The app’s tutorial is good, the animations and graphics are excellent, and the user interface is intuitive. The base game is my go-to recommendation for readers who ask for a game that they can play with their kids because the rules are simple, the scoring is easy to understand, and QED train games are awesome. This was the original model for how to build a great board-game app, complete with an active player community, and it remains one of the best, thanks to an overhaul a few years ago and regular releases of expansions. There are four AI opponents: a “focused” AI, a builder, an aggressive opponent, and a “conqueror.” There are six in-app purchases available, including what I think is the best expansion for the board game itself, Traders & Builders. The iOS app is cleaner to look at, while the Asmodee version offers more animations to give it more of the feel of a video game. This version offers players an isometric view instead, which gives the tiles some texture, although you can switch to top-down if you prefer that. In the meantime, you can play Asmodee Digital’s version on Android devices and Steam. Its license for the game expired at the beginning of March, however, and it’s no longer available to purchase there is currently no iOS port of this game, although I assume one is coming soon. Photo: Coding Monkeys on iOS, Asmodee Digital on Android/SteamĬarcassonne was one of my top apps of the last decade because the iOS port, from Coding Monkeys, was the best of breed from the day it was released. Games against AI players take 20-plus minutes, more than anything else on this list, but there’s very little downtime involved. The false 3-D perspective also helps them cram a lot of buildings onto your screen without crowding it. It also has built-in warnings if your workers are going to riot or you’re going to lose resources before the next turn. There is a lot going on in this game, and too much accounting for my tastes, but the app takes care of that stuff for you, so you can focus just on playing the game itself. Through the Ages is a 4X (explore, expand, exploit, exterminate) style game played out with cards, where you try to build a civilization, complete wonders for points, beat opponents with your military, improve your government, and ensure that your workers don’t riot. It even has a legitimately funny joke buried within it. Here’s a game I haven’t played on tabletop because it’s so long and fairly heavy, but the app is stunning, featuring by far the best tutorial I’ve seen.

Best online multiplayer mobile games