Reiner Knizia's Robot Master for iPhone/iPod Touch coming soon!

[conlan]

* UPDATE * Reiner Knizia's Robot Master has been approved and is now available!
http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=321202624&mt=8

Hey everyone,

Reiner Knizia's third game for the iPhone and iPod touch is coming soon and this time it's Robot Master (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/37362)!

FEATURES

* Solo play: compete against players from around the world as you strive to be the best on the online High Score table!

* Versus play: challenge a friend (Pass'n Play) or the AI to go head to head. This time, one player takes the columns, and the other takes the rows. The player with the lowest scoring line loses!

* Not feeling our music? Play your own and still enjoy the game's sound effects.

It will be priced at 99 cents in the Puzzle/Strategy categories.

Look for it in the app store on July 7th :D

Updates will be posted at http://twitter.com/conlan.

*Also, a big thanks to playtesters mrbass, VeganTnT and Big Albie!*

http://www.battlephase.com/screenshots/robotmaster/robotmaster1.jpg

http://www.battlephase.com/screenshots/robotmaster/robotmaster2.jpg

http://www.battlephase.com/screenshots/robotmaster/robotmaster3.jpg

http://www.battlephase.com/screenshots/robotmaster/robotmaster5.jpg

[conlan]

I just posted some rules description on board game geek, here's the link:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/3615633#3615633

Feel free to post any questions about the rules and I'll be happy to answer them!

[VeganTnT]

I have a question...

Why can't I beat 55 on solo mode!?

I always come so so close and then the last few cards ruin it and I end up with a low score :(

[Big Albie]

I have a question...

Why can't I beat 55 on solo mode!?

I always come so so close and then the last few cards ruin it and I end up with a low score :(

I'm probably missing what you're saying, but isn't the point to get the lowest score?

[DaveMc99]

Hmm I hope the beta testers read the rules before playing the game ;)

[VeganTnT]

I'm probably missing what you're saying, but isn't the point to get the lowest score?

Yes, but the goal is to get the Highest Low Score, haha

So let's say I play a game and my lowest line was 30. You play and your lowest line is 36. Your low score is higher than mine so you would be ranked higher on the leaderboard

[conlan]

I must admit, 55 is devilishly hard to beat. What sort of strategy are you using?

I've been experimenting with a few, one of them is rather than go for triples, go for double pairs instead. So if you have three 4's, instead of putting them all in one line, make a double in one line and another double in a cross line so it'd look like this:

4
4
4
Not good because although you get 100 in a single column, leaves you weak in the rows...

4 4
4

Better because sure, you only get 40 points, but you get that in a column *and* a row. And it makes you more versatile towards getting weaker cards later, because you've guaranteed 40 points in two lines.

[VeganTnT]

I must admit, 55 is devilishly hard to beat. What sort of strategy are you using?

I've been experimenting with a few, one of them is rather than go for triples, go for double pairs instead. So if you have three 4's, instead of putting them all in one line, make a double in one line and another double in a cross line so it'd look like this:

4
4
4
Not good because although you get 100 in a single column, leaves you weak in the rows...

4 4
4

Better because sure, you only get 40 points, but you get that in a column *and* a row. And it makes you more versatile towards getting weaker cards later, because you've guaranteed 40 points in two lines.

That's what I'm doing with the two rows instead of the 100 on one. I just need a little more luck with the cards I guess

[conlan]

Yes, but the goal is to get the Highest Low Score, haha

So let's say I play a game and my lowest line was 30. You play and your lowest line is 36. Your low score is higher than mine so you would be ranked higher on the leaderboard

Yup, so your final score is your lowest scoring line, but you still want the highest score possible!

So if you're playing solo play and you got lines: 100, 119, 150, 99, 10
Your final score would still only be 10 because that's your lowest scoring line. The bigger scores wouldn't help any :(

So you have to build evenly!! And don't neglect any weak lines!

[Big Albie]

Yes, but the goal is to get the Highest Low Score, haha

So let's say I play a game and my lowest line was 30. You play and your lowest line is 36. Your low score is higher than mine so you would be ranked higher on the leaderboard

Ah, ok that makes sense. High score, low score, got it. The game can be pretty addicting especially when you want a quick dose of strategy without the complexity.

[LordGek]

I must admit, 55 is devilishly hard to beat. What sort of strategy are you using?

I've been experimenting with a few, one of them is rather than go for triples, go for double pairs instead. So if you have three 4's, instead of putting them all in one line, make a double in one line and another double in a cross line so it'd look like this:

4
4
4
Not good because although you get 100 in a single column, leaves you weak in the rows...

4 4
4

Better because sure, you only get 40 points, but you get that in a column *and* a row. And it makes you more versatile towards getting weaker cards later, because you've guaranteed 40 points in two lines.

