Astraware Boardgames – 8 classic boardgames on Windows Mobile
Microsoft is giving away another mobile app for free, which would normally cost money. This time, it’s “Astraware BOARDGAMES” which is a set of board-games for your Pocket PC or Smartphone. You can find this on Microsoft’s “Total Mobile Access” page to download completely free of charge, but is there a reason for them stripping off the $9.99 price tag, or is it just Microsoft trying to tempt us with what they consider good software?
Astraware Boardgames
Astraware Boardgames is a collection of 8 classic boardgames
- Checkers
- Chess
- Backgammon
- Tic-Tac-Toe
- Snakes and Ladders
- Reversi (aka Othello)
- Nine Men’s Morris
- Ludo (aka Parcheesi)
When you first open the program, you are faced with the question of what your name is, which you have to type in using a tiny on-screen keyboard which means you have to whip out the stylus (or a hardware keyboard if you have one.) Just make sure you don’t put the stylus away again, as you will need it.
One issue with “all-in-one” programs is how to make an interface which gives you easy access to all of its features. Sadly this is the first and most obvious let-down of this app. The home-screen where you choose one of the eight board games shoves the game selection into the bottom right corner which you navigate by clicking on fiddly up/down buttons which are very easy to miss. You can also select a game, by pressing the button representing the game you want, but they are on a rotating wheel, and some are off screen and you have click on button further round before the one you want is visible. Then you click again to open the game.
It would be better if you could perhaps scroll round the wheel of buttons by dragging. It would be better still if all the icons were on-screen at once. There is also an advert for other Astraware games shown bottom left, this opens your browser and takes you to one of their websites, which isn’t too easy to view using internet explorer.
Microsoft says: “The rich user interface evokes the style of traditional wooden board games” which is both a good thing and a bad thing. The whole app has a uniform feel to it and looks quite nice, in a style which does suggest classic board games and class, but it’s been done in a cramped way, leaving little space on-screen for buttons, forcing you to use your stylus for everything.
Astraware Boardgames Settings
There is a wide variety of settings, as shown in this picture. Astraware’s website claims there are “User customizable rules so you can play it your way” and whilst there are one or two settings for each game, there are no major changes to the way you play.
Playing the games themselves is a surprisingly nice experience, despite the constant need for a stylus. The classy feel to the interface and the nice graphics make viewing your game pleasant. This is further complimented by being animated throughout all the games, including your opponent’s pieces moving around the board and a dice being shook. There are also sounds to go with most actions, but these are slightly limited.
The games can be quite challenging across the board (excuse the pun) and you can change between levels of difficulty (easy, medium and hard) in the settings. Another welcome feature is that the state of play is remembered between games, so you can switch game, close the app, or even restart your device, and your game will be remembered so you can keep on playing it later. This is useful as there is no way to minimise the program, it can only be closed.
In summary, Astraware BOARDGAMES isn’t the easiest program to use, but has a nice exclusive look and is enjoyable, fun and challenging to play with once you’ve got into it. I would advise getting it to use on long journeys, on the way back from work or just around the home, as it is a fun set of games to play. Plus, even at $9.99, you do get eight games to play around with.. so its around 1.25 a piece which is quite a nice deal.
Pros:
- Looks classy
- Eight games in one program
- Available for free
- Nice animation
- Remembers games
Cons:
- Needs stylus ALL the time
Get if FREE for a limited time from Microsoft’s Total Mobile Access Portal
Download it from our Store :
