or never take their turns). The AI is good, but predictable after a few games: oh look, the Planta are upgrading hulls.

It's worth the $6.99 if you are into Eclipse, but I only play it because I don't have TI3 on the iPad.

Due to the complexity level of TI3 I doubt it. I am, however, but a lowly Android user so I might be wrong.

No, it is not the complexity. The game could easily be put into PC computer form as a 'board game' that allowed multi-play, or even as app for one of the many online board game apps currently in existence (and thus could have been so for years now). Many other boardgames have been so adapted. Since a license deal could be reached it could mean no one wanted to do it, or that FFG simply wanted too much (Which is a bad decision since doing so would only increase the popularity of their game and end the one single weaker aspect of the game: hard to find players since you can find players on a worldwide scale and time frame). Would people love it? Sure would. Also after seeing the Ship Expansion for Eclipse FFG should have put out a Ship Pack that included unique plastic ships (up to 8 sets since you can have up to 8 players, not one for each 'race' but rather one for each possible player). There is little reason why that should not have already occurred since people would pay for it and considering the many other examples I see, it is not a cost issue of production. It could be another third 'expansion for this game easily and one that would be Premium for those who want to upgrade.

Also a Limited Edition could be done, especially with such a 8 faction set of ships that are produced in 8 colors but not 'painted'. A limited edition could include hand-painted and an upgrade of the board, larger cards or other similar treatment. Call it a 'designers edition' if you want, but at the very list a Faction specific set of 8 colored fleets.