[iOS] Dominion

[Graham]

If you haven't seen it yet, the go and do a search for Dominion at the App Store.  Rio Grande Games has officially released Dominion as an app.  It is enhanced for the iPad but works just fine on the iPhone/iPod touch.  The way the screen is laid out is different and you can't see the entire card on the iPhone, but it still works very well.

Best of all, it's free.  The only bad thing is that you can't change the difficulty of the AI.

[Bullwinkle]

If you haven't seen it yet, the go and do a search for Dominion at the App Store.  Rio Grande Games has officially released Dominion as an app.  It is enhanced for the iPad but works just fine on the iPhone/iPod touch.  The way the screen is laid out is different and you can't see the entire card on the iPhone, but it still works very well.

Best of all, it's free.  The only bad thing is that you can't change the difficulty of the AI.

Are you talking about the "Dominion by Donald X. Vaccarino" app?  That's the only one I can find.

That's not from Rio Grande and it's not official.  It works fine for a fan game, but many people are upset about it.  We were talking about it starting here.

The official release is coming, but the PR for it is terrible.

If this is for a newer release, can you post a link, because I can't find it on the app store.

[Graham]

Oh, I didn't see that it wasn't official.  I was surprised, since I thought RGG would charge for it, but I wasn't sure how much.

[Bullwinkle]

Well, the developer has a bizarre ostrich approach to press releases and such, but it appears that the Official Dominion App will hit the app store this week!!

The base set is free.  IAP for expansions.  Honestly, everyone thought it was a pipe dream that they'd go that route.

[Bullwinkle]

Apparently, it was submitted on the 14th.  Why they thought it might be out today is beyond me.  Maybe we'll see this next week.

The announcement today was for the comany, GOKO which is an HTML5 portal for games, apparently.  And it was supposed to be up and running this AM (so you could play Dominion in your browser, at least).  And it's not.  Frankly, I don't know how any game company jumped into bed with these guys.  This whole thing has been a mess.

It's not 100% clear if there's an AI mode (though it seems like there will be some basic functions), but it does seem that you will be unable to play Dominion or other games (Citadels and Race for the Galaxy have also been announced) offline.

The geeks are having a field day tearing the company apart here and here.

[Misguided]

Apparently, it was submitted on the 14th.  Why they thought it might be out today is beyond me.  Maybe we'll see this next week.

Edit: the below comments refer to Thunderstone, not Dominion, sorry.

You missed it. It came out, sucked moose melons, and was pulled.

My understanding is that this "app" was only a front end for the Facebook version, meaning online and FB required to play. Moreover, performance was hideous.

It cheeses me off that they have exclusives on games like this and RftG that I won't get to try, since I'm only interested in single-player.

Apparently, it was submitted on the 14th.  Why they thought it might be out today is beyond me.  Maybe we'll see this next week.

The announcement today was for the comany, GOKO which is an HTML5 portal for games, apparently.  And it was supposed to be up and running this AM (so you could play Dominion in your browser, at least).  And it's not.  Frankly, I don't know how any game company jumped into bed with these guys.  This whole thing has been a mess.

It's not 100% clear if there's an AI mode (though it seems like there will be some basic functions), but it does seem that you will be unable to play Dominion or other games (Citadels and Race for the Galaxy have also been announced) offline.

The geeks are having a field day tearing the company apart here and here.

[Bullwinkle]

The app didn't come out, but the website launched, exploded and went back into indefinite beta.

I didn't miss it, as I've been following the postings in the two links with a bucket of popcorn by my side.

These guys are hilariously inept.  Or it would be hilarious if they weren't completely mucking up one of my favorite games.

It's not a Facebook app (that's Thunderstone), but it is online only, which is ridiculous.  There is a single player portion, at least.

The most offensive thing, though (and something that shouldn't have been a surprise, given the company's listing of a "VP of Monetization") is that you buy Gokoins in packs and use this funny money to buy the expansions, which, apparently, are $15 each!  WTF are they thinking??  There are only 3 expansions implemented right now, and that's already $45!

They apparently own the rights to all digital forms of Dominion for 5 years.  I hope they crash and burn so hard that they are forced to give up the rights and we can see a version by a good publisher, but I'm not counting on it.

[Misguided]

D'oh, I was confused with Thunderstone! Fixed the previous post, sorry for the confusion.

[Bullwinkle]

Ah, I see.

The Thunderstone app (Thunderstone Gateway) wasn't pulled, BTW.  It's still in the app store.

However, it only has one and a half stars!

[Misguided]

Ah, I see.

The Thunderstone app (Thunderstone Gateway) wasn't pulled, BTW.  It's still in the app store.

However, it only has one and a half stars!

Yeah, I got the two different stories completely confabulated....or something.