GAME
OF THE
DAY
Tsuro - The Game of the Path
Relaxing puzzle fun.
Can a digital board game ever transcend the feel of taking that box off the shelf, unpacking the board, setting out the pieces—the anticipation of a win in the making? We love that Tsuro is totally true to the original game-board design, while offering the wow factor—and convenience—of the game on iPad and iPhone.
This mystical game, with its beautiful rendering of a well-loved game board, sees a set of colourful stones laid out on the playing surface; a deck of cards offers unusual patterns that are all tiles of your potential path around the board. The object is to deploy shrewd picks from the deck in order to wend your stone on the longest possible route, while avoiding being tossed off the edge by others' crafty paths. Of course you may send others to their fate, if it's in the cards.
It sounds easy enough, but anticipating where your path will lead—or where your opponents might interfere—means staying several steps ahead of the pack. Start each game by deploying your game piece on the game board, or pin down an augmented reality (AR) board so you can walk around the game, zooming in and gaining perspective from every angle. You can pass and play so others in the same room can play against you, or use social networks or Game Centre to invite people in. AI game opponents are also good for a challenging round—they won't go easy on you, but you may learn a few tricks from them.
As you play, try to steer clear of the edge, but look for long paths and loops. Hang on the longest, go the furthest, and victory just might be yours!