GameTable
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Daily iPad App: Game Table lets you play checkers and chess against a friend
Game Table takes a different approach to iPad-based board games. Rather than focus on a strong computer opponent or fancy graphics, Game Table lets you get back to the basics by offering only a game board. There is no computer opponent to beat and no cumbersome rules to follow. It's just a basic game board with the appropriate game pieces. Most of the fun is supplied by you and your friends. The fact that Game Table is only a game board is one of its strengths. You can setup the game and play by the standard rules or get creative with the pieces and play by you own set of rules. It's this flexibility that earned Game Table a place on my iPad. My biggest critique of the app has to do with the size of the tablet. Most traditional game boards are large and require a table to play. The iPad is comparatively small, which makes it difficult for two people to play at the same time. You either have to hand the iPad back and forth or find a very narrow table that'll let both of you touch the iPad while facing each other. Game Table is no slouch when it comes to the type of games it offers. The app includes Checkers, Chess, Backgammon, Reversi, Go and card games like Poker. Game Table is available for 99-cents in the iOS App Store. There's also a free version, so you can try, before you buy.
Five apps I love on my iPad, and three that need more work
We've had the iPad available for the better part of a week now; here are a few apps that have risen to the top, along with a few more that have sunk to the bottom. 1. GoodReader. Despite Air Sharing going iPad (I had the iPhone version) and MobileStudio providing a nifty universal binary (so the app upscales nicely), I decided to give GoodReader a try. It now sits in my dock. MobileStudio requires FTP, and I wasn't in the mood to drop more cash on AirSharing Pro as I've already spent way too much on apps. I also tried MyPDFs and iPDF but felt they were too limited and rushed to be useful to me. GoodReader, however, hits the spot as a wonderful and capable PDF reader. Plus, it'll read text, image, audio and video files and anything that can be opened by Safari. I'm using GoodReader to manage some big PDF files, upwards of 200MB each, and it handles everything brilliantly. It also plays .mov files. Granted, this performance is thanks in part to the powerful processor in the iPad, but the speed boost in working with PDFs is a welcome change to my now-cramped iPhone readers. There are a few UI tweaks that could be made when managing files, it's true. Still, adding folders, moving things around, and so on, are all there like a little mini-Finder. Piling a bunch of data into your iPad is easy and will look good. %Gallery-89961%
First Look: Game Table for the iPad
Here's some screenshots for another upcoming iPad app called Game Table. The app brings Checkers, Chess, and various card games onto Apple's tablet with detailed graphics and an "intuitive" interface -- the developers claim it's like carrying full board games around with you, but without all the little pieces and doodads. Unfortunately, that also means that you don't actually "play" any games on the device -- it's just a series of boards and interactive pieces for them, so it's up to you as the player to determine how you want to actually move them around. That could be either a benefit (if you have a weird variation of poker or chess that you like to play that wouldn't normally be found in a mobile game, there you go) or a hindrance, if you'd rather your board game action be a little bit more guided. But the price is right -- the Game Table is set to release for just 99 cents. Game Table will be available on the App store at launch. %Gallery-89336%
Joystiq impressions: HP's Misto
HP showed off another research and development project, Misto, at its recent game media event. Misto is basically a coffee table with a touch-sensitive display rigged underneath its glass. That's not to say it's not impressive for a coffee table or a display; we've just seen similar projects, and other creative, homebrew game tables.Misto's demos relied on a few simple applications to prove its touch sensitivity. I moved puzzle pieces around the screen. I browsed through photos. I looked at houses I couldn't afford; Misto is currently in-use with at least one realtor although not available for general consumers.While a coffee table interface would be fun for certain games, Misto's current version misses big by only recognizing one touch at a time. Sure, there are technical reasons why it and many other devices can't juggle multiple users. But for the table to have the social gaming applications HP mentioned, that untouchability is a major oversight. If Misto ever makes it to market -- perhaps for virtual/actual Settlers of Catan or other social board games -- it needs to accept two or more touches at a time before we want one.
