GAMING
game is such a work of genius that this
couldn’t help being great fun, even if
it’s not the perfect iOS port.- Exploding Kittens
Price: £1.99
Originally a real-life card game that
was the most-backed ever (in terms
of backer numbers) on Kickstarter,
Exploding Kittens subsequently
blasted its way on to mobile. The
game is more or less Russian Roulette
with cats. You play with two to four
other people, drawing cards. If
someone gets an exploding kitten,
they’re out of the game – unless they
can defuse it. Other cards enable a
modicum of tactics: you can skip turns,
peek at the top of the deck, shuffle
and steal cards, and slap opponents
so they take a turn.
The iOS version offers online play
against random opponents or friends
in private matches, secured with
codes. Everything’s been cleverly
tweaked for screen, such as with
the addition of a ‘chance of kitten’
meter that starts going nuts when an
exploding kitten is likely, and madcap
audio and energetic animation that
aligns nicely with co-creator Matthew
Inman’s surreal oddball imagery.- Hearthstone
Price: Free (in-app purchases)
Basically Magic: The Gathering with
Warcraft characters, Hearthstone is
a card battle game. Build decks and
strategies, summon
minions and cast
spells. The different
classes and their
specific cards and
abilities add a nice
level of variety,
and a single-player
mode means you
don’t have to take
your game online
unless you want to.
As with all
trading card games,
Hearthstone hinges