App Profile: Royal Game of Ur (AG)

KRei$

Rating: 5/5

I’m usually not one to post reviews, but for this wonderful game I’m happy to make an exception! As someone with a background in Classical Antiquity, it’s marvelous to see a game developer bring to life ancient board games in such a fun, vibrant, and thoughtful way! The Royal Game of Ur is as addictive and entertaining as I’m sure it was 3-4 millennia ago, and the sheer number of custom designed boards, dice, and pawns is quite impressive. The aesthetics, music, and sound effects of the game are extremely well done and the thought, creativity, and attention to detail that went into it are noticeable and very much appreciated! The game is completely playable for free, but if you want to pay a couple dollars to disable ads and unlock some really neat boards/dice/pawns it’s well worth it. I was honestly happy to invest a few bucks, since it means the developer will be able to continue improving the game and work on the stable of other ancient board games he’s bringing to iOS/Android. On top of that, when I was having trouble accessing my game account and had inadvertently locked myself out, the developer responded promptly to my email. He was friendly, polite, and helpful, and quickly resolved my login issue. He even threw in a bunch of in game crates for free, which was nice of him to do! I greatly enjoyed talking with him and I look forward to trying my hand at Senet and XII Scripta! Keep up the good work! Bonne chance, mon ami!

Kaia Flavin

Rating: 4/5

I absolutely love Senet and find it extremely cool that someone created this app and allows you to play with people all over the world - amazing!! It’s very challenging and the star system adds an extra layer of competition and tension. There is one thing however that frustrates me. Twice now I have been matched with a player who hasn’t played their turn in a timely way - the first person took up to one full minute to play each turn (so annoying) and the second person just seemed to have disappeared (phone died maybe? Who knows). In general, this is no biggie because there is an “abandon” button that allows you to star fresh with someone else - but you lose a star every time that happens!!! Is there any way the developers could look into not penalizing someone for being forced to wait someone else out? I prefer to play with people that are present and ready, and most of them are, but I think there should be an option to forfeit without penalty if the other player is clearly the problem. Perhaps timing each turn makes sense? I dunno but that’s the only gripe I have. The rest of it is a blast. Thanks!

UPSY42q

Rating: 5/5

I am really impressed with this app. There are a couple of other versions out there, but this one gets it just right. The AI is programmed at just the right level so you don't feel like it's cheating as it progresses. It also has beautiful design, great music, and a real “historical” feel to it. I can imagine I'm in an ancient Sumerian bazaar playing this for money. I can tell this is a labor of love from the developer (who responds quickly to any questions, requests, bugs you may encounter). The way it's set up it meant for great online and local play, so I hope lots of people take this up. I downloaded it hoping just to play with my family at the kitchen table, but the online play is really fun and I hope its userbase grows. The shop's open and ready for customers (figuratively speaking). Spread the word about this!