Burgle Bros. (iOS/Android - $4.99)
If you’re hankering for a real single-player board game experience, Burgle Bros. could be the game for you. Tim Fower’s compactly boxed board game put up to four players to the co-operative task of robbing a variety of high-tech banks together. The app translates the game digitally into a quality single player package, letting you control all four characters at once (there’s also a pass-and-play option). Exploring a series of gridded tiles, each set representing a floor of the building, you’ll need to avoid motion sensors, outmanoeuvre guards and crack the safe before making it out with the loot.
The level of polish might not match some of the flashier board game apps out there, but few offer an experience that translates so well to solo play. The app offers a full, guided tutorial for new players and includes some nice touches such as displaying the guard’s current patrol path and an undo button to solve any of those painful misclicks. The tile-based nature of the game means the challenge you face changes each time you play, and you’ll be able to develop new strategies as you grow more experienced with the characters and items on offer.
Twilight Struggle (iOS/Android - $9.99)
If Through the Ages sparked your interest with its lengthy playtime, but felt lacking on the competitive front, Twilight Struggle may be right up your cloak & daggers filled alley. Set during the Cold War, Twilight Struggle is a two player game in which each side plays cards to exert their influence over an enormous world map, attempting to wrest control from their opponent without starting nuclear war. Another game from the top echelons of board gaming history, Twilight Struggle is thoroughly complex, far too much so for us to detail here. Fitting for its name, competing is truly a struggle, and you’ll often find yourself simply trying to minimize the pain you suffer in a turn rather than actively hurting your opposition.
Don’t be too put off by the scope of this game however, as while it will take you several hours to get your head around, the in-game tutorial does a decent job of getting you to grips with the basics. The biggest limitation comes in the singleplayer, in which you’ll find yourself locked into competing with a fairly easy AI. In a game about deception and finely balanced strategies, the real thrill is in competing against another human mind, and you’ll be able to play both real time and asynchronously online in a couple of different modes. You can even set the game up to give you an email alert whenever your turn comes round - a very welcome addition considering the length of most matches. Twilight Struggle is a fantastic game to play against a friend over the course of a week. Pitting your minds against one another as you enact rival schemes of world domination will elicit a unique thrill as you check up on what’s changed each day.