Apple Arcade — Nathan Lott's Apple Thoughts

Apple Arcade launched in September 2019 with iOS 13. It is $5.99 a month for unlimited play. There are now 100 games available on the service. I’m not an avid gamer, but I like to play games here and there. Time will tell if this service is for me. I have downloaded a handful of games on the iPhone, iPad and some on the Apple TV. Even though it is available on the Mac, I haven’t really tried any on that platform.

There are also a lot of games that make use of my Nimbus SteelSeries game controller which I initially bought for the Apple TV and didn’t end up using all that. It is nice to play some of these games on the iPad with a game controller though.

Some titles that I’ve played and liked include Word Laces, What the Golf, Pilgims, Spek, and Card of Darkness. Word Laces is made by MiniMega, the company behind my favorite non-Arcade game Bonza. You are shown a picture and then have to attach letter fragments to make words that describe that picture. You connect the letters with shoe laces.

What the Golf is a crazy golf game. It starts off normally where you pull back with your finger to the velocity you want for the ball and then move your finger right or left to aim it. Then you start to launch other things toward the hole besides golf balls such as golf clubs, a human, a lamp, a rolling office chair, and even the hole itself. Each item is accompanied by its own pun when you finally make it.

Next is Pilgrims which is an adventure /puzzle game. The artwork is really humorous. You play this cowboy-like prospector man who goes to different points on a map. You flick his card on to the scene to begin playing. First you run into an old lady on a boat, you ask her to row you across the lake, but she tells this story about a bird who she got mad at and it flew away and now she’s sad. There is no actual dialog though, it is all shown in animations and pictures. I assume that I have to find the bird to get the lady to row me across the lake. You pick up items which are represented as cards also. You flick those cards and each one has a different effect. If it is not useful, it just goes back in your pile.

Another game, Spek, is a puzzle game that kind of reminds me of an old arcade game called Qix. Instead of drawing rectangles inside a bigger rectangle to trap a ball, you are traveling on the border of different shapes. By adjusting the angle on the shape you can bring two separate shapes together or change the look of the shape you are traveling around. The object of the game is to capture two small boxes that appear on the border. Some times you have to move the shape around for the boxes to finally appear.

The last game I want to talk about in today’s post is Card of Darkness. This is a Role Playing Game where you start off with 20 hit points. In front of you is a grid of different cards. Some have rocks, some have swords, some have potions, some have birds, etc. Each item has an object underneath it. For example a Rock with 10 will take 10 hit points from you unless you have a sword. For 10 points, because that number is even you have to hit it with an even number sword. If you hit it with an odd number sword, the sword will break and vice versa if you hit an odd with an even. The potions have numbers too and those will give you points back. The object is for you to clear the grid or at least get to the other side.

There are an overwhelming number of games included in Apple Arcade and I’ve only tried a fraction of them. A couple I’ve tried I didn’t like. Outland, for example, is a little too stressful and scary for me. So far I think it is a great service and well worth 5 bucks a month.