As far as I can make out from screenshots the deck has 5x every card which I guess would mean a deck of 30 cards, right? How many cards are you therefore dealt out in a single player? Do you get them all at once? I can only assume you never have your pick of all 30 cards since then it would just be matter of matching some ultimate pattern, right?

[VeganTnT]

As far as I can make out from screenshots the deck has 5x every card which I guess would mean a deck of 30 cards, right? How many cards are you therefore dealt out in a single player? Do you get them all at once? I can only assume you never have your pick of all 30 cards since then it would just be matter of matching some ultimate pattern, right?

6 of every card, so 36 cards. But there is only space for 24 cards on the board (the center is placed before play starts)

In solo the deck is shuffled and you get the cards one at a time.

In 2 player each person gets 12 cards and can pick and choose.

[LordGek]

6 of every card, so 36 cards. But there is only space for 24 cards on the board (the center is placed before play starts)

In solo the deck is shuffled and you get the cards one at a time.

In 2 player each person gets 12 cards and can pick and choose.

So in screenshots where the player has multiple cards in his hand it must be of the Vs. Mode?

Also, if I gather correctly from the screenshots, in single player you're free to place your card anywhere on the board but in multiplayer it must be adjacent to an already placed card?

[VeganTnT]

So in screenshots where the player has multiple cards in his hand it must be of the Vs. Mode?

You are correct sir. There is also another version of Vs. called Variant. You start with 5 cards and you draw a new one every turn.


Also, if I gather correctly from the screenshots, in single player you're free to place your card anywhere on the board but in multiplayer it must be adjacent to an already placed card?

Only the very last screenshot is from Solo mode. The others are vs.

Also, cards must be played in a spot adjacent to an existing card. Regardless of mode.

[conlan]

Yup! VeganTnT is 100% :)


6 of each cards to make 36 in the deck
Cards must be placed adjacent to ones already in play.
In Solo you get one card at a time.
In 12 Card Versus you get 12 cards at the start.
In 5 Card Versus you get 5 cards and draw a new one after each move.


All in all, 3 different ways to play!

[LordGek]

Yup! VeganTnT is 100% :)

- 6 of each cards to make 36 in the deck
- Cards must be placed adjacent to ones already in play.
- In Solo you get one card at a time.
- In 12 Card Versus you get 12 cards at the start.
- In 5 Card Versus you get 5 cards and draw a new one after each move.

All in all, 3 different ways to play!

Nice, count me enthused! :D

[conlan]

Nice, count me enthused! :D

Awesome!! :)

There's also an easy mode for Solo play where you're allowed to recycle a card back into the deck and get a new one if you don't like it! (good for those 0's)

[mrbass]

The scoring method is reminiscent of Knizia's Tigris & Euphrates game where only the lowest score counts. Same with his Ingenious game too. One of my favorite card games of his High Society I love because you can blow your wad but you can't win due to the rule "if you have the least amount of money your disqualified from winning". Getting back to this game you gotta spread your love everywhere. Who keeps bumping me off the high score list? I call foul...hehe.

[conlan]

Nothing foul on this end, just a *lot* of spare time while waiting for Apple :D

[conlan]

Hey guys, just a quick update that the game is still in the approval process :( So hopefully you'll see it in the appstore sometime next week. Will continue to post updates!

[LordGek]

Hey guys, just a quick update that the game is still in the approval process :( So hopefully you'll see it in the appstore sometime next week. Will continue to post updates!

I think everybody gets that it isn't you but Apple that now is taking twice as long to approve anything BUT, always a vital stat, what is the date of your last submission to them (or one and only submission for this game if they hadn't found anything wrong)?

[conlan]

I think everybody gets that it isn't you but Apple that now is taking twice as long to approve anything BUT, always a vital stat, what is the date of your last submission to them (or one and only submission for this game if they hadn't found anything wrong)?

Yeah, it may have something to do with the 4th of July weekend -- popular for submissions I suppose :(

Robot Master was submitted on June 23rd, haven't heard anything back yet. Although I think in this case, no news is good news ;)

[LordGek]

Yeah, it may have something to do with the 4th of July weekend -- popular for submissions I suppose :(

Robot Master was submitted on June 23rd, haven't heard anything back yet. Although I think in this case, no news is good news ;)

The way the updates just POURED out yesterday and still seem higher than normal for a typical Saturday, I'm sure it will pop up any day now.

[conlan]

The way the updates just POURED out yesterday and still seem higher than normal for a typical Saturday, I'm sure it will pop up any day now.

Totally! I woke up with a dozen updates today :confused:

[GFunk911]

I must be an idiot, but I cannot figure out how to play in tournament mode. I play solo in easy mode, but can't change to tournament mode? What am i missing?