Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Gaming, Odds and ends, iPhone, App Store, iPod touch
Award-winning board game Zooloretto in the App Store now
Chillingo is not kidding about iPhone releases lately -- it seems like every other day they're premiering a new download in the App Store, for better or worse. Their website calls them "The Leading Publisher of iPhone Games," and it seems like they're definitely pushing for quantity. But there are some good gems in the mix (have you tried Zen Bound yet?), and Zooloretto looks like it might be another. The $4.99US game is based on an award-winning board game in which you have to balance zoo animals of varying sizes with pen space, all while bringing in as many visitors as possible. Like all great board games, it looks pretty simple to start out, but more and more complicated as you go along. And the fact that it's turn-based makes it perfect for the iPhone, when you can play in small spurts and keep a strategy rolling over time.
If there's a drawback, it's that the game might be too simple -- it's meant as a family game, so really hardcore strategy geeks might not find enough here to dig into (it's too bad we haven't seen a quality Settlers port, or maybe even a version of Puerto Rico). And it's too bad there's no lite version to try before you buy. But if you're looking for a nice little strategy game to play around with occasionally, and enjoy a well-designed board game, Zooloretto is worth a look.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
oliver hart said 12:14PM on 5-29-2009
Screw this game, I just found out sonic the hedgehog is in the app store
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Tony Bowman said 12:47PM on 5-29-2009
i'd kill for a good Settlers port!
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Jeff said 1:12PM on 5-29-2009
A good Settlers port would be cool... but even better would be a good Masters of Orion port! Anyone remember that awesome strategy game?
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WyldKard said 3:11PM on 5-29-2009
@Mike, you're dead on with your sentiments about missing Settlers and Puerto Rico on the iPhone. The platform is ripe for these kinds of quality European board games, and instead we get... nada. It's not even a matter of finding a quality Settlers port - last we checked, there wasn't a Settlers port period in the NA App Store.
@Jeff I'd rather see an updated version of Masters of Magic on the iPhone, but an Orion port would be good as well. Wonder who owns the rights to those IPs.
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digitalFoolery said 3:49PM on 5-29-2009
c'mon, am I the only one who wouldn't kill for civ on the iphone?
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Phils said 8:40PM on 5-29-2009
@Jeff there is currently some opensource porting of Orion going on: freeorion.org, if you want to get involved for the desktop!
@digitalFoolery that is what I really want...
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Noah said 3:43AM on 5-30-2009
The "Sonic" game is just a ROM file wrapped around a custom emulator.
An official Settlers game (online multiplayer w/ loads of maps) would be killer!
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